Latest / The Body Recomposition Revolution | Fat Loss and Strength for Women 35+ / The Morning Routine That Fixes Fat Loss After 35: Atomic Habits for Women

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The Morning Routine That Fixes Fat Loss After 35: Atomic Habits for Women · The Body Recomposition Revolution | Fat Loss and Strength for Women 35+

0:09
Hey, welcome back to the body recomposition revolution.
0:12
This is Robin and today we are talking all things morning
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routine because I kid you not and research proves this to be
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true. Your morning routine is what is
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going to determine if you are successful or not when it comes
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to your goals. And for the sake of this
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podcast, this podcast being one that focuses on Women's Health
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and training and nutrition protocols, especially for women
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over the age of 35. So for the sake of this podcast,
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we are going to be talking all about goals that involve maybe
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our bodies aesthetically, physically, functionally, and
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all the struggles that coincide with that.
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So today we are talking morning routines.
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We're talking morning routines and the four components that go
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into your morning routine that will determine if it is helpful,
1:01
helpful in helping you get to your goal.
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Your morning routine is going to be the pathway of getting there
1:08
if you tuned in. Last week I started talking
1:10
about one of my favorite, most life changing COVID reads, which
1:14
was Atomic Habits. And we went through just the
1:17
beginning basics of your habits and your systems and motivation.
1:23
And to summarize last week we talked about how motivation goes
1:26
in six phases, 6 steps. Spoiler alert, your motivation
1:31
fades, It fails you, it is moot. We don't care about it.
1:33
Motivation out the window. We are all about systems and
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today's system, one of the most, if not the most impactful system
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you can have to get towards your goal is your morning routine.
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So we are going to break down exactly how you build your own
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morning routine and I'm going to share my morning routine and I'm
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also going to share with the permission of my clients their
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morning routines. Now I will say some of them are
2:00
struggling with that because it's a new thing for them, some
2:03
of them pros. And in true teacher form, I am
2:07
including a principle that you can just handy dandy print on
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your own printer or screenshot it, put it in your phone, fill
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it in with what you are going to implement for your own morning
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routine. I am also going to touch on a
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few of the foundational principles from chaters one
2:24
through 3 of Atomic Habits. Briefly, briefly, I promise.
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So let's get into it because I'm sure if you tune into other
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podcasts, you are inundated with habit info.
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And that's because all your health, fitness, life coaches
2:39
are out there trying to get you to understand your systems are
2:43
what's going to help you reach your goals.
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Your systems are the only way you can reach your goal.
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And today's system of choice, my favorite, the most impactful 1
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is your morning routine. Now, when I say morning routine,
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this might make some of you anxious, it might make some of
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you excited who already have a an incredible morning routine
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like my clients, or it could very well be the wake up call a
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lot of you need now that you have goals you want to achieve
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and you've never achieved them before.
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You've never achieved them before because you didn't have
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the systems in place. You didn't have an easy way to
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understand how to effectively implement those systems.
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And that's my job. That's my job as an educator of
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women. That was my job for many years
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as a public school teacher. And I am here to do that for you
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today. So let's get into it.
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Your morning routine is one of the, if not the most impactful
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portions of your entire day. Your morning routine, whether
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you have one or not, dictates every decision you make
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afterwards. And that is research proven.
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It does. It sets the tone of your entire
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day. It shapes your mood, your
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cravings, your energy, your discipline, and ultimately
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whether you succeed with your health and fat loss goals or
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not. It does.
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And here's the part that most most women don't realize.
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They don't realize that a morning routine isn't just about
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waking up earlier or being more motivated.
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Because remember, we are throwing motivation out the
4:10
window. It does not matter.
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It's just a feeling. Who cares?
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Moot. OK?
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Motivation does not matter for women, especially women over 35.
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Your morning routine needs needs to support your mind, your body,
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and your hormones. So in my opinion, that means it
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should include four simple pillars #1A mental or spiritual
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component #2A nutritional component #3A movement
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component, and #4 an organizational component.
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Now don't get turned off by that last one.
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Don't get turned off by that last one because the the
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organizational component is underrated and it's tiny.
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It's the simplest thing like making your bed, which if you're
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me, that's not such a simple task because I have 86 pillows.
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Just clearing off your kitchen counter, doing a 3 minute
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pickup. This little task of being doing
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something that organizes your physical space, that gives your
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brain the visual calm and a sense of control it needs to
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reduce the stress and decision fatigue for the rest of the day.
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No, I have a lot of friends, a lot of clients, family members
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who are women above the age of 35.
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And I have heard more often than not, and myself included, that
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mornings are chaotic. Mornings are chaotic.
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And you know the mornings, the mornings where someone might be
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in tears, you are silently chastising yourself after you
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drop your kids or see your kids off to the bus, or you realize
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you didn't get something done and you're headed into work and
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it's just a state of disarray, discombobulation.
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And it determines the trajectory of your day.
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You know it does because it kind of acts like a self fulfilling
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prophecy, right? When your morning is chaos, your
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brain is chaos, your thoughts are chaos, your actions reflect
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all of those things. And that is then spewed on to
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the world around you. I'm sure all of you have heard
6:12
about the law of energy and it it really stands true when you
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talk about the state, you enter a room.
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So if you enter a job in the morning, that energy you bring
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with that chaotic flustered behind that energy is trailing
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right along with you. If you if you are in the home
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during the day, that energy you are exuding to every single
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person you interact with. Is it nobody?
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Is it your kids? Is it your husband?
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Is it your neighbor? Is it the unfortunate
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interaction you have with the Amazon delivery guy?
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Yes. And it dictates the trajectory,
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as I said, of your entire day. And, and I think when women talk
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about the the chaos that ensues in their morning, they carry a
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lot of shame with that because they know maybe from childhood
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how how much of an impact those tough mornings have.
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And they happen. There's no avoiding it.
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Or maybe there is a sense of shame surrounding the fact that
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you might feel like you are perceived as as lazy or
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unmotivated, right? And it's because you don't have
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a system that supports you. And this is exactly, it is
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exactly what James Clear talks about in chapters one through 3
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of Atomic Habits. Every habit you have, good or
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bad, come from one loop. Remember this loop?
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There's 4 words cue craving response reward CCRRQ craving
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response reward. So today we're going to apply
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that loop to your morning routine.
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So it becomes the anchor that stabilizes your hormones, boosts
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your fat loss, reduces your stress and builds the identity
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which is the most important factor in.
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Change your own identity of the woman who's grounded, structured
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and consistent. The woman who doesn't need
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motivation because she operates like a machine.
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OK, so let's get into exactly what the problem looks like for
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you Now, if you are a woman, most women wake up directly they
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are thrown into chaos. You're rushed.
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You grab your phone. You scroll.
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Your kids need you. You're.
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You're stepping over toys and clothes.
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The sink is full. Your bathroom's a mess.
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The kitchen's a mess. There's dishes out.
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Coffee hits on your empty stomach.
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Your cortisol spiked. You're already overstimulated.
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Someone starts touching you. Someone spills on your your
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robe, someone steps on your foot, your blood sugar and your
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cortisol roller coaster. No mental grounding, no protein.
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Dear God, nobody eats in the morning.
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This is so important. If you take away one thing from
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this entire episode besides you need a morning routine, it is to
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eat protein when you wake up. It is so important for women
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above the age of 35, and I say that on repeat because I want
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you to know your body is different after 35.
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It's not in your head. You need protein.
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OK? Need a morning routine and need
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to throw protein in it. If that's all you take away from
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today, do that. But you have no protein.
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You haven't moved your body outside of what's necessary.
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There's no sense of order, there's no system.
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And by 9:00 AM you are mentally cluttered.
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You are physically dysregulated. You are as a whole buzzing
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because you're overstimulated. And you feel if you, if you're
9:30
like me, this is not OK. This is not a good place to be.
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I mean, my energy right now is me post post nap.
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Can you imagine? Can you imagine what my family
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has to go through when I am feeling, feeling dysregulated?
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I'm like, I don't even know the Energizer Bunny on speed with a
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temper. It just doesn't.
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It doesn't work. And I want to briefly touch on
9:51
these symptoms that women above 35 have in common.
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You may or may not, depending on what level your hormones are AT.
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And this is a real thing. I say that from somebody who has
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had many hormone panels done in the last few years to try to
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figure out why I'm having a lot of these symptoms I'm about to
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list off. But I think it is so imperative
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for me to shine a light on these symptoms so that you understand
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that you are not alone. We are all going through parts
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of this, if not all of it. And in the future, if you're not
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going through it now, you will. I promise you, it's biology.
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I had to really swallow that hard pill myself.
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So women, if you are low energy, brain fog, you have cravings,
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emotionally overwhelmed, you feel behind, you have a
10:38
difficult time focusing, you are just Moody, you're Moody, you're
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Moody and it's nobody's problem but your own because it's
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different. It's a different kind of Moody.
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And if you are, you know what I mean, You have a night an issue
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with eating at night. I don't we all, but it's it's
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different. It's almost like those cravings
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are overwhelming at night. You have an inconsistent workout
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schedule and I use that term lately.
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You are exhausted, especially exhausted from making decisions
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because it's it's mentally taxing.
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You have no confidence. You have a lot of clutter,
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mental, physical, emotional. It's a cluttered state.
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And for someone like me, who I think in a previous life I might
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have been a drill Sergeant of sort, for someone like me to
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experience a lot of those symptoms among others and keep
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passing them off as I'm not getting enough sleep or what
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have you, I didn't need enough where I'm doing this or that.
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After my panel showed that it is definitely not in my head.
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It was a real, real issue I needed to figure out.
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It was so validating. It really put me at peace.
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And once I had that peace, I found it so much easier to
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grapple with the tools that I need to put in place to see real
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change. And we're going to go through
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that today. And I, I know that you have
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heard of Doctor Stacey Sims. And if you haven't, she is an
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exercise physiologist. I'm just kind of trying to
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recite her background. She's a exercise physiologist, I
12:01
believe. But she is all over the place,
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everywhere all at once because everyone's obsessed with her
12:05
research. She is a specialist in women's
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hormones and their health and training after age 35.
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Because we are the unseen population.
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We are the, the unwanted brushed in the back of the closet.
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That's us. But now we're getting the
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attention and it's fantastic. She's actually who inspired me
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to start my business, but a lot of her research shines a light
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on the true changes that we as women go through at 35.
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And again, it is not in your head.
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It's really not. Your cortisol rises faster, your
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blood sugar way more sensitive, your dopamine dips.
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OK. And this makes habit formation
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even harder. See, you're not lazy.
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It's actually you. It's actually your biology
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uncontrollable. Your recovery slows way down.
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Oh my gosh, does it ever. Estrogen fluctuations that
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amplifies your stress responses and the clutter, the clutter
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that that ensues from all of this dysregulation that
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increases your cortisol and reduces your executive
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functioning ability, which is kind of from a teaching
13:04
background, so it might not be a common term, but basically just
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your ability to function. That's what that is.
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So I compiled a lot of research from Doctor Stacey Sims and also
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from Atomic Habits and then another man who specializes in
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key habit formation and I came up with these 4 pillars, these 4
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pillars that I believe are a non option.
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They are a necessity in your morning routine.
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And that is number 1. You need a mental or spiritual
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anchor that can look however you want it to look.
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For me, that looks like me walking downstairs, turning on
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my little Scentsy lamp, putting my Omnilux red light mask on my
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naked face, snuggling up in a blanket and listening to a
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podcast. And a lot of times my podcast is
13:54
about the Bible. It's one of an app I use called
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Through the Words, Through the Word.
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Other times it's just, you know, something that's enlightening,
14:02
something that is setting my mental pace for the day.
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It has to be, it can't be, it can't be anything besides that.
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It has to be something that's going to anchor you mentally.
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So whatever that is for you, be it prayer or journaling or
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meditation, writing down something you're grateful for, I
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can't even express that enough. Write down something you're
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grateful for. If you don't have a podcast or
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really want to do anything for your pillar #1 the mental,
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spiritual thing, just write down one thing you're grateful for
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and Stew on it a bit. I have a journal that I took out
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haphazardly one day during COVID, and I scribbled on the
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front. Mama's happy and because I just
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had these little moments with my kids that made me happy and I
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would write down 1 moment when we had all the time in the
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world, right? And I like that journal.
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I like that journal. I like to look back on that
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journal when I'm feeling some kind of way.
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It has it has a big impact on me, has a big impact on my
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mental state. It was a great way to start my
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day or breath work. Breath work.
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I know that a lot of people feel really strongly about the
15:05
impacts of that breath work has on anxiety or what have you.
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So the first of the four pillars that you need in your morning
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routine is the mental or spiritual anchor.
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We just went through that pillar #2 nutritional anchor.
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This one I want to scream about nutritional anchor.
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This is an anchor because you need it or you're going to float
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away into the abyss of stress and chaos.
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You need this. And Doctor Stacey Sims proves
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that she has so much research surrounding women's cortisol
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spikes in the morning, which every human being has a cortisol
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spike within maybe like 20 minutes to however long it is
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upon waking is the is what the research states.
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Your body naturally spikes cortisol.
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But for women above the age of 35, that spike is really
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intense. How do we dampen it?
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We want to dampen that cortisol spike.
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We dampen that by getting 25 to 40 grams of protein within 45
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minutes of waking. Write this down.
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Upon waking, you need 25 to 40 grams of protein within the 1st
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45 minutes. Non negotiable.
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My sister's rolling her eyes because we were just arguing
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about this last week. I'm like Oh my gosh, woman eat
16:19
something. Why?
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Why do you need 25 to 45 grams of 40 grams of protein?
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Why? Well, it stabilizes your blood
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sugar, which remember we said that's really sensitive after
16:28
age 35. We don't want that because that
16:30
you store fat. OK, blunts the cortisol spike
16:33
again involving your body fat. You don't want that reduces your
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cravings later. Bingo.
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That hit the nail on the head. Your cravings drop way down if
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you are starting your breakfast strong with 25 to 40 grams of
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protein. I know I'm being redundant.
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It improves your energy, supports your muscle which is
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your #1 fat loss asset, and lowers inflammation.
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This is not me making this up, this is actual sighted research.
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How do I do that? I take a scoop of chocolate whey
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protein, toss it in a cup and then I fill the cup with cold
17:06
brew so I have my caffeine spike.
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Boom, need that along with my cortisol blunting protein
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powder. Is it the healthiest option?
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I don't know. Do I care?
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Absolutely not. But I did it.
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I got that 20 gram, 25 grams of protein in right off the bat.
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Now when I have ladies who are just signing on, I just, if it's
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an overwhelming task to eat that much protein, which I don't, I
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think I eat as much as your average man.
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But if it's, it's daunting to you because you experience
17:37
morning nausea and you're just not hungry, start at 15.
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That's OK. Start at 15.
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That's still going to have a dampening effect.
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But you do need to work your way up to 25.
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Now I do 25 because that's pretty much what's in my scoop
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of way. I'm not about to sit down and
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inhale, you know, my big thick morning pancake in a bowl.
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It's, it's 5:00 AM where I am when I wake up.
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So to me, I'm going on the minimum and I am, I get the 25
18:03
grams of protein in my coffee. I start my day.
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So we have now gone through two of the anchors that you're going
18:09
to need in your morning routine. And that is #1 mental or
18:12
spiritual anchor #2 nutritional anchor, eat your protein #3
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movement anchor. Now don't get overwhelmed with
18:20
this one. This one has a lot of space to
18:24
make with it what you will make with it what you will.
18:26
But I found that I am usually not in a place to really throw
18:31
down and have a good leg day at 5 AMI am, however, in a place to
18:37
do a leisurely bout of zone 2. So my mornings, most mornings, I
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would say probably 4 to 5 days out of the week, I start them
18:47
with 40 minutes of zone 2 and my goal is to get it done by 6:30.
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So around 5:40 I am down on my treadmill leisurely completing
18:59
my It's the most relaxing part of my day.
19:01
I'm not kidding you. It is so nice.
19:03
It's so great. I do, I catch up with my
19:05
clients. Some of them are even awake
19:07
talking to me. It's it's awesome.
19:09
But you need your pillar #3 which is your movement anchor. 5
19:13
to 10 minutes minimum. Minimum.
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What does that look like? Take your dog outside real
19:18
quick. Do some stretching, do some yoga
19:21
poses, do some walking on your walking pad.
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If you don't have one, you should get one.
19:26
It's winter, a lot of you live in Minnesota.
19:28
You're not really going to be walking outside a lot.
19:31
So having a treadmill or a walking pad the best.
19:35
And that movement that you have my doggy, that movement that
19:38
you're experiencing that signals to your body wake up, regulate
19:43
move. You've already done the mental
19:45
part. You've given your body the fuel
19:47
it needs, and now we're going to put a little bit of movement
19:49
into it. And I'd say beginners again, do
19:53
your 5 to 10 minutes minimum, do your yoga, do your stretching,
19:56
whatever you want. If you if this doesn't sound
19:58
great, then think of your own people who don't mind moving
20:01
that much. Do your zone too.
20:03
Do your zone too. All ladies need it.
20:05
I'm not. You need it.
20:06
You do. You can go as far as to have
20:09
your intense workout. Back when I was teaching, that's
20:12
when I worked out. I would workout at 5:00 AM and
20:15
really, really have an intense pre workout fueled sweat session
20:21
and it was great. I mean, it was, it was better
20:23
than the alternative, which would be working out at 4:00 PM
20:25
after I was with lots and lots of very energetic children all
20:30
day. So pillar #3 your movement, we
20:33
are moving into the final pillar of your morning routine.
20:35
And remember, I made a printable.
20:37
I made a printable because I love making printables.
20:39
And it has all the information you're going to need to fill in
20:42
what you're going to do for these 4 pillars.
20:44
But the last number four pillar of your morning routine is the
20:49
organizational anchor. Now this one is, is debatable.
20:53
I, I think it's really, really important.
20:55
I think it's really important. It's impactful.
20:57
Women in midlife, we are deeply affected by the environmental
21:02
stress, the clutter, the chaos. So just something simple you can
21:06
do. Make your bed clean off your
21:09
bathroom counter, go downstairs and pick up the toys off the
21:13
ground. Go in the kitchen and make sure
21:15
your sinks wipes down. Lay out your kids backpacks,
21:19
fold the blankets and put them that that's underrated.
21:22
Fold your blankets and put them in a nice little rectangle
21:25
hanging. It's just nice.
21:27
It looks great. Karate chop your pillows.
21:30
Make your space just a little bit nicer, a little bit tidier.
21:32
It goes a long way. Think about how you feel when
21:34
you get into a made bed. It really it goes a long way and
21:38
the reason those little things go a long way is because those
21:41
micro acts, they actually do reduce your cortisol.
21:45
They increase perceived cortisol and it lowers your decision
21:49
fatigue, which women our age is, is very prevalent in our lives.
21:54
It makes it easier to eat, eat well, move and stay consistent
21:58
later in the day. Now science shows a cluttered
22:01
environment increases stress hormones, reduces focus and
22:05
triggers emotional eating. Your brain biologically craves
22:11
order in the morning. It really does.
22:15
Think about how you feel when your morning is ordered and run
22:19
smoothly. That is what your body needs and
22:22
that is what you need in order to achieve your goals.
22:26
That's the system you need to put in place today.
22:29
Now, I mentioned the habit loop. I mentioned the habit loop just
22:34
briefly, but I want to go into it a little bit more because
22:37
when I read the book, I kept rereading that portion.
22:40
I was like, what? What's a queue?
22:42
What's a craving? When it comes to running?
22:44
I don't ever crave to run. So I wanted to just clear that
22:47
up because it was a little, it was a little murky to me.
22:50
So in the book Atomic Habits by James Cleary, I believe my last
22:55
name is Creary, sounds very similar.
22:57
Anyway, in the book Atomic Habits, chapters one through 3
23:00
applied to mornings if we apply those concepts to our mornings.
23:06
And the concepts were the ones I went over in the beginning,
23:08
which are cue, craving, response, and reward.
23:13
So we're going to go through that and how it applies to
23:17
putting our new morning routine into action.
23:20
So let's start with Q. And when I'm, when I'm listing
23:23
these cues, that's in regards to the four pillars we just went
23:27
through When I said that you need these 4 pillars in your
23:29
morning routine. And that was you have to have
23:31
that mental spiritual component and then you have the
23:34
nutritional component, and then you have the movement component
23:38
and then the organizational component.
23:39
So here's a cue for each one of those pillars.
23:43
And actually I'm just going to name my own personal cues that I
23:46
use because I do follow those pillars I have for a while.
23:49
So I have my shoes out. I have my shoes out with my
23:53
workout clothes sitting on top of them because it's easy.
23:57
I see it, I don't have to think, I know it matches, I know it's
24:00
going to be a little bit cozy because it's in the morning and
24:02
that's how I want to feel. So have your shoes out, have
24:04
your workout clothes out. When I go downstairs I have my
24:08
protein powder pre poured into my little plastic cup and I
24:12
usually drink from the same clear cup every morning.
24:15
I don't have OCD but I do like things to be systemized.
24:20
So I have my scoop of chocolate whey protein powder more or less
24:23
so that the bag crinkling doesn't wake anybody up.
24:26
It's already in my cup. All I have to do is open the
24:28
fridge, take out my big jug of cold brew and toss it in there
24:32
so I have my shoes and workout clothes out visible by my bed.
24:36
I have my protein powder pre poured into the cup and then I
24:40
have my treadmill in the basement.
24:42
That's that's easy. That's nice, especially in the
24:45
winters. If you don't have a treadmill or
24:46
walking pad, you should invest in one.
24:48
It's really, really important to keep your steps going,
24:51
especially in these cold months. So I have my treadmill easily
24:54
accessible if I choose not to do the treadmill.
24:58
If I'm having some sort of weird foot pain, which is actually
25:01
pretty common for me, I might go to a nearby gym.
25:04
I have two gym memberships at this point.
25:07
Both of them I like for different reasons and that where
25:10
I might have a class from, you know, biking to some type of GTX
25:14
class or more often than not I'm just climbing the stair climber.
25:19
Climbing away doesn't hurt my foot or the elliptical, that's
25:22
really easy on my joints as well.
25:24
So I just need some place that's open and easy for me to get to.
25:28
Whether it's a 2 minute car ride or a two-minute walk down to the
25:31
basement, 2 seconds, I don't know.
25:33
And then I like my space that where I'm going to have my
25:36
mental health portion of the day and my walking portion of the
25:40
day. I like it to be tidy.
25:42
I like it to be neat and orderly.
25:43
I don't like a bunch of clutter on the ground.
25:45
This morning I spent half my zone two time cleaning up
25:48
clutter in the workout room of the basement because I just I
25:51
couldn't stop staring at it. OK, that's that's what is that
25:54
garbage? Who's in here?
25:55
So a tidy space. Those are your cues.
25:57
Shoes out, protein visible walking pad or a treadmill
26:00
within, you know, a close distance.
26:04
Keep your Bible or journal or whatever you're going to use an
26:06
app accessible to you, whatever that means.
26:09
I really like the idea of having a gratitude journal it, it does
26:12
wonders. And then your tidy space.
26:13
OK, now we're moving on to a craving.
26:16
The craving. So we need to make these 4
26:19
pillars attractive. We need to make them something
26:22
we look forward to doing. Something that I do to make the
26:27
listening to a podcast more appealing and more relaxing is I
26:30
have my red light mask on during it.
26:32
I'm snuggled up. I have my coffee protein next to
26:35
me. I'm getting a buzz while I'm
26:37
listening to this really nice tone setting podcast for the day
26:41
or whatever it is. And I have this nice warm red
26:45
light mask on my face. And I have a rule for myself.
26:48
I can't click the red light mask on and feel that nice beautiful
26:52
heat until I have my whatever it is playing.
26:56
The craving component can even be as simple as like I said, I
27:00
drink out of the same plastic cup.
27:01
I drink out of it because it makes me happy.
27:03
I don't even know why it makes me happy, it's just this grungy
27:05
plastic cup with flowers engraved to it.
27:07
But something about it's feminine mystique amongst all
27:12
the football plastic cups that are littering my cupboard that
27:16
floured 1 is mine and I like it. And it's just something that
27:20
makes the whole chugging caffeinated protein in the
27:24
morning a little bit better. And As for my space down in the
27:27
basement where I have my treadmill, I turn the heat on.
27:30
I'm freeze baby. I like to have the heat on and
27:33
in the in the summer, don't tell my husband this, I turn the air
27:36
conditioning on down there because I want to be cool.
27:39
So I make sure that the temperature where I'm doing my
27:42
Zone 2 is suited for my very sensitive, temperature sensitive
27:48
self. So we just went through the
27:50
queue. We just went through the
27:51
craving. Now we have the response, the
27:54
first R of the two remaining Rs. And the response is make it
27:58
easy. OK, make it easy.
28:00
If that movement feels like, Oh my gosh, how does she work out
28:03
in the morning? I don't even want to move.
28:05
Make it 5 minutes. Make it 5 minutes because then
28:08
you still did it. Or if that organizational
28:11
component of like, Oh my gosh, she's doing dishes at five.
28:14
Yeah, I told you I'm like the Energizer Bunny it but around 3
28:18
I'm dead. Don't even talk to me.
28:19
But that organizational component, you can simplify
28:23
that. Pick up a couple cups, pick up
28:25
your shoes, put them in the closet.
28:26
That little task, I promise you it does something to you.
28:29
So the response, you just want to make it easy.
28:32
You want to make it easy. And if it's easy, you know you
28:34
can do it. And I will say this, when I
28:37
first started being more of a I've always been a morning
28:41
person, but during COVID when I was like Oh my gosh, I cannot
28:44
get my life together, I started getting up at 5:00 AM not
28:48
because I wanted to, but because I knew I needed to.
28:51
After reading this book, I knew that was the only time that I
28:54
could have to myself unbothered. I have 3 kids, I have a dog that
29:00
is incessantly barking. I just wanted time and I
29:04
couldn't have it. There wasn't any because I have
29:08
a lot going on. So I knew the earlier that I got
29:11
up the more alone time I would have.
29:13
And that in itself was the biggest motivator to me, to me
29:17
actually getting up and being consistent about it.
29:20
And I remember the winter I started, I remember thinking to
29:23
myself, when my alarm went off, Oh my gosh, I'm freezing.
29:27
This is horrible. But the second I went downstairs
29:31
and put on my new Christmas gift I purchased for myself, which
29:34
was the Omnilux red light mask, I just felt nice.
29:37
I was like, I'm awake. My skin's looking better by the
29:39
second. This is OK.
29:41
And then I kept repeating it and the more that I forced myself
29:45
out of bed, looking forward to that red light mask, the more
29:49
the habit just became that a habit.
29:51
It was easy. It was.
29:52
I didn't have any feelings about it.
29:53
I wasn't feeling sorry for myself myself.
29:55
I wasn't saying I'm so tired. I get out of bed.
29:58
I am an early riser. I am a morning person.
30:01
I don't know if I was born that way, but I certainly am now.
30:04
That's my identity. I do identify as a morning
30:07
person. Now, the reward part, my
30:09
favorite. You make these activities
30:12
satisfying. Make it satisfying.
30:15
Now, I have lots of interesting little tools that I use to make
30:20
that reward satisfying to me. I don't know if they would be
30:24
appealing to other adults. It's kind of infantile but I
30:27
have sheets hanging in my bathroom and and I will check
30:34
off. If I did my step goal for the
30:36
day, I will write my weight into it.
30:39
Right now I'm doing a little science experiment, hence why
30:41
I'm writing it, not putting it in an app.
30:43
I give myself a star at the end of each day if I hit my steps,
30:48
if I remember to weigh myself, and if I stayed within my macro
30:53
target by 100 calories. Something about putting that
30:56
star next to the day is incredibly rewarding to me.
31:02
It makes me feel accomplished. It makes me feel like I am
31:04
taking all these little actions to get where I want to be.
31:08
An I know that because I can see it.
31:10
I wrote the star and then downstairs we have a big
31:13
calendar. I do the same thing.
31:14
I have a little checklist. When I finish my workout, I walk
31:17
into the house after the gym, take out the dry erase marker
31:21
that is right next to it. It's a magnet on it, and I just
31:24
do a little check and something about that check mark makes me
31:27
feel good. I like that Macros First, the
31:30
app I use to track my macros. I don't even use my own app, but
31:33
I like the fact that Macros First gives me a Gold Star.
31:36
That's a reward to me. Does it mean anything?
31:39
Absolutely not to me, yeah, it kind of does.
31:43
I need my Gold Star. I was just at a client,
31:45
one-on-one last night telling her I just, I need the Gold
31:48
Star. What does?
31:49
No, I I don't, but I do. And, and there's other little
31:52
reward systems simultaneously happening throughout your day.
31:55
Like, you know, during the organizational component when I
31:58
make my bed, which I don't really get to because my
32:00
husband's always sleeping in the morning, when I do make my bed,
32:04
I turn around and I look at it and like, Yep, I pick up the
32:08
kids clothes and I or not their clothes, their shoes, their
32:10
jackets, their whatever is and I put a cute little note and not
32:14
every day, I promise. But when I do that and I see
32:17
their things stacked nicely, that's a reward.
32:20
When I spray Windex on my counters because I like the
32:23
Sheen that it gives after I'm done spilling part of my protein
32:27
coffee, which I do almost every morning, I like that.
32:30
That's a reward for me, the caffeine in my coffee that makes
32:34
me ACT even more wound up than this.
32:37
That's a reward when I get done with my Zone 2 in the morning.
32:43
By this point it is 630 and I am getting the kids ready, fed in
32:49
my car and it's peaceful and it's nice most of the time.
32:54
Most of the time, if it's not, it ain't my fault because I
32:57
started at 4:30. This is true And then in the
33:01
car, we have a nice time, we have a nice chat.
33:04
It's a great peaceful as peaceful as it can be with three
33:08
little kids in the car before 7:00 AM.
33:10
It's peaceful, as peaceful as it can be.
33:13
But I can't even imagine how horrific it would be if I
33:16
entered that car in the state that I have before when I sleep
33:20
in by accident. Then my disarray, my chaos, my
33:24
bad energy, my vibes of whatever I'm giving out, I make it
33:30
everybody else's issue and I do. I don't want to, but it happens
33:34
because because I don't like when I miss my morning routine.
33:37
It's sacred. And if you can have your own, it
33:39
is incredibly sacred. You will feel that way.
33:43
My family knows you don't don't talk to mom during during her
33:47
zone too. And if you do, I I'll speak to
33:50
you and I'll be nice. But I ain't happy about it,
33:53
which is why I just keep winding the clock back having to make it
33:56
430. AMI dare you to get out of bed
33:59
as early as I'm up? Lastly, I have these cute little
34:03
behavior trackers, and I will. Or client habit trackers that I
34:07
give my clients and it has the same concept.
34:10
They check off when they finish their gallon or whatever it is.
34:14
You know, not all of them are drinking a gallon or they hit
34:16
their protein goal or they hit their however many workouts.
34:19
It's a week long habit tracker and it shows what you're doing
34:23
each day for a week. And every time you do what you
34:25
need to be doing, you give yourself a little check mark and
34:28
you have a goal of how many check marks you're going to get
34:30
at the end of the week. It's kind of like the behavior
34:33
charts I used to make when I was teaching.
34:35
Actually, it is a behavior chart and that's how we encourage
34:38
wanted behavior. Yours.
34:40
OK, so I wanted to share some of my clients morning routines and
34:45
these just make me smile. I love them.
34:47
These just make me smile. They make me smile because they
34:50
are so unabashedly like I do this and I don't and it sucks
34:54
but and some people like, oh, I do this and I'm over here
34:57
feeling insecure because I'm like, wow, you're awesome.
35:01
OK, this one morning routine I'm reading directly from their text
35:04
messages. Morning routine.
35:06
Weekdays she wakes up at 4:40 AM, she weighs herself.
35:10
Good job. Because we are not afraid of a
35:12
number on the scale. That's just data.
35:14
And that is actually one of the highest ranking habits for
35:19
people who sustain weight loss are people who weigh themselves
35:22
every day or at least like 3 * a week.
35:25
Remember that weighing yourself isn't scary, it's just data,
35:27
keeps you informed, keeps you in the know, and it's one of the
35:29
most impactful habits. I think it's habit number one or
35:33
two breakfast or that. Anyway, back to my girl.
35:36
She's up at 4:40 AM. She weighs herself, she showers,
35:39
she eats 15 to 20 grams of protein.
35:41
She gets ready for work, she packs her pre made and pre
35:44
tracked lunch. Bingo.
35:47
Her food is pre tracked. Do that please.
35:52
That I know it sucks but you get in your app and you pre track
35:56
your day and if something changes which it will go in and
35:59
change that something that changed because it's way easier
36:02
than putting in your whole day as you go and playing macro
36:05
Tetris. So I use this as her talking.
36:08
I use Sunday as meal prep day for all week lunches and
36:11
breakfast if it's something that needs to be made.
36:13
Sometimes just yogurt or Costco Turkey sausage breakfast
36:16
sandwich. I track three days in advance.
36:19
Me too girl. Then she goes to work, pre
36:21
workout, protein around 15 grams, workout.
36:24
She works out, dinner, shower, relax, bed at 8:00 PM, repeat.
36:30
Weekends ups and downs, workout, protein, whatever the day
36:34
brings. But she has that five days of
36:36
super consistent consistency. Love this one.
36:40
My morning routine is about as far from strict as it gets.
36:43
I'm only half human in the AM and it is a problem.
36:47
Weekdays I'd begrudgingly AM up at 6:45 AM.
36:51
That's pretty early. Pack school lunches, get the
36:53
boys ready, make and pack breakfast.
36:55
My latest hyper fixation is just Greek yogurt with CSE Strawberry
37:00
Shortcake protein. Oh my gosh, so good.
37:02
A banana and 15 grams of vanilla granola.
37:05
You're early and you're eating your protein.
37:08
The two things pack pre workout and BCA as drop kids off slash
37:13
eat on the way gym work. That is a stellar routine.
37:17
What's she talking about? OK another one right there with
37:21
her. My morning routine.
37:22
This is another client client #3 now my morning is go with the
37:25
flow. I get up when the kids get up,
37:27
normally around 7:00. Then it's packing lunches, packs
37:30
snow gear all to school. Then it's picking up my niece
37:33
heading to school. Then it's off to the gym, some
37:37
ECFE classes, running errands, and then a lot of family stuff.
37:40
Then she works on Fridays. Then her evenings are also go
37:43
with the flow. She tries to get in her zone 2
37:45
or at least a 10 minute walk after dinner a few times a week,
37:49
but not always doable. And I will tell you this, she
37:51
makes that sound really convoluted.
37:52
She is incredibly systemized, more than me.
37:56
You look in her fridge, everything is clean, pre pat,
38:01
like pre weighed ready to go. And she grabs and goes about her
38:05
day because she watches not only her kids, but probably 18 other
38:09
nieces and nephews and friends kids as well somehow.
38:11
And then she's got jobs, you know, she owns a restaurant.
38:14
She she does it all. So she's, she's diminishing her
38:18
incredible work ethic and preparedness.
38:21
Yeah, she does all the things and she does it perfectly.
38:24
She hits her lifts literally every day.
38:26
This is me speaking about her. From what I know of her, from
38:29
what I know of her routine, she gifts every single day, she gets
38:32
her zone 2IN when she can, and she hits her macros every day
38:35
because she is prepared ahead of time with her food client #4 her
38:40
routine wakes up at 4:30 to 5:30.
38:43
AMI know that because we were texting this morning.
38:45
She gets dressed for the gym, eats a yogurt with a cut up
38:47
banana and then heads to the gym when she gets home.
38:50
She has the same breakfast every single day, which is two eggs,
38:53
half a cup egg whites scrambled with English muffin and peanut
38:56
butter. Then she showers, gets dressed,
38:59
gets her kids ready for school and daycare, and then starts her
39:01
work day at 8:15 AM Boom, textbook perfect.
39:06
Another lady of mine wakes up at 4:30.
39:09
AMI love this. I love this because I know they
39:11
do it because sometimes we're texting.
39:13
I'm like why are we so? But we are.
39:15
Wakes up at 4:30 AM, has the bathroom routine.
39:17
Coffee 8 to 12 ounces of water with body bio E Lite drinks.
39:23
Lift, strength lifting program, workout in home gym.
39:27
Most of the time she does cardio in the afternoons after work
39:30
while kids are at sport. So she has her lift in the
39:32
morning, does her cardio in the afternoon and if it's not
39:35
possible she will take 4:00 AM to get her cardio done if she
39:38
has to. She had then has a quick shower
39:40
and another bathroom routine to get ready for the day and then
39:43
she gets dressed herself. Then she goes downstairs, packs
39:45
lunches, snacks, water bottles, wakes up the kids, gives the
39:49
kids their vitamins, breakfast, takes her own supplements at
39:51
this time which is her creatine and her aminos.
39:54
Gets the kids dressed in the bathroom routine for kids,
39:56
leaves the house by 7:00 AM, seven AM.
39:59
She drops the kids off at school and then she goes to work.
40:02
That right there is my exact routine.
40:04
And when I was teaching bingo, like these ladies juggle it all.
40:08
They juggle it all. Another one, this is the last
40:11
one I'll share, is her usual morning routine changes
40:13
depending on if she works or not.
40:15
On the day she does not work, she's up at 7:00 AM, maybe a
40:18
little earlier. She lets her dogs out, she feeds
40:20
them. She has her eight ounce of
40:21
Pioneer chocolate milk with 8 grams of chia seeds and half a
40:24
banana. At 7:45 she has her lift.
40:27
By 9:00 AM she has showered and then whatever the day brings.
40:30
Then workdays. Her start times vary so
40:32
sometimes her morning she's up at 4:30 but she is always upped
40:36
up by 7 and on those work days she is making her smoothie and
40:40
she drinks it while she drives 45 minutes to an hour depending
40:44
on traffic. She works her eight hour shift
40:45
and then on the way home she hits the gym if it's before
40:48
4:30. Her gym is kind of like a a
40:51
women's boutique fitness type gym.
40:53
It's really cool. But they have classes there at
40:55
4:30. So she can't lift if she's later
40:57
than 430. Long story.
40:59
But then she does her treadmill and she will then do dinner and
41:03
shower, maybe walk the dogs if it's not freezing gold.
41:05
You can see that all the routines are different, but they
41:08
all have the staples that they need.
41:11
They all are doing crossing the T's, dotting the IS getting it
41:15
done consistently. And when you do those little
41:19
actions every single day, it takes the guesswork out of it.
41:23
People say that. Oh my gosh, that must be
41:25
exhausting. No, it's, it's incredibly
41:27
freeing to have that system in place.
41:29
You don't have to be a slave to your emotions.
41:32
You don't have to be a victim of your lack of motivation because
41:36
again, your feelings are just that, their feelings.
41:39
Flush them to the side. They come, they go, they're
41:41
here, they're not doesn't matter.
41:43
What does matter is that you are taking the time to complete your
41:47
daily systems every day because those are the pathways to your
41:51
goal. You're not going to get to your
41:53
goal unless you have a system, AKA pathway.
41:58
So here's we're going to end. This is what you are going to do
42:01
to start tomorrow. Here is your exact morning
42:04
routine. However early you're getting up,
42:07
get up a little bit earlier. Number one, your mental slash
42:10
spiritual component. Give it 2 minutes.
42:12
If you've never done it before, just give it 2 minutes.
42:14
Write down something you're grateful for.
42:16
Do all the things I mentioned previously in the episode, but
42:19
just do it for 2 minutes #2 protein.
42:21
Go downstairs, have 25 to 40 grams of protein.
42:24
If that seems intolerable, get one of those pre made shakes.
42:27
All you have to do is crack open the can.
42:29
OK, go downstairs. Do that.
42:30
Or upstairs, wherever you live #3 movement, just move your body
42:34
for five to 10 minutes. All you have to do is lay on the
42:37
floor. Do some stretching, literally
42:39
lay on the floor if this is intolerable for you, and just
42:42
move your body. Bring your knee to your chest,
42:44
bring your other knee to your chest.
42:46
Stretch your arms way, way, way behind.
42:48
Open up your chest, open up your lower back.
42:51
And if you have the tools, a treadmill.
42:55
Get on there and walk for a couple minutes or just do some
42:57
laps around your house. It's easy.
43:00
Just do it for five to 10 minutes.
43:03
Lastly, for two to three minutes you're going to do some type of
43:06
organizational tasks. So 2 to 3 minutes, that's all it
43:08
takes to make your bed. 2 to 3 minutes, that's all it takes to
43:11
clean off your counter. 2 to 3 minutes, that's all it takes to
43:13
do a quick pick up. Pick up your jacket, you know
43:16
what's on the floor, pick up your shoes.
43:18
So all of this together takes approximately 20 minutes Max.
43:25
That's where you can start tomorrow.
43:26
If this feels unrealistic. So however early you're getting
43:29
up, tack on an extra 20 minutes. Hit these steps.
43:32
Now go on my Instagram rack RAC fitness under Dash.
43:37
So rack fitness under Dash, you will see this cutesy little tool
43:42
I made, which is the morning habit routine checklist.
43:46
What did I call it? Morning routine checklist.
43:48
I love making these types of tools.
43:50
They're they're just so usable. Go on my Instagram, it's a
43:53
freebie print it out, fill in your own habits and check it
43:58
off. Check them off when you complete
44:01
them tomorrow. It is so satisfying.
44:03
It is so satisfying. OK ladies, thank you so much for
44:06
listening to me ramble on. I really hope this is helpful to
44:09
you. If you haven't started a morning
44:11
routine, I hope that the tool I talked about and the tool that
44:15
is on my Instagram will help you start today because your morning
44:21
routine is everything. Your morning routine sets the
44:24
tone. Your morning routine is the
44:27
system that will drive your success, not your motivation.
44:31
Nothing else, just your systems. OK ladies, thank you so much for
44:34
listening. I'll talk to you soon.