Ashley Keleher

I did it! Without hesitation and absolutely no chance of quitting! I was determined and focused on accomplishing this goal. And I feel absolutely amazing for doing it but bittersweet that it’s done. 

The amount of people that asked me why (and ensured they tagged the grossed out look along with it) was no shock. But better, the people that gave me encouragement and motivation to complete it was way more. Good news is, I was doing it for myself so negative opinions didn’t matter. The positive ones helped push me harder and were strongly encouraged (so thank you for those of you who took the time to cheer me on and I hope that when you set out to achieve a huge milestone in your life I have the opportunity to cheer you on too). 

75 Hard, in theory, is simple. It consists of 8 daily tasks that you must achieve every night before falling asleep. Failing to complete any of these means an automatic fail and you are forced to start over. The challenge is that these tasks can become inconvenient to your day to day living which forces extreme mental toughness. Going into 75 Hard, I was already working out and some days, twice a day. I found having a walk or jumping on the Peloton after work helped disconnect work from home life when my office is in my house, plus the movement at the end of the workday was just needed some days. I ate well, but also enjoyed going out for dinner and drinks. Otherwise the tasks didn’t seem too much to add to my day to day. Ok but let’s get real right?! You guys, honestly, it was tough some days. We had ice pellets, high winds, minus 30 degree Celsius weather… rain, snow, ice, cold – and every day had to get outside and workout.  I had to do 2 workouts a day, which after 2 weeks becomes exhausting but I had to do 75 straight days of it. I had muscle fatigue that I didn’t know existed. A gallon of water means you pee ALL👏🏻THE 👏🏻 TIME. Forget going out to eat for fun when you set a diet that doesn’t allow for that (thank goodness we started in the middle of a lockdown). Oh and they have you take daily progress photos, which originally I didn’t fully understand, but by the end, when the scale still hadn’t moved, I relied on the progress photos to truly see my body change and determine where I still needed to focus. They don’t kid when they called it 75 Hard that this shit is hard. 

So why do it then right?! You guys.. I felt freaking amazing! My skin, my hair, my sleep?! You guys .. my sleep was next level! Did you know that you can actually sleep for 8 hrs a night?! Like for real?! I felt totally tuned in. All the time. I had to tweak my diet a couple times because I wasn’t getting my body (okay.. my abs) where I wanted them. Once I got that right, there was no stopping me. Now, I am a routine girl. I love a good schedule and on 75 Hard- you HAVE to follow a schedule, so it’s no wonder that I loved life, but in all honesty, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. 

So here it is – my final outcome at the end of the 75 days. The scale didn’t move. Coming from a background in health and fitness this wasn’t overly concerning. If I didn’t have the daily progress photos, I don’t know how long I would have gone without completely cutting my diet though. It turns out that every adjustment resulted in increasing calories and ended up giving more visible results. The water in the beginning made me feel (and look) super bloated but by the end was great! It was actually shocking that after drinking a gallon of water, somedays I was still thirsty for more. Because I was working out every day and twice a day, I really started getting into more variation of workouts. I stuck to walking or hiking as my outdoor workout and adjusted my indoor workouts doing anything from heavy weight, light weight, HIIT, sprint runs, Crossfit, and cycling. I for sure thought that following a diet and no alcohol would be the hardest, but I actually found these to be the easiest and have such a better mindset now for both of these.

If you’ve followed me for awhile, or at least read my recent post, you know that this year I am doing for me. I have come out of my shell and really explored who I am. There is a lot more learning but I definitely am loving this journey. I don’t think everyone has to go out and do 75 Hard, but I do strongly recommend you push yourself to be your best self. A part of 75 Hard is reading non-fiction books that will better you. Every single book talked about surrounding yourself with like minded people and disconnecting from those who don’t believe in you. It was so good to read over and over again, that you NEED to surround yourself with like minded individuals .. or even more so, people who are, where you want to be. I’m still working on this but definitely feel so good being comfortable working towards my goals & having people around me with similar passions and outlooks. 

Totally realistic; I don’t think that 75 Hard is for everyone. Nor do I think that you have to do it to meet goals physically or mentally. I do believe that it was something that I enjoyed and learned from. I achieved amazing results both physically and mentally. Regardless of what you do – get out there and crush those goals! Go after what you are set out to do. Find your passion and find the life you’re dreaming of! Let’s go!