I don’t know about you, but my mornings make or break my day. If I have a bad, unproductive, healthy morning… that is how the rest of the day is going to be. Today I am going to share with you seven morning rituals to set you up for a healthy day and a healthy life.
Have a cup of warm water with lemon
Starting your day this way will help set your gut up for healthy digestion. You do not want to shock your digestive system first thing in the morning. Drinking a glass of warm water with lemon will help set up your body for upcoming meals. If you typically have issues with bloating, this will help.
Eat breakfast
Eat a well-balanced breakfast. This should be a meal that includes complex carbs, health fats, and lean protein. Don’t worry about eating too high of calories during your breakfast. A filling breakfast will set you up for a healthier day. If you eat a larger breakfast you will likely eat less during the remainder of the day. Some of my favorite breakfast options include oatmeal, eggs, high-protein English muffin with peanut butter, and loaded smoothies to name a few.
Do some light stretching
You can either choose to stretch while you are still in bed or after you’ve gotten up. However you choose to do it, light stretching in the morning will help you feel more alive and less stiff.
Sweat
Morning workouts not only get you moving, but they also help speed up your metabolism. Getting your heart rate up first thing will allow you to consume more oxygen and burn more calories throughout the day. Another perk of early workouts is you will always have time to do them. If you know you have to be somewhere at 8am, you can wake up early and workout. However, once you start your day, it can be hard to predict if the workout will happen or not. You may have to stay late at work or meet up with someone in the evening. These unplanned events typically happen later in the day. So, get your workout done early to eliminate the possibility of missing it later in the day.
Write out three goals
I love writing out to-do lists or a list of goals for the day. This helps me stay focused and have an intention for the day. If you have a reason to get up, you will get up. Write out these goals every morning after you wake and then start working on them. Make sure these are healthy and productive goals like running 2 miles, eating vegetables at dinner, and completing that work assignment you keep putting off.
Meditate
Taking a moment to center yourself in the morning will help you relieve stress and get focused for the day. Meditation doesn’t have to be a big ordeal. You can simply take a few minutes to do some deep breathing or repeat a mantra a few times. If you find mediation is something you love, you can do some reading and see how you can do a more extensive mediation practice in the morning.
Listen to music
If you struggle to get up in the morning, start the day by blasting some of your favorite tunes. Make a playlist on Spotify that will get you up and dancing. The silence and darkness of the AM can make going back to bed very tempting. So, switch on a light and turn up the music.
Finally, do not… press the snooze button. Once your alarm goes off you will not get back to a fully rested sleep. So, just get up and get the day going!