Habits To Have A Healthier Day
A morning routine can have a huge effect on your day. It can effect your choices throughout the day, how you react to stress and how you feel. Simply incorporating just a few things to your mornings every day can have a ripple effect on the rest of your day. When you start the day with things that energize you, boost your mood and help you focus then you will most likely be setting yourself up to have an over all better day. In fact, it might even help you practice healthier habits throughout the day. Below are a few of my favorite habits that I use and recommend in my health coaching program:
Start with movement
Exercise can help boost your mood, boost your energy and it can help promote better brain function. Of course you can get in a workout any time of the day, but getting it in during morning time can be even more beneficial. This is because of the ripple effect it can have on the rest of your day. Starting off with a brain, mood and energy boosting exercise routine can spread into performance at work, your food choices, your conversations and more. It doesn’t even have to be an hour long class. It can be whatever you have time for.
Make time for sunshine
The sun provides Vitamin D and helps to regulate your circadian rhythm. These things help to benefit your immune system, your mood and your energy. Plus, it helps you sleep better which will bring you a better, well rested and energized next day. There are studies that show getting sunlight first thing in the morning even for just 10 seconds can have benefits. Getting a dose of sunlight first thing in the morning can have incredible benefits that spread to your whole day and even into bed time. If that’s not enough to convince you here is something else- lack of sleep can cause your body to turn on the hunger hormone known as ghrelin. This can cause you to have more cravings and also trigger you to reach for carb loaded foods. When your circadian rhythm is fine tuned, you will sleep better and in turn you will find yourself with less cravings the next day. This of course means that you will most likely be reaching for healthier options.
Get in the habit of using a planner
Using a planner is life changing for me. The days I don’t use it are days when I feel like my life is a chaotic mess. The days I do use it are when I am more focused and less stressed. It also helps me to avoid scrolling on my phone or doing other tasks that don’t benefit my health and wellbeing. This may sound drastic but it’s true. It’s what I have witnessed in my own life and it is something that those in my health coaching program utilize as well. Having a plan for your day will help you stay focused. It can even help you make healthier choices. I recommend writing your wellness goal for the day, scheduling in at least one self care task, and writing down a brief look at the days meal plan to really optimize your day.
Start with a nourishing breakfast
What you put into your body first thing in the morning can have a ripple effect on your whole day. When you choose foods that make you feel good you will most likely choose foods throughout the day that make you feel good. If you reach for a breakfast high in sugar and processed ingredients, then you will most likely feel bloated and less energetic throughout the rest of your day. Here’s why: when you choose foods high in sugar and with processed ingredients, you will get a short term “euphoric” feeling, that becomes addictive, which will likely cause you to choose similar foods later on. That sounds dramatic, but it is true. But that feeling doesn’t last. Those foods satisfy a craving and give you a surge in energy for a moment but eventually your energy crashes and you are left craving that same effect later causing you to reach for more unhealthy foods. However, if you choose a breakfast low in sugar, high in fiber, high in protein and high in healthy fats then you will be left not just feeling satisfied but also satiated until your next meal. This will cause you to reach for foods that have that same effect throughout the day. Check out this nourishing power bowl here that is one of my favorites to meal prep for healthy mornings.
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