Before I got serious about my health, fitness, and overall well-being, my morning habits were complete trash. I’d lazily turn off my annoying alarm clock (sometimes oversleeping), then do an awful rush job of throwing myself together before work with no type of ease and flow at all.
Looking back now, it’s no wonder I struggled with my diet, exercise, and even just managing day-to-day responsibilities!
If you start your day with pure chaos, it’s hard to recover from that. If you make that a habit, it quickly sets the tone for your entire life. No bueno!
But lucky for you, it can be super simple to turn your fate and your outcomes around… and all it takes is a little planning and effort backed by the force of habit.
Yes… Whatever goals you have, whether you want to lose weight, grow your career, or even just experience a bit more joy and peace in your life, you’ll do so well to create and follow an intentional set of morning habits.
And the best thing about this is that all you really need is ten extra minutes or so at the very least to make a major impact on your day.
Here are nine morning habits that’ll set you up for success with weight loss, health and fitness, and personal growth.
Morning habits you DON’T need
Before we jump into the best morning habits to set you up for weight loss success, I want to share some thoughts on those that I don’t think you need.
If you’ve seen advice to wake up super-early like 4 am or do things like hop into ice-cold showers and that puts you off – don’t do those things!
I feel like there’s this idea that things need to be painful or gross (like celery juice in the name of good health) to be worthwhile. And I disagree so wholeheartedly!
You want to create a life and lifestyle that you enjoy, that feels good to you, and that you benefit from.
The idea is to be able to do these things forever, so if you’re not a super-early morning person, don’t force yourself to wake up too early.
If you like hot showers, there’s NO reason to take a cold one!
I’m a firm believer in the idea that the lifestyle you create should be something that you want to move toward.
It should never feel forced or make you miserable.
A little challenging at first? Sure.
Miserable – NEVER.
RELATED: 99 Positive Habits To Help You Lose Weight
Start light and work your way up
The next point is that you don’t have to go from a chaotic morning routine to doing everything on this list straight away.
It’s okay to pick one or two things to start with, add them to your morning for a time, and then work your way up to more.
Just like changing your body, changing your morning routine won’t happen overnight.
It takes time, effort, and a gradual transition.
But I promise it’s worth it!
1- Pick a consistent time
First things first, you’ll want to pick a consistent time or at least a 15-minute time range that you can wake up every single day. Even on weekends and holidays, if possible.
The reason is that our bodies thrive on routine and having a consistent wake-up time can help maintain your body’s natural clock or circadian rhythm.
This will also make it easier to incorporate other habits into your morning because you’ll have a set time frame to work with.
The good thing about this is that it doesn’t have to be dramatically early to make a difference.
You’ll want to aim for maybe 20 to 30 minutes before you must get started otherwise prepare for your day.
That way, you’ll have enough time to incorporate one or more of these 10-minute morning habits before getting your actual day started.
So if you usually wake up at 7 in the morning, shoot for 6:30.
RELATED: 9 Bad Morning Habits That’ll Destroy Your Weight Loss Progress
2- Visualize your day
Now, this tip might seem a little “woo woo” but hear me out… it’s great if you like to linger in bed for a few moments before hopping right up. AND it does an excellent job of getting your mindset right for what’s ahead.
It’s visualizing your day!
If you’re prone to turning off your alarm clock and going back to sleep, this is an excellent morning habit that can help you ease into the day.
As you lay in bed, take a few deep breaths and visualize how a day in your new, healthy lifestyle and body will look like.
Envision yourself looking and feeling as you already would if you’d reached your goal.
Literally envision yourself stepping out of bed, getting dressed, running your errands, interacting with others and all.
You can go into as much detail as you’d like!
This is extremely helpful if you’re working on your diet and fitness because if you envision yourself eating healthy, nutritious foods all day long, staying hydrated, and even picture your workouts before you do them, it makes everything so much more real, natural, and easier to stick to.
3- Tidy up
As soon as you rise, if you can, tidy up!
Simply making a habit out of making your bed and arranging your pillows can give you a sense of accomplishment right from the start of your day.
Plus, coming home to a clean and tidy bedroom is always a great feeling!
Making your bed can take just a minute or two, but research has shown that having a tidy space can positively impact your mood and productivity throughout the day.
So, take a few extra seconds in the morning to straighten up your room. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later!
4- Go to your special space
I guess this is something you’ll need to do technically before the morning, but I recommend having a special space or location where you can carry out the rest of your morning routine.
It doesn’t have to be a big space or anything – it can be a spot on the couch in your living room or a chair at your table.
You just need someplace where you can ritualistically go every morning that is separate from your bed, but where you have space to think, write, enjoy a morning beverage, and just “be” for a bit.
If you can, it’s so nice to light a candle in this space, especially if it’s still dark when you wake up!
It’s all about serene moods and vibes that make you feel good!
I was using a candle each morning but my best friend gifted me this Himalayan salt lamp and it’s so soft and glowy and perfect for my morning routine.
Either/or is fine, but you just want something that changes the mood for you, relaxes you, and sets the tone for what comes next.
5- Hydrate
Another great way to start your day is by hydrating!
After 6-8 hours of sleep, our bodies are often dehydrated and in need of some water.
Start your day off right by drinking water as soon as you arrive at your special morning ritual spot.
Some people swear by hot lemon water in the morning and this is fine, but it’s not 100% necessary.
There’s limited evidence that it helps with digestion and weight loss, but if it makes you feel good and you enjoy it- go for it!
I do prefer hot water to cold in the morning as it just feels really good.
But a problem I used to have is that it would take time to warm up the water and I just found that inconvenient.
Well, my neighbor gifted me this amazing bottle that keeps things either really hot or really cold for like 8-12 hours. It’s mind-blowing but it works.
So now every night I boil some water, put lemon juice in it, and then store the bottle in my office where I go do my morning routine.
So I just wake up and immediately go to my space and my hot water is already ready!
It’s such a time-saver and makes hydrating in the morning that much cozier and more pleasant.
Check it out here – it’s SO worth it!
6- Yoga, meditation, or breathing
Now that you’re all set up in your space with your hot water and your mood lighting, you’ll want to engage your body, mind (or both) in a little gentle movement or stillness. This could be in the form of yoga, meditation, or simply focusing on slow and intentional breathing.
One thing that kept me from these practices in the past was that I thought you had to do it for a long time to reap the benefits.
I never do any of these things more than 7 or 8 minutes each morning and I can tell what a huge difference it makes in my day when I do just those few minutes versus when I skip it.
Every little bit counts!
I use two apps for yoga and/or meditation.
For yoga, I do Down Dog. And for meditation, I use Insight Timer.
Both apps have free versions that are insanely valuable. I used the free versions of both for years before upgrading to paid and you can get tons of mileage if you never intend to upgrade.
But I only do 7 or 8-minute yoga sessions OR 3 to 5 minutes of meditation or breathing and it’s enough.
Try it and see how calm and serene you feel moving into your day.
RELATED: Check Out This FREE 23-Day Yoga Challenge For Beginners!
7- Journal or brain dump
After I’ve stretched or meditated, I like to jot down my thoughts in my journal or brain-dump everything that’s in my head.
To me, it feels like taking a shower for your brain!
I think many people go around all day holding thoughts and emotions in and it’s just so unhealthy.
I don’t use journaling prompts or anything, but I like to just write as if I’m talking to a friend about how I’m feeling, what my concerns are, what I want to do that day, and how I slept the night before.
It feels relaxing to get it all out and start with a fresh, clean mental slate.
And it’s a nice segue into what comes next…
8- Plan your day
Generally, if you’re writing down your thoughts it’s almost natural to just write about what you want to accomplish that day.
If you already visualized how your day is going to go, then you likely have a good handle on this already.
But it’s so helpful to jot down a few pointed items.
I’m a huge fan of adding my workout or my dietary goals to this list because it’s something that takes commitment.
At least for me, I know I want to RE-commit every single day to the lifestyle I choose to lead because it’s not always easy.
Whether you want to be plant-based or vegan or just eat a little healthier and move more to reach your goals, if you come from a lifestyle of bad habits it’s easy to fall into old ways.
So, recommitting to those goals and practices in the form of visualizing and writing them down as “to-do’s” for the day is a symbolic gesture that makes it an intentional part of your day – not an afterthought.
9- Positive affirmations
Last but not least, again it may sound a little “woo woo” but the way you speak to and about yourself is important.
It may sound silly, but telling yourself out loud or even just in your head that you are capable of reaching your goals and that you are worthy and deserving of the best possible health and happiness can make a huge difference in your mindset.
You can write these down if you’re already writing in your journal or your to-do list, but if you can incorporate these into your preparing for your day, it gently eases you into “getting ready” with positivity.
If you’re open to it, I recommend looking at yourself in the mirror and affirming your goals and self-worth before starting your day.
Really seeing yourself, your reflection, and speaking to yourself lovingly and gently the way you would a close friend is so powerful.
It doesn’t have to be a big deal, either. Just looking at yourself and saying “you’ve got this!” or “today is going to be a great day for you!” can go a LONG way.
Because how many of us go through an entire day without really being affirmed? It’s easy to do!
You don’t need to wait for someone else to tell you you’re amazing, powerful, and capable of achieving your goals.
It works if you do it for yourself, too!
10-minute morning habits for success
Overall yes, at this time I do just about all of this every morning and it’s helped me stay focused, slim down, relieve stress, hit multiple goals, and do it all with ease and flow.
Sometimes I skip a step or two, but not a day goes by where I don’t do at least some of this.
I generally wake up 20-30 minutes before I need to get my day started and always have time to get everything in, so that goes to show you don’t have to do anything crazy to prioritize yourself.
Because that’s really all this is.
It’s treating yourself like you are valuable and worth putting FIRST.
Before your e-mail, your job, other people who need things from you…
You will have so much more to GIVE those people and those responsibilities if you nurture yourself and attend to your own needs first.
So try one or more of these morning habits tomorrow morning, gradually build on them until you have an iron-clad system that uplifts you, and let me know how it goes, okay?
Good luck! 🙂
