I did a 75 Day Challenge, here’s what actually happened.

Tomorrow, March 16th, marks the 75th day of my 75-day challenge. As a refresher, the rules were simple:

• No alcohol
• No cheat meals or sweet treats
• Drink a gallon of water a day
• Exercise for 45 minutes every day

Full disclosure: I wasn’t perfect.

My water intake improved, but it definitely fell short of a gallon most days. I also found some “healthier” sweet treats to help stay away from cookies and brownies — but let’s be honest, just because something is a healthier version doesn’t mean it’s actually healthy.

My activity level also became spotty once basketball season ended.

The one thing I am very proud of is that I made it the full 75 days without drinking. That has been especially difficult this past week. In reality, this was a self-imposed deadline. The thought crossed my mind more than once: what’s the difference between 70 days and 75 days? Probably not much. But I really wanted to hit that arbitrary number.

Now for the positives.

I’ll do one final weigh-in Tuesday morning — day 76 — but as of now I’m about 20 pounds down. This actually surprised me considering my workouts over the last three months have mostly been walking on my treadmill and not much else.

One interesting takeaway was how much environment affects behavior.

During basketball season I would walk on the treadmill while watching coaching videos on my phone. That became my daily exercise. Since the season ended, I honestly don’t think I’ve walked once. That one small environmental change was enough to break the habit.

It’s a good reminder to pay attention to the seasonal changes in our lives. As we move from winter into spring, this can work both ways. Maybe the warmer weather motivates us to move more… or maybe it leads to more nights out and a few more unhealthy choices.

I didn’t track every weigh-in, but the first few weeks saw faster weight loss. After that it settled into a steady pace of about 1–2 pounds per week. Over the last five weeks I think I’ve lost around five pounds total — and I’m perfectly happy with that.

It’s easy to see losing one pound a week as a failure, but when you zoom out and realize you lost five pounds in a month, it doesn’t look so bad.

The Real Test Starts Now

For a while I’ve been wondering what Day 76 will look like. Will I drink? Will the end of the challenge mean I slowly slide back into the habits that caused the weight gain in the first place?

I hope not.

I do plan to have a drink at some point in the future, but the goal is for that to happen far less frequently than it used to. Time will tell how I do. I’ve recognized some of the triggers that led to my weight gain and I’m hoping to manage stress in healthier ways going forward.

One of my biggest takeaways from these 75 days is the importance of balance.

A challenge like this doesn’t just affect you — it affects the people around you.

If you’re making big changes, talk to the people around you. Ask for support. Understand how your changes affect them too.

Communication is key.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Best,
Dustin