8 Morning Habits That Help You Lose Weight:
It doesn’t matter what your weight loss goals are; sometimes it seems hard to lose weight.
However, you don’t have to make big changes to your food and lifestyle in order to lose a few pounds.
You can lose weight and keep it off by making a few small changes to how you start your day.
In order to help you lose weight, this piece lists 10 easy things you can do every morning.
1. Eat a High-Protein Breakfast
People say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day for a reason.
How your day goes can depend on what you eat for breakfast. It tells you if you’ll be full and happy until lunch or if you’ll be hitting the vending machine before your mid-morning snack.
A breakfast high in protein might help you lose weight and cut down on cravings.
Twenty teenage girls took part in a study that found that a high-protein breakfast cut cravings after a meal better than a normal-protein breakfast (1Trusted Source).
2. Drink Plenty of Water
A simple way to help you lose weight is to drink a glass or two of water first thing in the morning.
It takes at least an hour of drinking water to see a difference in how many calories your body burns.
In a small study, people who drank 16.9 ounces (500 ml) of water had an average 30% faster metabolism (4Trusted Source).
In a different study, overweight women who drank more water—more than 34 ounces (one liter)—lost an extra 4.4 pounds (2 kg) over the course of a year, even though they didn’t change anything else about their diet or exercise practice (5Trusted Source).
3. Weigh Yourself
Getting on the scale every morning and writing down your weight can be a good way to boost your drive and self-control.
Several studies have shown that weighing yourself every day can help you lose more weight.
A study of 47 people found that those who weighed themselves every day lost about 13 pounds (6 kg) more than those who did not weigh themselves as often over the course of six months (7.
4. Get Some Sun
To help you lose weight, open the curtains and let some sunshine in. You can also spend a few extra minutes outside every morning.
One small study found that even low amounts of light at certain times of the day can change how much someone weighs (10Trusted Source).
An experiment with mice that were fed a high-fat diet also found that UV light helped them not gain weight (11Trusted Source).
The best way to get vitamin D is also to be outside in the sun. Getting enough vitamin D has been shown in some studies to help people lose weight and even stop them from gaining weight.
5. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to your thoughts and feelings and focused on the present moment.
It has been shown to help people lose weight and develop good eating habits.
For instance, a review of 19 studies found that mindfulness-based treatments helped people lose weight and cut down on eating habits that led to obesity (14Trusted Source).
In a similar review, it was found that mindfulness training led to significant weight loss in 68% of the studies that were looked at (15Trusted Source).
6. Squeeze in Some Exercise
Doing some exercise first thing in the morning can help you lose weight.
Fifty overweight women were used in a study to look at the benefits of aerobic exercise at different times of the day.
While there wasn’t a big difference in specific food cravings between people who worked out in the morning and those who worked out in the afternoon, people who worked out in the morning felt fuller (16Trusted Source).
Also, working out in the morning might help keep blood sugar levels steady all day. Low blood sugar can cause a lot of bad things, like feeling too hungry all the time.
7. Pack Your Lunch
One easy way to make better food choices and lose more weight is to plan and pack your lunch ahead of time.
A big study with 40,554 people found that planning meals was linked to a healthier diet with more variety and a lower chance of becoming overweight (18Trusted Source).
In a different study, eating home-cooked meals more often was linked to a better diet and a lower chance of having too much body fat.
8. Sleep Longer
Set your alarm a little later or go to bed a little earlier to get more sleep. This may help you lose more weight.
Many research studies have shown that not getting enough sleep may be linked to a bigger hunger (20, 21).
One small study found that not getting enough sleep made people more hungry and increased their wants, especially for foods that are high in carbs and calories (22Trusted Source).
Not getting enough sleep has also been linked to eating more calories.
The Bottom Line
Just changing a few things about how you do things in the morning can help you lose more weight.
Doing healthy things first thing in the morning can also set you up for success and get your day off to a good start.
To get the most out of these morning habits, make sure you also eat well and live a healthy life.