Be fit and healthy can become really easy. Get up and make little changes in your routine starting from your morning. You'll be surprised of how these six simple steps will make a difference in your body.
1. Drink warm water with lemon
Detox comes first. Hydrate yourself drinking a cup of warm water and lemon with empty stomach. Besides providing lotta vitamin C, this drink will help flush "the waste" out of your body, promote a proper digestion and fight against water retention.
Lemon also affects the way your body will break down what you eat throughout the day allowing a greater absorption of minerals and a greater activity of your metabolism.
Spoon Tip: Add a dash of turmeric for extra body cleansing and anti-inflammatory properties.
2. Sit Down and Eat Your Breakfast
Breakfast is truly the most important meal of the day. If you want to be fit and healthy, turn this into your golden rule from now on. Lazy folks you gotta learn to set your alarm half an hour earlier than usual.
Breakfast is essential because our body comes (or at least should come) from an eight hour sleep, which means eight hours without eating.
Eating breakfast boosts your metabolism, keeps blood sugar levels stable, enhances your energy and productivity, may help weight-loss and makes people happier. On the other hand, skipping breakfast lowers your concentration and memory, may lead to gain weight, increases the risk of health problems (e.g. Diabetes) and makes people moody (can't stand them).
Now read carefully: breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day. Therefore a glass of juice, a cup of coffee or a jar of plain yogurt is not enough. Always try to include complex carbs, proteins, healthy fats, and some vitamins. Avoid processed food or food full of sugar, go natural, fresh and colorful. Your body will thank activating your metabolism and use all your breakfast throughout your daily routine.
3. Wheatgrass Shot
Rise and take your vitamins! Maybe not too tasty, but a wheatgrass shot is a wellness bomb. Firstly, wheatgrass is gluten-free grass that acts as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Antioxidants prevent or delay damages to cells and act as true and real "cells cleansers" removing the so-called free radicals. Free radicals are dangerous components for our body that can permanently harm our cells speeding up appearance of aging and illnesses. Antioxidants block these dangerous molecules, keeping our skin healthy and delaying signs of aging. They can also fight against cancer. Impressive, isn't it?
Wheatgrass owes its bright green color to the high concentration of chlorophyll which works as detox, immunity buster (rich in vitamins A, C and E) and hormones regulator.
This plant is naturally found as a grass that you can press in a juicer. Don't have a juicer or time for making shots with a juicer every morning? Here's the solution. Wheatgrass can be also found in form of powder. One teaspoon a day with an ounce (30ml) of water and you get your super shot.
4. Clean Your Skin With Coconut Oil
Being healthy doesn't only mean to be fit and lean. A healthy look comes also from your skin and coconut oil can help.
First thing first, eat at least a spoon of coconut oil a day. This amazing oil contains fatty acids such as lauric and caprylic acids which are antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral and are able to clean your skin from the inside.
Struggling with acne? These potent fatty acids are able to fight against some of the major causes behind those pimples.
But coconut oil can also be used as an outside cleanser. Apply this amazing oil on your face every morning (and possibly also before going to bed at night), keep massaging for a minute and wash away with warm water. Trust me, three weeks and you'll see the difference! .
5. Treat Yourself With Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is on the superfood list. Packed with fibers and antioxidants, it helps our digestive system run smoothly and keeps in check our cravings for the rest of the day. Chocolate is also rich in magnesium and potassium which are essential for proper muscles function and for regular blood pressure.
So don't forget to give a touch of sweet to your morning. However, it's important to know what you are buying. A healthy dark chocolate has to be at least 85% dark. Two of the healthiest choices are cacao nibs and cocoa powder which, being unprocessed, or very little, preserve all the benefits.
6. Go Green Tea
Green tea is a wonderful coffee substituent because it speeds up your metabolism. It's also why a lot of fat-burning supplements use green tea as their main ingredient. Green tea also contributes to make your skin healthy, glowing and youthful; whereas too much coffee can mess it up.
Green tea makes you smarter because, besides containing a certain amount of caffeine, it promotes a higher brain activity, primarily thanks to its content of an amino acid called L-theanine. This is known for releasing dopamine, the hormone of happiness and decreasing anxiety; it also helps our energy level stay stable and makes us more productive throughout the day.
Wake up and change your morning habits from today. These simple six steps will help you be fit and healthy in little time. Your body needs the right fuel to properly work and these easy tips can help be the best of you throughout the day. Love yourself and don't forget to take this little extra time every morning.