The 60Mindful Challenge

Hello friends,
In January, I created a wellness challenge. I mentioned it in my previous post, Some Notes About Goal-Setting. And today, I finally completed the challenge.

   So for this blog post, I wanted to share some tidbits–my reasoning for creating this challenge, how the tasks made me feel, and things I'd like to do moving forward.

​What is 60Mindful?

   With all the goal-setting practices that each New Year tend to bring, I wanted to create a low-pressure and hopefully sustainable challenge. Something to compete with the all-or-nothing challenges, like 75Hard. When I created 60Mindful, I wanted to have broad and flexible areas for folks to aim to better themselves. The method? Consecutive documentation of actions. Creating awareness to habits, seeing where strengths versus weaknesses are, and learning where the areas of improvement can be. Similar to the last post, I'll share verbatim the language I used when originally introducing 60Mindful on instagram:

   "Sometimes the pressure of an all-or-nothing challenge or goal can feel unsustainable, so I wanted to create a (minimum) 60 day challenge. There’s no failing, and no need to start over. It’s just something to help practice mindfulness and intention in your daily habits. No start date. 60 days minimum are encouraged. Document in a notebook, on social media (with #60mindful), or check out some of the downloadable templates I’ve got in my store (link in bio). Whatever method feels most manageable to you!

• Pre-Plan Every Meal: creating a plan lessens the chance of overeating or overpaying for carry-out. You’re more likely to fuel your body with healthier foods!
• Schedule Workouts: whether your schedule is the same every week or varies, having a workout schedule written on paper helps ensure you’ve dedicated time for it. You’ll be more likely to stick to it.
• Substitute Desserts: I’m a major sweet tooth, so I’d love to find better substitutes for the typical ice cream. By eating less sugar, this should help keep your energy more solid.
• Document Gratitude Daily: this can be in a notebook, notes app, social media, anywhere. Be mindful of positive parts of your day. List at least 3!
• Avoid alcohol: since we’re trying to fuel our bodies and minds with good things
• Monitor Money: with less takeout and more preparation, planning and keeping an eye on the funds can help alleviate stress. This one is personal for me.

   Again, there is no failing. If you forget to document a day, keep moving forward. We’re human, setbacks are inevitable. Don’t let it stop you from proceeding."
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What Inspired The Creation of this Challenge?

   Like I said in the previous post as well,  "I made this challenge earlier in January on a whim. I snagged a new notebook, saw a video of YouTuber wheresbeccaat (love her vibe) prepping for 75Hard, and I was inspired to make alterations in my own life, based more closely to my goals and what I found attainable. Plus I had just heard Cassia on 9Lives talking about pre-writing her schedule for workouts while I was out on my trail run, so I was overcome will inspiration from two beautiful and positive influences of mine. So I was writing down my categorized goals into my new notebook, one that's small enough to fit in my purse), and thought--why not create a prompt for myself to better determine where my shortcomings are and where I can improve my schedule? Thus I created the prompt for 60Mindful. I made it into a challenge to see if this could help more folks than just myself, and also to counteract some of the negative feelings towards 75Hard type of challenges. The goal: to reconnect and revitalize yourself." I swear, it's that new year vibe where the motivation is flowing, and the urge to better yourself is prominent.

   I'm a major nerd for documentation and for stats. I used to journal, but I found that traditional journaling didn't feel as sustainable for me as an adult compared to something like quick jots of notes from the day, plus focusing on how to show back up for myself the following day. 

What Did I Learn?

   Documenting future meals helped me see that I don't stick to my meal plans as much as I want. And that I purchase food outside of my plan more than I realized. I think putting these things in writing helps hold me accountable, and as the challenge continued I definitely felt like I got a grip on all the food purchases. I put more priority into preparing my food in advance and actually having more healthy meals that I felt excited to come home to, so I'd be more inclined to cook my own dinner instead of spending money. Cooking can be tiring, yes, but it can also be therapeutic. Put on some music, maybe a podcast, and meal prep! It's typically healthier than purchasing out, plus you're saving money. It might sound like common sense to some, but for me, it just felt easier to buy food after work.

   I think another thing too that helped, as far as eating has gone, is that I'm only keeping healthy alternatives around. That, and resisting instant gratification. I'm feeling hungry? Do I need to grab some food immediately after work? Or can I give myself a bit more time, drive home, and have a clementine before cooking something, instead? Slowing down, understanding that I'll be okay, dialing down that food noise. It's interesting that bringing awareness to my meals is helping me through that. That was a result I wasn't expecting.

   I also saw how much my sleep was impacting the other aspects of my wellness. Yes, I'm learning about the benefits of sleep through my NASM course, but also I found myself skipping some evening workout options because I was tired. I've been really inspired by the YouTube girlies I see waking up at 5am, and I think it's because I'll reflect back to weekends in the summertime when I'd wake up extra early, even on weekends (felt the need to emphasize that again), to beat the hot sun for my long runs. And when I woke up early, I felt like I had more time, less stress, and I felt awake and motivated and refreshed. So something I did recently is I signed up for a 6am TRX class. I woke up at 5:15am, got prepared, and went in feeling awake, strong, capable. It was such a great way to start the day! I know strength training and running in the mornings also helps me feel more awake, but something about being up at 5 instead of 6:30 or 7 felt like such a game changer to me that day. I was getting home a bit after seven, with plenty of time to shower, cuddle with Bobby, and even read a couple chapters of my book.

   That's the other thing, I've picked up reading! This wasn't a requirement of my challenge, and this wasn't on my bingo card for 2025. I'm 27 years old. I've only just this year gotten really interested in reading. I don't know if it's the dismal state of the world right now, but I had a sudden desire in December to educate myself. I dove into the NASM course, I bought some magazines that looked intriguing. But I wanted to try a book! So in January, I read Sally McRae's memoir Choose Strong. Then the next book I grabbed from my sister's bookshelf was Atomic Habits, which I just finished this past Saturday. Two books already? That's shocking for me! But I've just created a wonderful morning and evening ritual with it (it's usually either or, but I try to do it daily in either that morning or evening slot). With mornings, I'll make breakfast and sit on the couch with the cats, with the intention to have a slow morning and not look at my phone while waking up. If I'm in my boyfriend's area, I'll go to the local coffee shop and grab a plain iced latte with an everything bagel, then sit by the fireplace and read. No rush to go anywhere, just taking the morning slow. With evenings, I'll shower or bathe, then I'll tidy up my space, light my candle, and sit and read until my eyes are sleepy enough. This has been such a sweet little luxury to wake up and unwind with daily. And it's been a great balance; that slow feeling outside of being on-the-go with my various physical activty based hobbies (running, swimming, PLUS now cycling and TRX classes). It's important to slow down after you've been on-the-go! We don't want burnout, we want to thrive and enjoy ourselves.

   I did just get a lilbrary card, so I've got my next non-fiction book picked out since that's surprisingly what I've been gravitating towards. But I'm currently reading a silly book my brother recommended, Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy.

​What's Next? Oh, the Irony

    Despite the fact that I was very against the idea of 75Hard, I think my challenge has unintentionally made that challenge sound a bit more manageable than I thought. And that's what I intend to do next, starting the day after my 60Mindful ends.

​   I know I'm capable of a lot. I ran a half marathon in my first year of running, I then ran a full marathon the following year. That TRX class I just did last week was a redemption attempt, after I struggled so much the first time I did TRX in 2023. And I held on strong during this past class! I also participated in the Frozen Feet challenge (walk or run or bike outside for 1 mile minimum, every day from Jan 15 - Feb 25), which had some negative degree temperatures on some days. I also just did a trail run last weekend with the mose elevation I think I've ever done, and I signed up on a whim. It wasn't easy by any means, in fact it was very challenging for me, but I did it. What I'm saying is: I'm not super advanced in my athletic efforts, but I know I'm solid in them. I like to prove things to myself. I like to prove that I'm tough. And I know I have willpower, grit, and discipline. I'm outside in any conditions. 

   Don't get me wrong, I still disagree with some elements on 75Hard. The zero rest days? Ridiculous, I don't recommend (I'm planning to do double walks on these days since I like walking anyway). 1 gallon of water per day is doable for me, but I'm also 5'8". I've heard stories from women shorter than me who feel sick consuming that much water. I don't by any means appreciate the all-or-nothing aspect of the challenge either, and I've read that the failure rate is approximately 90-97%. It's just discouraging. But I think, after seeing YouTubers like Jennifer Madison and wheresbeccaat, that I know manageable ways to endure this. I want to nail this. 
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Keeping Up

   If you'd like to stay in the loop about my endeavors, you can follow my fitness instagram, @grinsandfitness, where I share daily updates about my activities and meals. I'd super duper appreciate your support, since I'm a bit nervous to start the challenge. In one moment, I'm feeling super capable and prepared: I'll be using the same planning strategy through 75Hard as I used for my 60Mindful challenge. But in other moments, I am feeling daunted by the all-or-nothing. Similar to my long runs, I'm trying to remind myself, this won't last forever. There's an end point. It's about pushing myself, practicing discipline, and trying new things. I think I'll actually enjoy this challenge. Plus, I've staggered some cycling and TRX classes through my weeks, so I'll get to improve at those as well along the way. Anyways, I'd appreciate your support! Wish me luck.

Keep on grinning,

​Lydia