Calories are not the only thing that matters when it comes to losing or gaining weight. There are many other factors that affect our weight than just the food we consume. The right way to obtain a proper weight is to create balance on multiple levels. Having in mind that the morning sets the tone for the whole day, practicing a healthy morning routine will improve your chances of successful weight loss.
It’s important you understand that the hormones insulin and leptin determine how hungry you feel and how much fat you store. Therefore, to have a weight loss success you need to have these two hormones working properly. They communicate with all other hormones in the body, so if you like to have them working properly, you need to have something close to total body balance. Too many inflammatory markers, or too much stress hormones will wreak havoc on your weight loss hormones.
Morning Routine for Effective Weight Loss
1. Write in A Gratitude Journal
Everyone needs a gratitude journal to remind themselves of the good things in their life, even when they are experiencing various difficulties. Take a couple of moments before getting out of the bed to find out what are you grateful for. Beginning your day by focusing on good and positive things will increase the “feel good” hormones and reduce the stress hormones.
There are several reasons why stress is bad for your waist line. According to many studies, people under stress find fattening foods more rewarding, so they often overeat. Another reason is that stress comes with cortisol spike which makes the human body less receptive to the fat storing hormone, insulin. Once insulin sensitivity decreases, fat storage increases and packing on the pounds becomes easy. What’s more, focusing on the positive things in your life sets you up for a happier day, and what’s a slim waist line without being happy on the inside?
2. Stretch
Doing any kind of stretch will improve your flexibility, even if that’s just stretching your arms, or touching your toes. Stretching can help relieve muscle tension and improve your range of motion. Muscle tension can trigger a similar stress reaction as emotional stress, especially when it’s related to physical pain. If a person feels better physically, s/he will also feel better emotionally. This in turn affects body hormones positively.
Moreover, stretching can improve your blood flow, thus improve your energy levels. If you are energized, you are less likely to crave refined carbohydrates, sugar, or other fattening foods which can give you only a quick burst of energy. Once you notice the positive benefits of your morning stretches, you will also want to exercise later in the day.
3. Drink a Glass Of Water
Even if you are not feeling thirsty when you wake up in the morning, your body is naturally dehydrated and does need water. Dehydration can even cause inflammation which can disrupt the balance of the hormones insulin and leptin.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism published a 2013 study which discovered that drinking 500 milliliters water increases metabolism by 30 percent, and has a thermogenic effect. So, by the time you start feeling thirsty, your body is already in a serious state of dehydration. That’s why it’s important to drink a glass of water in the morning before you feel signs of thirst. To increase the benefit, squeeze a bit of lemon to prepare your digestive system for the day. Your food will be processed more effectively if your digestive system is more effective, which in turn will support a healthy weight.
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4. Body Brushing
Body brushing is an effective detoxification method for the body. Most people are exposed to high toxicity levels on a daily basis, and that can cause system-wide inflammation. As a result, the hormones which control weight are negatively affected. Although real detoxification is a detailed process, you can reduce the toll of living in a high toxicity world by incorporating small habits in your everyday life.
This detoxification method involves brushing the skin to get the lymphatic system moving. Proper functioning of this system successfully eliminates toxins from the body. Once you reduce the inflammation related to toxicity, your insulin sensitivity will rise, programing your body to store less fat. You’ll need only few minutes to do body brushing, which will further improve your energy levels – something that you definitely need in the morning.
5. Eat Something
Although having a good, healthy breakfast is very important, eating something is even more important. Even if you don’t have time for a proper breakfast, take some fruit or several whole grain crackers to wake up your metabolism. According to studies, having breakfast later in the day increase the levels of hormone ghrelin throughout the day. The job of this hormone is to inform your brain that you are hungry. So, if you have your breakfast in the first half hour of the day, you will wake up your metabolism and increase your chances of burning more calories in this part of the day. Furthermore, your hunger signals will be better controlled, which will improve your eating habits throughout the day.
These five morning habits will take not more than 20 minutes of your time, providing you a positive start of the day and preparing your metabolism and hormones for proper weight loss. This morning routine however, doesn’t allow you to overindulge later in the day. You need to practice these beneficial morning habits on a regular basis to achieve healthy weight loss, as in this process every little bit helps. A great foundation for your day that will help you make more healthy choices later in the day.
Via Cure Joy
