I was pregnant for 75 days before I lost the baby — its nickname was Blueberry. It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. That’s why, a week after it happened, I decided to do 75 HARD™ again. I knew that there was a long journey of healing ahead of me and thought that the 75 HARD™ challenge could help me with the recovery process.
What is the 75 HARD™ Challenge?
If you’ve never heard of 75 HARD™ before, it’s a mental toughness challenge started by 1st Phorm founder Andy Frisella.
When you do this challenge, you have to follow certain rules, which are:
- Do two, 45-minute workouts a day (one must be outside)
- Follow a diet, any diet
- No cheat meals or alcohol
- Read 10 pages of a nonfiction book
- Take a progress photo
- Drink a gallon of water every day
How Did I Approach 75 HARD™ After My Miscarriage?
I felt drained and depleted after my miscarriage, so I decided that the diet that I was going to follow would be one focused on fixing any micronutrient deficiencies I may have developed during pregnancy and while bleeding heavily during my miscarriage. I chose a diet aimed at giving my body all the fuel and protein it needed to recover and to help me become as healthy as possible.
I gave myself permission to eat as much as I wanted and as much as I felt necessary. I ended up eating in a calorie surplus and went through what some might call a “bulking phase”. I decided that if I was going to gain weight anyway, I might as well focus on building as much muscle as possible.
I started going harder on weight training and trying to build my glutes. A lot of hip thrusts were done during my 75 HARD™ recovery challenge. My butt grew by almost 10 cm during this time! Now that’s something worth feeling excited about.
How Do I Feel After the 75 HARD™ Challenge?
As I’ve completed the 75 HARD™ challenge as I am writing this, it’s hard to believe that I officially have not been pregnant for longer than I was pregnant.
This is not the first time that I have done 75 HARD™, but this is the time I am the proudest of.
I could have easily spent this time stuck on the couch just watching Bridget Jones the whole time, but I chose to rise out of my suffering and not let my miscarriage let me spiral out of control.
I wanted to feel empowered. After my miscarriage, I felt like I had little control over what happened and I wanted to feel in control of something — 75 HARD™ gave me that control. I couldn’t control what happened to me, but I could take control of my personal growth, my diet, my workouts and my actions. And now, I feel stronger than ever.
In life, we are going to go through hard things. We cannot avoid them, but we do have some control over how we react to them. Of course, nothing will bring back Blueberry, and my heart is still a little broken, but I’m glad that I chose the route of empowerment. I’m glad I did 75 HARD™ after my miscarriage — it made me feel good about my body again and brought me “back to life”.
