In typical MaryFran fashion I had a brainstorm and decided to dive in to something on the spur of the moment. What in the world did I decide to do? Why I’m going to do what I am calling my Arduous Eighty!
75 Hard
Last year on a total whim (do you see the trend) I started doing the 75 hard. Literally it was a whim. I saw something about it and decided to stop being intrigued and just do it. It was a Sunday morning. I literally had that thought to just do it and got up off my chair and immediately went to the exercise bike and did the first workout…..no thought, not planning. 10 seconds between the thought to do it and the start of doing it!
I did it! It was tough. It was the middle of winter and that 45 minutes outside was tough. I remember one day it was pouring down rain and just barely above freezing at 33°. But outside I went to go for a walk. Brrrr! Windstorms, snowstorms, you name it I braved it. And I finished the 75 hard. I felt great in terms of fitness. But I lost no weight….because I did not set my eating plan correctly. I did it…and actually said that I would be open to doing it again! (Evidenced in this post.)
The Plan
I have not been against doing a 75 hard again. However I don’t really want to do something that takes up 2 hours of my day. Don’t get me wrong, I am worth the time end effort, but as I lay in bed thinking I knew that I had to do something that would stretch me in terms of effort but something that would also be achievable with my current schedule. I knew it would involve exercise and I knew that it would involve a more strict dietary plan. But I also knew that while I want it to be strict and difficult that I also wanted it to be achievable. So here it is. The Arduous Eighty plan:
1. Exercise once day. 20-30 minutes at a bare minimum. If it is an hour, that still counts as ONE exercise. No cheating! I know from doing the 75 hard that it is possible to exercise daily. But I also know that I was TIRED. My body was really aching by the end of the challenge. So I am giving myself a bit of grace. I need 80 workouts. So if I don't work out on a weekend day, that is fine, I just need to do a double exercise (once morning once evening) one day to make up for it! Either way it's tough. (Oh and when we recommence with the dog walks in the morning, that does not count toward one of my exercises!)
2. Water - 56-64 ounces of water. I have been a bit lazy lately with my water, finishing 'half' of my required amount and then switching to soda and some days I just flat out start with soda. Nope nope nope. Arduous Eighty plan does not waiver on this. get the 64 ounces. (more is ok, less is NOT) There really isn't a fail plan in this one. There is no back up plan to allow for a slip. Water has to be drank each day.
3. Eating plan. Here is the biggie. When I did the 75 hard, I did a loosey goosey plan. I did restrict a bit, but not to the level that I need to in order to lose weight. So I didn't lose a single solitary pound during those 75 days. (I did lose the week afterward when I had the flu though. hahahaha). I need to be more strict. So this one is going to be the hardest. My goal is 1400 calories a day (or less). I know that it a bit low. I also don't measure my food, so it probably isn't as low as that (that's my trade-off). But that is the goal. 1400 a day. 9800 a week. ..... Yes, if I have a day where I am over, well I sure as better eat really light the next day to make up the difference (hello sourkrat, celery and other REALLY low calorie food items).
4. Read my bible every day. I have been reading through the bible chronologically but slipped a bit and haven't been doing that as regularly. This challenge, I'm adding that in. (75 hard has you reading a non fiction book for 10 minutes a day...so this is pretty much the same thing).
And that's it! Those four things...80 days! This will take me the rest of the way through February, through March and to the very end of April. An Arduous Eighty!
