In the last year or so, I’ve fallen in love with tiktok. The adorable babies, the endless adventures of animals, the inspired recipes and so many more moments have all brought joy to my life. But along with the abundance of entertainment, I’ve found myself occasionally following along with 75 Hard – for better or worse.
If you don’t know what 75 Hard is, the idea came from a podcast a few years ago. 75 days of focus where you workout 2x a day for 45 minutes each (one must be outside), follow a diet – no alcohol allowed, read 10 pages every day, drink a gallon of water and take a progress photo daily. On the surface, it doesn’t seem so bad? But I think we can do better: enter 75 Love.
What Is 75 Love?
While the name isn’t super original, I wanted to shift past the idea of a temporary fix. 75 Hard is great for some but for the many of us who have spent years with disordered eating and self-loathing, I wanted to spend time truly doing the work rather than just checking off a list.
75 Love is about grace and the idea that if you miss something in a day you keep fighting. Really it’s about creating a lifestyle that lets you feel supported while also making space to confront your inner demons. It’s as much about your mental health as it is about your physical health. So here are the “rules” as I’ve designed them and will be applying them to my life for the next few months.
Set progress check-ins that work for you
It’s helpful to have a goal for where you hope to be by the end of the 75 days. If daily photos are your jam, go for it. As someone who is still coming off a relapse with dieting, the scale isn’t something I’m wanting to use but I’m fine with measurements & photos. Your progress check-in might be a pair of jeans you try on now and at the end.
Focus on healing. What areas have you felt like you’ve been holding yourself back?
When I started Money Mentality Makeover in September, I knew I wanted to focus on healing financially. Somewhere in the middle of that, it became about healing relationships and then moved into shifting my ideas around being seen/famous. The point being healing isn’t exactly a linear process.
My intentions for the next 75 days are to focus on healing my relationship with what it feels like to truly lose the weight. To be healthy without the yo-yo lifestyle (I’d achieved this and then relapsed which we can talk about another day). But I have one specific area I really want to focus on understanding my limiting beliefs and behaviors around.
Ideally, this is something you’ve been putting off for a while. It could be how do I learn to be okay alone or how do I learn to find a happy relationship with food. Help, professional and otherwise is always welcome.
Focus on setting new boundaries
I always know I’m growing in an area when I’m setting new boundaries. Whether that’s being more conscious with the content I consume or pulling back from certain relationships, it can be hard to hear your own inner voice when the world is so loud.
For example, when I was shifting my energy around food and how it works for me, I really pulled back from all the nutritionists of the internet. I found that most of their advice wasn’t working/hadn’t worked for me or didn’t really deal with the problem. This is also not to shade anyone as I know it’s hard to give specific advice to thousands. But it was a boundary I needed and has helped me majorly.
EVALUATE YOUR COPING MECHANISMS
If you follow me on instagram, you’ll know I’m currently obsessed with The Mountain Is You. I’m also reading it at a snail’s pace because I want to savor every word. Highly recommend it. One of my favorite quotes from the book thus far is “The habits and behaviors you can’t stop engaging in—no matter how destructive or limiting they may be—are intelligently designed by your subconscious to meet an unfulfilled need, displaced emotion, or neglected desire.”
Meaning there is a reason that you keep coming back to a certain behavior whether that be binge-reading/eating/drinking/etc. So rather than tell you not to drink for 75 days, I want you to examine the role alcohol plays in your life. Is it one that makes you feel supported? Does it make you feel energized? When do you choose to drink and why?
Again, this could be done with all the areas if you’re choosing to do something that prevents you from sitting in the emotions. But take the time to be the gentle observer of your life and how you’re showing up in it. Remember 75 Love is based on learning to love yourself in a more deeply supported way than ever before.
DO SOMETHING THAT BRINGS YOU JOY EVERY DAY
I am a queen of checklists. If it’s a task that needs to be done and I can check it off, sign me up! But over the years, I’ve realized how easy it is to fill up my day with things that I should do. And yet it’s so rare that I ask myself/intentionally do something that brings me joy. No rhyme or reason. No end goal in mind. Just something that brings me joy.
For you, this might be painting, writing, drawing, baking, etc. For me, this looks like making a luxurious lunch from a cookbook. In order to truly heal, I’ve found that releasing what we should do makes space for what’s right for us. So doing one thing that brings you joy every day is essential for 75 Love.
MOVE YOUR BODY
While I am a wellness blogger at heart, it took me YEARS to learn how to like working out without there being some ulterior motive. So feel free to adapt movement as it works for you. My goal is to do 90 minutes of something every day that will make me feel happy and supported when I go to bed. Yesterday, that was going for a run. Today, I used that time to deep clean the fridge. If it gives you joy and doesn’t involve endlessly scrolling on your phone, it’s a start!
NOURISH YOUR BODY
When I look at how I landed at this moment in time creating 75 Love, it always goes back to diet. But most importantly, it starts with choosing to value someone else’s opinion more than my own (this is a forever learning curve for me). If you’ve been around the blog, there’s a chance you’ve read how I broke up with my diet lifestyle. And slowly but surely I’m getting back to that space.
However, it’s important to me that as I do 75 Hard I continue to honor eating in a way that works for me (read Body Love & The Obesity Code for more info) rather than listening to the latest trend. The greatest gift you’ll give yourself in doing 75 Love is to make time to heal your relationship with food and understand how it can be a partner rather than the enemy. So nourish in the way that works for you.
MAKE A GRATITUDE LIST
Years ago, when I was sitting on set taking stock of how I’d been talking about my job for months, I realized so much of my comments have been complaints. The idea of leading with gratitude and love was years away from my radar. But today, it’s one of the most important parts of my day.
Your list can be 3 things long or 20. I opt for longer when I just don’t feel like I’m in the right headspace as I’ve found the more I can find gratitude for the better I feel. Additionally, I would suggest actually writing out I am thankful rather than filling in the blank. It helps your mind better associate gratitude with the object thus solidifying the emotion for your brain to crave.
MEDITATE
Now I’ve done a full blog post on this – and I’m the first to say there is no wrong way to meditate. Use a guide or don’t. Sit for 2 minutes or an hour. Just start. But as a part of healing my overall body, my goal is to intentionally lower my cortisol levels and meditation is a game-changer for this.
DRINK A GALLON OF WATER
Truthfully, if we were playing by the 75 Hard rules, I’d get reset every few days for simply failing to hit my water goal. Even as I write this post, my timed water bottle mocks me. But the intention is still there. Consciously consume liquids that support your highest self and hydrate the heck out of your organs. Sounds like a solid plan, right?
CREATE A NIGHTTIME ROUTINE FOR YOURSELF
As someone who shares about depression quite frequently on social media, I notice a major difference in my mental state when I’m intentional about giving myself permission to sleep. So 9/10 times my bed is only for sleeping – no work, very little scrolling, all the blankets.
If you’re someone who works from home, this is even more critical. But creating little cues that tell your brain it’s time to sleep can help make your nighttime routine even easier and be major for your mental health. I’ll be sharing my nighttime routine soon on Youtube so make sure you’re subscribed to my channel.
All in all, I’m excited for the next 75 days of my life. The healing. The changes. The version I’ll get to meet on the other side. And if you decide to do this too, I’d love to hear about it!
If you want to follow along with my journey in real time, be sure to follow me on all the socials: Instagram + TikTok plus Youtube. I’ll be uploading weekly vlogs sharing what’s going on. Plus, the weekly newsletter is a great way to make sure you never miss a thing. It’s where I share that piece of wisdom that’s motivating, growing, and challenging me every week. Until next time friends. Xoxo, Savvy
