NewStats: 3,263,915 , 8,181,873 topics. Date: Sunday, 08 June 2025 at 06:34 PM 23d24

Hi, I'm Umaru and I'm a recovering alcoholic. Over the last three years, I've had pockets of sobriety, and I'm currently in what I believe is my final battle with the alcohol demon—whose goal has always been to keep me enslaved. Day 28 is done and dusted, forever to go.

I've kept a diary of my experience on Nairaland. I feel like I didn't document the journey as in-depth as I would have liked, but you're welcome to check it out if you're interested.

I've come to understand that when it comes to bad habits, it's often more effective to replace them than to simply drop them. So, I'm actively cultivating new habits to take the place of the old ones. The 75 Hard Challenge offers the structure and discipline I need right now to scaffold those habits. I'm drawn to its intensity.

I've decided to start the challenge tomorrow, which happens to be the 30th day of my current sobriety streak—a symbolic marker of this milestone. This thread will serve as the space where I document my 75 Hard experience. I wish I could continue posting in my ongoing diary, but the antibot there is beefing me and won’t allow pictures or links. While I still can’t post pictures here, at least I can share links. The pictures are mostly to track progress and bodily changes.

What is 75 Hard?

It’s a mental toughness challenge designed to build discipline, grit, and resilience.

For 75 consecutive days, you must:

* Follow a structured diet (no cheat meals, no alcohol)
* Complete two 45-minute workouts daily (one must be outdoors)
* Drink 1 gallon (approx. 4.5L) of water
* Read 10 pages of a nonfiction/self-development book
* Take a progress photo each day

Miss one task, start over from Day 1.
The goal: sharpen the mind, strengthen the body, and forge the spirit.

The 75 Hard Challenge Rules:

Rule 1: Two 45-Minute Workouts Per Day
Complete two 45-minute workouts daily—no excuses. One must be done outdoors, regardless of the weather. This rule pushes physical endurance and builds mental grit. Being outside forces you to face the elements—rain, heat, cold, wind—and develop adaptability. It also gets you out of your comfort zone, promoting resilience and a deeper connection to your environment.

Rule 2: Stick to a Diet
Choose a diet—any diet—and follow it to the letter for 75 days. That means no cheat meals, no alcohol, no exceptions. The program doesn’t dictate what diet to follow, which puts responsibility on you to pick something sustainable and smart. It’s a test of discipline and an opportunity to tune into what fuels your body best. Consulting a nutritionist is wise to ensure you're meeting your health needs without risking deficiencies.

Rule 3: Drink a Gallon of Water Daily
Hydrate like it’s your job: one gallon of water every day. Proper hydration boosts metabolism, aids detox, sharpens focus, and keeps your body running smoothly. While it's a core part of the challenge, be mindful—too much water can be dangerous. Always check with a healthcare provider before making major changes to your intake.

Rule 4: Read 10 Pages of Non-Fiction Daily
Read 10 pages of a physical non-fiction, self-help book each day. No audiobooks. No e-books. This habit builds mental toughness, focus, and lifelong learning. The goal isn’t speed—it’s depth. Absorb and apply what you read. Over time, these daily insights compound into meaningful growth.

Rule 5: Take a Daily Progress Photo
Snap a progress pic every single day. It’s more than vanity—it’s ability. These photos quietly capture changes that the mirror might miss and serve as powerful proof of your consistency. Looking back, they’ll remind you how far you’ve come—one day at a time.

Day 0 Snapshot:

Fitness:
I'm 70 kg—healthy and relatively fit. I run 7 km every Saturday at an average pace of 5'40"/km. On weekdays, I do 20 stair laps. Rest days vary—some Sundays are full rest, others include a 7 km soft walk, depending on the weather (outside and inside). I do 30–50 push-ups every other morning and occasionally do curls with twin 4.25 kg dumbbells, as the spirit leads. I don’t track workout time, so the real challenge for me will be committing to the daily grind and actually measuring time spent.

Diet:
I cook most of my meals, so I go for what’s easy and practical. Typical Nigerian staples work well for me. I don’t count calories. I always try to keep fruits around for snacking—I must’ve been a bunny in a past life because I love carrots. I currently avoid soda, processed sugar, and flour. As part of this challenge, I’m adding a daily vegetables and fruits to the mix.

Hydration:
I love smoothies and teas. I always keep a bottle of water within reach, but honestly, drinking water isn't my thing. I get at least a liter a day, though—a gallon is just insane to me, is it truly necessary? Water is good, but too much of it can be a problem. The body is smart enough to send thirst alerts when it needs hydration, just chugging water down all day seems a little dumb to me. I'll struggle here.

Reading:
Reading has always been my thing. I’m part of a book club, though I haven’t been active lately—mostly due to time and the fact that they’re not always reading my kind of sh!t. I gravitate toward history, biography, philosophy, and pop science. I usually binge-read during annual leave. I’ve got a long reading list and I’ll see how far I can go down it at 10 page a day.

Photos:
Not a fan. Especially not of sharing them. But snapping a daily photo in the same spot with consistent lighting could be an interesting experiment. I might post progress pics weekly, maybe biweekly—we’ll see.

Establishing Protocols:

[img]https://imgur.com/a/5VC0gp8[/img]

8 May 25.

Listening to the Real AF podcast by Andy Frisella the founder of 75 Hard. Learned the book isn't really worth it from reviews, skipping that.

I'm asked to invite friends to the challenge, haven't done that, wouldn't ambush anyone with it. I'll just inform my doctor brother and that's it. Maybe I'll mention it to some friends after Day 10, not before. 007 knows I'm doing this, she introduced me to this.

I'll have to build the rules into my routine because, brooo... Without alarms, reminders, daily check-in and sh!t, I've already failed. I'm certain of this.

I have some suggestions!

1. Drink the water like it's medicine.

Before you leave your house, before breakfast and tea; drink 1 litre. It's not a lot. It's 2 pints or 2 small 500ml bottles. Just jug it until you feel sick. And come back for the rest and jug it again.
While at work drink another litre or 2!. Every time you to drink it; JUG! It. Don't stop until you few sick and come back for more when your stomach settles.

Your belly will be so full and all you'll hear is water jiggling around in your stomach . When you come home it's another litre. If you don't want to go toilet all night then do 2 litres at work. You will go toilet every hour 😂. You're lucky that you're a man!

2. Take the pictures in the morning before you start your grooming process and before you drink your litre of water. Try to read those 10 pages in the morning too while you try to drink your litre.

That's 50% before you even start your day.

3. The 2 45mins activities have to be separated so see how you could fit that around work. You can't do both activities at the same time. There has to be a significant time between them.

4. The diet is easy, just don't cheat! None of those things you don't eat or drink anyway such as sodas, junk food, or alcohol.

It's not for the weak hearted. Don't cheat yourself! Integrity is key here. If you miss one thing it's back to day 1.

Be careful of the easy stuff because the devil is in the detail. Get at least 50% of the water intake, the reading and the photos out the way before your day gets hectic.

: ZERO excuses are acceptable. You'll only cheat yourself.

I wish you all the best of luck, my hero! 😂

Books for the Road...
https://imgur.com/a/hXdNxMX

I’ve read Atomic Habits and The Richest Man in Babylon twice already, so I’ll leave them at the end of the list—if I ever get there.

Truth is, there’s no book here I haven’t at least half-finished before. But this time, the goal is different: study, not just read. Be more engaged. Actually learn something.

And by learning, I don’t mean just knowing the ideas or storing them in my brain—I mean integrating something useful from the book into my daily life. It should move from head knowledge to lived experience. It should become flesh and blood.

That’s the mindset I’m bringing into the reading aspect of my 75 Hard Challenge.

Double0h7:
I have some suggestions!

1. Drink the water like it's medicine.

Before you leave your house, before breakfast and tea; drink 1 litre. It's not a lot. It's 2 pints or 2 small 500ml bottles. Just jug it until you feel sick. And come back for the rest and jug it again.
While at work drink another litre or 2!. Every time you to drink it; JUG! It. Don't stop until you few sick and come back for more when your stomach settles.

Your belly will be so full and all you'll hear is water jiggling around in your stomach . When you come home it's another litre. If you don't want to go toilet all night then do 2 litres at work. You will go toilet every hour 😂. You're lucky that you're a man!

2. Take the pictures in the morning before you start your grooming process and before you drink your litre of water. Try to read those 10 pages in the morning too while you try to drink your litre.

That's 50% before you even start your day.

3. The 2 45mins activities have to be separated so see how you could fit that around work. You can't do both activities at the same time. There has to be a significant time between them.

4. The diet is easy, just don't cheat! None of those things you don't eat or drink anyway such as sodas, junk food, or alcohol.

It's not for the weak hearted. Don't cheat yourself! Integrity is key here. If you miss one thing it's back to day 1.

Be careful of the easy stuff because the devil is in the detail. Get at least 50% of the water intake, the reading and the photos out the way before your day gets hectic.

: ZERO excuses are acceptable. You'll only cheat yourself.

I wish you all the best of luck, my hero! 😂

Thank you so much for your insights, it all makes a lot sense!

What this means for me is for the next 75 days, I have to go to bed early. I can’t afford to play catch-up with my day—that’s where things start slipping.

Work trips will be a major threat too. I lose control of my own schedule and become a pawn on someone else’s board.

You will burn out pretty fast. Make it for the long-haul rather than so,so days challenge. It's good to take it one step at a time.

For me I already signed a pact with destiny, I am gonna die muscular, ripped and healthy.

1 of 75

* 4 litres of water ✅
* 1h23m13s of workout 1 (outdoor) ✅
* 49m46s of workout 2 ✅
* 10 pages of a book ✅
* Snap pic ✅
* Didn't eat or drink anything I'm not supposed to.

4L of water wasn't as bad as I'd thought it'll be.

Workout 1: I took a walk. Easy win.
Workout 2: Had me in odd stretch postures—might as well just do yoga. I think I'll find a good workout video that runs just the right length. Today I had to patch up multiple stretches and exercises to make it to time.

I almost slept during the stretching session. I'm not really into stretching. Feels like low impact, like it's not doing much. And that hamstring stretch sensation ehn, I swear it feels like the muscle is going to snap. But I know I need to prioritize flexibility because I want to hold on to a wide range of movement as I age. So yeah, stretching stays. But I’ll shift it to mornings—I might actually doze off if I keep it for the end of a hectic day.

Did some abs too. 30 seconds into a plank and I was shivering. My core's gonna be sore tomorrow and I’m 100% looking forward to that. Also tried some exercises supposedly for “lasting longer in bed” I saw while scrolling the app and got curious . Which one come be Cow-cat pose?? Abeg oo! As I was doing it, I just saw that Ugandan journalist’s face—“Why are you gae?” Lol. Madness.

Read the first 10 pages of Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, again. Fresh start, deeper attention. Got a notebook now to reflect on what I read.


Receipts below:

https://imgur.com/a/6q1uSbb

2 of 75

4.5 litres of water ✅
1hr+ workout 1 (outdoor) ✅
55m workout 2 ✅
10 pages of a book ✅
Snap pic ✅
Ate clean ✅


Water went down smoothly today, I hit 4.5L without issue. I seem to enjoy water a little bit even.

Outdoor workout was another long walk, simple and peaceful.
Indoor session was 15 minutes of lower body stretching, followed by 40 minutes of yoga. More stretching, but surprisingly, I enjoyed it. Body’s loosening up. Feels good.

Biggest struggle today was reading.
That nearly tripped me up. Tried reading a soft copy on my device but my eyes weren’t having it. Switched to a hardcopy of a different book and barely got through the 10 pages. Finished just a little while ago. If I’d dozed off before that that's challenge over from the start.

Snapped a few pics earlier, one of them will do the job.

3 of 75

✅ 4.5 litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 1hr+ (outdoor)
✅ Workout 2 – 45 min (yoga)
✅ 10 pages of The Power of Focus
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

I was freaking exhausted, man! Balancing the 9-to-5 and squeezing in another 1½+ hours of physical and mental effort is a real stretch right now. Burnout feels imminent 😂

The upside is I’m literally out cold the moment my head hits the pillow. No shenanigans. Zero energy left to scroll. Once I’m out, I’m gone till morning—no pee breaks, no dreams, nothing. That MF is in hibernation mode! 😂😂

I’m drinking water like a damn whale 🐳. Easily hitting 5L, and my body isn’t complaining—mind either. It actually feels good. At this rate, I’ll probably grow gills by August!

Still struggling with the reading 😞 I find it hard to deeply comprehend what I’m reading. Can’t really do it first thing in the morning either—mind’s fresh, but I’ve got to get moving, work out, and get ready for the day.

Told my brother I’m doing 75 Hard and he goes, “What for? You’re already healthy.” I’ve run four half-marathons in the last two years and can get out of bed this morning and run another one if I wanted, so to him, it probably looks like I’m just getting obsessed with fitness.

I'm cool with that.

4 of 75

✅ 5+ litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 1hr+ (outdoor)
✅ Workout 2 – 50 min (yoga)
✅ 12 pages of The Power of Focus
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

Took today’s progress pic on my kaftan tros. I’ve decided not to share one every single day—what difference will a day really make in my appearance?

By the way, I’m not trying to lose weight. In fact, I’m guarding each kilogram of my current 70 like it’s sacred. 70kg is the heaviest I’ve ever been, and I’m not trying to drop a gram. If anything, I’d like to add a couple more. My real goal is to tone up and define my muscles.

That yoga session? Amazing. I used to follow a stretching/exercise app and 45 minutes felt like three hours. But today, I followed a yoga video on YouTube and it was so enjoyable—an hour flew by and I honestly wanted more.

I drank 5L of water today and was still thirsty. But I’ve learned I might be overdoing it and could practically drown myself at this rate, so I’ll dial it back a little.

In today’s reading, the book suggested outsourcing mundane, day-to-day tasks so I can focus on what actually makes me money. Solid idea in theory. But is it really doable at this stage of my life? That’s the part I’m still chewing on.

5 of 75

✅ 4 litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 1hr+ (outdoor walking)
✅ Workout 2 – 45 min (yoga)
✅ 11 pages of The Power of Focus
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

Learned it gets harder—not easier—with time. I'm looking forward to that. The biggest threat right now is not getting enough rest, coupled with a busy day, getting in the way of a long stretch of 45 mins slow exercise. 😴

Day 6 of 75:

✅ 4+ litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 1hr+ (outdoor walking)
✅ Workout 2 – 53 min (yoga)
✅ 11 pages of The Power of Now
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

Day 7 of 75:

✅ 4+ litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 45min (outdoor walking)
✅ Workout 2 – 45 min (yoga)
✅ 10 pages of The Power of Focus
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

Risked my streak today! Today of all days when I'm marking week 1 and it's a Saturday! completed it in the nick of time with the progress pic just a few minutes ago.

Today's reading was about goal setting. Basically, know where you want to go and create a detailed plan on how to get there.

DemonSlayer:
Day 7 of 75:

✅ 4+ litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 45min (outdoor walking)
✅ Workout 2 – 45 min (yoga)
✅ 10 pages of The Power of Focus
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

Risked my streak today! Today of all days when I'm marking week 1 and it's a Saturday! completed it in the nick of time with the progress pic just a few minutes ago.

Today's reading was about goal setting. Basically, know where you want to go and create a detailed plan on how to get there.

Hey lovely, I hope you know that you don't have to complete the tasks by a set time (like midnight), you just have to complete it before you go to sleep at night. If you go to sleep at 1 or 3am it's still day 1 until you call it a night and go to bed. It's tailored to your specific needs. Some people work nights and do the challenge at night. If you know this already, forgive me for woman-xplaining 😂

✅ 4+ litres of water
✅ Workout 1 – 45min (outdoor walking)
✅ Workout 2 – 55 min (yoga)
✅ 10 pages of The Power of Focus
✅ Progress pic
✅ Ate clean

Might need to swap out yoga with something else. Because once I hit the child pose and bam! Knockout! I don dey sleep. 😂 Wahala.

It's too damn relaxing mehn. I think I'll still come back to yoga after this challenge just for how relaxed I feel afterwards.

Double0h7:


Hey lovely, I hope you know that you don't have to complete the tasks by a set time (like midnight), you just have to complete it before you go to sleep at night. If you go to sleep at 1 or 3am it's still day 1 until you call it a night and go to bed. It's tailored to your specific needs. Some people work nights and do the challenge at night. If you know this already, forgive me for woman-xplaining 😂

Thanks for pointing that out, I had no idea! 😆 I think it's because I haven't really looked at how others do theirs, and I'm used to counting days by the clock, not by sleep cycles. So I just assumed that if I hadn’t hit my goals by midnight, I’d already messed it up.

DemonSlayer:


Thanks for pointing that out, I had no idea! 😆 I think it's because I haven't really looked at how others do theirs, and I'm used to counting days by the clock, not by sleep cycles. So I just assumed that if I hadn’t hit my goals by midnight, I’d already messed it up.

You're very welcome. Not at all! I'm glad you know early because that level of pressure could lead to burn out. Let me just add some notes for anyone reading this who wants to try the 75 hard.

Some of the rules are that you:

*Complete each 45 mins activity in one 45 min session.

* Each 45 min activity needs to be a minimum of a couple of hours apart. You can't do one activity straight after the other.

*Read the 10 pages from one book.

* The days end once you go to sleep and wake up the next day (naps are fine).

* The 4l water is only pure water (other liquids don't count towards the 4l).

*No junk food, no sodas, no alcohol, no drugs, (cigarettes are fine if you're addicted and can't or won't quit smoking), no snacks (such as crisps, chocolate, sweets), no cakes, cookies, any highly processed foods.

Double0h7:


You're very welcome. Not at all! I'm glad you know early because that level of pressure could lead to burn out. Let me just add some notes for anyone reading this who wants to try the 75 hard.

Some of the rules are that you:

*Complete each 45 mins activity in one 45 min session.

* Each 45 min activity needs to be a minimum of a couple of hours apart. You can't do one activity straight after the other.

*Read the 10 pages from one book.

* The days end once you go to sleep and wake up the next day (naps are fine).

* The 4l water is only pure water (other liquids don't count towards the 4l).

*No junk food, no sodas, no alcohol, no drugs, (cigarettes are fine if you're addicted and can't or won't quit smoking), no snacks (such as crisps, chocolate, sweets), no cakes, cookies, any highly processed foods.

Thanks so much.

I failed the challenge at 7 days. I slept off and didn't do my 45-out, indoor and reading Lol. I ones I sabi na to chop food and drink water 😂

I reset my counter. I'm restarting on Monday, May 9. In the meantime, I'll have a look at how other people are doing theirs. You'll think that should be the first thing I do, but ...

I feel good about the progress made and look forward to restarting this.