The start of a new year is a great time to cultivate new, healthy habits, but beware making unsustainable goals that require major life adjustments, instead I’m going to suggest focusing on one area of improvement – morning routine.
Morning habits can have a significant impact on the rest of your day, checking off a few tasks early on will give you a sense of achievement as well as potentially improving energy and mood throughout the rest of the day.
Here are the three suggested goals:
- Drink a glass of water
- 10 minutes of physical activity
- Eat a healthy, balanced, breakfast
Water – drink a glass when you wake up, add a dash of squash or fruit to make more palatable. Drinking water first thing can support kidney health by flushing out waste and kick-start your metabolism, it can also help maintain focus and improve mood (Pross N et al,2018).
10 minutes of physical activity – this doesn’t sound like a lot, but the key is consistency, over the week this combines to a significant 70 minutes. The activity should require minimal equipment, space and something you can do in your pyjamas! There are many free, short online workouts, Joe Wicks is a good start. For menopausal women this could be a good time to incorporate some strength training, lifting small weights to build strength over time will help combat muscle and bone loss while also supporting joints and metabolism (Capel-Alcaraz et al,2023).
Breakfast – Eating a balanced, healthy breakfast which preferably includes protein, fibre and healthy fats will set you up for the day, providing you with fuel rich in micro and macronutrients. This does not necessarily need to be eaten early in the morning, that is a personal preference especially if intermittent fasting. Take time to notice hunger signalling, if you don’t feel hungry, don’t force yourself to eat a large breakfast, instead reduce the portion size and make it nutrient dense. It can be easy to fall into a habit of eating the same breakfast every day, don’t miss the opportunity to add variety to every meal. Try to mix savoury and sweet options and notice how your body responds, for example some individuals experience glucose sensitivity in response to certain foods which can result in erratic hunger signalling and a sluggish feeling later in the morning, it can take time to work out what suits you best, but is worth the effort as the right start can contribute to a productive and positive day (Jarvis et al, 2023).
Here are some healthy breakfast ideas:
Overnight oats/porridge & berries & seeds
Scrambled egg & herbs & wholegrain toast
Homemade Granola & yogurt
Mushroom/pepper/spinach/cheese omelette
Greek yogurt & berries with seeds
Avocado, eggs & rye bread
Sourdough/wholegrain toast & nut butter & sliced banana
Poached eggs & roasted cherry tomatoes and basil on wholegrain toast
Vegetable based smoothie – spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, fennel combine well with citrus, just remember to limit daily intake of smoothies to 150ml.
Weetabix/Shredded Wheat & banana
References
Capel-Alcaraz AM, García-López H, Castro-Sánchez AM, Fernández-Sánchez M, Lara-Palomo IC. The Efficacy of Strength Exercises for Reducing the Symptoms of Menopause: A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2023 Jan 9;12(2):548. doi: 10.3390/jcm12020548. PMID: 36675477; PMCID: PMC9864448.
Jarvis PRE, Cardin JL, Nisevich-Bede PM, McCarter JP. Continuous glucose monitoring in a healthy population: understanding the post-prandial glycemic response in individuals without diabetes mellitus. Metabolism. 2023 Sep;146:155640. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2023.155640. Epub 2023 Jun 24. PMID: 37356796.
Pross N, Demazières A, Girard N, Barnouin R, Santoro F, Chevillotte E, Klein A, Le Bellego L. Influence of progressive fluid restriction on mood and physiological markers of dehydration in women. Br J Nutr. 2013 Jan 28;109(2):313-21. doi: 10.1017/S0007114512001080. Epub 2012 Apr 13. PMID: 22716932; PMCID: PMC3553795.
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