From Feeling Impatient to In Control With Early Morning Habit®

Speaker Names Speaker 1 00:00 If I can do it, anyone can do it and becoming pretty much feeling like I’m a morning person it’s weird to say that I feel like I still enjoy my nights, but I’ve also now come to appreciate my mornings. Speaker 2 00:16 It is so lovely having you here and it has been so fun having you in early morning habit. But I would love to just hear a little bit share with people who you are, a little bit about yourself and what initially drew you to early morning habit in the first place. Speaker 1 00:32 Yeah, so I’m 34 and a mom of two. I have a one and a three-year-old, and I also work full time as a college math professor at University of Delaware, and so life has been crazy, and having children has definitely always led me to basically like regain the weight that I’ve lost, and so I feel like I go through this cyclical pattern in life of trying to lose the weight so that I can get pregnant again and have another child, and so just trying to regain control of my own body was a big motivator for me, and to try to get myself in as healthy of shape as I can to potentially have more kids. We’ll see what the Lord has in store with. That of sparked my curiosity of what this new program was with her, and so I’ll give credit to your mom and your sister who gave me the last edge of taking the leap of faith to try it, and I’m so glad that they did. Speaker 2 01:36 I’m so glad they did too. I’m grateful anytime people share about early morning habit, but what um? With that in mind, when you went through the program then, was there elements to it that stood out? When we talk about health and fitness programs, in your experience, were there things that made early morning habit different or unique in a way that you haven’t experienced yet in a health and fitness program? If so, what? What would that be? Speaker 1 02:07 Absolutely there would be multiple that I could speak on, and surprises too. I mean I’ll say I was terrified at first. I have always been a night owl, since graduate school and still today. That’s when I find I have the fewest distractions and I’m able to really think and get work done or just to decompress at the end of a long day, that type of thing. 02:32 So the biggest surprise to me that I have never experienced in any other health and fitness program was the emphasis on sleep, getting good sleep, Cause you hear early morning habit and you think, okay, it’s all about how you start your day, but it’s actually a lot more of before you start your day you have to sleep the night before and how that’s going to prepare you. I mean, again, it’s all a cycle, so you’re going a step before the early morning and making sure that you get a good night’s sleep. So I was surprised by that and had never experienced that before. And then the emotional intelligence and the gratitude emphasis was new to me and just the comprehensiveness of this program not just being about physical health but your mental health, your spiritual health that I hadn’t experienced before all in one program. I’ve tried to like add those things in myself as I was doing other programs, but it was really nice to have it all in one. Speaker 2 03:33 I love that and for those of you not familiar, I should back up a minute. The faster way to fat loss is a fitness and nutrition program, and I want to plug this in not fast way to fat loss per se, but this, you know, what we try to emphasize in early morning habit is not that it is at the exclusion of fitness and nutrition programs. What we’re trying to do at early morning habit is offer almost like a foundation, because what happens is a lot of times we enter into fitness and nutrition programs and we make these massive lifestyle changes and it’s hard to sustain the changes because we haven’t formed basic habits first, like sleep. It’s so true. This is why it became such a huge component in my life, because I was so focused on what you just said getting back in shape, focusing on my nutrition where meanwhile my sleep was not restorative and there was really no one to help me. You know, you read Google and WebMD and it was like well, that makes no sense. 04:33 So all that to say it’s not at the exclusion of really good fitness nutrition programs. Rather, it’s meant to be complimentary so that you can overhaul nutrition, that you can get stronger. There’s great programs for that, but we’re trying to offer exactly what Audrey said is that holistic approach, and especially one that is speaking to Christian moms, because that’s a whole nother element that it’s really hard. How do we bridge that? Because you can’t pull them apart, you can’t pull our spiritual life away from our physical health and our mental and emotional and social health. So I love what you said there. Speaker 1 05:11 Yeah, and the last thing I’d add too, which I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of, is and this was a big surprise to me like the skincare, the makeup, the wardrobe, changing your style or figuring out what your style is not necessarily changing it, and I was like, wow, this is really in depth and, like the professionals that are brought in, it’s just amazing. Those are the training videos. I feel like I could watch 10 times and learn something new every time. Speaker 2 05:41 You and me both, and let’s be let’s also throw this out here I did not do. I did the skin. I did skin from a health standpoint, but in terms of fashion style, that is not my forte. So we did bring in some amazing, amazing women and yeah, it’s like that holistic picture and trying to like kind of whittle down the uh, the basics and make things less uncomfortable, because some of us didn’t grow up with fashion advice. I didn’t know. I didn’t know how to fit and flatter my body. But you know, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel beautiful, and God designed us to, and so let’s learn from the experts and actually be able to get ready for the day. When you look at the general content and the umbrella over it in this initial six-week program, was there one lesson or one training that especially impacted you or stood out to you? Speaker 1 06:39 Yes, and this is the one that I like to go back to. So, since people don’t realize this, you know this because I’ve mentioned it, but I listened to the training videos on my work commutes a lot and I have an hour commute to work, so it’s good to fit in at least one, sometimes two. So the one that I go back to a lot to re-listen to is the one on neat fitness and the difference between non-exercise activity thermogenesis. I think I got that right and you did nailed it Exercise activity thermogenesis. That’s what I’ve listened to multiple times. So that was the one that really stood out to me. 07:14 Realizing, you know, the small things can really add up and I park on a four story parking garage, so I’m more intentional about parking on the third or the fourth floor to force myself to take more stairs. And my office is on the fourth floor and I used to take the elevator a lot, but trying now to take the stairs more often when the time allows and I’m not lugging a hundred pounds with me. So, yeah, that was one that touched me the most. I remember sharing that information with my husband too, trying to educate him on some of that, and realizing, you know, even if you get those 10,000 steps in, you’re not getting the cardio exercise that you really need for the health benefits and reducing your risk of chronic disease and things. So yeah, while someone might say, oh, I’m getting 10,000 steps a day, so I’m good to go, that all is part of the meat and not the exercise activity thermogenesis. So yeah, I could go on and on. I just I. That one was my favorite. Speaker 2 08:18 I love that you can tell she’s a math teacher girl after my own heart. She likes the data, likes the data and the numbers. Speaker 1 08:27 Absolutely, it’s ingrained in me. Speaker 2 08:31 Listen, we all need them. I like the data, but math I’m like where’s the calculator? You, you touched on the sleep element. I would love to hear your personal thoughts on if you were in a conversation with a friend or a family member. Or there’s a woman listening and she’s been following. She’s seen the posts, she’s listened to some of these interviews, but she’s still concerned about either the time required, the potential loss of sleep or the financial investment. What would you say to her? In your opinion, what makes it worth it? How would you speak to some of those perceived barriers, especially when you’re not a morning person? Speaker 1 09:18 Yeah. So the first thing I’ll say in terms of the financial aspect, my husband has said that the meal guides alone have been worth the investment. Speaker 2 09:29 That’s amazing. Speaker 1 09:32 We have loved the recipes and I’m still repeating some of our favorites and cause. I’ve been doing the carb cycling and intermittent fasting on top of the, you know, trying to have protein before bed and things Um. But as far as the sleep concern goes, I mean some nights are better for me than others, which leads to some mornings being better than others. So you have to give yourself grace in the moments where you realize that you know you. It’s just not realistic that your body needs sleep. I know I have to drive an hour into work, so sometimes I’ve had to prioritize getting that extra hour of sleep over waking up an hour early to get my devotion and workout in, workout in. But I try to make it the habit and the norm that I’m able to and just to, so that it becomes routine. So the sleep guide too. It’s something to ease into. That’s what helped me is it’s a lot at once you get like this long checklist and you’re like, oh my goodness, and I am still there are some things that I’m really resistant to. 10:45 But I’ve tried to just like pick like one thing at a time and then once I feel like, okay, I’ve got that down, I have the sunrise alarm, um, and actually I use an echo glow that ties to my echo dot, which was really cool. I was looking into this and I was like, oh, I wonder if I can can get something that would work with that. So it’s just like a light and then you can actually get different colors and things. 11:08 But then it works like with my Alexa in my bedroom, so I can just be like oh, Alexa, turn this off, yeah which the danger is, you can stay in bed and say, alexa, turn it off. Speaker 2 11:19 How do you avoid that? Speaker 1 11:21 Well, I don’t turn it off until I’m walking out of the room. Speaker 2 11:27 Oh I gotcha. See, man, you’re way more disciplined than me, I’d just be laying in my bed and be like Alexa, turn it off. Speaker 1 11:30 But my daughter loves it. She comes in and she’s learned that she can tap it and it changes color, so you basically wake up. But they have a setting on there’s called sunrise alarm, so I just set the time and then it will, and you can. 11:41 You can even set the duration, whether you want it to be like 30 minutes, that it will slowly get brighter, or longer than that. So I usually do it for 30 minutes, um, but yeah, so that was one of the things. And then, once I had mastered that, then I started trying the magnesium glycinate and I was actually really surprised by how effective that’s been for me. I didn’t really expect it. I had never tried magnesium ever before in life, let alone before bed. So yeah, I’m trying to think, oh, and the lavender lotion. So I used to put lavender lotion on during the day, even like after showering or in the morning, and so trying to stay away from putting on until just before bed. And I love the scent too, so that, and then diffuser. So just trying like one thing at a time to slowly build in, to not get yourself too overwhelmed. Speaker 2 12:32 I love that and it is possible. Speaker 1 12:35 And, like you even said about your own testimony, is I feel like if I can do it, anyone can do it, and becoming pretty much feeling like I’m a morning person. It’s weird to say that I feel like I still enjoy my nights, but I’ve also now come to appreciate my mornings. Speaker 2 12:53 I love that I can die happy when people are like I think I’ve become a morning person even though I’m not biologically one, like I think I’ve become a morning person even though I’m not biologically one. Do you feel like the quality of your sleep has improved? Or what would you say to the person I’m speaking to myself right Six years ago, who would listen to this and be like there is no way I feel terrible in the morning, like what would you say made, and maybe you wouldn’t have said that you’re a night owl. But it’s not like you felt terrible in the morning, or maybe you did. Speaker 1 13:26 Um, what would you say shifted for you in the morning um, realizing that I can wake up to stillness instead of waking up to activity. And even though we do a workout in the morning, it’s nice that that’s not the first thing. So that has definitely helped me to grasp the mental idea of getting up earlier. It’s’s like okay, just to to have more control over my the start of my day, instead of it being just jumping in, diving in, basically not even just diving into hectic. Speaker 2 14:04 Yes. Speaker 1 14:05 Yes being dragged into. Speaker 2 14:07 It is how I felt. Speaker 1 14:08 Yeah, because before doing this program, I was sleeping until my kids would wake me up, and thankfully my children don’t really wake up till 8am, so I am very blessed in that regard. Um, and if they do wake up before, they’re very content to just kind of stay in bed until I come get them. So, um, but with that, it was like, well, I’m just going to sleep in as late as possible until I’m absolutely needed as a mom. Um, unless it was a morning, I had to get up to drive into work, so I don’t go drive into work every day, which is also nice. But so with that, it was like okay, now I’m starting my day giving myself attention and focusing on me instead of the first thing being attention towards others and towards my children primarily so that’s been a big difference maker and towards my children primarily so. Speaker 2 14:57 That’s been a big difference maker and it’s so what you just said is so powerful because it speaks to you mentioned mindset, the mentality. 15:09 But you know, something that we hear from the community over and over again, which was true of my life, was it’s almost hard to make tangible, like we see physical external changes with massive, or with massive like diet overhauls or exercise. You see drastic external changes and so it’s hard to put a measuring stick to internal ones and make them tangible. But for me and I hear this over and over again, which is why early morning habit is literally the habit that we’re trying to instill of starting your. If we took the community as a whole, I started to see the difference in how I felt throughout my day, directly correlating to how I started it and, like you just said, even though biologically I was not a morning person. Now the sleep rehab definitely helped. But there was a motivating factor that became, with accountability and help, a non-negotiable, because I saw how much better I actually felt and that motivated me to stay out when I wanted to go back to bed when my sunrise alarm would go off. Speaker 1 16:32 I love that. Yeah, to answer your question about the sleep quality, I would say that when you step back and look at the big picture, that, yes, it has definitely improved, but there are definitely still days mixed in there that are rough for one reason or another. Yes, because sometimes it’s like, oh, I have to give an evening exam and I don’t get home until 11 pm and that throws me off, and yeah, so just lots of outside factors that sometimes contribute to, oh, that was a rough night, or because of children that maybe aren’t feeling well. Speaker 2 17:12 Mom life yes, exactly. 17:15 But what you said too that I want to highlight is something that and Audrey knows because she’s done a fitness nutrition program with me as well in the past but the importance of escaping that all or nothing mentality and recognizing that you are trying to pursue, exactly as you said, a new baseline. We’re trying to create a new normal so it’s not like, oh well, I’m never going to have a bad night of sleep again, or I’m never going to have that morning where I hit the ground running I missed that time with Jesus and I have a chaotic day. The difference is now it’s easier to snap back to that baseline of stillness or of better sleep or of even exercise just all of the kind of like the big umbrella that we’re trying to create normal baselines for women so that you have a stronger foundation when you want to take something to the next level. Now you’re not going from, you know, point A to point Z in two steps. Now you’re able to take a more gradual approach because you’ve solidified that new baseline, that new normal, in a healthy, healthy way. 18:20 I love that. My last question for you, if you could when you look at the big picture, especially in that initial six weeks. If you could use one word to describe how you felt before early morning habit, or how your morning felt versus, in one word, how you felt after with the changes that you implemented after the program from what to what how would you describe your experience? Speaker 1 18:47 I would say I went from inpatient to in control. How would you describe that? So before doing for the woman, yeah, so before doing it, the impatientness came from my children and just the frustrations with how long it would take to get them ready to go and in the car amen and hallelujah yes and so I was just getting frustrated, so, and, and that it was just because of being impatient with my children. 19:20 And now I feel like I’m more in control, because I’m focusing on myself first and foremost, and that is allowing me to then, when I get my children up, focus on them and not be worried about my own agenda. It’s like I’ve taken care of me. Be worried about my own agenda, it’s like I’ve taken care of me. Now I can focus on them and I don’t have this like tension between trying to do things for myself and do things for them simultaneously, and so that has just led to feeling more in control. Speaker 2 19:50 That’s a great way to put it. If you are listening to this and what Audrey is saying resonates with you, we would love to have you join us at early morning habit. There is a link in the notes that you can sign up for early morning habit and it is a referral link is a thank you to Audrey for sharing her story. Please sign up through her link. She does get a gift for sharing and we really thank you for joining the community because we want to rise with you and Audrey. It’s such an honor to have you. I love having you in the program. You’re a blessing to me. Thank you for sharing your story Well. Thank you as well.