Reset Your Gut
I’ll be the one to admit it – ACV is like the PSL of gut health. Though this slightly rank supplement may not provide the same sweet taste as your favorite Starbucks drink, ACV has been shown to have enormous health benefits – most notably, helping regulate blood sugar. So what?, you ask… Well, ACV has popped up as an easily-accessible, affordable way to help lower blood sugar. When you lower your blood sugar, your insulin levels lower. And when you insulin levels lower, your body burns fat! Boom!
The trick is in the acetic acid. Acetic acid has been shown to lower blood glucose and insulin levels after consuming a high carbohydrate meal. Side note: It also boosts the absorption of nutrients like calcium into the body, which is particularly useful for individuals suffering from osteopenia. I recommend mixing it into a morning “cocktail” with spices like turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger to give your body a morning cleanse.
Ditch Your Sugar, Drink Your Fat
Ditch your sugary breakfasts, and add a little fat to your morning routine instead. Butter, oil, heavy cream, take your pick. Supplementing a few fat calories into your morning cup of joe can be extremely beneficial for two primary reasons. First, it will help keep you satiated further into your morning, which means you don’t feel the need to eat breakfast when you first wake up. And second, due to the delay in breakfast, your insulin levels stay lower longer. This in turn will provide your body the time to begin burning body fat as its fuel source. Instead devoting it’s energy to digesting that sugary-something. It almost seems counterintuitive right? Adding fat to lose fat. But realistically, adding a couple tablespoons of cream to your morning coffee is far more beneficial than scarfing down that Pop Tart you normally have at 7am.
Take a Probiotic
Emphasis on gut health has swept through the nation like wildfire. Though research is still in it’s very early stages, there is one definitive conclusion about our gut health – we should take care of it. Go figure, right? Here enters the probiotic! Packed with millions of bacteria specifically designed to promote and enhance your gut health, probiotics can actually help neutralize bacterial overgrowths in your GI Tract which can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression. You might be thinking something like, “Ew – bacteria? I don’t want bacteria in my gut.” But I’m not talking about E-Choli here, people. I’m talking about the millions of bacteria that organically exist in your digestive tract. Take a probiotic in the morning to help balance out your insides so you can focus on aligning your outside.
Make a To-Do List
You’ve woken up, scrolled through your instagram, clicked the “brew” button on your coffee maker, and now it’s time to sit down and make a list. I know, I know, no one wants to think that hard so early in the morning, but making a to-do list for yourself early on can set you up for a make-or-break kind of day. List making is a simple habit that promotes productivity and accountability. It’s an easy way to keep yourself on track to achieve whatever goals you set out for yourself that day, from making sure your laundry gets done to ensuring you’r ready for that presentation in front of your employers at lunchtime. If list making still seems like an inane waste of time, make it a little more enjoyable by finding a medium you like – a well-designed scheduling app (there are millions), a well put together journal (there are also millions). Find the medium that helps you stay focused and motivated, and accountable to the tasks you set out to accomplish that day.
