what makes a healthy morning routine?

[thatgirl]

Mornings are the only time I have to myself. The problem is that there is so much that I think I'm supposed to do when I wake up: workout, journal, meditate, caffeinate, eat a good breakfast, and generally prep for the day - but I don't think I'm doing it right. The coffee, shower and breakfast part is easy. But should I workout before or after breakfast? Or after coffee? And how little time spent on the rest of it is enough?

What healthy habits do you try to keep in the morning? Is there anything I'm missing?

 

[dissn_it]

Wow, you do a lot more in the morning than I do! I usually start with my pilates workout and a shower. Then move on to coffee, breakfast and getting ready for work. I don't keep a journal but I do some yoga and meditation before turning in for the night. It seems to help me relax and unwind so I sleep better.

 

[MellowGuy]

There are a few debates on whether or not one should eat before or after a morning workout. I personally don't eat anything until after my morning workout. I'm one of those people that believe that the energy I ingested the day before is what I'm using now. Because of this, I'll make sure to eat very well throughout the day so that I can have energy for the next mornings workout.

Is this a healthy routine? To me it works very well because if I eat something before a workout, I usually find I am not performing as well due to the digestion process.

 

[pb&bananas]

When I wake in the mornings, I give myself an hour to get woke up and have my first cup of coffee. After that, I go ahead and workout, before breakfast, because I read somewhere that if you're trying to lose weight (as I am) that working out before breakfast causes your body to burn up its fat stores instead of relying on the food you just ate for energy. Plus, I work out so soon after waking that I usually don't have an appetite for breakfast yet.

 

[Ja'cobeC]

I always workout before breakfast because you burn more fat off your body that way. I lost a lot of weight by doing it this way also. Plus morning exercise makes me feel good the whole day after.

 

[Esperahol]

You do better than me, I set my alarm half an hour early because it takes me that long to care enough to get up. Then I do either Yoga or Pilates before taking a shower and getting ready for work or whatever. Unless it rains in which case I watch it rain for a while before I get ready for work and such.

 

[Sugarhill]

Mornings are the only time I have to myself. The problem is that there is so much that I think I'm supposed to do when I wake up: workout, journal, meditate, caffeinate, eat a good breakfast, and generally prep for the day - but I don't think I'm doing it right. The coffee, shower and breakfast part is easy. But should I workout before or after breakfast? Or after coffee? And how little time spent on the rest of it is enough?

What healthy habits do you try to keep in the morning? Is there anything I'm missing?

I don't really know how you could be doing your mornings wrong if they are working for you.

If you want to work out, do your cardio prior to eating as it will burn fat, as previously mentioned. While you are doing your cardio, if it something that doesn't requires much concentration for you to do it effectively, use that time to reflect on what it is you want to write in your journal. Go take a shower or meditate next and do some more reflecting.

While you are making and eating breakfast, write down your thoughts and finish your coffee and then prep for the rest of your day.

 

[shaunche]

You shouldn't NEED to use caffeine in the morning, that's not a good sign. A restful night's sleep and morning daylight should be enough to make you feel invigorated and energized in the morning.

Exercising on an empty stomach will burn more fat because you will be in a fasted state. You could also skip breakfast to extend the overnight fast until lunch, so long as you don't snack up to lunch.

 

[dimbaka]

My morning routine starts with 'Oil Pulling'. Though it may sound strange, the practice has a mention in the ancient Ayurvedic texts and is gaining momentum. This is a very simple practice of filling the mouth with a tablespoon of Sesame oil and gargling it inside the mouth for about 20 minutes. After the duration it can be spit out. This practice lies on the fact that mouth is the entry point of any disease and hence regular cleansing of the mouth in empty stomach with sesame oil pulling keeps many serious illnesses at bay. It is believed that systemic problems such as hypertension, blood sugar levels, urea etc. come down after prolonged practice of oil pulling.

 

[classicnyer]

I've recently started taking a yoga class before breakfast now that I have the luxury of having a studio a few blocks away. I wouldn't dream of eating breakfast first though; I'd feel like I'd get a cramp or something, haha! I come home and cook breakfast after the class.

 

[pb&bananas]

My morning routine starts with 'Oil Pulling'. Though it may sound strange, the practice has a mention in the ancient Ayurvedic texts and is gaining momentum. This is a very simple practice of filling the mouth with a tablespoon of Sesame oil and gargling it inside the mouth for about 20 minutes. After the duration it can be spit out. This practice lies on the fact that mouth is the entry point of any disease and hence regular cleansing of the mouth in empty stomach with sesame oil pulling keeps many serious illnesses at bay. It is believed that systemic problems such as hypertension, blood sugar levels, urea etc. come down after prolonged practice of oil pulling.

Goodness! You gargle with it for twenty minutes?! I think I would rather gargle with Listerine for 30 seconds and be done with it; I don't have the patience to gargle anything for twenty minutes!!

 

[Sage]

I'm envious of those who can get up and excercise in the morning. I do good to just drag myself out of bed when the alarm goes off.

 

[Sugarhill]

Goodness! You gargle with it for twenty minutes?! I think I would rather gargle with Listerine for 30 seconds and be done with it; I don't have the patience to gargle anything for twenty minutes!!

Twenty minutes? How about gargling oil? Yeah, I'm going to have to let that one go, even with substantial amounts of literature to explain all of it's benefits, I just don't see that happening in my daily routine.

Do you brush your teeth after that? What gets all of that oil out of your mouth?

 

[artistry]

Some would say, you learn something new everyday. I have never heard of oil pulling. Interesting. My morning is very simple, wake, short exercise session. Eat light breakfast. Watch the news. Bathroom routine, next case.

 

[shaunche]

My routine is simple, too. I wake up, have a shower, prepare a glass of lemon water and then start working! Lemon water is good because it is highly alkaline and the lemon juice contains other nutrients as well. I don't eat breakfast, it works for me.

 

[classicnyer]

I'm envious of those who can get up and excercise in the morning. I do good to just drag myself out of bed when the alarm goes off.

That was so me before I started exercising in the morning. I find that getting up and going to the studio actually gives me energy to do everything else, whereas I would otherwise be dragging through my whole morning.

 

[hunysukle]

In my opinion, a healthy morning route would involve taking a nice shower and then eating a healthy breakfast. Then, meditating in a relaxing garden for 30 minutes.