Yes, I’m making a lifestyle change based on a TikTok video I saw. This is like peak 2021, but I’m okay with it.

What is the 75 Soft Challenge?

It developed as a response to the viral 75 Hard Challenge that is, in my opinion, unsustainable and unhealthy. Some of the rules include following a diet like Keto or Whole30, working out for an hour and a half every day, and no alcohol or cheat meals or you start over at Day One.

75 Soft is a gentler approach that encourages attainable lifestyle change while still setting guidelines for that change. I don’t know who started it, and I take no credit for it, but here are MY 75 Soft Challenge rules.

Do these four things every day for 75 days:

1. Eat mindfully, whatever that means to you
2. Work out for 45 minutes
3. Drink 1 gallon of water
4. Read 10 pages of any book (audiobooks or podcasts count, too)

The 75 Soft Challenge is NOT a weight-loss program. To me, it’s about living with intention and making choices that are good for my mind and body. So let’s unpack these “rules” a bit.

Eat mindfully.

Other versions of the 75 Soft or Hard Challenges will name this rule “follow a diet,” but that doesn’t work for me. I struggled with disordered eating and body dysmorphia when I was younger, so I know all too well how toxic diet culture is. So to me, eating mindfully means feeling good about what I’m fueling my body with, no desserts except for special occasions (because I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth), and only drinking alcohol socially (because I love myself a mojito or glass of wine while cooking dinner). If you decide to do the 75 Soft Challenge, just follow whatever “eating mindfully” means to you!

Work out for 45 minutes every day.

It doesn’t have to be all at once, but move your body every day in a way that feels good to you! If working out is out of character for you, take one or two days a week to do yoga or something gentle for your body. For me, I ride on my spin bike at least 6 days a week, go to Zumba with my mom some nights, do strength training on my lunch breaks, and take a yoga day when my body tells me it needs a rest.

Drink one gallon of water every day.

This might be the hardest one for me because I have the tiny bladder of a 75-year-old woman. Most days I don’t make it to a full gallon, but I’m drinking WAY more water than I used to and I can feel how good it is for my body and my mental clarity.

Read 10 pages of a book every day.

Or listen to an audiobook or podcast if reading isn’t your thing. This is my favorite “rule” because I love to read but don’t make enough time to do it. The point here is to take some time for your mind in addition to your physical body.

I started dong this because I want to be a better version of myself, and this seems like a wholistic and healthy way to start doing that. It’s been a little over two weeks, and I can already feel improvement in both my physical and mental health.

So what do you think? If this challenge seems right for you, I hope you’ll give it a try!