Four Things That Should Be Part of Your Morning Routine

Use these four key morning routines to set up your day for success.

It’s almost the New Year, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until January 1 to start working toward your fitness goals.

Design your mornings to set yourself up for a successful day by prioritizing your health and wellness. Here are four things you should start incorporating into your morning routine to get a jump-start on reaching your fitness goals.

Sweat

It’s no secret that getting fit requires some level of movement. But life is busy. And, more often than not, it’s our workouts that get pushed aside because we run out of time.

Many fitness experts agree that working out first thing in the morning is a great way to avoid the “no time” excuse. By starting your day with a sweat sesh, you’re ensuring that you never miss a workout because things got too hectic. Besides, the science-backed benefits of working out in the morning are too good to ignore.

Hydrate

Before you reach for the coffee pot, grab a glass of water (preferably warm with lemon) and chug. This rehydrates your body after a night of sleep and kick-starts your metabolism. And it ensures you get at least some of the daily recommended intake of water.

Meditate

Prepare for whatever the day holds by taking some time with your thoughts. Meditation is known to relieve stress, help you be more rested, increase productivity and boost energy naturally. Plus, one of the benefits of being less stressed and well-rested is that you don’t crave salty, sweet comfort foods that are bad for you. Instead, you can use meditation and mindfulness to be more aware of what you’re eating, so that you’re not putting junk in and getting junk out.

Dinner prep

Another thing that goes out the window after a busy, stressful day is a healthy dinner. Try as you might to plan on eating healthy weeknight meals, it’s so much easier to reach for the quick and easy unhealthy stuff when you just don’t feel like cooking.

Here are a few tips and tricks to sticking to your healthy dinner by planning ahead that morning:

• Throw a bunch of healthy stuff into a crockpot to cook while you’re at work. Dinner is served as soon as you walk through the door!
• Chop all of your veggies and meat in the a.m. to throw into a pan tonight for an easy one-pot stir fry dinner.
• Find an easy, quick healthy recipe that doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, prep time or cook time. Print it out and leave it on the counter, so it’s ready to greet you when you get home and into the kitchen.

Experts on how to design your kitchen environment to lose weight and eat healthy.

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