I often have people comment to me that they could never do what I do. They could never get up early in the morning to exercise. They could never exercise as often as I do. They could never give up unhealthy eating.
Well, first of all, you can do anything you set your mind to. I'm not special. I just made up my mind that I wanted to be healthier and developed some healthier habits.
Secondly, it's not complicated, and it's not rocket science. I suggest adding in one habit every few weeks, like drinking more water, into your daily routine. Add something new every few months and before you know it, you've built a consistent, healthy routine for yourself.
Here's what my morning routine looks like: the alarm wakes me up at 5:00 a.m. I let the dogs outside and then feed them. While they are eating, I drink a glass of water. Then I have a cup of coffee and watch the news and usually after that, I'm hungry, so I eat a light snack, usually a banana with peanut butter. I change into my workout clothes and drink some pre-workout, and while I'm waiting for that to kick in, I empty the dishwasher. Then I do my workout. Following my workout, I drink more water and a protein shake.
It's a great way to start out each day. My workout gets done, no matter what else comes up during the day, and I've already had 32 ounces of water before I even start my work day.
People are shocked that I get up so early. I never used to. I wasn't a morning person at all. But I realized that the only way I could be consistent with workouts was to get them done first thing. Getting up at 5:00 a.m. took getting used to, but now it's not an issue.
Here's the other thing: I go to bed at 9:00 p.m. each night so that I get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. You can't change your wake-up time to earlier if you're still staying up late at night. The key is to make sure you get plenty of sleep.
The important thing to remember about routines is that sometimes they get disrupted and that's okay. Life happens. Vacations happen. Illness happens. Special occasions and celebrations happen. Just start where you left off and get back into the routine.
Start where you are right now with one healthy habit, whether it be adding an extra serving of vegetables to your meals, drinking a glass of water when you wake up, or setting your alarm 10 minutes earlier each week - just start. It will take time to develop, it doesn't happen overnight, but at some point, you'll be doing these things without even thinking about it because they've become habits.
And for pete's sake, don't beat yourself up if you're not perfect. No one is perfect. I'm far from perfect. The key to my success thus far is that I don't give up, even if I stumble, screw up, or fall off track for periods of time. I just keep going.
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