I completed the 75 medium challenge! The journey was not completely straightforward for me– mostly because of things like stomach bugs that threw a wrench into the challenge, but I finished it out really strong.

I feel strongly that 75 Medium was the perfect balance of being a challenge (a little bit more challenging than 75 soft), but also realistic for me (75 hard was absolutely NOT for me). I went about this challenge wanting to feel healthier and stronger, as well as establish healthy habits in my life. TO ME, the 75 Hard is not sustainable. But working out 45 minutes a day with 1 rest day is sustainable.

Here is my original post laying out my rules for the challenge as well as a FREE checklist tracker to make sure you are hitting all of your daily goals for the 75 medium challenge.

75 Medium Weekly Recaps

Each week during this 75 medium challenge, I chronicled everything I ate, read, exercised, struggles, tips, etc. If you are looking for more in-depth recaps, here is each weekly recap I wrote:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11

75 Medium Before and After

I started this journey at 140 pounds and ended it at 135 pounds. Considering my height and that I was a normal weight before starting this, its not super surprising to me that I didn’t lose more. Plus, I never came at the 75 medium challenge to lose weight. If I had that intention, I would have chosen to cut and/or calories a bit. However, I did not count calories during this challenge and I really didn’t give calories a thought. I was mostly focused on consuming more protein and incorporating more vegetables and fruit into my diet.

75 Medium Tips

Give yourself grace. If you have read my weekly recaps, you’ll know that week 7 and 8 were tough for me. I took a couple days off because I was feeling sick in week 7 and then had to take 3 days off on week 8 because I had a stomach bug and was vomiting. Eating well went out the window (because… well I couldn’t keep anything down). If I was doing 75 hard, people would argue that I have to restart because I missed days. I am simply, instead, extending out this challenge a few days to make up for the missed ones. There’s absolutely no reason to restart. In my opinion, this challenge is all about establishing good habits. If you miss a couple days because of things out of your control and you pick things back up ASAP, that’s not a habit issue. It’s just the facts of life. Therefore, beating yourself up and saying you have to start back at square 1 is unnecessary. We have grace for the uncontrollable here! Now if you are repeatedly missing days and choosing not to work out because you don’t feel like it or you have the ability to rearrange your schedule to make a workout happen but you CHOOSE not to, now that is not going to help you establish good healthy habits.

You can only try your best at this and there are going to be things that throw a wrench in this plan (especially if you have kids like me which bring home all sorts of germs to infect your family lol). Which brings me to my next point:

If you don’t have 100% to give, give what you can. If you are under the weather (but not REALLY sick– you know the difference), on your period, truly exhausted, etc. And only have 60% to give to a workout, give that 60%. You don’t have to go SO hard for every workout. One thing I learned through this process, and by reading Atomic Habits by James Clear is that showing up and helping to establish the habit is one of the most important parts. Doing something at 60% (or even 25%) is better than doing nothing at all. There are 74 other days to give it your all, life is going to keep you from giving 100% all of the time, but give it what you can.

@saraannsutton My 75 Medium results! 😎 The physical changes arent drastic imo (other than maybe my posture being better lol), but working out and practicing mindfulness daily has drastically changed my mental health and how I respond to the stresses of daily life which is way better than a number on a scale anyway 🤠 #75medium #75hard #75sof ♬ THE 2024 Summer Song – Stan 🙂

Cheat meals aren’t real. I think that most things can be enjoyed in moderation. I gave a lot of grace with the “diet” in this challenge. I don’t believe in cheat meals, which is why I said prioritize protein, fruits, and veggies. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a little treat now and then: that would be total deprivation, which isn’t sustainable. Just be mindful about it! Eat a smaller portion of the treat until you feel the craving curb and then pair it with something healthy like fruit, salad, protein bar, etc. Or eat a healthy swap for something to curb the craving! So like when I crave something sugary and sweet, I will eat low-sugar Greek yogurt with some chocolate granola and berries. Or a Yasso Greek yogurt bar. But I have shared that there was one day I ate a bagel. One day I ate pizza. Don’t make it an everyday occurrence and pair it with some healthy choices and it will be OK!

Use a checklist every day to remind yourself through the day of your goals to stay on track. I’ve got a totally free one here! I found that taking pictures of my food– almost like a food diary, helped keep me on track often.

Meal plan! I know this is the most annoying cliché advice, but when you get all of the things you need for the week at the store, and you have a plan of what exactly you are eating every day, it gives you less of an excuse to say “oh there’s nothing to eat in the house” and then go eat out or Door-dash something. Ultimately, this will get you to eat healthier AND save some money! Also, do things like clean your fruit or prep your veggies (like chopping them how you need them for recipes) so that it makes cooking easier and quicker!

75 Medium Favorite Meal Ideas

Breakfast

Kodiak Cake instant oatmeal (I like the chocolate chip flavor!). This is a super easy on the go breakfast option that has a good amount of protein. I also like to amp it up extra with berries, nuts, and chia seeds

Breakfast burrito (I eat this almost every day! Also super easy to meal prep and freeze– then you can just microwave for a healthy breakfast on-the-go): I like to add egg, chicken sausage, spinach, avocado and hot sauce.

Kodiak Cake waffles– I use the mix, but they also have frozen premade ones for a super easy breakfast option! To amp up the protein, you could top with peanut butter.

Quiche: this is another one that is great to meal prep and keep in the fridge. You can customize however you want– this is a recipe that I shared a few years ago, but it is super easy to omit or add in additional things. Adding more veggies to this is a great meal prep idea.

Sweet potato scramble/hash: this one tends to take more time to make in the morning; however, I will often make extra of it so I can portion it out into smaller pyrex containers to meal prep for the week.

Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola. I really like the Two Good greek yogurt! It is a lot lower in carbs and only has 2 grams of sugar in it.

Collagen coffee!!! Not a meal, but if you drink coffee, add a scoop of collagen to add extra protein to your morning meal and you literally won’t even notice it in your coffee. I like the Vital Proteins brand.

Lunch

Salad wrap— I often will just make this by mixing chopped romaine lettuce, diced cherry tomatoes, some black beans, some grated pepper jack cheese, some avocado, and some diced rotisserie chicken. Toss in some chipotle ranch and put in a wrap. So good!

Chicken salad— I never follow a specific recipe, but usually make mine with rotisserie chicken to make it extra easy

Mason Jar Noodle Soup (this one is great to meal prep!)

Dinner

Pesto ranch chicken and broccoli

Stir-fry— this one is a great way to use up extra produce in your fridge, but also get a variety of veggies in a meal. I normally use store-bought jarred kung pao sauce after sauteing veggies, adding some rotisserie chicken and serving with some rice on the side.

Honey garlic chicken and broccoli

Chicken sausage and ditalini soup

Spaghetti squash and ground turkey meat sauce— I roast my spaghetti squash at 400 for normally 45 minutes and make a simple meat sauce with ground turkey, crushed tomatoes, and a bunch of herbs and seasonings.

Taco bowls— another that I don’t have a recipe one, but we normally do shredded chicken in the crock pot or ground turkey. Use rice or quinoa as the base and add lettuce, tomatoes, corn, black beans, cheese, and any other veggies and toppings you like!

Burger bowls— similar to the idea of the taco bowl, but a way to lower the carbs of your meal by avoiding a hamburger bun. Same toppings I would normally put on a burger but serve it on some roasted sweet potato chunks.

“Crack” chicken— I added broccoli to this when I made it and served it over rice

Snacks

• Barebells Protein Bars and FITCRUNCH Protein Bars
• Apple and PB
• Greek yogurt, granola, berries
• String cheese and crackers

Sweet Treats

• Yasso greek yogurt bars
• Greek yogurt with chocolate granola
• Chocolate covered banana or chocolate covered fruit
• Protein bar

Non-Fiction Book Recommendations

If you plan to read 10 pages of non-fiction every day for the 75 medium, 75 hard, or 75 soft challenge, you may be struggling with picking out a non-fiction book. I really enjoy memoirs, but I tried to choose books for this challenge that were more self-help, self-betterment, or books that would teach me something new. Atomic Habits is one that I read during this challenge, the other books are ones that I have read and really enjoyed over the past couple years

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

If you have any questions, feel free to email or DM me on Instagram! If you have completed the challenge, please let me know how it went for you!!

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