Hey, I’m not perfect. I will never claim to be. Sometimes, life gets in the way of things you want to do, and that’s okay.
Over the past week, an extraordinary friend was in Ohio visiting me from Colorado. This person happens to be a beautiful (inside & out) woman. She flew in last Tuesday evening and went home early this morning. On Tuesday of last week, I completed my tasks before heading to the airport to pick her up. The following day, I finished everything that I needed to. Thursday of last week was when I failed the challenge (for the second time). After I failed, I decided to take it easy and enjoy every moment I had with her to the fullest. Sue me. She said it was her fault. It was not. She didn’t make my decisions, I did. It is now Tuesday, and I am restarting tomorrow morning. I am making more changes to continue pushing myself toward greatness this time around.
Diet
Over the past thirty-five days, I’ve eaten a vegetarian diet. This time, I’m going completely vegan. For those who do not know the difference, a vegetarian diet means that you do not eat any meat. A vegan diet means that you are not eating ANY animal products whatsoever. In addition to meat, I will not be eating butter, milk, cheese, dairy, eggs, anything with gelatin, mayonnaise, ice cream, or honey. I honestly do not think the transition will be that difficult. I can easily find cheese and butter substitutes. I don’t use mayonnaise or eat honey, and I learned how to make dairy-free ice cream. The tricky part will be replacing the protein I got from eating eggs. Consuming a sufficient amount of protein is essential to building muscle mass, so I will have to get creative, mainly because I do not particularly care for beans. So that should be fun.
This girl is my inspiration for trying a completely vegan diet. She’s (unintentionally) pushing me to grow and change how I look at the lifestyle. So S/O to you, you know who you are. She’s been a vegan for a little over three years now. Initially, she became a vegan because she was having a lot of digestion problems from her diet at the time and thought it would be worth the try. Ultimately, it led her to adopt a full-fledged vegan lifestyle. She is horrified by the mistreatment of animals in the meat and dairy industry and the adverse effects on our planet’s climate. Admittedly, I have not researched the subject, but she is not the only friend I trust to talk on the subject who has said this before. I need to do my research, but for the time being, I believe them. If me changing the way I eat can play a small part in saving our planet, I will do it. “If you know better, be better.”
In addition, I will continue to track my caloric intake and ensure that I am meeting my calorie needs for the day based on how many I burn according to my Whoop strap.
Exercise
I am not planning on making too many changes here. I alternate my outdoor workout depending on how my body feels day-to-day. Sometimes I’ll go for a walk, sometimes I’ll go for a bike ride, and sometimes I’ll go for a jog. These will remain in place.
My second workout of each day will be focused on strength, agility, and speed as they relate to soccer and work on footwork and technique. I have many drills to choose from, and I am excited to see how I progress as a soccer player over the next 75 Days. I want to be the best I can be. I play indoor twice a week, but starting this Sunday, I will also be playing with the high school team that I coach as we prepare for our upcoming season. So, I’ll be playing three times a week and training four days a week. The challenge will be a lot of fun!
Reading
Overall, I will make no changes here. I may start reading ten pages of a different book each day rather than reading the same book every day. We’ll see. It ultimately depends on how interested I am in whatever I am reading and what I feel compelled to read each day.
Additional Stipulations
So this time around, I am adding my own rule, just for myself. I have discussed my affinity for writing (obviously, because I write a blog reasonably frequently) and meditation. So I am adding a stipulation to do additional writing each day. The writing doesn’t have to be lengthy, but I must do it. It can be creative writing, informal or formal. I am just going to write whatever I want to each day. That doesn’t mean I will share it, but I will be doing extra writing.
Also, I am adding a requirement to spend at least twenty minutes each day in prayer/mediation. I wholeheartedly believe that mediating allows for more inner peace and mindfulness, and being present. Being present is easily one of the most important things to me. If we cannot be present in our lives, are we living?
Thank you for the support along the way thus far. I’m embarrassed that I failed again, but failure is a great teacher. Mike Jordan became Michael after numerous failures. Sir Alex Fergusson only won 59% of his matches at the helm of Manchester United and is widely regarded as the greatest football manager of all time. Lebron James has lost in the NBA Finals six times. Failure is a part of life. It’s about how you respond to failure that leaves a lasting impression. Stay tuned.
Footy Foster 