6 Tried and Tested Ways to Start Your Day the Best Way

We speak to Lucy Loves Fitness to find out her top tips for starting the day the right way.

1. Shake it out

What’s your alarm? Is it a catchy song? Pick a song to get your groove on as you’re getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, in the shower or doing your make-up, something upbeat to get you moving.

2. Rehydrate

Mornings are busy and hydrating is probably not the top job on your list, but this one is really important. After hours of sleep and not drinking anything, having water when you wake up is essential. Take a glass of water to bed with you, so you can drink it all when you wake up. And if you’re a coffee lover, it’s especially important to drink water beforehand!

3. Train

This is the next level up from having a dance whist brushing your teeth. Who prefers to train in the mornings? I do! I’m in my best headspace and able to focus. Here are some quick reasons why training in the morning is an awesome habit:

• It kick starts your metabolism, which is what you need for your body to be a lean, mean fat burning machine
• You’ll work up an appetite for breakfast, and because you’ve just put your body through a workout you’ll want to reward it with nutritious food
• Get a morning glow! Rosy cheeks and all things nice, but this glow can double up as a defence barrier against stress. “Virtually any form of exercise, from aerobics to yoga, can act as a stress reliever. If you’re not an athlete or even if you’re out of shape, you can still make a little exercise go a long way toward stress management.”1

4. Herbal Tea

Herbal tea is a tasty way to work towards your daily water allowance. The recommended daily intake of water for a woman who is exercising is 2-3litres per day. It doesn’t all have to be plain water, you can add natural ingredients such as lemon, lime, cucumber, mint or berries to it. You can also drink herbal tea, there are so many flavours to choose from, you’ll be able to find a favourite. My favourites are Peppermint and Lemon & Ginger.

5. Take a moment to be grateful

Your alarm clock is most likely on your phone, so when it’s in your hand it’s easy to scroll through your social media feed to ‘come around’. Have you realised that before you’ve even woken up and given your brain a chance to think about what’s coming up in your life that day, you’ve thrown it straight into the craziness of everyone else’s lives? STOP. Turn the alarm off, or snooze, and focus on all the good things in your life, the people you are grateful for and the blessings that surround you. Wake up to your life first.

6. Feed your brain

The next time you rush out the door in the morning without something to eat, consider this: skipping breakfast can set you up for overeating later in the day. A healthy breakfast, on the other hand, can give you energy, satisfy your appetite, and set you up for smart decisions all day long.”You want to aim for a breakfast that combines good carbs and fibre with some protein,” says Erica Giovinazzo, MS, RD, a nutritionist at Clay Health Club and Spa, in New York City.

Here are some ideas:

• Oats with berries and a small handful of nuts
• Oats with berries and protein powder
• Mini frittatas packed with veggies (peppers, courgette and sweetcorn)
• Wholegrain toast with natural almond butter + banana

Source: 1. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469

Lucy is a fully qualified Personal Trainer living in Sydney, fitness has always been a huge part of her life and she’s tried most sports – dancing, swimming, surfing, rock climbing, pole dancing and triathlons though as she entered her thirties she noticed how what she was doing before wasn’t getting the same results so she got into Bodybuilding. This taught her so much about discipline, mental strength, changing body composition through resistance training and nutrition.

Lucy has competed in 2 seasons of Natural Bikini Competitions in Australia, and has gone through a strict preparation process twice to get ready for stage. Her focus now is on helping women to learn how to change their lifestyle for the long term, through making better nutrition decisions and implementing results driven exercise into their weekly routine.