On Loving Your Mornings

I read an article recently about “loving your mornings” that really stuck out to me.

The article was written by Sarah Jenks who is a Lifestyle and Nutrition consultant and also a fellow graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Her whole philosophy on weight loss and life in general is to enjoy yourself and that if you are living your life with a focus on pleasure, enjoyment and self-care,  then you won’t even need to worry about your weight. “Live More, Weight Less” is her branded motto and her mentality in a nutshell, that the more you “live”, the less you will naturally weigh. When you are taking care of yourself in every way and thoroughly enjoying your life, you won’t need to turn to food to fill any voids.

If I could line myself up with anyone’s philosophy on health and life in general, it would be hers. My thoughts have evolved in this area over the last several years, and I’ve found that when I focus on living my life, surrounding myself with amazing people, taking care of myself and my friends/family, and doing things I love, that everything falls into place.

So along those lines, I want to talk about loving your morning routine. In this article, Sarah talks about how we set ourselves up for an energetic and centered day when we make an effort in the mornings to enjoy ourselves. Rather than waking up just in the nick of time to get to work and rushing out the door, spend some time making your morning faaabulous.

Some of her ideas:

• Upgrading your shower products. Use body washes and scrubs that make you feel amazing.
• Dancing around your apartment
• Making yourself a delicious breakfast
• Grabbing coffee with a girlfriend
• Going for a walk outside
• Reading a magazine at a local coffee shop for 20 minutes

These sound good huh?

So this week I really focused on making my mornings better and more enjoyable. This past weekend, I took some time for “me” on Saturday and bought a newspaper and a coffee and sat in my apartment. I strutted over to Starbucks more or less in my PJs and bought the NY Times. Relaxation at its finest:

Some DVR catch up:

On Tuesday, I headed to the East River as the sun was coming up and made up a short and sweet boot camp workout for myself. I did sprints and suicides along the basketball court there, and took some time to soak in the sun and stretch it all out.

On Thursday, I met up with one of my best friends Katie at 6:15am and we went for a walk in Central Park and got coffee at Le Pain Quotidien when they first opened at 7am:

We also had a solid 10 minute stretching session near a picnic table in the shade. It felt like giving ourselves a massage. We both overlook taking the time to stretch but this felt SO GOOD!

Doggies!

Today I got up, and decided to celebrate Friday by wearing a new springy shirt that I bought from JCrew and cash in a free drink coupon to Starbucks.

Some other ways that I have spruced up my mornings and learned to love that hour or so before I go to work:

• Light a candle while getting dressed. It will just make the morning feel special (and your apartment smell good!)
• Make a breakfast the night before and eat it out of a jar. Jars > Bowls

• Wear a knock-out outfit. Get up and take more time than usual to get ready. Make yourself look awesome. Don’t rush.
• Go for a walk and listen to a podcast. Download a random one from iTunes and learn something new.
• Go sit down and eat at a nearby cafe. Treat yourself to an actual breakfast on a weekday.
• Grab your coffee from a new and different coffee shop every now and then.
• Watch the Today show or some other morning show for 15 minutes. Just sit and relax. Or watch while you are at the gym.
• Go to the gym but do something that feels good. When you walk in, check in with yourself and see what sounds good. Weights? Elliptical? Running?
• Download a few new songs the night before and play them as you get ready.

Any other ideas? How do you enjoy your mornings? I’d love to hear!!