Three Morning Habits to Kickstart your Health
Mornings can set the tone for your entire day, especially when you’re on a journey to better health and weight loss. In last week’s podcast episode, we explored three essential morning habits that anyone can adopt to live a healthier life. Today, I’m excited to share three more practical tips that you can easily incorporate into your morning routine for weight loss. These steps are designed to help you feel energized, reduce stress, and support your weight loss goals—without drastic changes or complex diets. Let’s dive into how you can make the most of your mornings to benefit your body, mind, and spirit.
3 Morning Habits to Practice
1. Get Outside and Embrace the Sunlight
The first thing you should do after waking up is step outside and soak up some of the morning sunlight. This is crucial whether you rise before the sun or after it’s already shining. If it’s still dark when you wake up, go about your morning as usual, but make it a priority to step outside once the sun rises. Even just five minutes in the sunlight can make a significant difference.
Morning sunlight triggers your body to release cortisol, which naturally wakes you up and helps regulate your circadian rhythm. This rhythm is your body’s internal clock, usually spanning 24 hours, that dictates sleep and wakefulness. Exposure to morning light signals your body to start the day, ensuring that your body can produce melatonin later in the evening to help you wind down and get restful sleep.
While you’re outside, take a moment to stretch. Raise your arms above your head like you’re starting a sun salutation in yoga. This stretch helps extend your posture, especially if you’re a side or back sleeper who might wake up with rounded shoulders. Moving your arms overhead also promotes better lymphatic drainage and shoulder mobility. Do this simple stretch about three times to get your body moving and energized.
2. Delay Your Coffee and Eat Breakfast First
After you’ve gotten your dose of sunlight, it’s time to fuel your body. If you’re a coffee drinker, I’m not going to tell you to give it up, but I do recommend delaying that first sip until after you’ve eaten something.
Why? When you consume coffee on an empty stomach, it can cause a cortisol spike, leading to increased stress levels and potentially throwing your body into a fight-or-flight mode. Instead, eat a small, balanced breakfast first. If you’re not a big breakfast eater, a handful of nuts can do the trick to stabilize your blood sugar before you enjoy your coffee.
If intermittent fasting works well for you, feel free to continue with it-don’t stop something that is working well for you, until it no longer works. But many of my midlife clients struggle with fasting as it creates more cortisol, so I find that eating a small breakfast before coffee helps manage stress and energy levels better throughout the day. It’s all about finding what works best for your body.
3. Prioritize Protein in Your Breakfast
The third step in your morning routine should be to prioritize protein. Aim for at least 30 grams of protein in your breakfast. This could be from a variety of sources—eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or even a protein smoothie.
Eggs are a fantastic option because they’re nutrient-dense and can be easily adjusted to meet your protein needs. For example, you can mix whole eggs with egg whites to increase protein without adding extra fat. Yogurt and cottage cheese are also excellent choices, offering a high-protein punch with added benefits from probiotics.
For a well-rounded breakfast, try to eat your vegetables first, followed by protein, and then any carbs like fruit or oatmeal. This order helps manage blood sugar levels, keeping them stable and reducing the likelihood of energy crashes later in the day.
Conclusion
Incorporating these three morning habits into your routine can set the tone for a healthier day and support your weight loss journey. Remember, I’m not asking for drastic changes—just small, consistent steps that can make a big difference over time. By getting morning sunlight, eating before coffee, and prioritizing protein, you’ll start your day off right, reducing stress and inflammation while supporting your body’s natural rhythms.
If you have any questions or need more ideas for a high-protein breakfast, join our Moving Through Midlife community where we share tips, recipes, and support to help you thrive. Let’s start making those small changes today and see where they take us.
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