Okay, I know Monday's can kind of suck, but they don't have to be so bad!
I do these 5 things every Monday to get you on track for the week and recovered from the weekend.
Starting the week off right will set you up for success all week long and will ensure you are on point to meet your weight loss and healthy living goals!
- Start with lemon water – Before you eat or drink anything else in the day, have a glass of lemon water. Simply squeeze half a lemon into lukewarm water and drink up! The lemon water acts to gently awaken your digestive system and it helps remove any residual toxins from the day before. Furthermore, it can be great as an appetite control if you are somebody who tends to crave sugary breakfasts or lots of carbohydrates first thing in the morning. Avoiding these for breakfast will ensure you don’t activate the cycle where you crave them all day long!
- Exercise – No matter how tired you are, how much you hate Mondays, or how much it sucks to get up early after having a couple of lazy days, getting in your workout is really important. Not only will it cure many of those things (your tiredness, mood, and case of the Monday blues), but it also means you are eliminating your excuses for the days to follow: you can’t say, “well I didn’t work out at all this week yet, so what’s the point in starting now?” Instead you can say “well I worked out on Monday, so I have to keep the streak going for the rest of the week!”
- Pack a lunch – At the beginning of the week, everybody brings in their leftover treats, family BBQ casseroles, “mom visited” cookies and “it was the kids’ birthday” leftover cake. The temptation is real when you walk into the staff rom at lunchtime. Avoid all of that by packing your own lunch, with your own healthy treats and not falling into eating unhealthy food at the start of the week. Similar to exercise, if you start the week off healthy and know you are already on track, you will be less tempted to sabotage all your efforts later in the week, versus if you don’t start on the right track at all!
- Use your meal prep – There’s a reason you spent half the afternoon on Sunday doing meal prep, and it’s not so that you can come home on Monday night, exhausted from starting the week off and simply order pizza. Do yourself a favour on Sunday and essentially have Monday’s meal completely ready to go so that all you have to do is put it in the oven or throw it into a pot to heat – no preparation, cutting, chopping or thinking required. Doing so will mean you have no excuse because your dinner will be ready faster than what it would take for you to call up and order pizza and wait for it to arrive!
- Plan your week – Whether you do it Sunday night, or first thing Monday morning, take some time to plan out your week. This simple act will put you in the right head space to know what to expect in the days to come so that nothing hits you by surprise leaving you stressed out and rushing to play catch up. It also makes you aware of days you may have to alter your schedule, such as do your workout in the morning instead of after work due to a meeting, or have dinner in the slow cooker in the morning because you will be home late on one evening. Get yourself a planner, get organized, and this will help you stay on track in your head and with your health as a result!
By: Laura Peill – (Check out her blog Viand Nutrition & Facebook)
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