7 Morning Habits That Make It Harder to Lose Weight

Why are morning rituals important? Well, the way your morning starts often dictates how the rest of your day is going to go. If you get up on the proverbial wrong side of the bed, then your whole day will feel horrible. It’s more or less the same with weight gain. No matter how hard you try to lose weight, there are just some morning habits that contribute to weight gain and tune your body towards consuming more calories.

Body fat accumulates on our bodies from many sources in our daily routines. It’s not as simple as choosing to have a healthy breakfast every day – although, as we’ll see, that does help a lot. If you’re serious about your weight loss, here are some habits to try and kick so that you can truly start making the progress you’ve been waiting for.

“Cutting back on calories is not the answer to successful weight loss and successful health … you have to increase the quality of what you eat, not just reduce the quantity.” – Joel Fuhrman

1. You don’t drink a glass of water after you wake up.

Whether it’s because you forget, or because you didn’t know – many people don’t do this. Good news! It’s a simple routine to include in your morning activities. If you need a reminder, set a glass of water on your nightstand before you go to sleep. In the morning, first thing after you wake up, drink it. Many people think you should drink water during breakfast; however, that’s wrong. Water’s function is to accelerate your metabolism and make processing breakfast a lot easier. It’ll also help you get rid of the unhealthy toxins in your body. So, no matter whether you feel it or not, make sure you drink that glass of water every morning and you’ll see your body fat decrease more quickly!

2. You don’t let the sunshine in.

And no, we’re not talking about listening to the song. Sunlight is good for you any time of the day, but it’s especially good when you wake up. If you like sleeping with the curtains closed, it’s time to train yourself out of that habit. The rays of the sun will help you kickstart your metabolism right and prepare your body for both eating breakfast and processing it the right way. You’ll also be surprised by the burst of energy a little bit more sunshine will give you. Just 20 or 30 minutes of sunshine in the morning will be great for your BMI and your weight loss journey.

3. You add too much to your morning cuppa.

This is a difficult one for people who want to lose weight, especially those for whom caffeine is a necessary ingredient to start the day. But it’s not really about the coffee itself. In fact, coffee is a natural antioxidant and great for your digestion. No, it’s if you have coffee with sugar, milk, or other additions. All those sugars in the morning will do the exact opposite of aiding digestion. They’ll add calories and you’ll start off behind on your weight loss goals. Drop the sugar and go for a black cup of coffee. Or even better, switch to green tea, a natural antioxidant that tastes better than black coffee, with the added benefit of keeping you awake enough to start your day.

4. You skip breakfast

Even if you don’t feel like eating early in the morning, there’s a reason why people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You absolutely cannot afford to skip breakfast if you’re trying to lose weight. That said, try to avoid eating anything sugary – like cold cereal – or anything with a lot of preservatives. Instead, go for a light but nutritious breakfast. A smoothie is a lot of people’s go-to choice because it’s easy to make and you can have it on the go. But something as simple as a bowl of oatmeal or some yogurt with berries will be enough to get you started for the day.

5. You skip on the morning exercise.

Whether it’s yoga or a quick jog, try to incorporate exercise in your morning routine. I know, it’s difficult. You might still be feeling tired or sleepy, but the positive effects of incorporating exercise into your weight loss routine are numerous. Exercising is a great way to wake up and increase your metabolism, and it also decreases your appetite. Normally, you’d eat to wake up, but if you exchange your calorie-filled breakfast for a 15-minute yoga session or a quick jog, you’ll feel much more inclined to eat a healthy breakfast afterward.

6. You read the news in the morning.

It might sound counter-intuitive but reading the news can be detrimental to your weight loss routine. When you wake up, your cells are working quicker than normal to try and get your body up to normal speed. Stress, which can often be associated with reading the news, will turn your stem cells into fat cells and make you gain body fat. The same goes for trying to get a lot of work done the moment you wake up. Instead, try listening to some relaxing music or reading a book when you wake up. The less stressed you are in the morning, the easier it’ll be to lose weight.

7. You oversleep.

You should always try to get your 7-8 hours of sleep every day, but not more than 10 hours. When you oversleep constantly, your BMI will increase and you’ll find your belly fat increasing with that too. That’s because your body will expect to be fed, and when you sleep instead, it’ll produce more fat cells for sustenance. Additionally, oversleeping will affect your metabolism and your breakfast schedule; keeping meal times consistent is important in losing weight.

Final thoughts

It might seem that weight loss is difficult and almost unachievable – but don’t lose your positive thinking. It’s easy to make those simple lifestyle changes in your morning routine. Once they turn into habits, you’ll see how much easier it’ll be for you to shed your body fat and continue the weight loss journey you’ve always wanted.