The Sober Butterfly Podcast

75 Hard Challenge: How I’m Ending 2025 Strong (No Alcohol, No Sugar, No Excuses)

• Nadine Benjamin

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In this episode of The Sober Butterfly, host Nadine Mulvina returns with full energy and fresh perspective after her “silent girl summer.” She opens up about how she’s ending 2025 with intention by taking on the 75 Hard Challenge — a mental toughness program designed to build discipline, confidence, and consistency.

Nadine shares how she’s not doing 75 Hard to lose weight but rather to reset her mind and body after struggling with burnout and sugar cravings. She dives into her relationship with sugar after sobriety, explaining how alcohol metabolizes into sugar and why many sober people turn to sweets after quitting drinking.

Throughout the episode, Nadine breaks down each of the 75 Hard rules, explains how she’s modifying the challenge to fit her sober lifestyle, and opens up about her personal “why” — preventing diabetes, improving her mental health, and proving to herself that she can do hard things.

Whether you’re sober, sober-curious, or simply craving a lifestyle reset, this episode will inspire you to finish the year strong with structure, purpose, and self-accountability.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

  • What the 75 Hard Challenge is and how to make it work for you
  • How sugar addiction often replaces alcohol cravings in sobriety
  • The science behind alcohol and sugar metabolism
  • How Nadine is following the challenge (no added sugar + gallon of water a day)
  • Tips for building discipline, structure, and consistency
  • Why ending 2025 with intention can shift your mindset going into the new year

🔗 Resources Mentioned

🦋 Connect with The Sober Butterfly

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 📸 Instagram: @the.soberbutterfly
📬 Contact: hello@thesoberbutterfly.com
💻 Website: thesoberbutterfly.com

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the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_064107:

hello there. Calling all my beautiful butterflies. Hi, talking to you. Welcome to the show, the Sober Butterfly. I'm so happy to be here with you on this beautiful day, whatever day you're listening to this. However, the show drops every Friday. Early in the morning, wherever you are in the world, thank you for being here. If this is your first time here and you happen to stumble upon the sober butterfly, you're in the right place. Don't go anywhere. I'm Nadine, your host. I'm just your ordinary. A DHD sober girl. Okay. Last week's episode, the Return of the Super Butterfly. I shared some pretty big life updates because I took a little break from podcasting and yeah, I'm back. I'm back. Look at me. I'm consistent. Two weeks in a row. I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere. so let's just jump into you. The focus for today? 75. Hard. Okay. I mentioned last week that Saturday, October 18th officially launched the final 75 days of the year. Now what does that mean for you? Maybe it means nothing for me, it means get your shit together. For me, it means, girl, we only have 75 days to. Finish the year strong because I started the year in the trenches. It was ghetto. I'm not ending on that note. So Saturday, 75 days left into the year. I am rewriting the narrative. I'm finishing 2025. Strong. I'm going to upgrade my life significantly, and the means that I'm going to achieve that by is through 75 hard. So I have to be extreme with all things I do, and 75 days in my mind means okay, this is the perfect opportunity to really focus in. Now I know what you're thinking. Okay, Nadine, why are you doing something so hard when life is very hard? Is life not hard enough for everyone? The answer is yes. Okay. Life is hard, but I'm harder. Okay? Your girl is hard. I go hard in the paint but you do raise a fair point. That is a fair question. Here's the thing, I want to end 2025 with intention instead of just coasting an autopilot. I know in sobriety we talk very candidly and frequently around the importance of routines and if you went through more traditional programs like aa, you know. They talk extensively around people, places, things, and creating systems and routines to disrupt what ultimately led you to drink. You know, those triggers around certain people, places and things. And I always used to add like a little addendum, routines included, because so much of my routine was connected to drinking, whether that be. Going specifically to Trader Joe's to pick up bottles of wine on a Friday immediately after work. Or the ritual of coming home after a long day and immediately cracking open that bottle because you know it's 5:00 PM somewhere and sometimes it's not. But that's okay because it's 5:00 PM somewhere those routines really kept me. Stuck in a feedback loop, a continuum of craving and rewarding myself after hard days. And I thought that alcohol was the reward. This is not uncommon to many people. This is not unique to me or special. These are just things that I recognized at the time. But still somehow was in denial. Now that I don't drink, I can see very clearly the cycle that I was stuck in for so long. So my decision to start 75 hard and just the fact that it coincided with there being 75 days or around 75 days left in the year when I was thinking about doing 75 hard. I believe in signs. I was like, oh my God, this is perfect. I like to be extreme and push myself with challenges and you know, things that are easy don't seem as like valuable to me. I'll just be honest. I'm such a dude in that way. Like, if I don't have to work for it, I don't want it. Like, if anyone can get it I am not entrusted that's the masculine energy of being an Aries God of war, ruled by Mars, like we wanna do hard things. That default is in my DNA and like by nature, how I move through the world. But I also think that there's a lot of value in. Thinking through the systems and routines that you currently have and questioning or taking inventory as to whether or not they are serving you. And I feel that even in sobriety, of course, I've picked up very healthy habits and routines that don't involve drinking myself into a state of oblivion. Most days out of the week. So like that is positive, but I also recognize that I am still stuck in some feedback loops. I'm still stuck in certain behaviors or habits that are no longer serving future me, the woman that I intend to become and also currently am in the process of becoming that woman is not necessarily reflected in my daily choices or habits. And so 75 Hard is just a way for me to really figure that piece out. And a big part of it comes down to discipline. So why am I doing 75 hard? It's not because I necessarily want to lose weight, although to keep it real with you guys, like I always kind of wanna lose a little weight, even though I probably don't need to. I've actually lost quite a bit of weight in the last year. Which I'll share, I'll get into

the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_065426:

I'm not on Ozempic or Manjaro or any of the other. GLP ones, um, no shade to anyone that's on those things, but like I lost the weight on my own. So I'm not doing this for weight loss and I have a very complicated history when it comes to weight and food and body image which I've shared on the show. So I do have to be cognizant of my struggles some of my obsessive tendencies when it comes to presenting, um, a certain way or looking a certain way. So that is something that I have to be mindful of. And if this is a trigger for anyone, please take what you need. Like this episode is not meant to be triggering. I'm just going to be sharing how my 75 hard journey has gone so far. But if you know that the idea of doing things, but if you know that being a part.

the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_065648:

so before we get into today's episode, I wanna issue a quick trigger warning. In this episode, I'm gonna be talking about body image and cravings and food choices and discipline themes that may be sensitive for anyone who has experienced disordered eating or eating disorders or body dysmorphia or any addiction replacement behaviors. So if that is you, please take care of yourself. You can always pause or skip this episode if it doesn't feel like it's the right time, because I always believe that your healing and safety comes first. Now that that's said, let's get into it..

the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_065938:

So I wanna start with my why. There are many ways that you can build self-discipline, right? I'm choosing 75 hard because I've been struggling so much with my mental health. Even though I'm sober and I don't crave alcohol, and I don't say that as a brag. I'm just saying like when I'm stressed, when I'm. Feeling low. I'm not thinking, oh my God, a drink would fix this. Like I, I very much understand that alcohol is not my friend. Like we are not cool. We are enemies, if anything, and I don't fuck with alcohol. So that's not what I think of. I don't miss drinking even on hard days. What I find that I'm doing, like this current feedback loop that I'm stuck in is after I have. Long days or I don't even wanna front, like if I'm being honest, like it's not even necessarily that I've had a bad day. It is just a day, like after a day. The new routines I found myself in is I am obsessively eating sugar or drinking sugar. I am addicted to sugar. That white powder. Yeah, it's got me. Okay. I'm chasing the same dopamine hit that I used to get from drinking

the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_070329:

I realized I'm chasing that same dopamine hit that I used to get from drinking, and I realized. Alcohol is sugar. You know, when you drink, your body metabolizes alcohol into acetate, which the liver converts into glucose, which is basically sugar. And then that spikes your blood sugar and gives you this little hit of dopamine. So when you stop drinking, your body starts craving other ways to get that hit. And for me it was sugar. It can look differently in different people, but as someone who's always had a, sweet tooth, sugar, became my addiction replacement, I'll say, and this is not uncommon to other people. A lot of people find themselves eating more pastries, more cookies, you name it. And so when I quit drinking instead of losing weight and experiencing all of the beautiful health benefits that people talk about with glowing skin and they've lost 15 pounds, I experienced the reverse of that because I was stuffing my face constantly with whatever I could get my hands on that had sugar in it. So in early sobriety, weight gain. Was actually really triggering for me, and I'm so thankful that I was able to overcome that and really focus in on the long-term benefits and not the short term consequences, I guess I'll say, for lack of better word right now. So I gave myself. A chance basically to really like stick with my sobriety. And then with time, I did lose the weight and that was like my first year of sobriety, right? So my first year of sobriety, I like gained weight and I was eating a lot more because I wasn't drinking and trying to fill that void or replaced that routine with food. Like my routine actually became after I quit drinking, I would go from. Going to Trader Joe's to get bottles of wine for the weekend to going to the West Village in New York. I would always go to this vegan Thai place. It's called Spicy Moon. Love that place. And I would order a shit ton of take takeout, like I'm talking like almost a hundred dollars worth of takeout. Like two types of dumplings and my Thai iced tea which has so much caffeine and sugar in it. And then I go up the street to another spot that had ice cream and I'd eat the ice cream on the way to the subway because I was just craving sugar. And then I get home and stuff my face with all of thet. That became my routine. So like it's no surprise that I gained like 20 pounds. With time and discipline and just like the realization that this was not sustainable. Um, I did lose weight I would say the second year of my sobriety, year two, I had more set routines and I was challenging the ones that were unhealthy because I think as a form of harm reduction, like what's having a few excess calories compared to drinking yourself into an early grave, like I really recognized that. One choice was significantly better, even though if long term it wasn't sustainable, at least something I could sustain because I'm, you know, so concerned about how I look in my image. I knew I'd lose the weight and I'm also a very active person. I've always loved to work out, even if I'm eating very unhealthily, like exercise has always come easily to me. So that piece was already there, and once I slowed down with my sugar intake, the weight naturally fell off. So year two, I did lose all the weight I gained. Which truly was about like 15, 20 pounds up and down, you know, what is five pounds? Especially for someone who's really tall like me, but yeah, I lost that weight naturally with time I had found more of a stride and my routines were more set and in place and the weight just naturally fell off because I'm such an active person and prioritize exercise and working out, no matter what in fact my fitness routine is very much also integrated into my mental health. And then year three in my sobriety, now I drastically dropped about 30. Ish pounds. I don't weigh myself often, so it's hard to like pinpoint a specific number, but I know I've lost since last year, um, at least 30 pounds in fact, last year when they went for my annual checkup with my doctor. When they checked me in and they were, you know, doing all of the preliminary measurements, checking my blood pressure, and, looking at my vitals, taking my temperature, all of that. They had me get on the scale and the nursing assistant, or the woman who was helping check me in. She weighed me three separate times. So the first time I hopped on the scale, when I first walked into the room and she looked at it, wrote it down, I sat down, she, I remember she put the thing around my arm. She took my blood pressure and then stuck a thermometer under my tongue and then. She went to get the clipboard and she was like looking at my vitals and writing them down. And then afterwards she didn't say anything. So she writes down the number on the scale and it says like one 50 something. I can't remember the exact number. And then she sits down and like starts asking me, you know, questions, like general questions like, have you experienced any pain? Or like, da da, like basically, why are you here? And it was just for my annual checkup, my physical, So after she takes those vitals, I get up from my chair and she's like, oh, can you get back on the scale? So I'm thinking, okay, maybe she like. Made a mistake the first time, or like she forgot the number. So I get back on the scale. I'm not really like asking questions and I get on the scale. And she starts asking me other questions like, you know, do you do this? You know? How have you been feeling like those general, like quick checking questions? About how I've been feeling and blah, blah, blah. So now I've hopped off the scale and she's written down my number again and continues to ask me other questions. And then she goes, I'm sorry, can you get back on the scale? And so I get back on the scale for the third time now, and so then she reads the number out loud and she's like. One 50 something. I don't remember what it said, but she's like, you have, and like she starts flipping the chart and she's like, you've lost like 30 something pounds. And I was like, oh, since the last time you were here. And I was like, oh. And she's like, um, was it on purpose? And I was like, was it on purpose? Um, yeah. I have never lost weight on accident a day in my life, honey. Those people who, like, when they're stressed, they don't eat. Like, that's not me. That's never been me. Like, oh, I'm sad I can't eat. Mm-hmm. I did the opposite. So when she said that, I was like, no, it was intentional. And a big shift for me was eating I wasn't consuming copious amounts of sugar like I was in year one of my sobriety. The shift really was the portion control. Like I realized when I took a trip that summer to Europe and Turkey. I'm like, yeah, every time I go to Europe I do actually lose weight. So I guess that's the one time I'm like accidentally losing weight. And it could be, you know, partially because their quality of food is so much better than ours but I think it's more to do with portion sizes we have in America. The sad diet, the standard American diet, everything is large, okay? Everything is big. Um, everything is saturated in fat and sugar and just fake crap. And so being in Europe and Turkey for a month, I just naturally lost weight. And when I came back to New York, I was very intentional around my portion control and not restricting myself to the sense that I'm starving, but recognizing, are you eating because you're actually hungry? Are you eating because you're hungry? Like that's the question that I would ask myself. Or are you eating because you're bored or you're eating just because you're eating your feelings those are things that I. Would ask myself, and it helped keep me on a really good path for a while. But then 2025 entered the chat and as mentioned, my mental health really took a, a hit this year. And so. By default. I just found myself back in really unhealthy patterns when it came to overconsumption and then deprivation, if I'm being honest with you guys, which I have been honest on the show, If you want to hear more specifics around struggles I've had with Body Image and Disordered eating, do check out the episode. It's one of my favorites from this year, slip Eating Disorder Recovery, and the middle place with Mallory Tenore Tarpley the, she's the author of the book Slip. That book is incredible. It's doing very well. Like, I'll also link that in the show notes if you're interested. I really started to think through like just how bad and in denial some of my disordered eating slash eating disorders have been in the past, and also like how they were seeping into the present. So the depression piece, like for me this year being. In a high functioning depressive state meant that I was always keeping busy, which helped to regulate some of my eating patterns. But then I would restrict myself to the extent that I would be, famished I would eat really well during the week. Um, and then like as soon as Friday night hit, I would be. Ravishing all the sugar in sight, like buying Oreos, like buying a full pack of Oreos, like the big one, well, not the family size, the one below the family size, but like, you know, eating that whole thing in one sitting. Like, I'm gonna keep it real with you guys, and then the next day feeling like shit, because oh my God, why did I eat all of those Oreos? And then deciding that I am, you know, going to eat very little the next day. That was sort of like the place I was in this year.

the-sober-butterfly_25_12-24-2024_142305:

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the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_072148:

After that interview with Mallory, I just realized that I was in such a. State of chaos when it came to my diet And then defaulting to just like unhealthy patterns. As a girl who has struggled with disordered eating for so long and I was slipping back, you know, the book is called Slip, and here I am slipping back into these default patterns that I've had since a little girl restricting and binging and just that. Oh, never ending loop. So that's one piece of my why, like why I wanna do this, because I need to be intentional around food and what I'm eating and Actually nourishing my body and not seeing food as a punishment or a punitive measure that I can take away like choosing to love myself and trust myself to make sound decisions. And if I do slip when it comes to food, like not using food, then as a punitive measure to restrict myself in my, effort to balance the scales. Like there is no balance in the scales. Like life is a balance. Like your diet should be varied and balanced, and really just like neutralizing food, like food is not good or bad. Food is food, okay? Food is meant to nourish you, and sometimes we do have cravings and in fact, your body may be sending you a message that you need something like maybe my blood sugar is low and I need to eat something with sugar in it to help spike it or to. Balance it. Okay. So basically that was one piece. Back to the doctor's office. So I'm in the doctor's office. She's like, did you mean to lose all this weight? And I was like, yes. So they're like, okay, you're still within your healthy range. Like BMI range, but I'll let the doctor know, doctor comes in. I love this woman so much. She's looking at my chart. And she's like, oh you've lost some weight. Is that intentional? And I said, yes. And she said, is it healthy? And I said, yes. And she was like, okay, great. No follow up questions. I asked for her to run some labs. So she took some blood work for me to figure out if I was nutrient deficient, like I'm in my thirties, I gotta figure this stuff out. Right? So she runs some tests and then about a week later the results came back My vitals looked great and I appreciate my doctor. She gave me like a full comprehensive breakdown, with the lab results, like, what do those numbers mean? Yes, there's a range. Yes, I can look at a scale, but she actually took the time to write in her notes. And what she shared was that my A1C, and that's the blood test that measures your average blood sugar was technically in the pre diabetic range. And it was like the first point it came back at a 5.7, which is technically in the pre-diabetic range between 5.7 and less than 6.5 is considered to be in the pre-diabetes range. If you have an A1C level above a 6.5, you are in the diabetes range. And anything below, I guess the 5.7 is in the normal range. In my doctor's notes, she wrote, you know, technically it is the beginning of the pre-diabetic range, but, she literally wrote, I'm not concerned. I will retest you next year. So here's the thing, she's not concerned, but I am. I'm concerned. I'm concerned because diabetes runs extensively in my family. On my maternal side, my mom's side, my grandma has diabetes, type two, her brother and sister. So my great aunt and great uncle, both diabetic. One of my aunts is also a type two diabetic. My mother is actually in the pre-diabetes range herself, although she has been. Technically pre-diabetic for the last 10 years and has not become diabetic. So that's given me, you know, a lot of hope. But yeah that's not a good thing. Like I don't want diabetes. If I can prevent it, if I can help it, I don't want this life-threatening disease I actually know a lot of people, aside from even my family that have diabetes and. Just to hear how much work goes into making sure that they are living and maintaining their diabetes is exhausting. I'm already doing too much. I don't need to be, I don't need to be monitoring my blood sugar every day, not even every day, multiple times a day. Injecting myself with insulin. No I just don't. So if I can help it, I'm going to try my very best to not get there. Okay? That's my why, guys. Those two things, okay? I wanna be more self-disciplined. And 75 Hard is not just a physical health challenge. It transforms your life in so many ways. And I don't wanna develop diabetes. I need to kick my sugar craving because it is out of control. Like getting those results. At first there was a shift,'cause remember this has been like almost a year. I've had these results. At first, I would say like about a month later, I was like trying to make really good choices, but then I took it too far and then just started to say, fuck it, and I ate whatever I wanted. I would be really good during the week and then binge sugar on the weekends. Does that remind you of anything? Does that remind you, Nadine, of what life was like before you got sober? It sure does. Living for the weekend, living for that white devil. So I just know something has to give.

the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_073304:

So that's why I'm doing this. I need to break the cycle and reset my relationship with comfort and control. So if you've never heard of 75 Hard, it is a mental toughness program. It is not a diet, it is not a fitness challenge. It's all about building that self-discipline that I mentioned through consistency. Now there are six rules, and I'm gonna break down each one. Along with how I am adapting them for my own sober girl lifestyle. So rule number one, follow a diet, no cheat meals or alcohol. So the no alcohol, obviously check my personal. Diet role for this challenge as someone who is openly sharing that I struggle with food and body image is I am not restricting myself. Okay. I'm mostly going to eat whole food compliant diet. And that does not mean I'm only shopping exclusively at Whole Foods. I just mean like I'm gonna try and eat as many real foods as possible. Okay. My thing is I want nothing that has added sugar in it. So I'm not gonna follow a diet. I'm just not going to consume sugar. Now, when I say not consuming sugar, fruit is on the table, okay? I'm not giving up fruit. Are you crazy? Fruit is natural. Natural sugars a okay. I'm not going to have a donut, i'm not going to eat. Oreos ice cream. Like that's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about. Processed foods, you know, even granola bars, even like the healthy yogurt. So I am actually looking at the nutrition labels on products, but I'm not saying, no bread, no carbs. I, I'm not doing that because life is hard. I can't, and then I'm gonna be insane or miserable and default to quitting. I don't wanna quit. I'm finishing this challenge so I'm already five days in, and I can confidently report that my energy feels more stable, my mood is lighter, and my sleep is better. This feels sustainable. My mom was in town this weekend, so we like bopped around and of course like we went to dinner and. At dinner. Did I miss having a mocktail? Sure. But like, am I gonna die? Is that gonna send me off the edge and like now I have to like eat a whole package of Oreos? No. I still had pasta at dinner and it was still delicious and I ate bread and hummus and it was fine. So the no sugar thing so far has been manageable, and I think it will be sustainable. I will keep you posted.

the-sober-butterfly_16_10-23-2025_073757:

Rule number two, this one is tough. Rule number two, you need to do 2 45 minute workouts a day. And the caveat here is that one must be outdoors. Yeah. So you know guys, I have a full-time job. I'm a full-time teacher. My days are packed. Okay. But I've been waking up every day before sunrise to workout, whether that be a home workout on on YouTube Academy because YouTube is one of the best free resources when it comes to finding fitness. I always tell people who don't like to work out because. I'm sorry. Not liking to work out is a foreign concept. I know how that may sound. Apologies. Okay. But I love to work out, so I'm like, okay. Why don't people like working out? I think people are trying to wait for the motivation before they just show up for themselves. Like the discipline needs to come before the motivation. Like when you develop a routine, a fitness routine, then you'll feel motivated to continue because you will feel good and you will look good. Period. So I'm already motivated to work out. Like that's not my issue. The hard part is the outdoor piece. The hard part is like waking up before sunrise, which I do anyway, but like, I'm not gonna go outside and take a walk before the sunrises because I just. I've seen too many true crime documentaries with girls going missing. And I don't even live in like a dangerous neighborhood. Like I'm fine. I just don't wanna be outside in the we hours of the morning. So I'm actually looking forward to daylight savings for once in my life where the clocks will roll forward and it will be light outside at 5:00 AM the hard part has not been necessarily the two separate workouts, but it's more so been trying to fit the outdoor one out. But thankfully the weather is still really nice here in New York, and that's also why doing the challenge this time. In the fall, as opposed to when I've tried this before in the dead of winter, like literally January 1st, 2022. I was like, I'm doing 75. Hard starting on the first day of the year. I barely made it to day 12. Dying. Okay. Dying with a capital exclamation mark because I could not figure out the outdoor workouts. What do you mean? I have to go outside when there's snow on the ground? If I can help it. No, let alone sweat. So yeah, I think I can do it this year. I've just been very intentional this week around like going for long walks. I'm using work even as an opportunity, like on my lunch break, going for a 45 minute walk. I can squeeze that in and still be on time. For my next class, that I teach. It's just gamifying it, right? Like it's just finding ways to sneak these things in. What errands do you have? Walk Literally go walk. Like I walked all the way from downtown. If you don't live in New York, this might not make sense, but I walked basically to a Sephora that was 45 minutes away from where I was at the time, even though there was a Sephora right in front of me. Like I walked all the way to the one in Midtown, in Harold Square. Because I was like, I gotta get this walk-in. So just finding ways to like fit it in is helpful. Make the process fun for you if you're struggling with thinking how you can work out, beyond doing this challenge, like if you're with someone that's like, I don't know how to work out, like find ways to like. Get a walk-in, that counts, start somewhere. The second workout I consistently do is Pilates or bar or some kind of like strength training. And once again, it's not for me about changing my body, it's about moving it, and it's about reminding myself what it feels like to be strong and intentional. So rule number two. You gotta get those 2 45 minute workouts in. One must be outdoors. Oh, and it can't be consecutive. It can't like be a 90 minute workout. And then you're like, I'm done for the day. I think there has to be some. Period of time in between to where your body can reset. I'm assuming the intention is there is a whole book that I have not read for this challenge. I'm just looking at all of the free resources out there where they break down the rules. But yeah, my interpretation of the rule is that,

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​Rule number three, and this rule, surprisingly, this round has not been as challenging, but in the past has gotten me out. Okay? This is the rule that gets me out. You've gotta drink a gallon of water. I feel like that should be easy, but like in the past it has not been easy, but I have actually this time really been doing a good job of drinking a gallon of water a day. I know I was not drinking enough water before, but now I just carry my giant Stanley Cup around with me. It's so funny, guys. Actually, I'm gonna show you if you're watching the show, I purchased on Amazon a gallon water bottle because I was like, oh, I can just take this gallon water bottle with me everywhere, and then I know that when it's finished. I have accomplished that rule for the day. Jokes on me. Wait until you see how big this water bottle is. Okay. In case you were wondering if you didn't know, I can't even fit it into frame. This is a gallon, it has a whole handle. Okay. Like a handle, like you're carrying a weight because you are, it is heavy. The bottle itself, it's hollow. It's like, a fake Stanley. This one is not a real Stanley. Anyway, I bought this water bottle with every intention of bringing it with me. The road, and that would be the workout, just carrying the water bottle. So I don't do that. Instead I take my like liter Stanley cup and I fill it up four times a day. So whatever, it might not be a liter. I'm not good at math, but I did the math before, so I just have to drink four of those. And so I make sure I get in one to two or like one and a half of those. Drinks before I even leave the house, because as you can imagine, I'm peeing all day and one of my biggest fears is like, i'm gonna pee myself out in public. Like that's a real fear that I think a lot of New Yorkers have just because, like imagine there have been times when I've left work like, oh, I'm just gonna, I can hold it. I can just hold it. Like you just think you leave somewhere, leave home or work, and you're like, I can hold it. But then. You get stuck under the subway there's a delay on the subway and I don't know, like you pee your pants. Like I, that's a fear I have. It's never happened in the 11 ish years I've lived in New York, but it could happen. And so I'm always like paranoid about peeing myself in public. It's a real fear that keeps me up at night. So anyway, I make sure I drink like as much water as I can before I leave the house so that I can pee as much as possible. And then I just break it up like by the end of my workday, I should have drank at least another one and a half, which is now at three. And then by the time I get home, I'm drinking the fourth cup, which is a gallon. Yeah, it actually has been pretty easy this time. So you gotta drink your gallon of water and I think my skin truly is just glowing, like it's only been five, six days and I'm like, I can see the difference. I also got a facial this week though. Maybe that's it. But things are working in culmination.

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rule number four, read 10 pages of a self-improvement book. You can choose whatever book you want. I am reading Atomic Habits. I actually have it here, or I have the cover here for you guys. The book is in my bag. Atomic Habits by James Clear. This is the perfect book for a challenge like this. I've read it before, but it was a while ago. And really the book is just about small actions that can add up to a big change. And yeah, this rule is. Easy for me. I read all the time. Although I'm more of a fiction girly, I do love self-development or self-improvement books. And so this book is supposed to help reshape the way you think about about progress, and also then give you the tools and techniques you need to transform your habits. It's that 1% better everyday mindset. And that's what it's about for me, like not perfection. Progress and these small tweaks with time will appreciate into real and hopefully lasting change.

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Rule number five, take a daily progress picture. This one was the hardest for me, actually. I'm joking. This one is the easiest. You guys, I, I, I do this for free. I do this even when I'm not a part of the challenge. Okay. It's not necessarily a progress picture, but i'm taking daily. Selfies. You guys see them on my Instagram. If you're following me pre Pilates, post Pilates, snap. Um, so yeah, I am doing that. So every day I take a progress picture. I don't know if you, if you have to like post it somewhere. I'm not always posting, but I am taking daily photos. So I think it's just a great documentation piece. It's not about perfection or aesthetics. It's proof that you showed up even on days when you didn't feel like it. And then after the 75 days, you have like a very clear chronology of your progress. So yeah. Rule number five, take daily progress. Picture rule number six. This one is equally important to the other five. No excuses. No compromises. You either do it or you don't. You either drank a gallon of water or you didn't. You either read 10 pages or you didn't. There's no bargaining and for me really trying to finish this challenge. By January 1st, 2026, there's no, I will start over or I'll start again next time. Like, no, it is simple accountability. And there's no middle ground. The extremist in me just loves that because it's very clear, it's very black and white. You did it or you didn't.

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now I want to invite you to try something too. You don't have to do 75 hard, maybe you do 75 Soft. In fact, my mother is currently doing 75 soft. I'm so proud of her. She was here this weekend and we had a very cute mother-daughter weekend here in the city and just explored. We went to Broadway, we went bike riding. We had dinner, we went to Bathhouse, which is like our favorite activity, just to luxuriate all day in the sauna. And since she was here, she also started the challenge with me, but she's doing the 75 soft version. So the 75 soft version is. Essentially the same as the 75. Hard, just like the rules are a bit more flexible. Instead, for example of doing two workouts a day, you only have to do 1 45 minute workout. And my mom was so committed, like I told her I was starting before she got here, obviously because. You gotta give people heads up with these things like, you know, like she's gonna be here with me, staying with me. Like, you know, she's gonna be seeing me do all these things. And she was so game to do it. She even bought a workbook. A 75 soft workbook that she delivered to her, actually to my house. And yeah, she's being consistent herself and. I love that. I have to catch up with my friend. I think she's also one of my girlfriends. Kailyn is doing it as well. So yeah. I'm gonna invite you the point isn't to be perfect. It's just to prove to yourself that you can keep a promise to yourself. So if you are interested or have questions or wanna join me, tag me on Instagram at@the.soberbutterfly, let's make a hashtag. Use the hashtag pound. Do people say pound still? Hashtag 75. Sober Butterfly Challenge. So I can follow your progress and also cheer you on. Let's finish the year strong together. Thank you butterflies for spending this time with me. Next week I'm gonna be filling you guys in with like my budding love life. I'll say, I don't know, budding. We'll see. I'll let you guys know next week because I'm actually going outta town this weekend to see a guy and yeah, I'll be sharing all of that. Until then, drink your water. Keep your promises and remember that discipline is the highest form of self love. I will see you guys next Friday. Stay strong, stay soft and stay sober. Butterflies, what a tongue twister. That outro has to change?