Morning Rituals That Can Help You Get Fit Fast

As a general rule, everyone wants to be fit. They want to have an amazing body like they see on TV and be strong enough to awe their friends. They like the idea of being able to run like the wind or bend like a gymnast. Most people want to look good, feel strong and be healthy. Actually achieving that goal, however, is something that many people struggle with throughout their lives.

It is easy to want to be fit, but actually improving your health and fitness level takes time, energy, resources and, most of all, patience. The latter is the piece that most people are missing. Simply look at how many people swear every January that they are going to lose weight, eat healthier or get in shape. The number is in the tens of millions. The vast majority of those people, however, will give up on their goals by February. They feel that it is too hard and that they are not seeing results. Unfortunately for everyone, fitness takes time to achieve. There are no shortcuts, no matter how much internet blogs and TV ads tell you that a certain pill or food can transform your body in a week. That is not how the human body works, at least not if you are planning on remaining any semblance of healthy. That said, there are ways that you can set yourself up for success and help build or maintain momentum on your fitness journey. Here are six morning rituals to help you get fit fast.

Drink a glass of water.

One of the easiest ways to jump start your road to fitness is to drink a glass of water in the morning. Drinking a cup of cold water first thing in the morning will help wake up both your mind and your body. Plain water works perfectly fine, but some people also swear by adding a touch of lemon juice, chili powder or acai juice to help get your metabolism going as quickly as possible.

Drinking water in the morning will allow you to start the day off hydrated. This is important not just to avoid dehydration but also to avoid overeating at breakfast. Sometimes, when you think you are hungry, you actually just need a glass of water. Drinking some good old H2O in the morning can help you avoid this. It will also help you drink smaller amounts of juice in the morning or pass altogether on such sugary concoctions.

Look at the morning light.

Shutterstock.com

Despite what your sleep addled brain thinks, looking at bright sunlight first thing in the morning is not actually going to cause you to shrivel up and die like a slug covered in salt. It will, however, help you keep your circadian rhythm under control and stay healthy. Staring at sunlight first thing in the morning helps signal your brain that it is time to be up, awake and alert. It eases the shift of your body from its nearly-dormant mode during sleep to the humming machine that it is during your waking hours. This includes, of course, both your metabolism and your skeletal muscles.

Morning light will also help you get to sleep better in the long run. Your brain is meant to respond to signals of light and darkness to determine your sleep-wake patterns. Electric lighting means that your brain is often confused as to when it is “night,” but bright light in the morning gives your brain at least one normal signal with which to work. Sunlight is the best, but if you live somewhere that does not get a lot of sunlight or it is raining, turning on bright overhead lights is the next best option.

Skip the creamer in your coffee.

Shutterstock.com

Most people start their day off with a cup of coffee. They shamble out of bed, shuffle into the kitchen and wait numbly for the ambrosia that will turn them from extras in a zombie movie to functional human beings. Coffee, however, can be a huge roadblock on your fitness journey because most people do not simply drink their coffee black. They add creamer, flavor shots and sugar to make the bitter drink more palatable. These little extras, however, can turn a reasonably healthy drink into a fitness black hole. Your best bet is to kick the coffee habit altogether, but if you absolutely need the caffeine or truly enjoy the taste, train yourself to take your coffee plain. Skip any sort of cream, sugar and extra flavor.

In the event that you need the caffeine but do not care how you get it, switch to black or green tea. Both carry a surprising amount of caffeine, but they also contain more healthy nutrients than coffee. Whatever you do, however, do not start drinking energy drinks. They are filled with sugar, preservatives and so much caffeine that most of them carry warning labels.

Eat a healthy, filling breakfast.

Shutterstock.com

When it comes to fitness, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is your first chance to get your diet right and often sets the tone for the rest of your day. If you eat a sugary breakfast full of empty calories such as muffins or white toast, you are going to be hungry again in an hour. A breakfast filled with fiber and protein, however, will help keep you feeling full longer. This will not only make it easier to resist snacking at work, but it will also make you less likely to overeat at lunch. For a quick, healthy but filling breakfast, enjoy a bowl of oatmeal, a container of Greek yogurt or a pair of hard boiled eggs. Each of these is loaded with protein that will keep your blood sugar steady and keep your stomach from starting to growl shortly after you have finished eating.

Make your lunch.

Shutterstock.com

You can exercise until the cows come home, but if your diet is a nutritional dumpster fire, your fitness goals are going to remain forever out of reach. If you really want to get fit, you need to make sure that your meals are as healthy as your exercise plan. The easiest way to do that, of course, is simply to make use of a meal plan and have a menu set in advance for each meal of the day. This will save you from having to scramble around trying to find something to eat when you are starving and thus reaching for potato chips instead of carrots.

When it comes to planning meals, lunch is often skipped over. People focus on breakfast and dinner but assume they will just figure something out for lunch. This attitude, however, often leads to people grabbing a sandwich from a nearby deli or eating fast food for lunch. That is assuming they eat lunch at all and do not simply snack their way through the workday. Resist the urge to simply put off thinking about lunch until lunchtime. Make your lunch the night before and take it with you to work so that you know you have a healthy, filling meal waiting for you while your coworkers are raiding the vending machine headed to the local McDonalds.

Go work out.

Shutterstock.com

When you get up in the morning, the last thing you probably feel like doing is heading over to the gym. If you are serious about reaching your fitness goals, however, you need to seriously consider becoming one of those crazies that does a predawn workout. People who work out in the mornings are more likely to get in a good workout and less likely to skip one than those who hit the gym after work. You are more likely to be mentally exhausted in the evenings and lack the motivation to go to the gym. When you leave work is also more likely to vary than when you arrive at work. If you work out in the morning, needing to stay late at work does not cost you a workout. Your workout is already done.

Working out in the morning also means that you start the day with a large item checked off your to do list. By the time you get to work, you are awake and feeling motivated by what you have already accomplished. You are also less likely to get stir crazy or zone out during the day. Then, when you get home, you can crash on the couch like you have been dying to do since lunch without feeling guilty about it.