Alright grab your Fiji Waters and iPhones and let's get back to work. We need to avoid this happening
A quick Redditorial up top from Editor-in-Chief Goat 🥸
When u/LadyLaw2023 first asked me to make a Civil Procedure Megathread, this was my reaction:
There's too much fucking information
But then I stopped and remembered that this test is not so much about knowledge, it is all about MINDSET and execution. I read this quote this morning from someone I follow on instagram named "Mega the Master P." I'm pretty sure he is an actual pimp but he often drops really profound truths. Also, u/KTFlaSh96 said I needed to make a LeBron James reference in my next post so I figured this could kill two birds with one stone.
Mega Speaks 🗣
So I hit up my old crew from law school from before I got suspended and we all linked up to show our haters the true meaning of joinder of parties. This is a candid video taken during our planning session for this Megathread.
It took us a while to perfect this \"MegaStar\" handshake
The UBE tests on federal civil procedure rules and federal statutes. Law school tests on federal civil procedure as well (remember the FRCP?) but sometimes state-level rules will sneak in. Your 1L class may have discussed how state courts have jurisdiction over basically any type of claim, even federal claims. Or possibly your class talked about long-arm statutes which allow a state court to reach out and grab defendants outside their jurisdiction. If these state laws respect the Constitution, they are allowed. But remember we are only dealing with federal law on the UBE.
Before we can even think about how cases are Civilly Procedure'd, we need to know which cases are even allowed to be heard Federally. So we start simply: with a discussion of subject matter jurisdiction, and personal jurisdiction.
We can begin with a story to help us understand the importance of jurisdiction:
After getting a 179 on the LSAT I found myself in Stanford, California, visiting the campus of the local law school there. I walked into a cafe and noticed two 1L's getting into a lively discussion about the meaning of jurisdiction for their Civil Procedure class. I smiled to myself, having done thousands of hours of 0L preparation already (I had consumed multiple hornbooks by Friedenthal, read the restatements, annotated Getting to Maybe 3 times, and audited courses on Khan Academy). So I posed this hypothetical question to them "what if your criminal law professor gave you an F in your Civil Procedure class?" They looked baffled and asked "who are you? what do you mean by that?"
As I grabbed my $19 coconut milk latte I turned to them while walking out the door, laughed and said "I'm SnooGoat, an incoming 1L who will be summering for Cravath soon. Think about what I've said: I've just taught both of you the importance of jurisdiction. I'll see you two at OCI, or maybe I won't" As I walked out one of them fainted.
Anyway let's get serious. I made this iceberg chart to capture how I think we are all feeling about the various topics in Civ Pro. Let me know if you have any proposed changes to it.
I dropped out in July when I realized I didn't understand Shady Grove
SMJ: The Beginning
Federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction over claims raising federal questions, involving diversity, and supplemental claims. MEE Hint: If the question asks "Is there subject matter jurisdiction - you must analyze ALL THREE OF THESE."
Federal courts absolutely **(D)**on't **(P)**lay with Divorce (alimony, custody) or Probate.
Federal Question Jurisdiction
When a plaintiff seeks relief under federal law IN THEIR COMPLAINT, the court has Federal Question jurisdiction. They cannot merely THINK a federal issue will come up in the answer or as a defense. MEE Trick: They will say "the Plaintiff is raising a state law tort claim but anticipates federal issues will be risen as a defense." Not allowed.
Diversity Jurisdiction
For diversity you need (1) completely different citizenship - no plaintiff can share citizenship with ANY defendant, and (2) the amount in controversy is MORE than $75,000.
MEE Trix R 4 Kids: Sometimes they will have the parties be diverse at the time of the cause of action, but not at the time the case is filed. They must be diverse at the time the case is FILED.
Trick 2: Other times they will have the claim look sketchy as fuck regarding damages. Remember, the court is not going to take out a TI-84 calculator and try to figure out how much damages you are likely to get. They will take your estimate of over $75,000 and just make sure it's in good faith and does not appear as a legal certainty that you couldn't get $75,000.01 in damages (remember, it doesn't matter what you ULTIMATELY get, just that you have a good faith pleading on the FACE. Look at Princess Leia factors - add all legally available damages, exclude costs and interests, injunctions have value too, and attorneys fees can be added)
Tip for 180 IQ MEE Scorers: One time they tested that bullshit "enormous" class action. When it's over $5,000,000 claimed by plaintiff's you only need minimal diversity (one P has to be diverse from one D)
Okay show me the money. How can we get to 75k?
You can add a single plaintiff's multiple claims, even if they are unrelated. You can't add multiple plaintiff's claims unless they share an undivided interest, like in some type of partnership situation. You cannot add claims against multiple defendants unless they're jointly and severally liable.
Okay Goat we have four days left and I'm only getting 3 hours of broken sleep a night. My brain is scrambled and I need to figure out Citizenship
For people, citizenship is determined by DOMICILE which is determined by FEET (for all you feet lovers out there, you know who you are), and BRAIN (for the sapiosexuals out there). We need physical presence in the state and INTENT to remain indefinitely. MEE Trick: They will always have in the problem like some enterprising young Zooey Deschanel style city girl who is trying to be quirky and relatable and she has like four residences. She goes to college at Pepperdine but all her friends live in New York and she wants to return to New York but she got injured but also she's into fashion and is working nights as a bottle girl at 1OAK Nightclub but her ex-boyfriend still lives in New York who is emotionally unavailable but still watches her stories and her dad bought her a farm in Iowa which she visits three months out of the year because she loves horses. Oh, she also has a sugar daddy in Connecticut who she met on SeekingArrangements but it's only a Pay-per-meet situation and she would only stay if she was given an allowance of $8k a month.
So now you have to look at all these dumbass facts and make the arguments on where she truly "intends" to remain indefinitely. Courts will try to determine the center of gravity of someone's life in this situation, so just make arguments on both sides.
Corporations - They have two state citizenships. Their Principal Place of Business (NERVE center where the executives work and make decisions, not "muscle" center where all their factories and shit are) and where they are incorporated (usually Delaware). Both need to be diverse from opposing party.
LLC's: Can have several state citizenships. They take on the citizenships of every member or partner. If any member is domiciled in an opposing party state, no diversity SMJ.
Alien v. Predator 2: All aliens are considered to be of the same "state." I think of this in my mind as "alien state." This is why two aliens can't sue each other in federal court under diversity, THEY ARE BOTH FROM ALIEN STATE. One has to be from "Predator" state. Diversity will not be destroyed if a citizen sues a foreign citizen (the alien just can't have dual citizenship or some shit of the same state as someone on the opposite side of the lawsuit).
Secret-Tip for giga-high scorers (don't even read unless you plan to score 165+ on MBE): An American PERMANENTLY domiciled abroad is not a citizen OR an alien and CANNOT use diversity jurisdiction to sue in America.
MBE Trick: Domicile of legal representatives does not matter (for dead people, infants, mentally incompetent people). Courts look to the domicile of the people they represent.
Supplemental Jurisdiction
Supplemental jurisdiction is when the court has SMJ over claims or counterclaims or crossclaims that can't independently get jurisdiction on their own but can RIDE shotgun with claims that can.
What claims can ride shotgun?
If they are "so related" to the driver claim that they "arise from a common nucleus of operative fact" (this is like claims involving the same event or state claims which are 100% similar to the federal ones).
But if the DRIVER claim is based only on diversity, the shotgun claim can't destroy diversity (aka make any plaintiff non-diverse from any plaintiff adversary)
Pro-tip: Third party claims usually won't destroy diversity since the defendant, not the plaintiff, is suing the third party and bringing them in to share liability and they are not plaintiff opponents.
These fucks are sneaky on the MBE fr fr: Always ask yourself FIRST if a claim can get into the party based on Federal Question jurisdiction. They will have a problem where they throw that in and try to get you to choose "supplemental." Nope.
Can a court refuse to let your claim ride shotgun with the other claims even if it's from a common nucleus and we don't mess up diversity?
Yes, they can still chase you out of the CHICKEN COOP.
Complex or novel state law issues would be raised by bringing it in
Original-jurisdiction invoking claims are all dismissed (so only supplemental claim would be there)
Other compelling reasons (if the court states one)
Predominates over the jurisdiction invoking claims (if the supplemental claim steals all the attention, they can dismiss it).
Removal Jurisdiction
When removing your case you can't show up to court in some DUSTY air-force 1's.
Defedants are the only ones who can remove. Hint: Yes, plaintiffs try to remove in some problems. Why the hell would a plaintiff be able to remove their case, THEY WERE THE ONES WHO FILED IT THERE.
Unanimous consent - all defendants must join in or consent to the removal (MBE Little Tip: if there are multiple defendants and a few have passed their thirty day window they can still consent to remove, so long as one persons window is still open!)
Subject matter jurisdiction in the federal court is needed.
Thirty days you need to file it (from the time when it became removable for you)
Year limitation. No removing after a year of the complaint being filed unless plaintiff plead in bad faith (lied about the $75k or prevented prior removal)
MBE POWER TIP WHICH WILL BE ON THE TEST 100%: The defendant cannot remove the case to a federal court in a state where any defendant lives. The whole point of the removal rule was to ELIMINATE home court advantage. The plaintiff aka the MASTER of where to originally file could pull the defendant into jurisdictions outside of his home state (and back in the day if you made some city slicker from the big apple go to some random state court in the backwaters of Alabama everyone would pretty much be like "who is this mf"). So you wanted the defendant to have a chance at an impartial federal forum with impartial federal rules supposedly. But if the defendant ALREADY lives in the state where the federal court sits, he ALREADY has home court advantage and there is no fear of bias so no removal. Bing bong fuck ya life.
Personal Jurisdiction
Courts can't order people around unless they have personal jurisdiction. For example, I was a Torts TA in Law School. So having subject matter jurisdiction was like being allowed to teach torts. Having personal jurisdiction was like being allowed to teach the students (even though in reality I only wanted to teach the female students)
We gotta have us a man that can do BOTH to be able to hear the case: both SMJ and PJ.
Okay we got SMJ. How do we get personal jurisdiction?
It's either TRADITIONAL bases or LONG-ARM my friends. MEE Tip: You're probably going to apply one or both in the question. Hint: if the question mentions long-arm applies, you apply long arm. If it says it DOESN'T apply, you apply traditional bases. Easy.
STEP 1: DO WE HAVE A TRADITIONAL BASES FOR PERSONAL JURISDICTION? Live. Tag. Or Die.
The traditional bases to get personal jurisdiction are:
Domicile - Domicile is your fixed and permanent home which you intend to remain. To CHANGE your domicile you have to (1) take up residence in a new state, and (2) intend to remain there. Domicile of corporations is (1) principal place of business state or (2) incorporation state. MEE Trick: They will say like "the corporation had 9,000 factories in Iowa... but their Executives and C-Suite all worked in a small office in California. California is the domicile. Brain Center NOT muscle center."
TAG You're it jurisdiction - if you're present in the state when served with process.
Consent or waiver - Consent or waiver works too. Appearance in court or signing a forum selection clause is express CONSENT, driving on a highway that has a law that says "anyone who drives here, we have jurisdiction over you" is IMPLIED CONSENT. Appearance in court and actually LITIGATING the case means you waived the issue of PJ son.
So you either LIVE there or get tagged there, or just totally give up on life and consent or waive. Live. Tag. Or Die. Easy to remember.
STEP 2: WE DIDN'T HAVE A TRADITIONAL BASES, HIT EM WITH THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW.
We need two things (1) long arm statute (it will tell us in the problem if we have one), and (2) constitutional due process.
Hint: The question will always say some bullshit like "the state's long-arm statute" allows personal jurisdiction to the same extent as the Constitution." This JUST means that the long-arm analysis is the SAME as the constitutional analysis: (1) sufficient minimum contacts, and (2) fair play and SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE. (You actually have to say this on the test to get points for it).
Okay now I'm speeding this outline into *HYPERDRIVE*
PRONG 1: SUFFICIENT MINIMUM CONTACTS
Is there an easy way to satisfy this? Yea. General Jurisdiction.
General Jurisdiction satisfies Minimum Contacts... but this is easy. It's just when the defendant's contacts are so continuous and systematic they are "essentially at home" in the forum state. People = Domicile. Corporations = PPB & Incorp. You know this.
Okay let's talk about what they will actually test us on...
Specific Jurisdiction: The Real Minimum Contacts Analysis aka Out-of-state defendants fucking shit up in YOUR state with their contacts
First the claim must arise out of defendant's sufficient contacts with the forum state. What does arise mean you ask? It's about relatedness and connection. Think of a four way relationship between the defendant, the contacts, the forum, and the litigation. Does it all match up? Talk about whether the contacts relate to or actually occurred in the forum state.
Goat... they definitely relate. But how do I know if they're sufficient?
Nobody fucking knows you little shit. You need to look at the gravity and NATURE of aforementioned contacts. PURPOSEFUL AVAILMENT + FORESEEABILITY. If you purposefully availed yourself of all the good shit the state had to offer like police and infrastructure and business laws such that it would be FORESEEABLE for you to be haled into court there**... you're going to court, because your contacts were sufficient.** The MEE loves it when someone sells goods in a state or has some loan shark company start having people pay them bogus ass loans in another state (both purposeful availment) If you send some defective products and shit into a state purposefully... it's foreseeable you should be sued there. You guys are getting this stuff. You don't have to be in a state to purposefully avail and have foreseeability, it's all about you putting your ENERGY into fucking with that state.
If you BLANK on this stuff remember: Domicile. Presence. Consent. Related Contacts. Fairness. Live. Tag. Die. Fair Four Way Relationship.
A quick word on the internet: The more interactive a website is, the more likely a court will find personal jurisdiction (where you can buy shit and it has advertisements directed at you, etc). A passive website that only has information about how to raise radishes or quit pornography or some shit, a court will not find jurisdiction.
PRONG 2: FAIR PLAY AND SUBSTANTIAL JUSTICE
Fair Play mnemonic: Watch out for the FEDS.
Forum interest (state wants to protect its residents against your psychotic borderline ass)
Efficiency (where the witnesses at?)
Defendant burdens (how far away is it? hint: for a bigass corporation, they will send you to Juneau Alaska and not give a shit)
Social Policy (would personal jurisdiction advance their social policies... make some bullshit up).
and remember... we need either general OR specific + Fair Play. But either one we get... we still analyze fair play later on.
My face if they give us an MEE on any of this boring shit I just talked about
Let's talk Venue, Forum Non Conveniens and Transfer (but quickly since we're all bored)
SMJ gets us into court, PJ gets us all to RSVP, and Venue gives us the GPS directions of the court.
Think of a beautiful fancy venue to host an ice cream social with your best friends. Venue is proper wherever I can serve you APpetizerS (yea I really just said that - get over it. I've had 3 hours of sleep)
"Any if all" - venue proper in a district where any defendant resides, if all reside in the same state
Personal Jurisdiction fallback - if no other avenues to venue give you any options, venue is in ANY district that has personal jurisdiction over ANY defendant. There is ALWAYS proper PJ somewhere kids. (this should've been #3 but my mnemonic made it #2 lol)
Substantial events or omissions - venue is proper where a SUBSTANTIAL part of the event or omissions giving rise to the claim happened.
Alien Weather Balloons: If the suit is against an alien, venue is proper anywhere.
Land: If the suit is about ownership, possession or INJURY to land, proper venue always includes the district where the land is. T14 Trick: These lunatics sometimes try to test us on fraud relating to land primarily happening in ANOTHER state. If the suit is only about fraud it should take place where the fraud happened, not where the land is.
Forum Non Conveniens: Court looks at the case and says "okay we got PJ, SMJ and Venue but this case is just non conveniens... it's better off somewhere else" They weigh public and private factors. Private (convenience, location of evidence) and public (public interest in hearing this case in a particular forum, having juries with a connection to the issues).
Transfer: For party and witness convenience and in the interests of justice, a federal court can transfer any civil case to another federal district where it could've been brought (when it was originally filed) or where all parties consent to go. (MBE Hint: Choice of law rules are used from the FIRST COURT, not the new court (they usually test SOL issues here). If venue was improper, they can dismiss or transfer.
Service: Plaintiff gotta serve within 90 days.
Citizens: Deliver a copy at the house, with an agent, or someone who resides there of a reasonable age (16 is okay, 4 isn't)
Foreigner: Certified mail with signature or delivering it personally to Dubai
Business Entity: Deliver to officer or agent. (CEO, etc.)
Preliminary Injunction/TRO: Gotta preserve the status quo out here or I'll Punch U.
I'll (Irreparable injury if they don't stop bulldozers from plowing down your house) Punch (public interests favor it) U (you will likely have ultimate success on the merits, but even so they'll still make you post money to give to the other side in case you're on some bullshit).
Both have pretty much the same factors. TRO is 14 days max and can be given without notice, injunction is longer.
Or I like LIE as a mnemonic: Likelihood, Irreparable Injury, Equites. This one is easier to remember low key.
Pleadings: Complaint has three things: Jurisdiction, short and plain statement to create plausible claim for relief (enough to put the other side on notice aka notice pleading), and demand for $. You only have to plead certain stuff more specifically like fraud, mistake and special damages (they call this pleading with particularity, it sounds like some weird new age book title).
Answer: You can go halfsies and admit or deny in part, deny everything, or say you don't have enough info. If you don't respond to an allegation it's admitted (unless it's damages). Then state your affirmative defenses. 21 Savage days to answer complaint.
Amending: You get an amendment as a matter of course within 21 days if no response pleading was filed. Otherwise you need court (they will almost always give because they don't like to go forward with a fucked up lawsuit) or other party approval.
Relation back amending: Let's say you file right before the Statute of Limitations and then it passes and you're like "oh shit... I had a new claim but now I'm time-barred from filing it). Amended pleadings relate back to the date of the original pleading if they concern the same transaction, conduct or occurrence as the original pleading. ALERT: If a new party is added, the amended complaint will only relate back if the new party receives NOTICE of the action, the new party KNEW that you made a mistake and they should've been named (like a small error in their name), and it occurs WITHIN 90 days of filing. Remember: P90x. Plaintiff fucked up the name, 90 days. Something about notice. You get the picture.
Rule 11 Sanctions: You have to sign shit in the federal court. Anyone seen a federal filing that's like "I hereby certify this is filed in accordance on Feb. 17 in compliance with ECF/CM and the Court blah blah." You can't try any NEW shit with em.
No improper purpose, Evidence supports everything, and Warranted by existing law.
Analysis: I had a homie who is a lawyer and represented his lover against her ex-fiance (he home wrecked them basically and fiancé was suing for return of 70k ring). Ex-fiance kept filing motions to DEPOSE lawyer homewrecker guy and my homie kept being like "STOP DEPOSING ME, I'm the OPPOSING LAWYER BRO. I DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS GIRL." And he kept accusing my homie of like being a party with info. So the judge hit the guy with 10k sanctions. Then we were all out to dinner (me, lawyer guy and lover chick) and he was like making out with her at the table and then the judge was just over in the other table like wtf.
Anyway so court can move for sanctions on their own but if a party moves they have to give the other party a gentlemanly 21 days to correct their fuckery. Depending on how big the fuck up is a court can give an adverse inference, dismiss the case, money damages (but usually not against the party themselves if the lawyer was at fault).
The MEE has all types of funny ass sanctions problems. There was one where a lawyer got a case and had it for like a week but didn't interview the client. So when they asked him for info in the admissions he just denied everything: who the parties were, their address, their occupation as truckers. The court was like wtf you lazy idiot, you don't even know who these people ARE. He got hit with sanctions. The court will rarely dismiss a case though unless it's like INSANE what the lawyer did. I heard a story about a plaintiffs lawyer who was sleeping with a law student clerk who worked for a judge during a BIG money personal injury trial he was part of ($25m+), and the jury gave a question to the judge during deliberations "we are thinking of giving a defense verdict, we think plaintiff had a pre-existing condition, is that okay?" and she TEXTED the lawyer and he CALLED the other side and settled with them based on this information BEFORE THE OTHER PARTY KNEW ABOUT THE JURY QUESTION lol. This was an insane sanctions situation I think.
The Dreaded Joinder
Let's Join Claims
Counter-claims: Counter-claims are claims you have against the plaintiff and can be included in the answer. Any claim is allowed. If it arises out of the same event and you don't bring it, that's a compulsory counterclaim and if you don't bring it you waive it.
Cross-Claims (Same side of the V): Claims against co-defendants THAT ARE ALREADY THERE (so there must be two co-defendants for this at least). They are never compulsory and you can only bring if you have SMJ and they arise out of the same event as pending claims against you. Crossclaims CANNOT shift liability from you to a third party outside the lawsuit (they are more for stuff like indemnification and contribution from the other existing defendants - unlike IMPLEADER where we can try to shift all or part of the blame to someone else and bring in new third parties to blame).
Easter Egg: A plaintiff can't CROSS-CLAIM until the defendant counterclaims him. Because no one is accusing him of anything lol. He filed a lawsuit accusing someone else of some shit, and then he can't just try to get someone else to pay for a non-existent counter-strike that the defendant never launched.
Hint: MEE has only tested cross-claims once I think.
Let's Join Parties
You've seen the dry, depression-inducing adaptibar explanation about FRCP Rule twenty over 46 times... but you've never fully understood it. So let's talk about how to join parties. Three steps.
Step 1: Can we join these peeps
Basically the deal is you can join parties if (1) you have a claim against them rising out of the same event (in the MEE problem it will always be like some major multi-car crash or some shit) and (2) we got ONE COMMON QUESTION OF FACT OR LAW (usually as simple as whether someone was negligent or not).
Step 2: Must we join them
Parties are required to be joined if their absence would break the court's ability to give everyone enough money, their absence would fuck up that parties ability to protect their interest, or there are risks of inconsistent obligations without having one party (aka two parties who want the same land and we leave out one). MBE Gunner-Tip: Tortfeasors that are joint and several are permissive, not required parties. Because you could get the FULL bread from any of them then they could go after each other, so they don't even need to be here
Step 3 - Must our conscience dismiss them aka are they INDISPENSABLE (courts balance the four P's when deciding if they will dismiss or proceed)
Four P's to consider. Plaintiff interest in forum, prejudicial risk to parties (inadequate judgment), potential mitigation of risks (maybe join them in state court? can we shape the relief in such a way to protect absentee person?), and public interest in complete resolution.
Impleader
Gather around everyone and let's discuss blaming other people for our own problems. The impleader is a derivative liability action which can be brought within 14 days of the answer.
Example: I crash my beautiful new Rivian electric vehicle into u/nycchick_ 2024 mauve Aston Martin Valhalla hybrid supercar. I'm like "holy fuck I just hit this $7 million mauve super-car that isn't even available on the market and I don't have insurance." She sues me and then I realize my brakes were broken on my new Rivian so I sue Rivian and say they owe her any money for her cainjury. Boom. Impleaded.
What if you're pissed you got left out of the joinder party? You want to be about all that drama and jump in and INTERVENE
We all remember that one fateful MEE in July 2014 when the hippies who wanted to save the forest tried to intervene when the logging company smashed down half the amazon rainforest to make paper straws.
Just remember The Three Eyes (I's) of a Multi-Eyed Cyclops. I stared at this for a while and had to google Cyclops and realized the whole point is they only have one eye, but I was too lazy to change it)
You can intervene if have an Interest which would be Impaired and the current parties are Inadequate. That is all. See you all at the testing center on Tuesday.
Interpleader
Imagine two kids are fighting over a bouncy ball but you own the bouncy ball and are their parent. So you put them into a separate room and are like "kids... we have to learn how to share the ball. now Danny you got it first so now Brad gets to play with it" (I don't know anything about parenting... is this how it's done?)
You can bring two people into a lawsuit by interpleading them together to avoid multiple and inconsistent allegations. Two types of interpleader:
Guys the big difference is the rule interpleader you need the same 75k property in controversy amount we normally have and statutory we need $500 and minimal diversity (by at least two claimants). So I remember like a RULER of a country is super powerful, so they have the bigger amount in controversy needed.
RULE(R): Normal SMJ, PJ, Venue and service. $75k.
Statutory: Property worth at least $500 and there's diversity between at least two claimants. Service and PJ are nationwide and venue is proper anywhere a claimant resides.
Class Action
I CANT even with this material anymore, RIP my life.
Requirements:
Common question (class shares at least one question of law or fact)
Adequate representation (representatives adequately represent the class)
Numerous - claims are so numerous that joinder is impractical
Typical - class rep claims are typical of the class
Types of Class Actions
Risk of harm - normal actions risk harm to the class or the defendant
Injunction - when the class seeks an injunction or declaratory relief
Predominating commonality and superiority - common questions predominate, and a class action just works better and is easier.
If damages are sought, rep must notify everyone as best as they can of their right to opt out. No opting out = you've now opted into the lawsuit. Settlement must be approved by the court after feedback from class members.
Joinder over, that wasn't so bad 💥🏌🏻
Part 2 Next: Discovery and onwards 😉 (I ran out of space with all my dumbass pictures lol)

I did it! Here’s my day 1 vs day 75. I’m 5’7” and lost 13 lbs (185 to 172) and gained some muscle. Finished on Black Friday with leg day!
I only had a bench, free weights, and bands at home. They worked fine but I’m needing some heavier weights now. Might get me a Black Friday PRX setup as a reward? I used a 4-day rotation: 1. Chest, tris, shoulders 2. Back, bis, forearms 3. Legs & abs 4. P90X X Stretch, Agility X, etc. I feel like this day is crucial for me as I’m 40 now and have been injury prone in the past.
For my outdoor workout, I usually ran/jogged/walked. Had a few days of swimming laps, playing 1 on 1 basketball, or doing agility/speed drills with my son who plays football.
When I started, I walked the whole 45 minutes. After a week or two, I’d walk a lap/run a lap while my son was at football practice. By the last week, I ran/jogged the whole time, getting in almost 4 miles in the 45 minutes. I used the Runkeeper app to track my runs. It’s really motivating seeing the progress and trying to beat my best.
For diet, I just made sure to get 4 servings of protein, 3 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit, and nothing with added sugar as that’s my weakness. I can kill a whole batch of cookies in a sitting, LOL. I chose not to count calories or go ultra strict on diet for two reasons. First, I’m super busy and out and about all day with work as a Realtor and two kids in sports, etc., so I didn’t want to not be able to find a healthy option at a restaurant as needed. And second, I wanted to do something that would be sustainable long-term after 75 Hard. I didn’t want to fall off the deep end on day 76!
I read Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Magic of Thinking Big, and am almost done with Think and Grow Rich. All 3 books, combined with the program, have contributed greatly to improving my mental toughness. I’m much more positive and determined than before and feel like my life in general is on an upward trajectory.
The days where I grew the most were the most challenging ones. One day I got a flat tire and totally cratered my day in terms of schedule. Got home at 4pm instead of 10am from an errand. So did my first workout at 4pm, took my wife on a long overdue date, drink way too many waters at Outback, and finished my run and reading at 11:45pm that night. From that day on, I did my first workout, progress pic, and reading at 6am. I had a work conference for a week in Vegas. I’d do a run down the strip at night and made sure to get in the whole program even though I was the odd one out with my coworkers. I went to a major birthday party and couldn’t do cake or champagne. And of course, Thanksgiving meant no cranberries, pie, etc. In each of these instances, I leveled up. My confidence and determination grew. By the end, I was cruising and there was no way I wasn’t going to finish.
I was successful in business and life prior to the program, but like Andy describes, I had “arrived” to some extent, and became too comfortable, lazy and complacent with most things. I think of my high school football coach who would always say, “You’re either green and growing, or ripe and rotting.” I haven’t been in growth mode for years until these past 75 days. Now I’m embracing being uncomfortable, growing everyday in numerous ways, and have a much more positive outlook.
I already worked out and read again this morning. I’m definitely going to continue on with Live Hard and keep moving in the right direction!

Every fall, the publishing industry begins a new cycle of hitting bookstore shelves with diet books, just in time to help assuage winter holiday guilt and prepare for New Year’s resolutions. At the same time, TV stations are in the throes of sweeps periods and launching a new season. You know this phenomenon is in full swing when you start hearing the local news and talk show pitches: “You can lose 10 pounds in 1 week and eat whatever you want!” or “A common ingredient in your kitchen that will burn off fat without exercise! Tune in at 11 to see what it is!” Then in the next media cycle there’ll be new books and news stories telling us how these miracle cures were all a load of hooey, but there are brand-new miracle cures that really work! Here are some common nutrition myths that have gone in and out of fashion over the years—and the real truth behind the hype.
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Common Diet And Nutrition Myths Debunked
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Myth #1: Fat makes you fat.
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People confuse dietary fat, the fat that we eat, with body fat, the adipose tissue that makes up our spare tires and thunder thighs. But while it’s true that dietary fat contains twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and protein, what actually makes us fat isn’t the dietary fat, it’s the calories in that fat. In fact, the calories in the carbohydrates and the calories in the protein can also make us fat. Dietary fat is very important to human health, and should make up around 25 to 30 percent of our caloric intake. For one thing, fat helps with the absorption of several vitamins that are only fat soluble, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fats also include heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Artery-clogging saturated fats and trans fats should be mostly avoided though, as they will raise blood cholesterol levels (see #2) and clog arteries with plaque.
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In the 1980s, fats became vilified by regulatory and health agency reports as being unhealthy overall. The reasoning was that while the agencies were largely targeting saturated fats (as found in animal and dairy products), they believed it would be simpler to tell Americans to avoid all fats instead of having to explain the complexities of saturated, unsaturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, hydrogenated fats, etc. Because of these warnings, the food industries began marketing scores of low-fat or fat-free versions of products. In many cases, they would replace the missing fat with sugar or starch. So while there would be less fat, there would be almost as many—and sometimes more—calories. Consumers would eat twice as many of the new “reduced-fat” treats and wonder why they weren’t losing any weight.
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As more studies have come out extolling the benefits of healthy unsaturated fats, like those found in olive oil, avocados, nuts, fish, etc., more specific recommendations have been made to increase the allowance of good dietary fats while decreasing the allowance of saturated and trans fats. In fact, many makers of cookies, breakfast cereals, and snack chips now trumpet “No Trans Fats” on their packaging. That’s great, but don’t be fooled into thinking this means there are any fewer calories. Just because the manufacturer has shown restraint in not making the food even unhealthier doesn’t mean that it’s suddenly health food. Some of these “No Trans Fats” products never had trans fats to begin with, but it’s good marketing to proclaim it. Now poison free! Not quite as toxic! Just as fattening with less artery plaque! For your health, check the labels and make sure that the kind of fat in the product is unsaturated—and make sure there aren’t too many calories for your waistline. A day’s dietary fat intake should be around 60 to 70 grams.
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Myth #2: Foods high in cholesterol give you high cholesterol.
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As with dietary fat, foods with high dietary cholesterol levels are believed by many to raise blood cholesterol levels. High blood cholesterol levels have been linked to heart disease and stroke, and levels should be monitored. However, our bodies need some cholesterol for normal cellular function and to assist in the production of bile, which helps the body digest fat. Unfortunately, because dietary and blood cholesterols have been given the same name, people take an attitude of “cholesterol in, cholesterol out.” In fact, studies are increasingly showing that high blood cholesterol comes from a diet high in saturated fats, while foods high in dietary cholesterol have a fairly negligible effect on high blood cholesterol. Foods high in dietary cholesterol but low in saturated fat, including eggs, shrimp, lobster, crab, clams, and other shellfish, can be safely eaten in moderation without having much effect on blood cholesterol levels. Where this misunderstanding of the causal link between dietary and blood cholesterol levels may have also come from is that many non-seafood animal products contain high levels of dietary cholesterol as well as high levels of saturated fat. So if double cheeseburgers are making regular appearances in your diet, you’re going to see a spike in your cholesterol score—but it’ll be from the saturated fat.
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Myth #3: Snacking will cause weight gain.
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Isn’t this what Mom always said? “No snacking or you’ll ruin your appetite!” Good! Go ahead, ruin your appetite! If you ruin your appetite, you won’t eat so much dinner. Nutrition experts have pretty much come to a consensus that you’re much better off having six small meals over the course of the day than two or three giant meals. You’ll give your body a steady source of fuel and keep your blood sugar levels and metabolism at an even keel all day long. If you think back to our caveman days, before we sat down to eat civilized meals, we probably just wandered the forests and jungles, eating when we were hungry or when the opportunity arose. Those instincts are worth listening to today. If you have a hunger pang at three o’clock in the afternoon, don’t stifle it because you know you’re having dinner at seven. You’ll be so hungry, you’ll approach dinner like a Roman orgy, eating way more than you would have if you had merely satisfied your afternoon hunger with a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts. Keep in mind though, permission to snack isn’t permission to stuff your face with Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, or any other kind of “-tos.” There should be some sort of strategy to the snacking. Try evenly pacing out the snacks and predetermine a reasonable portion size of a healthy food, so you’re not just eating handfuls of something out of a bag.
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Myth #4: If you exercise enough, you can eat whatever you want.
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How many times have you heard your horrible friends who never gain weight say, “Oh, I’ll just run it off” to justify whatever sinful treat would give you a third buttock if you ate it? It’s impossible to keep a fit, healthy figure without both a healthy diet and exercise. It’s all right to indulge in the occasional pig-out sometimes. In fact, it’s good to reassure your body that there’s no need to go into starvation mode from time to time. But if you eat that slice of blackout cake, you’re looking at a 2-hour run just to burn it off, let alone what came before it. Losing weight and maintaining weight is a simple equation: if you burn off more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. Some lucky stiffs have a higher resting metabolism and burn off more calories naturally, but what probably helps your friend burn off the cake faster is that they have more muscle on their body, and, even at rest, muscles burn more calories. So while you can never eat whatever you want and stay thin, you’ll be able to indulge in a pig-out every once in a while if you can keep your body muscular and lean. And for those times, you might consider trying exercise designed to burn more calories than walking or running, like P90X, which will help you maximize the calories you burn in the time you spend exercising.
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Myth #5: Drinking lots of water flushes out fat.
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Drinking plenty of water is vital for weight loss. If you’re dehydrated, your energy and exercise will suffer. Also, many times we confuse thirst for hunger, so it’s always worth trying a glass of H2O before we hit the fridge. Drinking water can even give your metabolism a slight boost. What it doesn’t do is flush fat from your system. Any excess water that your body doesn’t need for proper hydration and functioning will simply get peed out, and, sadly, it won’t be taking any fat with it. You should definitely make sure you drink enough water, but don’t go overboard thinking you can chug away your love handles. If you drink too much water at any one time, it could even result in hyponatremia, or water intoxication. However, adult kidneys can process 15 liters of water a day, so drinking too much water day to day is unlikely. (It’s more likely if you’re involved in extreme Ironman-type athletic activities where over- and under-hydration are real possibilities.) Keep a water bottle handy and drink when you’re thirsty, but if you really think you can flush away your beer gut, you might be drinking a bit too much of something else.
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Myth #6: Multigrain bread is better than white bread.
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While whole-grain bread is better than white bread, multigrain bread is only better if the grains are whole grains, which isn’t always the case. With the bread industry, it’s really important to check the ingredient list carefully. For example, “wheat bread” is just white bread with molasses added for color. So, if anything, it’s worse for you than white bread. Unless it says “whole-wheat” bread, you’re not getting the added fiber and nutrients that come with using whole grains as ingredients. Many multigrain breads are just processed-flour breads upon which manufacturers sprinkled a couple of sunflower and sesame seeds. Hey, that’s two grains, right? That makes it multigrain! So even if the headline on the packaging says “whole-grain,” double-check the ingredient list to make sure all the grains, or at least the tmain ones, are whole. Similarly, many breakfast cereals have switched to whole-grain flour, but if the cereal still contains more sugar than a candy bar, it’s not going to move the needle much toward better health. Try to find whole-grain brands with minimal or no sweetening. If you need to, you can always add your own sugar, and at least control the amount you consume.
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Myth #7: Sugar causes diabetes.
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Many people falsely assume that because diabetics have to watch their sugar and carbohydrate intake that sugar causes diabetes. But if you don’t have diabetes, sugar won’t cause you to get it. The main risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being overweight and being inactive. As with fat and cholesterol, blood sugar and dietary sugar are often confused. If you eat sugar, you won’t necessarily get diabetes, but sugar is highly caloric and, as part of a high-calorie diet, can be a contributing factor to obesity, which does have a causal link to type 2 diabetes. This isn’t to say that it’s okay to eat lots of sugar, but it’s good to be aware that if you have a high-calorie diet, you are still just as much at risk for diabetes, even if that high-calorie diet doesn’t include a lot of sugar. As with most dietary health issues, it’s mainly about the calories.
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Myth #8: Grapefruit burns fat.
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Anyone who remembers the heydays of the Hollywood or Beverly Hills diets knows that they were good times to invest in grapefruit futures (as well as other “miracle” fruits and vegetables). The theory of those and similar diets was that grapefruit had a secret enzyme that would make body fat disappear. Grapefruit is a very healthy citrus fruit and worth eating as part of a varied diet. It has tons of vitamin C and can help fight arterial plaque buildup, and maybe even certain kinds of cancers. But grapefruit can’t burn fat. Cabbage soup can’t burn fat. Celery can’t burn fat. In fact, no food can. Some foods can temporarily increase your metabolism to assist your exercise efforts in fat loss, but the only way to truly burn fat is through exercise. And, if any fad diet revolves around a secret fat-burning ingredient, that should be a red flag that the diet isn’t nutritionally sound. Not to sound like a broken record, but the only way to effectively lose weight is to eat fewer calories and burn off more calories through exercise. Healthy metabolism-boosting foods can help, but they can’t do it alone.
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Myth #9: Light olive oil has fewer calories than olive oil.
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If you read the labels of various olive oils, you’ll notice that light olive oil has pretty much the same amount of calories as any other kind of olive oil. The difference is in the flavor. Light or extra-light olive oil has been heavily processed to remove the strong flavor of olive oil and make it lighter in color. It may even have been combined with other vegetable oils to achieve a milder taste and color. It still has just as much fat and calories as extra-virgin olive oil, but not nearly as many nutritional benefits, including vitamin E and polyphenols. Unlike extra-virgin olive oil, light olive oil is an unregulated product, so you don’t know what you’re getting.
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