I’ve been into fitness and health for so many years now, and one thing helps me keep it up: Starting each day healthy and right.
How I start my day often determines how my whole day will look like, and that’s a fact.
I’ve noticed so many times that when I start the day healthy, balanced and clean, I’m most likely to keep it that way for the rest of it.
That’s actually the greatest thing about mornings – they are like blank pieces of paper, and each day we have a new chance to make a change.
I’ve talked about this before, in my Morning Rituals – Healthy Habits That Changed My Life and there’s absolutely no doubt that morning is the most important time of day.
They just set the tone for your entire day.
This means that by changing one tiny little thing in the morning routine, you can improve your whole day and your whole life in the long run.
That’s how I did it and managed to keep fit and healthy throughout the years, and I’m just about to show you exactly how.
The one thing about my morning routine is that it’s constantly changing and evolving, as everything in life, so today I’m sharing “behind the scenes” of my most recent morning habits.
You’re getting a whole picture of how I start my day, with every single detail you need to know in order to improve the quality of your mornings.
So girls, don’t let another bad morning slip through your fingers and take your mornings and your life into your own hands!
Let’s start right away!
Check out my morning routine video on YouTube:
1. I Get Out Of Bed Same Time Each Day
You don’t have to be a morning person to wake up early, you just have to do a tiny trick – try waking up at the same time each morning :)
This will stabilize your circadian rhythm, which means that your body learns to set it’s own alarm clock, and naturally become tired at the same time each night, and wake up rested at the same time each morning.
This will help you build up the habit of getting earlier every morning, since getting into regular habits does neurologically program the mind, making it easier to pre-empt the alarm call as time goes by.
If it’s done at the same time each day, getting out of bed will be easier no matter when you go to sleep.
That’s the best thing you can do for your body – determining a time frame to adapt to.
My wake up time is 7:30 am.
2. I Always Stretch In Bed
This way I allow my body to wake up properly.
It doesn’t have to be a full yoga routine, just few minutes of comfortable stretching, body relaxing poses that will get it ready for what’s about to come.
I usually stretch my hands, legs, back and feet, it helps me wake every single muscle up and get them ready for the day ahead.
3. I Wash My Face With Ice Cold Water
After brushing my teeth I splash ice cold water in my face, several times.
I’ve been doing this for years, it helps me wake up instantly, freshen up and start the day.
It feels amazing on my skin, eyes and entire body.
4. I Drink A Glass Of Water
I always start my day with a glass of water, about 300 ml.
There’s something it that first sip of water that feels like it washes every single organ of my body, making sure to salute it good morning :)
It feels so good.
Also it has thousands of benefits, starting from cleaning digestion, to stimulating bowel movements and forcing toxins out of the body.
I like drinking ice cold water to start my mornings in summer and hot water in winter.
Either way, it’s a great way to start your day, just make sure to wait at least 20 minutes until you have your breakfast.
5. I Eat A Banana
I always start my day with bananas.
20-30 minutes after that glass of water, just before I start my first sweat session, I have this goddess of all fruits – the banana.
It’s usually a small one, just to energize me and get me going before it’s time to eat my breakfast.
Sometimes I make a smoothie and I have it on the go, with chia seeds, almond milk, banana and berries, but the banana factor is a must have.
I hate doing almost anything on empty stomach, so bananas make it all better!
6. I Get Active
So after those 300 ml of water I refill my water bottle, pull myself into my workout clothes, take that banana and head on for a run.
Since it’s almost 5K – 3 miles to my office, I usually run to work or cycle, and if the weather is cold or it’s raining I make sure to do a little cardio at home.
I do one of my favorites 20-30 minutes HIIT videos and get working.
Nothing too hard, not a strength training and certainly not weightlifting program this early, just pure cardio to break a sweat and start the day energized and fresh.
By performing cardio on almost empty stomach I feel lighter, fresher, more energized and on top of that I’m maximizing the calorie burning, fasten up the weight loss and make sure I start each day energized and ready to shine.
7. I Take Cold Shower
I bet it freckles your skin just by the thought of it :)
Trust me, try it once and you’ll see why I’m doing it.
Get in the shower while you’re sweaty and just turn on the cold jet – that’s where the magic happens :)
It doesn’t have to be ice cold water, it can be a comfortable cold to slightly warm water for starters.
The thing with cold showers is that while warm water causes your blood vessels to dilate and relax, a cold shower wakes them up, which makes it perfect for the morning.
So when exposed to a cold temperature the arteries begin to rapidly pump hot blood by increasing the circulation and shaking up the body.
You’re going to LOVE that after effect of the blood pumping in that body, warming up and getting ready to seize the day.
At the end, hot showers were invented as a luxury to human kind – they don’t provide any health benefits.
8. I Have A Healthy, Balanced Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
You should not skip it by any means, and you should always make sure that breakfast is your biggest and healthiest meal of the day.
This way, you’ll make sure to keep it healthy throughout the rest of the meals.
A little bit of protein, a little bit of healthy fats and a whole lot of healthy complex carbohydrates – that’s my recipe for a healthy breakfast.
But, it’s so hard to know what’s healthy and whats not with so much misleading info out there.
I talk about my breakfast in my meal plan – The Hungry Fit Girl, and I have over 50 breakfast recipes there you can try for yourself (both vegan and non vegan).
My all time favorite is whole grain toasts with tahini or peanut butter, topped with slices of banana and chia seeds.
Healthy carbs are the key to all of my breakfasts, and that’s the time of the day when your body needs them the most.
Also, I never wait to long to have my breakfast because I don’t want to keep it waiting, so usually an hour after I wake up.
9. I Take My Vitamins & Minerals
I usually have Zinc and Vitamin C in the morning, and leave out Magnesium with B6 in the evening.
I take Zinc throughout autumn, winter and spring, since it helps me keep a strong immune system.
I always apply for marathons and different kinds of races, and one cold or flu can ruin months of dedication and hard work, not to mention having to rest at least one week.
So I take Zinc as a prevention, together with Vitamin C – in flu season.
The one thing you have to know about vitamins and minerals is that you should always have them right after a meal, followed by loads of water.
10. I Always Have A Mug Full Of Coffee
I think coffee is the reason I love mornings.
It’s true – coffee is what get’s me going the most.
After my breakfast, I feel like I would just roll back to bed again, but coffee is that little voice in my head that says “You got this, girl!”
And I always have my coffee black and strong, no milk and certainly no sugar.
I get excited just by the smell of it – what can I say, caffeine is addictive and I cannot lie :)
And it’s true that drinking a lot of coffee can be harmful, but enjoying that one morning mug of caffeine will load you up with lots of healthy components including Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium and Niacin.
This magic in a mug, improves your energy levels, boosts the metabolic rate, improves physical performance, protects your heart and liver… These are only a few of the countless benefits you get from including coffee on a daily basis.
But, I have to admit it’s not only the coffee itself that counts, it’s who you share it with that’s important too.
Matt and I meet at the office at 9 each day and always have that coffee together – I just live for these moments!
If you’re by any chance not a coffee person (always wondered if these people really exist though haha) you can make yourself a cup of green or black tea, since they’re also high in caffeine.
Combine them with a few drops of fresh lemon and you’ll not only give yourself more energized morning, but you’ll burn a few more calories when doing it.
Just remember to never add sugar in your morning mugs – keep it clean at least in the beginning of the day.
Also, never have your coffee on empty stomach – always eat your breakfast first.
11. I Make A Plan For The Day
How else am I supposed to have time for everything if I don’t make sure to organize it, right?
So I sit down, usually with my coffee, I water my plants and make a plan for every single thing I have to finish today.
I write everything down in my planner, not only my daily activities, meetings and “to do” lists, but planning my meals and workouts too.
It doesn’t always have to be written down, even though writing it down helps a lot, especially the part when I add a check-mark whenever I complete a task.
12. I Make Sure To Hydrate Throughout The Entire Morning
I always have my favorite water bottle besides me and just make sure to refill it over and over again.
Sipping my morning away is what I do.
Hydrating in the morning helps me stay hydrated throughout the entire day, especially while working out.
I have exhausting training sessions and drinking water while working out has proven to be not the best idea, so I make sure to complete that hydration throughout the day.
I Hope You Like My Morning Routine!
This morning routine has helped me stay fit and healthy throughout the years.
It made me fall in love with mornings, feel refreshed, energized, focused and ready for almost any challenge ahead me.
You should try it too!
Once you get going with this routine, it will become natural to the body, will help it adapt to this kind of set up, and keep it up for a lifetime!
Just remember, it takes 21 day to make or break a habit.
The choice is yours, so make it right!
Also, don’t forget to share your morning routine in the comments bellow!
Lots of love and have a great morning!
xo,
Monica
I love you morning!
Yaaay! :) <3
Dear lovely Daughter Monica,
Thank you so much and I too like your morning routine.
Even I’m an old lady, hope I also can follow up this morning routine to keep fit my health.
Thank you for encouraging us.
Good luck and God bless you dear.
Love from
Aunty Dil
Dear Dil,
I’m so glad you like my morning routine!
Of course you can keep up, age doesn’t mean a thing when you have a young soul :)
Love,
Monica
It’s “seize the day” not “seas the day” lmao.
Thanks for noticing hun!
Typing in a rush be like… :)