Good morning sunshine!

Good morning sunshine, the earth says hello!

I have collected some more advice on how to get up and go, full of energy, in a positive mood and full of interesting plans for the day.
To achieve this state of body and mind, you don't have to do anything special, you must just get rid of some bad habits.

Do you switch on your smartphone as soon as you wake up? Do you need to know immediately who has sent an SMS, e-mail or the first important news of the day? That is what we all do and I admit it is rather convenient to lounge a few more minutes in bed plus getting all the information.
But it elevates your stress levels the moment you wake up and before breakfast.
Better:  sit straight up for a couple of minutes and become slowly aware of your breathing and your thoughts. If this sounds a bit strange, do it anyway. Your body and mind will be grateful.

Adopt a healthy way to get out of bed. Roll onto your side and press yourself into a sitting position. Then you get up, back straight. This takes away the pressure on your back and heart.

Are you jumping into the shower right away? Water wakes you up fast and without further questions. But your circulation will suffer. After you spent hours lying down, you first need some gentle movements. Some stretching exercises will do nicely, thank you. (It's your body speaking).

Another very bad habit is to drink too little. I know one can switch on the coffee machine being half asleep, which is fine for the daily coffee-in fix.  However, better would be to first drink a glass of water and then your cup of coffee, which you probably need to get out of the door, if you are like me.

In the morning we are dehydrated and can help this with cold water and a slice of lemon. Especially in my country (South Africa) this is the most delicious and healthy thing to start the day.

Another no-no (I am full of them today) is to plan more than you ever can achieve in a day. That immediately puts big stress on you. Much rather take a little time and make a list of issues you can reasonably hope to get done and dusted.

As we know in the meantime, it is totally wrong to eat only carbohydrates for breakfast. It is true that a healthy morning begins with oats, bread or cereals. But it is important to mix them with some proteins, to be able to get through the morning. Carbohydrates energize you, but only for a short time. They drive up blood sugar levels to amazing heights. If we mix our carbs with proteins, we can 'hold out' until lunchtime. An ideal combination is low-sugar muesli with milk or joghurt, preferably a couple of nuts and/or seeds and a fruit. Or a cheese sandwich with fruit. And by all means, have your coffee. Then you will float through the day....

Smoking in the early morning hours is lethal. The chances to get severe illnesses like cancer of the lungs and others, multiply by the early-ness of the first cigarette. If you really cannot stop this nasty bad habit, at least delay your first cigarette as long as possible. If you smoke 5 minutes after you wake up, your risk of lung cancer is rising to 86%. A delay of 30 minutes already brings this figure down to 8% and prevents the higher risk. Think about it. I mean well!!
And tell it to your friends......................................

This post was not about what to do, diabetic or not, to start the day like usual, but about what not to do. So please don't feel lectured or even patronized by this blog. It's meant for good diabetic and non-diabetic health management.

Lots of encouraging greetings,
Barbara

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