For those of my loyal follower(s) who have been so desperately awaiting a new post (hi mom), wait no more! The time has come.
This month has been nothing short of a wild ride. I apologize for the delayed blog post.
First few weeks
Reflecting on my first three weeks of phase 1, it feels so so nice to be back in a strict routine. I had gotten this strict routine so deeply ingrained in me that when I had to go from the two workouts a day to none for the water fast, it didn't feel right. Having moved fully back into my routine, I absolutely love the feeling of my body and mind during this period.
I'll admit it, whether you do 75 Hard or Phase 1, you will initially need to be willing to sacrifice a good amount of time. The workouts in themself take an hour and a half out of your day everyday (and that's at the shorter end, one of my workouts tends to always go long by at least 15 minutes). Tagging on the reading, meditation/visualization, and power goals, I end up spending another 30 minutes. So when you think about it, those 2 hours out of my day every single day add up - that's an eighth of my day every day - so I basically spend one day a week in total on doing things for the challenge.
Yes, it sounds like an absurd commitment, but when you look deeper than the surface level, each of these habits helps to build a truly well-rounded lifestyle. You have the reading to inspire, the meditation to focus, the goals to guide, the workouts and alcoholic abstinence for health, the cold showers and diet for energy. So when you zoom out, even though I'm taking those 14 hours out of my week every week, I'd argue that I actually feel like I have more time because of it (probably because I'm being more productive with my time).
5 days out
I'm not sure I'm "looking forward" to finishing. I feel like this is my lifestyle now. It feels good, I feel good - no longer really feels like a challenge. I am so healthy (physically and mentally) by following though on Hard 75 and Phase 1 that it's become a no brainer to adopt these habits into my regular life. One thing I will again stress for those considering doing this - you have got to abide by ALL of the stipulations. Don't take a shortcut. Commit and do it.
The only alteration I will make is the occasional sip of alcohol. I plan on keeping my intermittent fasting diet, I'll probably ditch the mediterranean aspect to allow a burger or steak every now and then. I'm also looking to add a little more weight this fall/winter, so higher protein intake will be necessary - that's hard to do when you're limited to white meat and fish for less than half of your meals. I will officially finish on Wednesday and I am celebrating my "completion" with a little adventure... more details to come.
Notes
Diet & Water
Nothing crazy with my diet, still cruising with my Mediterranean IF diet. I feel good, but I am starting to crave some red meat again. Definitely had some cravings for chips. The water aspect is always a struggle, but I recently discovered I was undermeasuring my water intake. I previously figured a gallon was equal to 6 of my large cups... turns out it's only four. So woohoo! I've been doing a gallon and a half. I don't anticipate making change.
Workouts
So I had been doing a pretty good job of pacing myself between doing power workouts and restorative workouts, but this week I WENT AT IT. I hit maxes on my legs, back, chest, and arms on back-to-back-to-back-to-back days. Included in that same span, I managed to run 4.5 miles each day at a sub 8 min pace. Body feels great right now, likely to stay that way.
Reading
The Buddha and the Badass is BADASS. I am in love with this book. I'm going to leave it at that, but for the select few of you that will ever read this and decide to get the book and actually read it and implement it, I guarantee your life will change, I hope you will reach out to me when you've begun reading.
Meditation
I thoroughly enjoy the meditations, but I do still struggle with staying present and keep a "blank" mind. It is very difficult (as I'm sure you all know) to completely shut off all thought. As I continue to practice, I hope to get better.
Cold Showers
Cold showers hadn't phased me for a while... until yesterday. I think I was running on fumes, so when I hopped under the cold water, my whole body flinched and told "nope." I stuck with it though. It's interesting, whether or not the water is cold is truly up to your luck. I went back to Colorado thinking the water would be cooler - nope. The water is actually quite cold here. Excited to see how this changes as we move into the winter season!
Power Tasks
I'm enjoying the power tasks. They help to guide me through the day by giving me broad, yet specific enough objectives to accomplish throughout the day. No big notes on this.
In Closing
Let me know what you want to hear more about! Would be glad to elaborate if there are any specifics and questions you are curious about.
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