I had been trying to start this blog entry for the last half hour, but I am frankly out of my element at the moment— it’s been two months since I last posted, or baked anything, or remotely done anything creative. I feel rusty. The part of life involving work and chores surely has gotten the best of me as time flew by; and here we are at the fifth month of the year and I just feel like I have nothing to show for it.
I know that I should give myself grace because I did start a new role at my job that entails going into the office now, daily life matters such as working and commuting certainly have curated a routine for me without my conscious intent.
So, two months at that and a (finally) recent short vacation, I’ve come with a plan to regain control of my life, change the routine to be more me-focused.
And to begin, I am committing myself to a health and wellness challenge called 75 Hard. I first knew about this through a friend who suggested we start but I was too intimidated to begin. I’ve been thinking about it and it might just be exactly what I need.
75 Hard is a 75-Day Health and Wellness Challenge with five focuses. I will modify the challenge to keep it realistic and doable for me:
Focus One: Exercise daily - Two 45-minute workouts, one indoor and one outdoor.
My Modification: I will exercise daily but will do a one-hour gym workout, and a 30 minute walk on my lunch time during the work week. On the weekends, I will do an hour gym workout (HIIT/Resistance) + 30 minute indoor cardio.
Focus Two: Read 10 pages of a non-fiction book everyday.
My Modification: I already love reading non-fiction books but rather than just 10 pages, I want to allot 30 minutes of reading time daily.
Focus Three: Diet
My Modification: I want to focus on adding more fiber and protein to my diet, and a lot less refined/added sugar and simple carbohydrates. I have a big sweet tooth and this will definitely be a huge challenge for me! My husband and I cook a lot at home and we also do a weekly meal-prep which will definitely be even more beneficial throughout this journey.
Focus Four: No Alcohol
My Modification: None— truly. I rarely drink alcohol now than when I was younger; and the aftermath of drinking has been so unpleasant for me now.
Focus Five: Drink 1 Gallon of Water of Daily
My Modification: None, but this is also going to be a challenge for me because I honestly admit that I don’t drink enough water in a day. To help, I got a 40oz water jug that I will attempt to fill three times.
The challenge also requires you to share your progress; which I will through my socials daily, and this blog weekly. I am feeling hopeful and motivated that this will jumpstart the change that I am needing and pivot my year out of old habits into new, better ones.