Transform Your Life in 30 Minutes per day: The Ultimate Morning Mindset Blueprint
Episode 17 - Why Weight Podcast with Sheryl Takayama
Introduction
What if I told you that the first 30 minutes of your day could completely transform your entire life? If you're someone who's struggling with motivation, or you simply can't get ahead in the game, you are going to love today's episode. I am going to share the five key actions that create a morning mindset routine that is going to set you up for success every single day.
Welcome to the Why Weight Podcast. I'm your host, Sheryl Takayama-qualified nutritionist, emotional eater, and weight loss coach who walks the talk. I've maintained my 30-kilo weight loss for the past 23 years following a low-carb plan, and now I coach other women online so they can do the same. It's my mission to help women get off this crazy diet wagon and find a way of eating and a way of thinking that works, so you too can lose your weight for life.
Join me each week for lots of practical advice, tips, and motivation so you can start now.
The Problem: Getting Your Head in the Game
One of the things that I often hear from people who are sitting in my office-and they feel really frustrated because they're just not taking action and they're not seeing results-they'll say to me, "My head is just not in the game."
And I'll always ask the same question: "Okay, so what are you doing to get your head in the game?"
And of course, the answer is usually the same thing: nothing. And this is why there's a problem.
A weight loss journey is certainly not just about food. Yes, that's part of it, but mindset and habits and our behaviors are such an important part of it as well. This is where today comes in, because if you can start your day with a really simple mindset routine that is going to help reprogram you in the right direction, it can be a complete game changer. It literally can transform your entire life.
Why Morning Routines Matter
It's so important because how you start the day has a massive impact on how the rest of the day goes.
Out of all the times of the day, the most important for you are when you first wake up and probably when you go to bed. Making sure you have a routine, making sure you get to bed on time-those are such critical actions that have a massive impact on your health.
Let's think about the morning when you first wake up. It's the prime time to get some positive programming in, because your morning is going to set up your energy and your frequency for the entire day.
How many people do we know who, as soon as they wake up, they're reaching for their phones? That's probably an example of the absolute worst thing you could do, because you haven't even taken time to reset your own mind before you're instantly going into social media, news, whatever it might be. You haven't even reprogrammed your own mind yet.
I'm not saying we can't look at our phone, but before you do that, you've got to do work on your own mind first.
In nutrition and weight loss, you find so much information about what to eat first thing in the morning-what's good for breakfast? But where's the guidance on what to think? How you think and how you start the day is so much more important than just what you are eating. You've got to reprogram your brain first before you make any decisions about food.
A really good morning routine puts the best version of you in control. It puts that best version of you back in the driver's seat, which is exactly what you want. You want to go into your day with intention. You don't want to just default to yesterday's patterns, especially if yesterday didn't go very well.
Your future self is really created in these morning moments. Who do you want to be today? Are you going to be the person who maybe didn't quite take the right action yesterday? Or are you going to decide that today is going to be different, and you're going to set this apart with intention and success?
The Five Key Actions for Morning Mindset Mastery
Action #1: Programming Your Subconscious (Night Before)
This is actually going to be done the night before. You're going to do this as soon as you go to bed and put your head on the pillow.
This is really powerful because when you program your subconscious in the direction that you want it to go in, your mind is going to start processing this information while you sleep. The last thing you think is really important because it's often the first thing you then think about when you wake up. We want to plant a really powerful seed in your unconscious mind so that as soon as you wake up, you are ready to go.
Sleep then becomes almost the productive time of your transformation because you're programming your mind in the direction you want it to go.
How to do this: Use some simple affirmations-something you can repeat to yourself as soon as your head hits the pillow, right before you go to sleep.
Example affirmations:
* "I am becoming stronger, healthier, and more vibrant every day. My body is transforming into its ideal state, and I feel incredible energy flowing through every cell."
* "I see myself at my ideal weight, feeling confident, powerful, and radiant. This version of me makes decisions from a place of self-love and strength. I am already becoming who I am meant to be."
All that matters is that it's some type of affirmation that really resonates with you and is setting the intention of the person you want to become.
Action #2: First Conscious Choice (Feet Hit the Floor)
As soon as you wake up and you put your feet on the ground, you are going to put that affirmation in your head again. This is so important because it's that first conscious choice of the day. You want to do this before you look at your phone, before you go to the bathroom-anything.
Create this action and habit for when your feet first touch the floor. You could either repeat that same affirmation that you've said to yourself the night before, or it might be something really simple:
Example affirmations:
* "I am stepping into the best version of me today."
* "Today is going to be an awesome day of action."
I love this as a habit because let's face it, we all have to get out of bed at some point, so that action of feet hitting the ground is a really good anchor that you can use to cement this habit.
Important: Say it out loud if you can. Don't just think it-say it out loud because that vibration and your energy really matters. You're going to feel the emotion behind the words, which is always more powerful than just something you're saying in your head.
Action #3: Hydration Ritual (In the Kitchen)
When you get to the kitchen, get a lovely glass of warm water and put some lemon juice in it-maybe a squeeze of about a quarter of a lemon. This is a fantastic way to get your body going. It kick-starts your metabolism, it's great for digestion, and it wakes your liver up.
If you don't have lemon juice, you could use a splash of apple cider vinegar.
Our bodies are 70% water, so you want to start with the best quality fuel going into your body. Especially because we've just been on this overnight fast, your body is going to be desperate for some hydration. This really is a mindset ritual as much as it is about your body, because your brain needs energy, and the best form is always going to come from water.
Note: Coffee can be a part of your morning ritual too (and it's most definitely part of mine), but only once you've had your water.
Action #4: Power Writing Ritual (The Most Important Step)
This is probably the most important step of all because this is where you begin to really start to unclutter what is going on up there in your mind. It's about downloading your thoughts and connecting to your goal.
Writing exercises a different part of your brain than when you are just talking or thinking. I always recommend good old-school writing with a pen and either a lovely journal or just a piece of paper, whatever suits you. It's slow, it's intentional-it's a process where these thoughts can leave your head and actually get out there on paper.
This will only take you 15 minutes, and it's going to set your mind up for the day, so it's well worth it.
Step 1: Gratitude
Start with some gratitude. Write down three to five things that you are grateful for-some specific things. I encourage you to also include something about your body, something you appreciate that your body did for you yesterday.
You could talk about people, experiences, opportunities-just the first thing that comes into your head. Don't worry if you write the same gratitude things down each day; that's fine. Just get started because the more you do it, the more things you are going to find to be grateful for.
Step 2: Connect to Your Goal
Write down exactly what your goal is. Be as specific as you can because vague goals create vague results. You want it to be really specific.
Some people like to write this part in the future tense as if that goal has already been achieved. That's fine if that resonates with you. I personally just prefer to write it: "My goal is 65 kilos" or whatever it might be-something that I'm working towards that resonates with me.
Step 3: Your Why
Write down why it's important to you. Think about how achieving your goal is going to impact your family, your career, your confidence, your health. Think about what's going to be possible once you've achieved it and how you are going to feel about yourself once you've achieved your goal.
Write down at least three things. Don't worry if your why is the same as what you said yesterday-that does not matter at all.
Step 4: Daily Actions
Write down three things that you are going to do that day to make progress. Write the exact action down:
* "I'm going to follow my food plan and eat three meals a day."
* "I'm going to drink my two liters of water."
* "I'm going to go to bed at nine o'clock."
Make it really clear. It could be about your food, it could be about exercise-whatever the actions are that you know are going to move the dial the best for you and that you're willing to do and can actually achieve.
Step 5: Brain Dump (Optional)
If you have time and particularly if you are feeling really stressed, do a few minutes of just free journaling. Write down a brain dump of whatever is going on in your head. It doesn't have to have structure, it doesn't have to have a reason. Just give yourself space to release what is going on in your head onto paper.
Action #5: Visualization and Alignment
This is the fun part, and I just call it connecting to my future self. It's all about just closing your eyes and stepping into your ideal body for a brief minute or two.
Questions to consider:
* How does it feel to move in this body?
* What's your posture like?
* How's your energy?
* What are you wearing?
* How's your confidence level?
This isn't about some sort of fantasy-it's just about stepping into what your goal is going to give you. It's really powerful to align you as you then head out into the day. You've had this moment of stepping into this person.
Bonus: Movement (If Time Allows)
If you've got a few extra minutes at the end, I really recommend doing just a little bit of movement if you can. This is a great way to take that mindset reset and bring it into your body, and all you really need is 5 to 10 minutes.
It might be:
* A little bit of yoga
* Some stretching
* A quick walk
* Some lovely deep breathing
But I only want you to do that if you have time. Start simply by focusing on your mindset work first.
Why This Works
This is such a powerful routine because when you master the morning, you are going to master your day. These small, consistent actions when you start doing them every day can give you massive results because each morning builds on the previous one. You're not just changing your day-you're actually changing your identity. You're changing how you think, how you think about yourself, and where you are focusing for yourself.
Success is not about perfection. It's about you showing up consistently, believing in your goal, and taking action every day that gets your head in the game.
One of my favorite quotes that I've got written in my office is a take on the saying we might hear other people say: "I'll believe it when I see it." Well, I've changed that around and I've said: "I see it because I believe it."
Pro Tips for Success
1. Same time every day: Do this at the same time every day to get your circadian rhythm into that zone.
2. Prepare the night before: Get your journal, your pens, your little workbook-everything ready to go so that when you wake up, there's no thought required.
3. Go to bed earlier: To make sure you can wake up on time, go to bed earlier if you have to.
4. Include weekends: Do this every day of the week, including weekends, because you want to get into this consistent circadian rhythm.
5. Start small: Just start small and build your momentum from there.
6. Create a designated space: Have somewhere that feels good for you where you can really get into the zone quickly.
7. Don't look at your phone: Please don't look at your phone during this time.
Your 7-Day Challenge
For the next seven days, try this morning routine and see what a difference it makes for you. I know that it's going to help you get your head in the game, and I'm absolutely certain that you are going to make better progress towards your goal when you do this for seven days in a row.
Next Week: I'm going to take this to the next step and talk about nutrition. Today I've gone over the mindset routine, which I believe is the most important thing because when your mind is in the right place, your mouth follows. But how should our mouth follow? That's what I'm going to talk about next week-the top tips so that you can get your nutrition absolutely bang-on right from when you wake up.
Thanks so much for listening! If you want support in your weight loss journey, I would love to help. You'll see the links in the show notes and on my socials, as well as my fab freebie-a five-day low-carb meal plan and five delicious dinner recipes. You'll also see the link for my four-week Foundations of Fat Loss program, designed specifically for the fat-burning needs of women over 35.
Remember: The only thing that's going to stop you reaching your goal is if you quit. Never, ever give up.
