Wellness Unplugged
Wellness isn't just about counting calories or hitting the gym. It's a holistic journey that encompasses mind, body, and spirit.
Join me on "Wellness Unplugged" as we go off the beaten path and explore the multi-faceted world of well-being.
With a rotating cast of expert hosts, we'll dive deep into the latest research, trends, and philosophies surrounding overall wellness.
From nutrition and fitness to mental health, spirituality, and everything in between, no stone will be left unturned.
Prepare to have your perspectives challenged and your mind opened as we unplug from the conventional narratives and tap into the raw, unfiltered truths about what it really means to live your best life.
Equal parts informative and thought-provoking, "Wellness Unplugged" is your gateway to a more vibrant, fulfilling existence.
Tune in and join the revolution - it's time to redefine wellness on your own terms.
Wellness Unplugged
Revolutionize Your Mornings: Habits for Productivity and Tranquility
Have you ever considered the impact of sunlight on your mood or the distracting nature of your smartphone first thing in the morning? Discover the game-changing effects of aligning with your circadian rhythm and the mental clarity that follows a short digital detox. From the simple act of hydrating to savoring your coffee after a wholesome breakfast, we explore creating a morning foundation that's as robust as the coffee you love. And it doesn't stop there—I'll guide you through the addition of self-care practices that transition your mornings from average to extraordinary.
This episode isn't just about what to do; it's about the profound 'whys' behind each practice. Embrace the enriching effects of cold showers, the reflective power of journaling, and the critical importance of setting attainable daily goals. I share my personal practice of starting each day with a grateful heart, proving that success lies in simplicity. Ready for a morning makeover? Tune in and reinvent your daily kickoff with purpose and presence, ensuring your health and happiness don't require a hefty price tag.
Hey y'all, I'm your host, brittany Ramuno. Now, before you get too excited, thinking this is just another podcast about tracking macros and learning which new hot workout will finally make you love yourself, let me stop you there. This podcast exists to rip off the Band-Aid and go well beyond the superficial eat better, move more advice. Because, honestly, who really has their life together after nailing their macros? No one. That's who, and that's why Wellness Unplugged. I'm here throwing open the curtains of all the gnarly cringeworthy stuff we usually keep behind closed doors. So buckle up and get ready to get real. My friends, whether you're tuning in during a workout or hiding in your bedroom calling it a self-renewal break, I'm here with you. Let's unplug from the highlight reels and dive into the glorious, messy scope of adulthood. Welcome to Wellness Unplugged. I'm so glad you're here. Oh, look at me getting a little bit official. Like I have an intro now. Guys, this is great. Well, good morning. Gorgeous or handsome, if you're a man listening, all right.
Speaker 1:So today's episode, I'm just going to go right at it. We are going to attack today, so by a show of virtual hands, who has a healthy morning routine that they do every single day. I'll wait, okay. So I'm going to imagine quite a few hands go up like, oh, I've got a morning routine. I do the same thing every morning. Fan-fucking-tastic for you. Keyword was healthy. How many women here? Let's do another round of hands. How many women wake up, grab for the pot of coffee, get ready for work and go about their day? Oh, I'm going to imagine everyone's hand, because that's just the norm for us, right? It's get up, grab coffee and go. Because we live in such a world that is just like go, go, go, bigger, faster, stronger, bigger, faster, stronger, and it's fucking killing us literally. And it's fucking killing us literally.
Speaker 1:So today's episode, we're going to talk about one of the things that I deem probably most life-changing. And it's free, it's cheap, it doesn't cost anything but your time and that's your morning routine, guys. So we really need to get away with getting up, drinking coffee, getting ready for work and just going. Or, if you have kids, you're getting up, getting coffee, getting the kids ready and out the door and then you're going to work, right?
Speaker 1:We're forgetting so many things in the morning, whether it's because we're waking up late or we, you know, aren't sleeping, so we're sleeping in. There's so many reasons or just flat out, you weren't taught how to have a good morning routine in place. And I find this is probably one of the most frequent conversations I have with everyone I come in contact with, because usually, if you're scheduling a call with me, one of my first questions is literally going to be what's your day look like? Tell me about your day, and your day typically starts in the morning with your morning routine. Well, guess what? Our morning routines, 99.9% of the time, are absolute trash. And I'm not saying that, hey, what you're doing is you know wrong? Well, I lie, I kind of am, but we need to find ways to optimize our morning routine, and changing a morning routine changes the entire path of your day. Right, think of it like this If we're waking up in a rush to drink coffee and get out of the door as fast as we can, that sets the tone for the rest of our day.
Speaker 1:We're rushed the entire day. Then we go into our day job and every email is a fire drill. The boss wants something due yesterday, and we're in a constant fight and flight like all day it. And when does it stop? It doesn't stop because then, when you get home, you've got to cook dinner or work out and try and repeat. Right, we eat, sleep, workout, repeat half the time, um, and it's not serving us, it's, it's really absolutely killing our body and driving it into just the ground at this point. So typically, that is the first thing that I'm going to change. If you work with me, there you go, my secret's out guys. Morning routine that is Brittany's secret weapon. A morning routine there you go, it's out there. But it's the way to set your tone in the day. You want to set a peaceful, positive, actionable type of morning.
Speaker 1:And I'm not saying, okay, don't drink coffee. Even though I have qualms with coffee, I think everyone just abuses it. It's a drug, it's a stimulant and we, you know, bury our problems in either caffeine or alcohol, neither here nor there. But let's take a look at the average day woman's routine. Right, they're waking up. Then they're getting out of bed, probably getting a shower and going right to the coffee pot, because the coffee pot in marketing and in everyday society is okay. I need coffee because I need energy to get through this day. Right, newsflash caffeine does not give you energy in any way, shape or form. And if somebody told you it gives you energy, they're lying to you that you. That's my good tip of the day, right, as I drink my coffee it's decaf. I don't dare touch caffeine. Me having 10 grams of caffeine, you'd think I was like a kid on crack. It doesn't serve me well at all.
Speaker 1:But let's talk about caffeine. So when you consume caffeine from coffee or energy drinks or what the fuck ever you're drinking, it's got caffeine in it. Caffeine blocks the action of androsine, which is a neurotransmitter in your brain that allows you to feel relaxed and tired, right? So we basically put that on the red light and then, by blocking androcene, caffeine actually tricks your brain into thinking that it's well rested and it doesn't need to feel tired or sleepy, right, joke's on you. You're still tired and sleepy. It's just. Caffeine blocks the action in your brain. There you go.
Speaker 1:But caffeine also stimulates the release of your happy hormones, so your dopamine and your norepinephrine, which are the other neurotransmitters in your brain, because we've got all these little things, all these cool things called neurotransmitters in our brain. But it increases the alertness, your focus and your energy levels. Why? Because it tricks you. It's a joke, and don't get me wrong, caffeine's not the bad guy. It's just what we do to caffeine and how we use caffeine. That makes it bad, because caffeine can absolutely increase your metabolism. It can mobilize fatty acids in your digestion track and it can provide the body, to an extent, an extra energy source, right by blocking when we feel tired. Hello, bodybuilders that use pre-workout to work out.
Speaker 1:So it's not that caffeine is bad for you. There's just a right way to drink it and a wrong way to drink it, and I'm pretty confident saying 90% of us don't drink it right, myself included, because before I learned this, I was just like yo. I was that average person. I was waking up, turning on my espresso machine, making myself a latte every morning and going about my day. So it's not just you, it was me too. But we drink that cup of joe that's been graciously marketed as a cup of joe. My poor husband makes me chuckle. I'm like, oh, I'm going to have a cup of couple Joe, but it gives you your energy boost, quote unquote, from all of the sugar in there.
Speaker 1:Within about 15 to 45 minutes, you should feel the caffeine buzz, I will call it. You become tunnel vision. You're like, oh, I am going to take over this world. That's why most people are like I'm not a morning person until I have my coffee. About 30 minutes later, they become a morning person, like ta-da, like it's a magical drug. I hear you, I'm here for it. I was you. I had caffeine problems.
Speaker 1:Now, if I touch caffeine, like I said, it's not a good time for me, but it's important to note. Like I said, it's not a good time for me, but it's important to note. Like I mentioned, there's a good way and a bad way to drink coffee, and the good way is never on an empty stomach. Well, brittany, that makes no fucking sense, because I've been doing that my whole life. What are you telling me? Great question. So you should not drink caffeine ever. There's no reason. None, zero Drink caffeine on an empty stomach.
Speaker 1:What you should be doing is, when you wake up, you magically have this like shaker cup or metal water bottle or whatever the hell. You should have water next to your bed. You should drink that water first and then you should eat breakfast, which is like a phenomenon that never happens for women anymore. Breakfast is like a what? Like it's a protein shake on the go or a protein bar on the go, or it's coffee, because right now Starbucks coffees, I mean, they're like 700 fucking calories. I look at that and I'm like, oh my God, that's like my half of my day, I can't do this, stop it. And then it's like $14. No, no, stop it. Just just save all the Starbucks for other people. Um, but yeah, we should.
Speaker 1:We should never be drinking caffeine on an empty stomach, and there's tons of reasons why, right. So when we think about why I would recommend eat breakfast before drinking coffee, I want you to think of stomach irritation, right, when we think of coffee in its truest form. When we think of coffee in its truest form, it's very acidic and the acid can irritate your stomach lining, it can cause bloating, it can cause discomfort, and having food in your stomach helps neutralize the acidity of the coffee and then reduces, obviously, the risk of any stomach uncomfortability. Ta-da, drinking coffee on an empty stomach can also interfere with just the absorption of the nutrients for food. When you eat breakfast first, your body is better able to absorb the nutrients than the food you consume or from the food you consume. Sorry, what other benefits? So it helps blood sugar.
Speaker 1:So coffee, I'm sure if you drink kids coffee, as I call it, right, we're going to put like four teaspoons of sugar. We're going to add a bunch of milk. It looks like a kid should drink it. That's what I, at least, call it. Um, hello, sugar crash and sugar spike. Because when you drink coffee on an empty stomach I mean when you drink coffee regardless it's going to cause a temporary spike in your blood sugar, and that's even if you have food or not have food. But imagine not having food. You have no barrier, you have nothing to help stabilize it, so it's going to shoot even higher and come down even harder. Magic.
Speaker 1:That's when you get tired and you're like, oh my god, I need that cup of coffee. At one o'clock, like, oh no, you don't sis, no, you don't Stop it, you need to eat. But if you eat breakfast first, right. When we think of breakfast, right, we've got protein, carbs and fats, not just a protein bar, and call it a day Like, we need to eat food. That's another podcast topic. But eat fucking food. It can help stabilize your blood sugar and prevent the crash and prevent the energy slump. Later, at one o'clock, when you're like, oh my God, I need that second cup to get me through the rest of the day. Girlfriend, you need to eat food and that'll get you through the rest of the day, girlfriend. You need to eat food and that'll get you through the rest of the day. So there you go Drink water, eat breakfast, then have your cup of coffee.
Speaker 1:Um, but why do we need to drink off or drink water when we first wake up? Well, I suggest that to everyone, and it's something that took me a while to really implement because I had to get in the habit of putting water next to my bed and then drinking it when I woke up. It's one thing putting the water on the nightstand, and then it's another thing of okay, that's going to be the first thing down my throat. Cool, it was rough. So obviously, change takes time. Change is not going to be zero to a hundred. If you do it zero to a hundred, it's not going to adapt to you very well.
Speaker 1:But when we think about drinking water when we first wake up, it rehydrates our body. Right, we've been sleeping. Hopefully you're sleeping at least at minimum eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Let's start there, because most people aren't. They think sleep is for the weak, or I'll sleep when I'm dead, and let me tell you, you're going to die sooner than you don't. Sleep is for the strong, sleep is for the cool and sleep is king. But when we sleep all night, right, your body naturally becomes dehydrated. Right, we're not drinking water while we're sleeping, so our right, we're not drinking water while we're sleeping.
Speaker 1:So our body? First thing in the morning, drinking water helps to rehydrate the body. And our body is composed of a majority of water. So it's like turning on the lights in the house when you come home from work, right, you want everything turned on. Or even in the morning, when you come downstairs and start your day, you turn the lights on, boom. That's kind of like water for the body. It aids in digestion, it aids energy, it aids flushing out all the toxins. It helps actually boost metabolism, ta-da, slightly.
Speaker 1:Don't think drinking water in the morning is going to be a life-changing thing. It will just help facilitate the breakdown of food a little bit. Better for energy, ta-da, I don't need anyone saying well, brittany said, if I drink 20 ounces of water in the morning, I'm going to lose weight. That's not what I'm saying, guys, it's not what I'm saying. But I can see why things can be taken out of context. But neither here nor there. Right, drink water, drink like 16 ounces. That's not a lot of water 16 ounces of water then we get our breakfast and then we drink our coffee. That is the order of drinking coffee and it shouldn't be done any other way, in my opinion, and I use literally that technique and that instruction with my clients. So you're welcome.
Speaker 1:Like I said, morning routine is my biggest secret. Don't tell anyone. So, when we wake up, here's another thing that we're probably doing Beyond coffee, because whose phone is next to their bed? I want to hear it. All right, maybe I won't hear it, but I want to know.
Speaker 1:Don't lie to yourself Is your phone next to your bed when you go to bed? Most times it is a yes, right, because oh, it's my alarm, or oh, I have my Apple watch and that's my alarm. Stop it, stop it. Your phone should never and I repeat, never be in your bedroom. Well, I lie, I'll take that back Should never be next to your bed. There we go, we'll leave it at that. And why? Well, when you first wake up, I'm willing to bet you're checking your emails, you're checking Facebook, instagram, tiktok, snapchat, whatever LinkedIn social media you have Hello doom scrolling at seven o'clock in the morning. And that's another problem, right, that's a huge problem, because, oh man, that's a whole nother topic too, because everyone doom scrolls on social media. Yeah, just stop it.
Speaker 1:But I tend to tell my clients and I live by this my phone is in my closet, it is nowhere near me. If I get up in the middle of the night, guess what? My phone is going to be like 50, like a hundred feet away from me. So I'm not getting up in the middle of the night to get on my phone to try and think I'm going to go back to sleep. Um, I'm also getting up in the morning and not even touching my phone. I don't touch my phone for like the first 20 minutes, 20, 30 minutes of me waking up. And here's why, right One, I'm trying to control myself. No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1:One, I always like to make sure the sun sees my face before my phone sees my face. Right, and if it's winter, I have a happy light. It's on Amazon. I stick it in my bathroom. It's $39.99, like. I've not memorized this price now because I tell everyone about it.
Speaker 1:But for the winter months and when it's cold and rainy outside, that's how I, that's what I use instead of the sun, and it's to regulate my circadian rhythm right. Your sleep-wake cycle, your circadian rhythm, has to be reset essentially every single day and it's reset by the sun. Seeing your face in the morning and you dimming lights and you know lights getting darker at night, that's what turns on your melatonin in your brain actually. So like five, six o'clock or six, seven o'clock, you should be dimming your lights to increase the melatonin in your brain to say, okay, I'm getting sleepy, it's time I have to start getting ready for bed. So in the morning, natural light exposure, sunlight, the sun and it'll help you regulate your, like you said, your circadian rhythm and it can make you feel more awake and alert. It'll help start your fucking day. It improves your mood.
Speaker 1:And when you think about, as soon as you wake up and you unlock your phone, you swipe up, unlock the bitch you're already staring at a bright blue light emitted from the cell phone, computer or whatever your cell phone, phone and it can cause eye strain. Then it turns into headaches and fatigue and you're stressing your body out. As soon as you wake up, ta-da Tip number, like four, stop being on your phone within the first 30 minutes of you waking up. Digital detox, that shit. Looking, I mean as soon as you look at your cell phone or any digital device as soon as you wake up, you can get into a cycle of you need to feel distracted from your life, and allowing yourself some like device-free digital detox in the morning can help you start your day with like a clearer mind and a more present focus.
Speaker 1:Now, when I get into talking about things to do in the morning, they do kind of include your phone. So that's why I say you know 20 minutes, you can go 20 minutes, and if you can't go 20 minutes in the morning without your phone, you have a bigger problem. Okay, I'm just going to say that right here. If you cannot go without your phone for 20 minutes in the morning when you first wake up, you've got deeper brain problems. You need to get control of your mind. That's where I'm going to leave that Right? So, all right, let's put all this together.
Speaker 1:So, when we think about a morning routine, brittany, you're saying when I wake up, I need to not touch my phone, absolutely. I need to drink 16 ounces of water, eat breakfast, drink my cup of coffee, fan freaking tastic. If that is where you need to start your morning routine, that is the base. That is the base the foundation, start there and then wait until you can like get consistent with that every day without thinking about it, and then build on it. Right, you'll see everyone out here talking about oh, I cold plunge, or I've read light therapy, or I meditate, or I journal, or I blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, all of that shit is great, but if you don't have these couple things in line first, you're throwing spaghetti at a wall, seeing what will stick, and guess what it won't. It will all fall off. It always does. Um, so that's how I would start my morning. That's honestly how I start my morning every single day, regardless.
Speaker 1:So I get up, I will walk to my bathroom. I'll turn my little happy light on because it makes me happy, unless it's like sunny outside and I'm going to sit there. I sit there for like five to ten minutes. No, no noise, no, nothing. I just sit there. Once that five, ten minutes is up which probably y'all are dying at at this point, because nobody can sit in silence, that's a whole, nother problem. I wash my face, I brush my teeth and I've already drank my water. I usually drink my water when I'm sitting for that five to ten minutes. Then I'll wash my face, I'll brush my teeth and then I'll go downstairs.
Speaker 1:I will take whatever vitamins I need to take you know that are, upon waking, eat my breakfast and then I will make my cup of coffee. And it's decaf, people. So don't get too excited and don't come for me saying, oh, decaf is gross, it's so disgusting. No, it's not, it's a mind over matter. If it don't mind, you don't matter. I said that wrong, but it's okay.
Speaker 1:But that's the basis of my morning routine, right? You don't hear me saying I checked my phone, I just grabbed for a cup of coffee. No, and it only takes 10, 15, 15 minutes. 15 minutes, that's it. And if you're not getting up with more than 15 minutes to get your day going, that's, that's a time management issue. Maybe that's a I'm trying to catch up on sleep thing, what have you? Whatever, but 15 minutes, that's the basis, that is the base of all morning routines, right there, then you'll hear everyone saying oh well, you know, I meditate, I do meditate, I meditate. Not every day, I should. It's very beneficial, I just forget. But I listen to Jay Shetty on the Calm app seven minutes.
Speaker 1:I can dedicate seven minutes of my life to calmness, stillness and quiet, to be able to say, okay, I've got this day and this day is going to be badass, so you can meditate, you can take a cold shower. So on my off days, take a cold shower. So on my off days, my off training days, I take cold showers without fail. And there's tons of reasons, right? You see, my husband, joe, says it's a fad and it'll go away. But I've been doing cold showers for almost a year now, not consistently, don't give me that badge of honor but I do do them quite frequently and it helps so much. It helps with stress, it helps with anxiety, it helps with blood sugar, it helps with mindset, it just like you go into like this cold shock and it wakes you up for the day. Talk about caffeine on crack and there's no caffeine in it.
Speaker 1:You can meditate, you can cold shower, you can journal for 10 to 15 minutes. One thing I am getting better into a habit of in the mornings is I have a conversation with God. That's not something that I'm going to push on anyone. I am not that type of person you believe in whatever you want to believe in. If you don't even want to do that in the morning. You don't even have to, but some type of recognition or conversation with something higher than you to set your day and to talk to. I do believe that sense of a relationship is very needed into anyone's health journey, um, especially if you've been through some shit. That's my disclosure. So you can also journal.
Speaker 1:I have tons of journals. I journal all the freaking time. Right now I am doing a lot. It's called a line a day. It's a five-year journal, um, and I'm really shitty at filling it out, if I can be honest. Uh, but it's one line, like one or two sentences a day, and you can see over the next five years I'll be able to see what I was doing that day or thinking that day years ago. So I think that's pretty neat. Um, I use the Focus Journal by my friend Craig. That was the first journal that I actually stuck with. Then I've used Shadow Work. I did a Shadow Work journal. I've done a couple of those. I'm currently doing the Burn After Writing. I think it's called Neither here nor there.
Speaker 1:I like guided journals. I'm not one that can just journal. I can't. I mean I can but I can't. Whatever it is what it is, but you can journal, you can read a book. So in the summer, when the kids aren't plucking my freaking nerves and I wake up well before them and I don't have to hear them for like an hour, I go outside in the morning and I'll read for 10 minutes, 10 minutes or 10 pages, whichever one comes first, because I'm constantly reading. I love to read Granted, I'm trying to get out of educational reading and more into fun reading, but I have a hard time not reading educational because I'm constantly reading. I love to read Granted, I'm trying to get out of educational reading and more into fun reading, but I have a hard time not reading educational because I'm just like let me learn something really quick. But that's another idea for you.
Speaker 1:Another great thing for you to do and I learned this through working in the corporate world is write three things you wanna get done that day. Three, nothing more, nothing less, just three. And anything you get done past that is bonus. But make sure you get those three things done so you feel like you've accomplished your day, and don't pick some three asinine things that you know you can't get done. But don't pick three things that like, oh, I'm gonna drink water. Don't, unless that is a true goal. Don't put that. Maybe it's I'm going to schedule a massage for myself, or I'm going to schedule a missed appointment, or I'm going to do my annual physical or I'm going to do whatever. Right, three things, that's all you need to do. Things, that's all you need to do. Start with three. I don't go past five on any given day.
Speaker 1:Another thing gratitude. So say or write I do tell my clients to do this all the time, whether they listen to me or not, I don't know. It's like I always say you know, I can take you, I can take the horse to the water, but I can't force him to drink it. Take you, I can take the horse to the water, but I can't force him to drink it. Gratitude, so writing just one or two things that you're grateful for every single day or practicing like gratitude affirmations can help you cultivate like a positive mindset and your overall like wellbeing will start to improve. I think most people are so caught up in this negative bullshit. Right, the news is negative, social media you can spin it as negative. Work is negative, kids are probably negative, the world is fucking negative and you have to be the grain. You have to go against the grain to really improve your mindset and improve your health.
Speaker 1:So write things that you're grateful for. I don't care if you're grateful for hey, guess what? I have clean water today. I did have a client tell me that one day and I was like, wow, I never thought to think of that. Okay, touche, checkmate, man, checkmate. So write one thing you're grateful for.
Speaker 1:And if you're a woman listening to this and you have some body issues, girlfriend, stand in the mirror and tell me, tell yourself, and I want you to say it out loud I don't care if you're in the bathroom by yourself or in front of your closet mirror by yourself, I don't care. But say one thing that you love about your body. Every day, every time you look in the damn mirror, say something good about yourself, because so many women pull themselves apart, myself included. Like I'm not saying I am like an angel or a saint because I fuck up all the time, but what I'm saying is we don't say enough positive things about ourselves. Ever, nine times out of ten, you talk to a woman. They're. I hate the mirror, fuck the scale. The scale makes me depressed. My pictures make me depressed. I don't take pictures because I don't like the way I look, and it's a negative cycle that you're constantly on. So if you start saying one thing and that was probably one of the hardest things for me to do, and I still do it I don't struggle with it as much.
Speaker 1:But I used to stand in my bathroom, not even gonna lie, stand in my bathroom, butt ass naked, ta-da there you go. Envision that shit for yourself. No, take that back. Think of some hot supermodel or something. I don't, just not me. But I would stand in the bathroom completely naked and just stare at myself, and I did it for one to two minutes at a time, and the first few times were very uncomfortable. I didn't want to. I cringed, I cried and I didn't believe in myself. I didn't love myself enough and after a few times I started to see little things that I liked about me. Like, hey, I have stretch marks. It's something that I would just always be very self-conscious of, because I got very big when I was pregnant and very little, and I expand and contract very quickly. But I would say you know what I'm going to look at these stretch marks as an opportunity of. I was able enough, I was able to have kids. There are women out there today who, you know, dream of being moms and can't.
Speaker 1:So why am I too stubborn to look at this in a negative way when I need to look at it in a positive way? Or my thyroid scar? So it looks like I tried to commit suicide. Trust me, when I first got had this surgery done I shit you not. Somebody asked me if I was okay and needed to go to a mental hospital because I had failed suicide. I was just like flabbergasted. Somebody who has the balls to say that I'm like Jesus Christ, like oh my God.
Speaker 1:But I was very self-conscious, like I wanted to do a Bador is that how you say it? Photo shoot. And I was like nine it was right after I lost all the weight, so I was like 120 pounds. But I asked the woman can you Photoshop my scar out? I don't want it in my pictures. Back then it was still a gnarly red line, like it was gnarly for about two years. And she said no and I'm like, well, I don't want to get it done and I did not get that photo shoot done because of that reason. But you know, as I look back on it, I'm like I should be grateful that we found that problem and I'm still alive today. Otherwise I would have suffocated and died and left my kids behind.
Speaker 1:So say one positive thing about yourself, whether it's your eyes, your stretch marks, your hair, your lashes, your nails, your toes Like I don't give a shit what you say positive about yourself, but find something positive and I promise you your day will flip around. It won't. Now don't go like, oh my God, I said one positive thing about myself. My day should be great, because that shit takes time, especially when we're talking about body positivity and body image and dysmorph body dysmorphia, which is very real. It takes time, like everything else.
Speaker 1:So start today, check back in like three months, see where your mind's at right, what are some other things. So we did journaling, walking in the morning. There you go. After you eat breakfast, go for like a five ten-minute walk Outside, no phones Yep, still on this. No phone kick. I want you to feel the breeze, see the sun Smell the flowers, hear the birds Like I want you to feel the breeze, see the sun smell the flowers, hear the birds Like. I want you to be present. You don't need to fucking doom scroll while you're going on a walk. It defeats the purpose right. We want to put our bodies into a positive mindset and a positive, calm space. We don't need to get caught up with who's liking our photos, who's commenting on who, who's on vacation, who isn't.
Speaker 1:Social media is so goddamn fake. I know so many people who post so great lives and I'm telling you, I know and I'm talking to you if you're listening you have a shit life that you are putting on fake show for in social media. That is why I hate social media. Be real. There is beauty in showing that life isn't perfect. There is beauty in showing that you have hard times. You're human. Stop it Nicefully, respectfully. Stop it. My shit does not stink, or my shit doesn't not stink, right. Whatever. I'm not perfect. I don't claim to be perfect. I will never be perfect, right. I just appreciate where I'm at, what I'm doing, and I have hard times. You'll hear about them on this podcast. Trust me, everything is not butterflies, rainbows and unicorns. So if you're faking your life on social media, stop it. I'm pretty sure you will have more friends and closer friends knowing that you're talking about things that are harder than you posting.
Speaker 1:You're on vacation every other day, or you have such a great life and great kids and great husband and great, great, great, great great. You're fake. That's my ted talk for the day. But back to walking. Um, no phones, stop doom scrolling. Leave your phone in your house and go for a walk. 10 minutes, boom sh, boom, shakalaka, you're done. So we've got lots of things we can do in the morning. It's just a matter of getting them done.
Speaker 1:And when we think, like I mentioned earlier, don't start doing all the fancy shit first. You don't have to start with journaling. You don't have to start with walking. You don't have to start with reading and meditating and cold plunges and all the fancy shit. Start very simple, very basic Get up, drink water, make sure the sun hits your face, eat breakfast, then have your coffee, Boom, ta-da.
Speaker 1:Once you get past that and you still have time and you want to grab, you know, gradually add things. Fucking, go for it, absolutely. Do it Nine times out of ten. It will improve your morning, it will improve your day and you'll start feeling better. Right, this is all this is is trying to feel better. And it's free, it's fucking free. It's not fancy, it's not sexy, it's not something like hey, what's up guys? Yeah, I had the perfect morning routine. Let me tell you about it. That's not something you're gonna hear in conversation unless you talk to me. And then I'm like hey, by the way, I have the perfect morning routine. Hey, by the way, I have the perfect morning routine. Do this, other things you can do right.
Speaker 1:So, brittany, I work out. How would you fit that into your morning routine? Great question, because a lot of us work out, myself included. I'm very grateful to work out. If I could just show some gratitude. I love working out. Right now, two days back to back, I'm like, oh girl, you are on fire, you are fucking the bomb. Like, oh, I love you.
Speaker 1:But how would you fit in working out? Great question. You are not working out fasted. That's what you're not doing. That's my number one rule. Are there benefits? Yes, but to the everyday average person, you have no business working out fasted. Just stop it Eat before you work out. So you would still go about the same thing, right, and you would still wake up, still drink your water, still make sure the sun hits your face or your happy light hits your face. You would then eat your breakfast and you're going to wait about. Depending on how large your breakfast is is how long you should wait, so anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, and then you're going to work out. Well, brittany, you just fucked up my whole morning routine. Thanks, you're welcome.
Speaker 1:I can't not say that I'm the bearer of the bad news. Sometimes I don't tell you what you need to hear or what I want to tell you or what you want to hear, right, shit, I am all over the place this morning. I don't tell you what you want to hear, I tell you what you need to hear. And working out fasted is another reason why you're fucking your body up. Stop it. There's no reason you need to wake up, drink your coffee and go to Orange Theory. Wake up, drink your coffee, go to CrossFit. No, stop it.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you you need to work out in a fasted state, fasted or non-fasted. Eat. It helps muscle, it helps performance, it gives you energy, it helps so much your blood sugar like. Make sure, if you get anything from this. One, your basic, your basic morning routine. And two, don't work out fasted ever. Okay, ever For the average bear, right, if you have a coach or you're going through a prep, you're on your own. Because let me tell you, you're gonna probably work out fasted or at least have fasted cardio. But to the average mom who just wants to improve health, lose some weight, live a healthy lifestyle, you should not be working out fasted.
Speaker 1:So my morning routine for the workouters Still wake up, drink your water, eat your breakfast and then wait and work out. If you want to have your coffee, you can. Whatever, take pre-workout. I don't condone pre-workout. I don't think you need it. I think it's a crutch. This is coming from someone who guess what. I get PRs and I don't use pre-workout. Ta-da, the average bear doesn't need you, don't need it. Now. If you're going to use a non-stim non-stim 10 out of 10 recommend I use it, but you don't need a caffeinated pre-workout either. Girlfriend, stop depending on caffeine. Caffeine is not going to make things better, it's going to stress your body out even more. So, yeah, that would be a workout morning routine if you will.
Speaker 1:When you get back, make sure, obviously, you get a shower, wash your hair or do dry shampoo. I was reading somewhere the other day where they were like you should dry your hair immediately after leaving the gym if you sweat or while you're at the gym. Something about bacteria. I'll have to look into it, but that was really weird. I was like, oh okay, I never thought about that. But you should obviously wash your face, wash your hair clean up, then get ready for work and go to work. If it makes it difficult, you just wake up earlier, okay. And if you wake up earlier, make sure you go to bed at enough time to make sure that you're sleeping eight to nine hours, right? Just because I say wake up at 4 am does not mean hey, go to bed at 11. Stop it.
Speaker 1:Other things you can do in the morning Yoga. Yoga is beautiful. Took me a year to do yoga, but yeah, that's what a solid morning routine would look like. Just start at the basics and expand on it. Just like everything else, you start with baby steps. No one's saying you have to go from zero to 100 because it's not sustainable. Just baby steps.
Speaker 1:Start with I'm going to drink water when I first wake up. Then, okay, I got my water down. Then it's. I'm going to make sure I don't go on my phone in the morning, right? I'm going to make sure the sun hits my face. I'm going to make sure the happy light hits my face, or you know, whatever the sun, happy light, whichever, something hits your face to help regulate your circadian rhythm before your fucking phone, then I'm going to eat breakfast, because sometimes eating breakfast is a huge undertaking for people, and when I say eat breakfast, I'm not saying eat a fucking protein shake or a protein bar, I mean eggs, turkey, bacon, toast, avocado, fruit Ooh, fruit Fruit in the morning. Whoop, whoop, orange juice Ooh, yeah, we're going to get into it. Eat, eat food. Stop with the process bullshit. Eat a real meal and then have your coffee and start your day. That is. That is all that I want you to get from this today.
Speaker 1:So let me know, if you have no routine and you're going to start a routine, right, and what starting a routine looks like for you, and write down how you're going to execute it and what you're looking to accomplish right. Most people need a goal and morning routines are not sexy Morning routines. It's not like somebody's going to say, oh, I want to. I want to master a morning routine. You won't hear it, um, authentically and genuinely, but it will help you on your journey to losing weight. It will help you on your journey to balancing hormones. It will help you fixing your gut and fixing all of the things.
Speaker 1:It is step one, step one. If you can't get past step one, you have no reason to move past step one and move to step two. So start your morning routines, nail your morning routines, make it something that you can do consistently, that doesn't stress you out, that is very simple, that you can do mindlessly and see what that does for us, see how that changes your outlook on life, your perspective on your day, and turn it into something beautiful and turn it into something that is going to be the stepping stone into changing your life. Right, that's what it's all about. It is about sustainable changes that will change your overall life, because what you're doing right now isn't serving you right? You wouldn't be listening to this if you didn't have an issue. So, morning routine, step one master it. You have this, you got this.
Speaker 1:If you need help because accountability is a real thing let me know. Right, let's talk about it, let's have a conversation. I'm not saying, hey, hire me. I'm saying hey, let's have a conversation about it. Do not fear reaching out to me saying, oh my God, I can't talk to her because then she's going to sell me. I am not a salesman, I don't give a shit, right? I want to authentically help you and get you moving in the right direction. I give out everything for free because I want you to be better. You have the power. I'm giving you the tools. It's just a matter of you executing with some accountability. So think about it, be about it, do it and have a beautiful rest of your day, guys. Hope you have a great one Until next time. I will talk to you next week. Have a great day, guys.