You’ve seen others recommend 75 Hard. I’m here to tell you why you SHOULDN’T attempt this challenge. Instead, try these actually possible healthful habits!
What is 75 Hard?
75 Hard is a diet and exercise challenge that tends to repopularize around spring and the new year when people prepare their ‘beach bodies’ and start the new year off ‘healthy’. It is a strict, life-consuming challenge that encourages atemptee’s to focus on their diet, exercise, and personal development for 75 days.
75 Hard Challenge Rules
There’s more to this 75-day-long challenge than just unrealistic exercise routines. The challenge is to:
- Strictly follow a diet plan. This can be any plan of choice, although there is absolutely no alcohol or ‘cheating’ allowed! Some popular choices are vegan, DASH, or Mediterranean.
- Workout twice a day for 45 minutes each, with one being outdoors.
- Drink a gallon of water every day.
- Read 10 pages of a personal development or nonfiction book every day.
- Take progress photos.
This is QUITE the challenge! Going from an unbalanced way of eating and not exercising to this can actually be more harmful than beneficial!
Why People Attempt the 75 Hard Challenge
This challenge promises incredible (and pretty unrealistic) outcomes. Atemptees are under the belief that by following the strict rules for 75 days they will have reached their ultimate health goals.
Every year this challenge is promoted by social media users posting to keep themselves accountable and showcase their results along the way. With this comes community. This challenge can bring together those attempting it with camaraderie and support.
Why You SHOUDN’T Attempt 75 Hard
If 75 Hard still sounds enticing, I hope to convince you otherwise.
Harmful Mindset:
For 75 days you are forced to follow through on this massive time and energy commitment. This means saying no to social activities, refusing dinners that don’t align with your diet, and forcing yourself to work out.
This challenge touts that there are no ‘cheat meals’ allowed. How does one even ‘cheat’ on food!? If you feel stuck in the never-ending diet cycle check out this article How to Ditch Dieting for Good.
Unsustainable:
With a restrictive diet and massive amounts of working out, it’s hard to not lose weight. The thing is, during the entirety of the challenge you’ll be looking forward to the last day. Maybe you have a ‘cheat day’ planned?
You cannot do this challenge for the rest of your life. Heck, it’s incredibly hard to even do for 75 days! That means once you return to old habits the weight will slowly return. Next up, you’ll be looking for the next popular diet trend!
Time Consuming:
If you are unable to follow a balanced diet and work out occasionally now, what makes you think this challenge is a good idea? The strict diet requires much preparation in the way of learning what fits, shopping, prepping, cooking, and likely many repeated boring meals.
The workouts alone take 1.5 hours! In addition to this is the time to get ready, transport to and from where you’re working out, and take a shower afterward. With all this, your exercise time commitment is likely closer to 2.5 hours a day!
Dangerous:
It can’t be argued that consuming a proper diet, regular exercise, and reading are beneficial. The thing is, going from one extreme to another can be dangerous! Always consult your doctor before making any dramatic changes.
What to Do INSTEAD of 75 Hard
Everyone will have their reasons for taking on this challenge, so what to do instead will also vary.
If you are doing it for the weight loss… consider smaller changes to your diet. A massive diet change is unlikely, but swapping your morning pastry for a protein-packed meal is more likely to stick- for good!
If you are doing it for the exercise… remember that MOST people are unable to work out for 1.5 hours every day. This is a lot of time to spend working out, especially if you are going from none!
Instead, start with what makes sense for YOU! Have a goal of running a 5k? Start by walking a mile and increase from there. Have a goal to build muscle? Start by signing up for a gym membership and learning the proper form of exercises!
If you are doing it for the water intake… you don’t need to take on this entire challenge to drink more water! Instead, make a plan of when you’ll drink water throughout the day. Consider drinking two of your ~emotional support~ water bottles full by lunch, then another two by the time you go to sleep.
If you are doing it for the community… you don’t need to join a harmful diet challenge to connect with others. There are PLENTY of other groups that have communities for you to join. Find a local walking group through Facebook, learn how to bake from support on Reddit, and meet others who enjoy comedy by attending local shows!
If you are doing it for the mental development… consider your true reasons for this challenge. Ultimately, reading personal development books is a minor aspect of this challenge. If your true goal is to work on your mental development, just read! You don’t HAVE to take part in every aspect of this challenge to improve yourself.
75 Hard: Why You SHOULDN’T Do It Takeaways
- 75 Hard is a diet and exercise challenge that includes a strict diet plan, 2-45 minute workouts, consumption of a gallon of water, reading personal development books, and taking progress photos.
- This challenge is a massive undertaking that may lead to removing yourself from social activities, lack of rest, and a cycle of dieting.
- You should NOT attempt this challenge because it can lead to disordered eating, potential exercise addiction, or other harmful results.
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