75 Hard Challenge and what I have learnt so far....

'An Iron Man for the brain'

Today is is supposed to be Day 14 of the 75 Hard Challenge. I had written in my diary to post on Substack about my learnings. Because aue, I have had so many in the first 2 2 weeks.

I first learnt about this challenge on Tik Tok. But the Tik Tok versions and what it is actually about and rules can be a little different. So if you are interested here is some information form the of the originator of 75 Hard and his podcast ‘ Winning the war within’

What made me decide on an ‘impulse’ (except it wasn’t really - I had been observing peeps on Tik Tok and a Māori wahine Summer living in Palmerston North who was doing it and completed it…I had just completed Dry July successfully and went to a total of 39 days when I decided I would buy me a 12 pack and had that over the Friday and Saturday and enjoyed my drinks.

Sunday morning I moped about and had no energy. I had this feeling of ..something has to change. And then on Tik Tok I saw more posts about 75 Hard. And then I decided, ok. This is me. I listened to the podcast and took notes. Monday 12th August, I started. And here is what I have learnt thus far:

1. Knowing I ‘have’ too get in 2 workouts a day stops all my inner bullshit in the morning when I wake up - ‘will I? won’t I?’ do some exercise today. ‘Maybe not today, maybe I will do it tomorrow, thats ok.’ And because I know if I miss a workout, then I will have to start again AND also I have people who are cheering me on in social media land and/or ‘waiting for me to fail’

2. By saying ‘no’ to junk food as a part of the challenge, I am actually looking out for healthier options. By saying no, I am creating space for new experiences. It is making me TRY stuff I wouldn’t usually consider …which is a whole new world for me ie Fejoa sparkling water and rice cakes and almonds for a snack

   

   3. Andy is quite explicit ‘ this challenge is not a weightloss challenge’ it is an ‘iron man for the brain.’ Regardless of what the scale says over these 75 days it will have no influence on if I continue or don’t on my Hauora quest. I AM IN FOR THE 75 DAYS.

   4. If it wasn’t for 75 HARD, I wouldn’t have had the new experiences of getting up early in the mornings to go for a HIKOI and seeing the sun rise. I wouldn’t have had the experiences of feeling connecting to the tai ao, karakia and karanga. And I want to have more of those experiences.

   

   5. The FB support I have received on FB has been motivating and is a collective of its own which I wasn’t expecting. And also to hear from people who haven’t commented on FB but who I have then seen a tinana, who have said, ‘Lese your posts are inspiring.’

   6. I am having to ‘feel my feelings’ and NOT EAT them. And after I have ‘felt them’ later on, I am able to say to myself, ‘ok lese, so waht are we gonna do about this?’ instead of numbing and avoiding through food and alcohol.

   7. If it wasn’t for 75 Hard, I would have never gotten up EARLY before delivering a wananga and facilitating a houhou te rongo process to get one of my workouts in and feeling so much more in the zone.

   8. If it wasn’t for 75 HARD, I would not have experienced the hoha’ness of having a full on day work, flying home and knowing that I still had to do a workout at 9pm at night. And finding out: THE THOUGHT OF THE WORKOUT WAS ACTUALLY WAY HARDER THAN THE ACTUAL ACTIVITY ITSELF.

   

   9. If it wasn’t for 75 Hard I would not have walked by the awa before a houhou te rongo wānanga and prepared myself for the possibility I might need to do a karanga just like how Whaea Raina taught us to ‘be prepared’ and to ‘step up’ if required. As it turned out, it was needed and it was the most tau I had ever been which I attribute to the preparation of ‘just in case’ and practising my karanga to the Manawatu awa and tai ao, along with karakia, ‘Tenei te ara’

   10.If it wasn’t for 75 Hard, I would not have discovered that I actually am enjoying weight sessions at the gym and I am finally not giving a weekly koha to City Fitness and actually going 3 times a week and enjoying the difference from endurance (where I plod on for hours) compared to doing a set and having a 1 minute rest (and look on my phone) without any guilt

   

   11. I have so many ‘first’ experiences over the last 2 weeks. It feels like a breath of fresh air. Like when you are travelling overseas and you have a lens of seeing it from a ‘first time’ experience:

   

   12.Preparation is key and so I have me a ‘no excuses’ corner where I have all my gears needed for the different work outs I might do for the day:

   

   And finally:

   13. establishing a routine is ESSENTIAL. And when I woke up today 25/8/24 I realised I had forgotten one of the MUST DO’S. After 2 weeks of avoiding the temptations to eat junk food:

   

   

   and a full on day on Saturday in wānanga - but had avoided the fry bread at the marae, had done my workout in the morning, came home at night and did my 2nd work out on the exercycle AND read my 10 pages AND bregudingly written my 1 page of creative writing (my own rule I added to it) I then went to sleep at 10 pm.

   When I woke up in the morning , I realised I had forgotten to take my ‘proggresse picture.’ I at first thought, no one will know and what does it really matter? I also thought, well I took a selfie. Maybe that can count. Then I looked up the definition of progress picture and I knew my selfie was not that.

   

   The selfie that I thought might pass as a progress picture

   I knew in my puku - this was a part of the challenge. This was a part of the mental discipline. I felt sad. Gutted. But I knew straight away I would have to start again. and it is at is is. INTEGRITY is a part of the challenge.

   My addict also then said, yuss we get to have some junk food today. A pepsi max. And a beer.

   But I am determined I will do this. My learning - establish a routine in the morning so those other elements do not get ‘forgotten about’. Its not just about the clean eating and the 2 workouts a day.

   Like TANE, who ‘failed’ in separating the parents numerous times and also in creating the first human, I too have ‘failed’ but I am learning from this.

   75 Hard is an eye opener for me. It is a much needed reset in my life. I will haere tonu.

   TIHEI, Mauriora