I did 75 HARD™ while pregnant. Many people might feel like the 75 HARD™ challenge is too hard, but I think it’s just hard enough to present you with a proper challenge. There’s a reason it’s not called “75 Easy”. I wanted to challenge myself and do something that was solely for me before the baby comes. I know that once my baby is born, it will be harder for me to spend so much time focusing on myself.
And so, I decided to do the best personal challenge I’ve ever come across – 75 HARD™ – before the baby comes.
My first trimester was quite brutal, to be honest. I felt like I made absolutely no progress in terms of my personal development. I lost muscle in my butt, which I spent so much time trying to build before pregnancy. I became quite weak. My diet wasn’t exactly what I wanted it to be thanks to morning sickness and food aversions, and I also felt so tired the entire time that I wasn’t nearly as productive as I wanted to be. I wasn’t writing or making videos, I stopped reading regularly, and I definitely didn’t drink enough water.
But then a few weeks into my second trimester, something amazing happened – a few things actually. My energy levels improved a lot, my morning sickness went away and I was able to eat red meat again, I was able to workout harder like I used to, and I suddenly started ticking off things on my to-do list that have been waiting there for months.
So, to take advantage of my improved situation, I decided to complete one round of 75 HARD™ before the baby comes. It just felt like the best way to cram in as much self-improvement as possible before the end of my pregnancy, and since I was feeling quite impatient when it came to waiting for the pregnancy to be over and my baby to come, I thought it would be good to have a project to focus on that would take quite a few weeks to complete.
Since the 75 HARD™ challenge is 75 days long, I thought it was perfect. I’ve done 75 HARD™ a few times in the past, and each time, it felt like it went by quite quickly.
My Workouts While Doing 75 HARD™ While Pregnant
The 75 HARD™ challenge requires that you workout twice a day for 45 minutes at a time (one workout being outside). When you’re pregnant, it’s really important to move your body to maintain as much mobility as possible, to help prevent excess weight gain, for your mental health, and for good blood circulation.
Two workouts a day might sound too intense for most people, but the rules don’t state that you have to do two intense workouts a day. I usually did one resistance-training workout a day (weightlifting), and then did one low-intensity workout like walking. I wanted to do yoga, but it hardly ever happened. I work from home, so if I don’t workout twice a day, I am super sedentary.
What Was My Diet on the 75 HARD™ Challenge?
In terms of diet, I obviously didn’t restrict my calories. I was extremely focused on giving my baby everything she needed and centred my diet around eating nutrient-dense foods. Throughout my entire pregnancy and 75 HARD™, I stuck to my animal-based diet and mainly ate meat and fruit. The main thing I changed while on 75 HARD™ was reducing my carb and sugar intake. I increased my fat and protein intake to add more calories, omega 3s, choline, and amino acids (to help my body recover after workouts and to give my baby the building blocks she needed).
One of the rules of the challenge is that you cannot have any cheat meals. This was actually very easy, as I’m generally strict on my diet. Of course, reducing my carb intake was a challenge at first, but once I became used to it, it was smooth sailing from there.
What did I Read for 75 HARD™?
As I said, I stopped reading regularly in my first trimester, so I was very excited about this part of 75 HARD™. I tried to make my reading sessions study sessions and read three diet and nutrition books. On 75 HARD™, you need to read 10 pages of a non-fiction book that focuses on personal development, and I chose nutrition books because learning more about nutrition is currently super important for my personal development.
I read:
- “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet” by Nina Teicholz
- “Carnivore Diet” by Shawn Baker
- “Carnivore Cure” by Judy Cho
Drinking a Gallon of Water a Day
In my first trimester, I started feeling nauseated if I drank a lot of water at once, and a gallon a day (3,7L) seemed impossible. Staying hydrated is crucial while pregnant, so I was quite grateful for this part of 75 HARD™. I finally started drinking enough water. I wasn’t worried about drinking too much, because I was also consuming a lot of salt.
Taking Progress Photos on 75 HARD™
Taking progress photos this time while doing the 75 HARD™ challenge was actually quite exciting. You have to take one every day. When I did it in the past, I often felt discouraged when I took my daily photo because I was so focused on losing fat. But this time, I was basically documenting my belly slowly getting bigger and bigger each day. For once, a big belly was a good thing.
So, How Did the 75 HARD™ Challenge Go?
Doing the 75 HARD™ challenge while pregnant was obviously not easy, but that’s not what I wanted. I wanted to challenge myself, and I did. There were days where I really struggled to get out of bed to exercise, but I did. There were days I just wanted to be a couch potato, but I kept going. There were days I didn’t want to read, but I did anyway. I love how 75 HARD™ forces you to do things that help with your personal growth and it makes you keep the promises you made to yourself. Remember that if you skip a task on any day, you have to start the entire challenge over from day 1, even if you just forget to take a progress photo on day 74.
I cannot believe I’m already done with the 75 HARD™ challenge. It really did help time fly by during the last few months of my pregnancy. Now I’m in my third trimester with roughly 6 weeks to go until the baby comes.
I plan to keep exercising, drinking enough water, and sticking to my diet until the end of my pregnancy – until I get to meet my baby.