I wake up early, sneak into the living room trying not to wake anyone and slowly turn on small noises to adjust the volume so it won't startle the kids awake. Put on a pot of coffee and start stretching, usually some of my favorite yoga poses. Sometimes I do them on the WiiFit, sometimes just on my yoga mat. Even when I'm feeling too tired to work out and just want to sleep, the stretches wake me up some. I always tell myself "I only have to do 10 minutes, and then I can get some coffee. After 10 minutes I almost alway finish the whole 45 minute work out, once I wake up completly and get moving I remember how much the working out will help. Then off to take a brisk shower and relax a little with a cup of coffee before everyone wakes up.

When I do this routine, my day goes better. I have more energy, I'm in a better mood, I seem to be able to manage my thoughts better too. When I forget, or don't remember to set my alarm, or am feeling to low to get up and do it no matter how I try to convince myself, I always feel sluggish and awful. I never realized how much this morning routine effected me till this past two weeks.

I always wake up early, whether I work out or not. I like to have some 'me' time to wake up and have some coffee before my kids get up.

I was finally in my 'groove' working out every day last week and part of this week. It was great. I did more things with my girls, worked in the garden, and managed to start getting the house back in order. Worked on getting my routine together and ate right. I actually managed to stay within my calorie range.

But then I had a morning where I woke up before my alarm, so I turned it off completly and forgot to reset it. The next morning I woke to the sound of my little ones calling for me and felt awful and groggy from the extra sleep. I was sluggish all day and was more hungry than usual, ended up giving in to my cravings and ate way too many calories. I slept in the next day too, and felt worse. I had a headache that day and forgot to reset my alarm again.

So this morning I was reflecting back on the last two weeks and realized just how important exercise is to me. I have more energy, remember to eat better, have less cravings, do more with my kids... I could go on. Getting up early and exercising is such an important part of my day. I'm trying to lose weight, so this is very important to me. But I never realized till now how it effected my entire day. I know that eating right, cutting out sweets and soda's can help my mood, but I never realized how doing all of really made such a difference. I knew in my head that they would help, I researched it and attempted it when I was trying to go without meds, but never really noticed the effects. Maybe some of it is that I'm back on meds and they are working, but I know that my morning routine helps a lot.