Break the Chain and Restart Your Morning Routine

What do I mean by break the chain? 

Sometimes we get locked into habits and routines that are unhealthy for us, especially around our eating but tackling those can feel impossible. There may have been many attempts and failures along the way. We get so caught up in our everyday lives and the patterns we have fallen into, shifting the bigger things seem too difficult.

What is the best time to wake up in the morning?

The pandemic has thrown many of our lives out of their normal regimes. But our bodies tend to wake up at the same time each day, if we have had a restful night’s sleep. Generally speaking we need between 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Many people survive on much less that that e.g. nursing mothers and menopausal women.

Many menopausal women complain about waking up at 4 am and often struggling to get back to sleep. If you are a good sleeper then to wake at 6 am you really need to be in bed and asleep by 11 pm.

Why I decided to relook at my morning routine?

I attended an event a few years ago and was grateful to hear one of the female speakers talk about changing her life around. This sounds dramatic and I listened intently to hear how she did this.

She began by explaining how her day began. She would wake up at no particular time, it could vary every day within the time she needed to be up. She’d come downstairs to make her morning coffee. Before she did anything she would put on Breakfast TV and start to tune into the news.  She did the same thing every day for most of her adult life. 

One day she made the decision to reset her morning routine.  One day she came downstairs and DIDN’T turn on the TV.  But she decided to maintain the peace and tranquility in her house and that meant not listening to the news. Which as we all know is never very good and was not helping her mood.

This simple change along with a herbal tea rather than a coffee so early and a regular time of waking up dramatically had an effect on her thinking and attitude about her day.

How I Changed my Morning Routine After Hearing this Speaker?

When I came home and decided sometimes it’s the little things that can have a huge impact on our attitudes and re-evaluated my morning routine.

Starting my day now is at the same time every day, I am always up between 6.30 am and 7 am. I now shower the night before, so I have a clear morning structure.

My dog Tabitha and I go downstairs. I let in Cecil the cat, he’s a night-time creature and is always waiting for me to get his breakfast. I feed both my fur babies and make myself a large glass of freshly squeezed lemon juice in water.

Lemons contain phytonutrients.  These protect your body against disease, aids digestion but also gives me a head start on my daily water intake. It also helps me get into the right mindset, so by simply replacing your latte in the morning you are helping your waistline too!

I then take a minute to choose a motivational podcast. I like to listen to Lifestyle and Health related ones, here are a couple I would really recommend: The School of Self Image by Tonya Leigh and The Work of Bryron Katie, both are among my favourites. 

With my earpods in place, I then head off with Tabitha for a 40 minute walk each morning. Sometimes even Cecil will join us!

Often I add in 10-15 minutes of yoga two to three times a week, to help me with time to stretch or if I feel I just need to add this into my day.

After my exercise I then sit down with a cup of tea  and  my journal. I like to write up anything I have taken from the podcast which I feel might be useful for me or one of my clients. I also plan out my day. I visit my food plan and make sure I have everything I need for that day’s eating. 

Then finally I have my breakfast, which I always make time for, without interruptions or distractions!  Just savouring my food and getting in touch with my mind-body connection.

 

Starting simple is better than not starting at all

 

The best place to start is by making one or two small changes:

• I would highly recommend the water with lemon rather than your normal coffee to start your day.
• I would also say that not having any news on in the morning is essential to maintain a healthy mindset. I choose not to listen to the news now at all.  I find that it is filled with negativity and can create a negative feeling in me at the beginning of the day.
• I’d highly recommend you reading The Morning Miracle by Had Elrod, to get you started. 

 

What To Do Next......

If you are interested in making changes too, get in touch and we can work out a few simple ways to start.  

Visit my post on Mindful Eating for Weight Loss for more tips to control overeating

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