Go Ask Mom
Mom fitness resolutions: More, not less
WRAL contributor Amy Davis explores the 75 Hard program and finds inspiration at work at Fit4Mom Midtown Raleigh.
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By Amy Davis, WRAL contributor
RALEIGH, N.C. — When 2020 rolled over to 2021, like many, I determinedly went into the year with the goal of lifting the weight of a hard year off me. Quite literally, I sought to lose some lockdown pounds and move forward setting new fitness and nutrition goals. Starting January 2, 2021 I started on an intense, some may say crazy, plan called 75 Hard.
For the uninitiated, 75 Hard is known as a “mental toughness” challenge started by entrepreneur, author and podcaster, Andy Frisella. The program promises to help you “take control of your life in 75 days!” Maybe it was the lack of control that we all had in 2020, maybe it’s because I thought I had something to prove before I turned 40 in 2021, but for some insane reason I decided to complete 75 Hard. One year ago, I did it. I did the following things per the program every day for 75 days:
- Complete two 45 minute workouts, one must be outside no matter the weather.
- Drink a gallon of water a day.
- Read 10 pages of a self-help/improvement book.
- Follow a diet, he doesn’t care which one, but follow a diet plan with NO CHEAT DAYS! I chose to eat whole foods, no sweets, no alcohol and track calories on an app. Some people choose Keto or Whole 30 or something. Again, your choice.
- Take a progression photo of yourself every day.
- Apparently, there are some people who say you’re supposed to take a five-minute cold shower every day as well. I was not aware of this part, so I didn’t do it. I would have, though! I was committed!
- If you mess up ONE LITTLE THING, either missing a workout, cheating on your diet, or missing your book or photo, you go back to day one. No exceptions.
March 17, 2021, was my last day and I looked great. It was very hard. There’s a reason Frisella didn’t name it “75 Kind of Difficult.” I have to tell you, though. When the new year rolled around this year, I knew I wasn’t going to do this again in 2022 for one reason: It just isn’t sustainable for life.
2022: A New Kind of Resolution
When I’m not writing for Go Ask Mom or driving my kids all over Raleigh, I’m a fitness instructor for FIT4MOM Midtown Raleigh. I love my job as a Body Boost instructor. Once or twice a week I teach a boot camp style class for moms at 5:30 a.m. It gets me up and out the door for a workout. I get to be outside and with moms at all different phases of motherhood. It’s a fun gig and my boss, Missy Currin is a fantastic mentor and friend. I told her about how I’m not doing 75 Hard this year and that got us talking about moms and fitness resolutions.
Why do we put this pressure on ourselves every January? Why does seemingly everyone, but especially mothers, feel the need to change everything food and fitness related after the holidays? I asked Missy, after more than a decade of working with moms in the fitness industry, “How can we change our new year’s resolutions?”
Tell us about FIT4MOM and how long you have been running your business.
Missy: “FIT4MOM offers fitness & community for all stages of motherhood through exercise classes and playgroups, Moms’ Night Out and more. I started our local FIT4MOM Midtown Raleigh in April of 2010, when my first child turned one. When he was born, I left my career as an Labor and Delivery nurse and Nurse Educator. After a year of staying at home, I was ready to start something new. FIT4MOM gave me the chance to use my women's health background and take my little one along for the ride. My family has grown (my kids are now 12, 8 and 6) and FIT4MOM Midtown Raleigh has grown right along with it. We now offer prenatal classes, stroller mommy & me barre and interval classes, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and cardio-focused classes for moms who want to workout without their kids in tow. We have lots of opportunities to socialize too.”
In your career, how have you seen diet culture affect moms?
Missy: “Over my 12 years in the fitness industry, I'm proud to say we've helped hundreds of women learn how to shop and cook to fuel their bodies and feed their families. However, I've also witnessed moms struggle with the extremes of over-exercising, under-eating, binging and purging, fad diets and all of the guilt and shame that comes with them. Our FIT4MOM community is a safe place to name those struggles and ask for help.”
What mistakes do moms make at the start of the new year when it comes to diet and nutrition?
Missy: “I'm not a dietitian but I've been in this industry long enough to have a bit of perspective and here's what I see year after year. Our culture supports the extremes; cutting out entire food groups, trying to drink a gallon of water a day, substituting shakes and bars for real food, exercising to the point of injury, buying pricey fitness equipment and boutique gym memberships and tells us that the ends justify the means. This culture conveys that our worth is determined by a number on the scale or a certain body shape or size. Our big mistake is taking the diet culture lies and believing that they'll serve us long term. They don't.”
How do you think moms can redefine "New Years Resolutions?"
Missy: “This time of year we tend to resolve to be/do LESS...weigh less, eat less, spend less, watch less, and so on. What a drag! Who wants to be less?! What if we focus on what we want MORE of for ourselves and our families in the year ahead... more joy, more sleep, more and deeper relationships and yes, even more home-cooked meals, more vegetables and more movement that makes us feel good.
What do you hope for the future of FIT4MOM when it comes to changing our views of diet culture?
Missy: “I hope that my FIT4MOM team and our FIT4MOM village of mothers can continue to learn about and bring awareness to diet culture and learn to fine-tune our hearts and minds to the voices and the messages that serve us (i.e. not the ones steeped in diet culture). Only then can we hope to raise up healthy moms, who raise up healthy families, for a healthy community. I want more enjoyment of food and movement in 2022!”
75 Hard was extreme and after doing it, I realize it not only isn’t sustainable, it isn’t necessary. It’s touted as a “mental toughness” challenge, and maybe for some it is. For me, it turned into an extreme diet and I gained some weight back after it was over. None of that is what I want to model for the moms in my classes, nor for my family.
So, cheers to MORE in 2022! I for one have already been eating more vegetables and getting more workouts in. I think a little MORE is something I can sustain all year.
For more information on FIT4MOM’s variety of classes, click here.
Amy Davis is a monogramming mom of three and fitness instructor with FIT4MOM Midtown Raleigh and web contributor for the historic Village District. She is a regular Go Ask Mom contributor.
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