75 Soft Challenge Rules: Daily Checklist

The 75 Soft challenge rules ask you to do four things every day for 75 days: move your body for 45 minutes, drink 3 liters of water, eat mindfully (with room for a drink socially if you choose), and read 10 pages of a book. If you miss a day, you do not start over. You pick up where you left off.

This guide lays out the daily rules as they appear across major health sources. Our editorial team compared the published rule sets, separated the common rules from optional additions, and added safety context where a fixed target may not fit every person.

75 Soft daily checklist

The 75 Soft daily checklist has four core tasks plus one recovery rule:

• Eat well in a way you can sustain; keep alcohol to social occasions if you drink.
• Move for 45 minutes; use one day each week for active recovery.
• Treat 3 liters of water as the challenge rule, not a medical prescription.
• Read 10 pages of any book.
• If you miss a task, continue the next day instead of restarting at day one.

What you do every day during 75 Soft

Every day during 75 Soft, you follow the same four tasks. The challenge does not come from one company or certified coach, so small variations appear across health explainers and community versions.

According to Cleveland Clinic, the challenge uses these four daily pillars. WebMD and the 75soft.com site list nearly identical rules. The comparison below makes the shared core and the practical caveats easy to inspect.

Rule	Shared core	Practical adaptation
Food	Eat well; keep alcohol to social occasions	Define one concrete meal standard you can repeat
Movement	Complete one 45-minute session daily	Use one weekly session for active recovery
Water	Aim for 3 liters daily	Adjust with a clinician if health, medication, heat, or exercise changes your needs
Reading	Read 10 pages of any book	Choose print or another format that you can use consistently
Missed day	Continue rather than restart	Record what got in the way and resume the next day

1. Eat well, not perfectly

The “eat well” rule does not require a named diet or macro counting. Define an eating pattern that fits your health needs and that you can repeat for 75 days. Your version may focus on adding vegetables, cooking at home, planning regular meals, or following advice from your clinician.

The common rule moves alcohol to social occasions only. Cleveland Clinic calls this “social-only alcohol.” You can also choose not to drink at all. The challenge does not require alcohol, and social plans do not require it either.

2. One 45-minute workout and one active recovery day a week

You commit to a 45-minute movement session every day. That session can be walking, strength training, yoga, cycling, or a dance class. The challenge rule specifies duration, but it does not require high intensity.

One day a week you swap the workout for active recovery. Cleveland Clinic suggests stretching, foam rolling, or a gentle walk. For context, according to the CDC adult activity guidance, most adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity plus two muscle-strengthening days per week. However, your safe starting point depends on your current activity, health, disability, pregnancy status, injuries, and clinician advice.

3. Drink 3 liters of water

The published 75 Soft rule says to drink 3 liters (about 100 ounces) of water each day. Both Cleveland Clinic and WebMD include this number.

That fixed amount is a challenge rule, not a universal health target. According to the Mayo Clinic’s hydration guidance, fluid needs vary with health, activity, climate, pregnancy, and breastfeeding, and food and other drinks also contribute. Drinking too much water can lower blood sodium. If you have kidney, heart, liver, or electrolyte problems, take medicines that affect fluid balance, or exercise in intense heat, ask a healthcare professional what amount fits you.

4. Read 10 pages of a book

The common rule asks you to read 10 pages of any book. Some versions prefer a physical book, while others focus on the daily reading habit rather than the format. Choose the version before day one and keep it consistent. An accessible ebook or audiobook adaptation is reasonable when print does not work for you; write down how you will measure the equivalent of 10 pages.

(Optional) Take a progress photo

Several versions of the challenge, including the one on WebMD, add a daily progress photo. Other versions do not. If photos trigger body checking, anxiety, or disordered eating, skip them and use a neutral record such as a completed checklist. The four shared tasks do not depend on a photo.

How 75 Soft differs from 75 Hard

The two challenges share a 75-day window and a handful of daily habits, but the philosophy could not be more different.

75 Soft differs from 75 Hard by lowering the daily workload and removing the restart penalty. 75 Hard demands two 45-minute workouts every day (one of them outdoors), a strict diet with no alcohol or “cheat meals,” a gallon of water, 10 pages of nonfiction reading, and a daily progress photo. If you miss any single item, you go back to day one. 75 Soft still creates a substantial weekly exercise and hydration commitment, so “soft” does not mean appropriate for every person.

75 Soft removes the outdoor mandate, drops the second workout, allows active recovery days, gives you dietary flexibility, and eliminates the restart penalty. Cleveland Clinic’s comparison supports those differences.

The no-restart rule deserves its own spotlight.

No restart means you actually finish

The no-restart rule means you continue after a missed task instead of returning to day one. You wake up the next morning and resume on the next day. Your count continues. You do not erase 23 days of work because day 24 went sideways.

The no-restart rule changes how you respond to a lapse. It lets you treat one missed task as information instead of turning it into a reason to abandon the previous work.

Our own guide to handling missed days walks through a practical mindset: a missed day is a data point, not a failure. The challenge is designed to absorb real life, not punish it. That philosophy sets Soft apart from any program that resets your clock.

How to start 75 Soft today

There is no required sign-up or fee. Decide your start date, write your version of the rules, and choose how you will track them.

1. Copy the checklist at the top of this guide.
2. Define what “eat well” and “active recovery” mean for you.
3. Confirm that the movement and water targets fit your health.
4. Choose a book and place it where you will see it.
5. Pick a start date and track the first day.

You can use a notebook, calendar, or notes app. If you want to track across devices, attach a progress photo, or set a custom challenge length, Her Glow Up: 75 Day Challenge can simplify the process. Her Glow Up keeps your completed days when you miss a task instead of forcing a restart.

If you are still deciding whether 75 Soft is the right intensity, read our guide that compares hard, soft, and custom challenge tracks. It helps you pick the structure that fits your season of life, not the one that promises the most pain.

The rule set to save

Use four daily rules: eat well, move for 45 minutes, follow a hydration target that is safe for you, and read 10 pages. Use one movement day for active recovery. Treat the photo as optional. Continue after a missed day.

Start by writing your exact version of each rule. If the standard exercise or water target does not fit your health, adapt it before day one rather than forcing your body to fit an internet challenge.