THE KARMA FILES

Category: 2025

75 Hard (Karma’s Version).

  • Days 3 & 4: 75 Hard Challenge (Karma’s Version)

    Day 3 Stats:

    Weight: 197.5

    Water: Over a gallon of water

    Book: Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab

    Workouts: Two 45 Min walks

    Meals: Protein shake with 1/2c of oats and ~2-3 TBSP of chia seeds, a shit ton of veggies and hummus for lunch, and a fried tofu sandwich for dinner.

    Money Spent: $0

    Day 4 Stats:

    Weight: 195.7

    Water: 80oz

    Book: Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab

    Workouts: 60 Min Barre Class and a 45 Min walk

    Meals: Protein shake with 1/2c of oats and ~2-3 TBSP of chia seeds for breakfast, protein bar for lunch, and homemade vegetarian Big Mac pizza for dinner.

    Money Spent: $0

    My motivation this week has been pretty low, but I keep reminding myself that when motivation is low, dedication has to be high. When I was preparing for this challenge, I knew that this would happen…I just thought I would get at least one week before I would I would have to test my determination and commitment. When I am feeling unmotivated I just tell myself I paid money for this blog and I can’t let my nonexistent readers down lol.

    Although there has been a lack of motivation due to having a new routine and schedule, but there have also been some things that I do enjoy about my new routine. I like the feeling of looking at my watch at the end of the day and seeing a 10,000 or more step count. I like starting my day with a walk (although, I would prefer it to be outside…and summer). I like getting back to reading, I go through phases when I read obsessively and I haven’t been in one of those phases in a while. I have been learning a lot about myself by reading this book. I personally, thought I had decently strong boundaries. Prior to reading this book, I thought I was good at having those hard conversations with people to set my boundaries. While I am good at having hard conversations and I do hold decent boundaries with others, I don’t hold strong boundaries with myself. I don’t typically keep myself accountable which is why I usually give up on getting fit, changing my diet, keeping a clean house, etc. Basically, this book is opening my eyes that I deserve to feel good and I deserve to have nice things and in order to do this, I need to finish what I set out to do. This book has definitely helped me stay dedicated to this challenge and I recommend reading it, especially if you are in the middle of making big changes in your life.

    Another aspect of this challenge that I am really enjoying is not eating meat. I feel like I am getting back to being truly creative in the kitchen, which hasn’t happened since I was a kid. The meals I am making are more enjoyable to me. I like eating my meals and knowing that nothing had to lose its life and live life in pain to feed me. I’m sure someone is going to read this post and roll their eyes at that, I really don’t care. I feel better about myself and I also feel so much lighter after eating. I’m really hoping this is something I keep doing after this challenge is completed.

    One thing I have found pretty difficult is not spending money. I didn’t realize how often I actually thought about spending money until now. Yesterday, I had a really difficult day at work and when I got home I was very tempted to ask my girlfriend if she wanted to get take out. The only reason I didn’t is because I want to stop using food and money as a way to cope with feeling tired, stressed, and burnt out. Instead, I made something easy but DELICIOUS and I took a nap before forcing myself to go on a 45-minute walk. That was where my dedication came in.

    After these first 4 days, I truly think I can complete this challenge and that belief in myself is what will get me through this.

    Love,

    Karma ❤️

  • Days 1 and 2: 75 Hard (Karma’s Version)

    Day 1 Stats:

    Weight: 195.5lbs

    Water: ~120oz (almost a gallon!!)

    Book: Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab

    Workouts: 45 Min walk and 60 Min Barre Fusion Class

    Money Spent: $0

    Meals: Left over tofu nuggets, cottage cheese, and veggies for lunch and a fried tofu sandwich with veggies and hummus for dinner.

    Day 2 Stats:

    Weight: 197lbs

    Water: Well over a gallon

    Book: Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab

    Workouts: Both 45 min walk

    Money Spent: $0

    Meals: Protein shake for breakfast, fried tofu sandwich for lunch, and tofu bolognese for dinner.

    Not going to lie…day 2 was actually hard. I felt really good all day, but once I got home, cooked dinner, and read my 10 pages, I REALLY did not want to work out. I just wanted to go to sleep. But here I am writing a blog post at 10:15pm to document my first two days. Even though the adjustment period seems like it is a bit hard right now, I honestly feel like I might be able to complete this challenge successfully. Only time will tell.

    See you soon,

    Karma ❤️

  • The 75 Hard (Karma’s Version)

    If you are unfamiliar with the original 75 Hard Challenge created by Andy Frisella, then here is a list of the original rules:

    • Two 45-minute workouts a day, with at least one outside.
    • Follow a chosen diet, with no cheat days.
    • Read 10 pages of a self-help or educational book each day.
    • Drink one gallon of water.
    • Take a progress photo.
    • No alcohol.

    According to my guy Andy, if you follow these six simple rules everyday for 75 days you will achieve a complete mental transformation, as well as, a physical one. If you were to ask Andy Frisella if you can change the rules of the 75 Hard Challenge he would tell you “absolutely not!” This is an actual FAQ he answers on his website (andyfrisella.com). If you’re reading this Andy, I’m sorry, I’m breaking some (most) of your rules.

    The rules I am going to follow are very similar to the ones Andy Frisella has laid out. Here is a list of my rules and explanations for why I felt change was necessary.

    • Two 45-minute workouts.
      • I got rid of the outside rule because at this moment, it is winter in Wisconsin. I bet you think I changed it because it is too cold outside, you would be wrong(mostly). I changed this rule because I simply don’t feel safe walking alone in the dark. To me, my safety comes before anything else and yours should too. Of course, when it starts getting lighter in the mornings and stays lighter after work, I will most likely choose to go outside. Until then, I will have to settle for my walking pad.
    • Follow a chosen diet, no cheating.
      • no changes here! I will be following a flexitarian diet (which honestly, maybe is designed to be a cheat diet lol. I don’t know if our friend Andy would approve.) Basically, I am going to stop buying meat at the grocery store. If I am out at a friend’s house or a restaurant I am allowed to eat meat. Which is why I feel like this diet choice is cheating a bit, but whatever! This is MY VERSION of the 75 Hard!
    • Read 10 pages of a self-help book or educational book.
      • I am going to focus on reading the hundreds of memoirs and self-help books I have sitting on my shelves waiting to be either finished or opened.
    • Drink 80 oz of water.
      • I will probably end up drinking more, however, drinking 20oz of water is a challenge for me at times so I feel like 80oz is a good challenge for me. And if I end up drinking more each day then I will just up this goal.
    • Weigh myself each day, progress picture once a month.
      • I changed taking a progress picture each day to doing a weigh-in each day for the simple reason that I have less than no space left on my phone. I literally had to delete six apps and over 20 pictures the other day JUST TO SEND two pictures…it’s ridiculous, I know, but…whatever.
    • No buy.
      • I have decided to swap out the alcohol rule because I simply don’t drink very often and it isn’t challenging for me to spend 75 days sober…I do it often. My real drug of choice is spending all of my money… So, to make the 75 Hard Challenge more of a challenge, I have incorporated my other New Year’s Resolution into it. If you’ve heard of a “no buy year” then you know that everyone sets different rules based on their own lives, here are mine:
        • No impulse spending, if I want something I am going to have to set aside money specifically for that item over the course of the next month or more.
        • Limit eating out/take out to twice a month.
        • Making a grocery list AND FOLLOWING IT! (The last part is the most important part.)
        • I have a few planned vacations over the next year. When I go on those, I will cap my spending at 100 dollars.

    And that’s it! Those are my rules for the 75 Hard Challenge (Karma’s Version).

    What I am hoping to get out of this challenge is really just to increase my mindfulness. I think for me personally, when I start living a more mindful life, I will have less stress overall. If you feel the same as me then follow along with me on this journey!

    See you in my next post,

    Karma ❤️

  • New Year’s Resolutions

    How many years have gone by when you have promised yourself you would give up something like junk food, eating out, spending money or you would start working out, keeping a clean house, getting up earlier. These are all very common “New Year’s Resolutions” that I see people around me making each year. They are also ones that I have promised myself I would complete. No surprise, I usually end up giving up on my resolutions fairly quickly…embarrassingly quickly actually. I typically give up on my resolution by the second week of the new year (yikes), this year I have decided to keep myself accountable by writing this blog. So, follow along while I complete my version of the 75 Hard which will include a new rule to target my spending habits. Check out my next post if you are interested!