Feb 25 min read

My 5am Morning Routine: 9 Things I Do Before 9am

The morning is a very important time for me. As a new mom, a Nutritionist and a business owner, I view the first few hours of the morning as the cornerstone of my day.

These first few hours set me up for feeling energized and productive the rest of the day. It also helps me knock out some of the most important activities so I don't feel stressed and overwhelmed later in the day.

Because I'm also working on my own body recomposition journey, my 5am routine is structured to set me up for success with reducing body fat percentage while increasing muscle mass (without feeling hungry).

Today, I'm sharing the 5am morning routine that has completely transformed my body, my mental state and my life.

Hydrate + Electrolytes

As a new, breastfeeding mom, hydration has never been more important. But even when I wasn't breastfeeding, I still always made sure to hydrate first thing in the morning with at least 12-16 oz. of water and a heavy pinch of salt or a packet of LMNT.

Being low in water or electrolytes can reduce energy levels throughout the day (especially with the mid-afternoon crash), so starting off immediately hydrated is crucial.

Avoid Social Media

Social media like Instagram and Facebook can be an absolute time suck and turn my very productive morning into a scroll session.

I love sharing my meals and workouts on my Instagram stories, but I wait to share them until later in the day. Instead, I will record or take pictures of whatever I want to share using the camera on my phone, then share it later in the day when I have more time to be on social media.

autumn bates before and after — My 20 pound weight loss progress!

Intermittent Fast

For my gut health and to help with metabolic flexibility (the ability to switch into "fat burning" mode), I follow a daily 14 hour Intermittent Fast. So during my 5am morning routine, I'm fasting.

I follow the Intermittent Fasting tools and break-fast structure from the Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle, which is my program and meal plan that has helped thousands of men and women around the world. These strategies were crucial for helping me lose 20 pounds and over 8% body fat.

autumn bates complete intermittent fasting bundle

Walk

Because I'm up so early when it's still dark out, I prefer getting my warm up walk done at the gym. After feeding my daughter and hydrating, I head to the gym and go for a 20-30 minute warm up walk on the treadmill.

I never skip this (even on days I'm not resistance training) because I've found walking daily helps to reduce my stress levels later in the day. Plus, walking at least 8,300 steps per day has been found to reduce the risk of various health conditions such as diabetes, GERD, obesity, major depressive disorder and sleep apnea.(1)

Educational Podcasts or YouTube Videos

During my walk, I like to listen to some type of educational podcast or YouTube video. This will change depending on what I'm interested in at the time. For example, when I was pregnant I watched a lot of videos on birth and labor.

Rather than watching the news or listening to something for pure entertainment, I like to fill my head with something positive and useful to start my day.

Pssst... you should checkout my hundreds of videos on nutrition tips and Intermittent Fasting during your next treadmill walk! You can checkout my latest videos HERE.

Weights

Strength and resistance training has been a huge part of my postpartum weight loss and body recomposition journey. Having quality muscle mass is crucial for reducing insulin resistance, decreasing carb sensitivity and keeping the metabolism high during the weight loss process. Muscle is also needed to help reduce the risk of various chronic diseases like osteoporosis or diabetes later in life.

After my warm up, I then start my strength training routine. I use bands, dumbbells and the squat rack, depending on the day. Each session lasts between 25-40 minutes with "leg day" being the longest.

Checkout my 3 week workout program included in the 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program HERE.

Coffee

I prefer to have my coffee after my workout. If I have it before, I've found I get a huge energy crash later in the day. This is likely because coffee can cause a cortisol spike, and having cortisol spike when it's naturally already high when first waking up can lead to an energy crash later.

Lately, I've been having my coffee with a splash of either heavy cream, half and half or Nutpods. Each of these keeps my body in the "fat burning" state and doesn't spike blood sugar.

At this point in the morning, I'm no longer in a "true" fast and instead have switched over to a "fasting mimicking" fast.

Hardest Thing First

Once I've had my coffee, I immediately start work for the day. My daughter is usually down for her first nap of the day at this point, so I'm able to have an hour or so of dedicated work time.

I reserve this time of day for the hardest activity I need to get done. Usually it's editing a video or writing a blog post.

I've found that when I get the most time consuming thing done first thing in the morning, I'm able to more easily complete other smaller tasks later in the day when my daughter is more awake (and less likely to take longer naps). I've also found I'm the most focused and creative first thing in the morning after my morning workout and coffee.

High Protein Breakfast

Lately, I've been following a 14 hour daily Intermittent Fast (instead of a 16 hour Intermittent Fast), which means I'm breaking my fast at around 8:30am.

I always make sure to break my fast with a meal high in protein, quality fats and fiber.

This combination helps to stabilize my blood sugar levels, reduce hunger and sugar cravings, and helps me make significant progress with my body recomposition goals.

Thankfully there are SO many delicious ways to easily add protein, fat and fiber to every break-fast meal.

Some of my favorites lately have been my vanilla bean protein waffles, banana cream protein pancakes, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and bacon, almond butter recovery smoothie, detox chia pudding and cottage cheese and berries bowl.

I'll also browse through my Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle for other meal ideas. The Bundle contains over 100 protein, fat and fiber rich recipes that help support my body recomposition goals.

End Note

I always say that I feel like I get 85% of the day's tasks done in the first few hours of the day. It's when I'm the most productive and do my best work. But I also wouldn't be able to work well if I didn't exercise, hydrate or properly fuel my body with the right type of meals.

I like to be practical with my morning and focus on the things that make me feel my best, set me up for success later in the day and don't add unnecessary steps or "clutter".

Considering we're all so busy nowadays, it can be incredibly valuable to assess the things that make you feel your best and organize them into a simple morning routine that you can feel confident in completing every single day (or at least most mornings - life happens, and straying occasionally is okay, too.).