The
best part of mornings is that they’re so full of potential! No matter
whether you laced up your sneaks yesterday or overindulged on a
co-worker’s birthday cake, it’s a fresh chance to get closer to your
health goals. To keep that get-fit momentum going all day long, start
your day off right with these morning habits that will motivate you even
more.
Get Some Sun
Basking in the sun’s rays can help you drop pounds, according to research published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Study authors had 54 participants wear wrist monitors that recorded
their exposure to morning light for seven days. During that period,
participants kept food diaries to track their calorie intake. The people
who spent more time in morning light had lower BMIs than those who were
in the dark, no matter their age, activity level, or what they ate.
Why? Morning light helps regulate your internal clock, which aids your
sleep schedule (crucial for weight loss).
Morning sunshine also contains higher levels of blue light, which has
the strongest effect on your circadian rhythm. You only need 20-30
minutes of morning sunlight between 8 a.m. and noon to get in on these
benefits!
Sleep In
This one goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip. Spending more time on those precious Zzzs can help you eat less and have fewer cravings than
people who skimp on sleep. Researchers at the University of Chicago and
the University of Wisconsin tracked the sleep of 10 overweight young
adults who were at risk for obesity and who self-reported fewer than six
and a half hours of shut-eye each night. For the first week of the
study, they stuck with their regular sleep schedules. For the second and
third, the study authors had them bump it up to eight and a half hours.
On average, they slept around an additional 1.6 hours and experienced a
14 percent decrease in appetite and a 62 percent drop in cravings for
sweet and salty junk. If you’re groaning each time your alarm goes off,
try to rearrange your schedule so you can spend a little more a.m. time
in bed.
Get in a Mindful Mood
Mindfulness is a key strategy when it comes to weight loss.
It’s all about taking a focused, intentional approach to your life by
really tuning in to your body and mind. Even better, it can stabilize your emotions, potentially making you less likely to give into stress-based eating.
Researchers at the University of Utah had 38 people between ages 20 to
45 fill out a survey that measured how mindful they were naturally. For
two days, participants rated their emotions throughout the day in
addition to tracking their physical and cognitive arousal before sleep
to measure anxiety. Those who were naturally mindful had experienced
less irregular mood swings. Rather than trying to kick-start this habit
when faced with your first meal, begin your morning with mindfulness
instead: Take a few minutes at the start of each day to sit quietly and
focus on the rhythm of your breath.
Change Up Your Commute
Driving to work is easy, but it may not be best for your waistline. A study published in the journal BMJ shows that people who walk, bike, and take public transportation have lower BMIs and body-fat percentages than
those who depended on their cars to get to work. The University College
London team of researchers collected the BMIs and body-fat percentages
of more than 7,000 people. Participants then completed a survey about
how they usually got themselves to the office. The women who used a
method other than a car had a BMI that was around 0.7 less than the
others, which is about a 5.5-pound difference on the scale. Note that
this doesn’t exclude public transportation! Even walking to the closest
bus stop or train station can be beneficial.
Go High-Protein
While the jury’s still out on whether breakfast is essential for weight loss, a healthy dose of protein in the morning looks
like it can help you drop pounds. Scientists at Biofortis Clinical
Research and the University of Missouri department of exercise
physiology and nutrition gave 35 women from the ages of 18 to 55 three
different breakfasts. One was just a glass of water, while the others
clocked in at around 300 calories each (and had equal fat and fiber
counts). One of those had three grams of protein, while the other had 30
to 39 grams, which is more than two-thirds of the RDA. Those who had
high-protein breakfasts felt less hungry and ate 175 fewer calories at
lunch. Protein takes a long time to digest and pushes your body to
secrete the gut hormone Peptide YY, which helps increase feelings of
fullness.
Work Up a Sweat
Obviously, working out at any point is going
to be a good thing! But beside giving your metabolism a boost that lasts
well into the day, a study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that women who exercised in the morning were
less distracted by pictures of delicious food. They had 17 participants
with healthy weights and BMIs and 18 obese participants walk briskly
for 45 minutes in the morning. Apart from not being as interested in
pictures of unhealthy food, study subjects were more active throughout
the day, no matter their weight.
Pack the Day’s Snacks
Avoid the afternoon dash to the office vending machine with this one: Take just a few minutes each morning to make sure you’ve got enough snacks to take you through the day, suggests Keri Glassman, M.S., R.D., a Women’s Health
contributor. When you’ve just woken up, it’s easy to underestimate how
much fuel you’ll need throughout the day and just throw an apple in your
bag. Instead, budget extra time to whip up some quick, healthy snacks that
will keep you on the road to weight-loss success. Even better, just
throw them in your bag after prepping them the previous weekend.
Courtesy of: Women's Health Magazine
Courtesy of: Women's Health Magazine
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