Morning Ritual

I hate waking up. It is honestly the worst time of day.
One thing I know is that if I don't get my ass out of bed when I planned, everything is shot. Energy is down, I'm mentally foggy, and I know I won't sleep as well the next night.

I told you that over the next few weeks I'm going to be giving you a survival guide to get you through the holidays without adding 10 pounds of fat. These are not "tips," go here for my thoughts on that, they are lifestyle choices that will lead you through not only the holidays but into a healthy life.

First and foremost have a morning ritual. One that you will not break on trips, weekends, or even Christmas. A morning ritual is going to consist of a few things (these are mandates I'm giving you, not dictionary definitions).
1. liquid
2. physical activity
3. food

Here's my morning ritual:
The first thing I do every single morning (after peeing) is drinking a cup of cold water. This is for 2 reasons, 1. I've just had 8 hours of dehydration 2. it pumps up my metabolism for the day by around 10 percent.

While I'm drinking that water I put on a pot of water to boil for green tea (this is relatively new, it used to be coffee). This is also a time when I decide if I'll eat oat meal, if so I can put on more water and kill 2 birds.

After I finish my glass of water I'll go through a quick 5 exercise set of Sun Salutes, Single Leg stretch, Obliques, Double Leg Stretch, and Scissors (Pilates mixed with Yoga), to get all the blood that's been chilling in my organs and veins pumping through my body again.

Finally I'll eat breakfast, ranging from eggs and toast to bagel and cream cheese with salmon to a protein shake.

Some times the exact content of the ritual is changed (ie coffee instead of tea, breakfast choices, etc), but the order is always the same.

I highly encourage you to develop your own ritual that you begin as early as tomorrow morning. Develop this habit now and when temptation comes to skip breakfast for a muffin or bowl of ice cream I'm sure that the rigidity of the ritual will help keep you in line.

I meant to get this out a lot earlier, but this weeks been busy with work and school, so to make it up to you: the most useless piece of equipment ever created

Keep fit
-Kian

PS. Not sure if you know or care but Westmont College has been hit hard by a fire in the Montecito hills and needs pray and monetary support.