Making Healthy a Habit: My Morning Routine

Whether you are a morning person or not, establishing a healthy morning routine can set a positive tone for the rest of your day and help you create a healthy lifestyle.

Many people are constantly looking for new motivation to live a healthy active lifestyle. Motivation seems amazing in the moment, but then nowhere to be found the next. It is then when you need to have healthy positive habits that are part of who you are, ingrained within you as an integral component of your life. That way even if your low on motivation, your habits will remain the same and therefore, you’ll lose this yo-yo- diet mind set and stay on track to your goals forever. After all, fitness is a lifestyle not a fad diet.

Here are my healthy daily habits which start my day the right way:

Planning

I like to keep a journal for myself which notes down my goals for the day, my to-do list and how I’m feeling. By doing this, I am aware of what I need to achieve that day and I feel organised ready for the day ahead. This also gives me a chance to reflect when the day is over and establish what I can do better tomorrow that I haven’t done today. Whether it be hitting PBs in the gym, life goals or just household jobs – I find setting goals and making lists really helps with my productivity.

Hydrate

When you wake up, your body is dehydrated as it hasn’t had any fluids for 6-8 hours. Therefore, ensuring you are drinking water first thing is very important for our bodies. Water is essential for our bodily functions as well as being crucial for muscle growth and repair. Aim to have a glass before your morning coffee, you could also jazz it up by adding lemon or a fruit infuser!

Exercise

I always work out first thing in a morning, if I’m not at the gym I will go for a walk with my dog to start my day. I find this helps me clear my head, have some time to myself, and gets it out of the way so I can get on with the rest of the day. If you have a busy work life, getting a workout in early is so much easier; no more of that dreading feeling knowing you’ve still got to go to the gym after a busy day, or worse still- the guilty feeling when you’ve had to work late or are too tired to go after work.

Fuel

Ensuring you have a good breakfast is essential, especially if you’ve just worked out! Your breakfast will provide you your fuel to kick start your day as well as your body, so it is important this isn’t skipped! I almost always opt for a warm bowl of protein oats with a banana, blueberries and raspberries topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon! That way I know my body is well fuelled with protein and carbohydrates to restore and repair my muscles, give me energy to start the day, and it’s also delicious!

Yoga & Meditation

If hitting up some weights isn’t for you, I also love spending 20 minutes of my morning doing some yoga followed by 10 minutes meditation. If you haven’t tried this before, please don’t be afraid of it, even if it just means 10 minutes sat with your headphones in chilling out and not looking at your phone or on the internet – it’s worth it. Allow yourself some time to clear your head, breathe and chill out so you are ready to start the day.

Even if it means having your alarm set 2 hours earlier, trust me it’s worth it. Implementing these tips into your routine will create healthy habits you just won’t be able to snap out of! Anyone can be motivated for a short period of time, but only someone with solidified habits can succeed for years on end.

“Successful people do what they need to do whether they feel liked it or not.”