Fit at 50 | My Morning Routine & Protein Pancake Recipe

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Good morning friend! Welcome to a fresh new week! And it’s an exciting week over here because my daughter turns 9 on Tuesday and I turn 50 on Thursday! I can’t believe I will be 50!! It feels like such a big milestone birthday!

Coming up on this birthday had me doing a lot of reflecting last year and I was in kind of a funk dealing with some health issues and life stressors. 2024 was a hard year in a lot of ways, and by December, I knew that I wanted to commit to a fitness routine and get back in control of my health.

On December 27, 2024, I launched the official start of my year-long Fit at 50 fitness challenge.

Just making the decision and starting to show up everyday has greatly increased my confidence and energy.

Now that I’m in my 8th week of consistent dedication, my progress is starting to show and I feel proud of my hard work. I’ll have a new update for you next Monday!

Fit at 50 | My Morning Routine

With this fit at 50 journey, I’ve had to tweak my morning routine a little bit, and I wanted to share it with you today.

One of the biggest reasons we don’t make exercise a part of our day is because we don’t have time. Honestly, in some seasons of life there really are just so few hours in the day. But sometimes, if we just tweak things a little and get laser focused, we can find or create those minutes in our day to fit exercise in.

For me, it’s just a matter of priorities and what is important to me in this season of life.  There have been lots of seasons that I wasn’t ready and didn’t want to hear it, and if that’s you right now, that’s OK! But maybe bookmark this post for someday when you want a little kick to get you going.

I have a lot going on being a divorced mom of two kids, running a business, being a girlfriend, friend, daughter, and sister  – but I decided that I was ready and willing to make my fitness a priority this year.

Wake Up at 5 A.M.

One of the things I knew I wanted to do to reach my fitness goal is walk for 30 minutes a day every single day. And to make sure that happens, I knew I needed to do it early in the day, before the day got away from me and filled with so many other things. 

I committed to waking up at 5 AM so that I didn’t have to sacrifice my beloved quiet morning time in order to fit in that walking time. I use my HUE lightbulbs that I set to gradually illuminate my room to wake me up. It’s so much better than an alarm blaring!

Duvet Cover & Shams • Down Comforter • Quilt Coverlet • Muslin Blanket • Rug • Lumbar Pillow • Sheet Set 

When I first wake up in the morning, I love to make my coffee and sit on my couch and get all cozied up under soft blankets.

This is one of my favorite parts of the day. I take this time to journal, read, pray, meditate and just be still. 

Ugg Blanket

Walk 30 Minutes

Then, I get dressed in my workout clothes (that I lay out the night before) make my peptide drink, and then get on the treadmill for 30 minutes.

Fit Bioactive Peptide • Naked BCAA

Sports Bra • Leggings • Socks • Sneakers

Treadmill • Bioactive Peptide (15% off sale in February!)

I already have my headphones and iPad on the treadmill, charged up and ready to go. 

I thought it would feel like a chore to have to do this every day, but honestly, I look forward to this time every day!

This has become me time that I fit into my day and it actually ends up being a productive time and gets my energy up for the day .

I do a brisk walk at about 3.5 speed and 3.0 incline, enough to get me going but also low intensity enough that I can be planning out my meals on my phone, planning my day, responding to messages, or just watching a video .

I’m usually on the treadmill around 6 AM and walk until 6:30, sometimes longer.

School Prep

During this time, my daughter gets up and gets herself dressed and ready for school.  My son gets himself ready and his dad picks him up for school since it’s more convenient to his office.

Around 6:30, when I’m done walking, I go upstairs and wash my face, brush my teeth and hair, and put on some mascara.

I also make my bed.

Then, I head downstairs and make sure my daughter’s lunch is ready to go, and her bag is all packed for school. Sometimes we pack her lunch in the evening, but if she wants chicken nuggets or leftovers, we heat that up in the morning.

Lately, she’s been wanting to get to school early so she can have extra play time with her friends or do homework, so we’ve been leaving the house around 6:50.

After I drop her off at school, I usually head straight to the gym with full water bottle.

Three days a week I’m doing full body weight workout.

Twice a week I’m doing higher intensity cardio. These are exercises I do about 5 minutes each, for a total of 45 minutes. Things like the first climber, rower, pushing/pulling the sled, stair, stepping and sprint intervals. 

I’m supposed to do abs twice a week, but it’s my least favorite thing to do so I haven’t been that consistent with those ab exercises. 

Call Mom

After the gym, I always wash my hands before leaving, and then get in the car to head home and I usually call my mom on the way so we can have a daily chat.

Eat Breakfast

Back at home, I like to eat a high protein breakfast within 20 – 30 minutes of my workout. I usually alternate between my protein pancake with fruit or two free range eggs, two pieces of Sola bread with Kerrygold butter and 2 cups of spinach.  

Most days it’s the pancake, but I mix it up with eggs once in a while.

click HERE to print recipe

Get Ready

Then it’s time to jump in the shower and get ready for the day. I try to wash my hair only twice a week to save time.

Work Hustle

Taking this time to work out in the morning, then come home and eat and get ready means I’m not sitting down to work until about 9:45 a.m. and it’s a true hustle until 3 o’clock when I go pick up my daughter from school.

While I’m in the pick up line, I will do more work on my phone. Sometimes I also end up working after school or after dinner.

With having my own business, I am unfortunate to set my own work hours and on Thursdays when my kids are with their dad, I make that a very long workday, working pretty much until bedtime with just a break for meals.

With fitting these workouts in in the morning, it also means I’m often having to work a few hours on the weekends also. It’s not my favorite, but it’s the season. I am in while trying to reach my fitness goals.

I do think there is some amount of sacrifice that’s necessary when you are dedicated to a goal.  Maybe that’s why they are called challenges.

On the weekends, I tend to stay up later and sleep in later, but generally speaking, below is what my weekday mornings look like: 

5:00 – 5:50 – Pet care, coffee, journal, read 

5:50 – 6 – Put on workout clothes, make peptide drink

6-6:30 – Walk 

6:30-6:45 – School prep

6:50 – Go to school 

7:15 – 8:15 – Workout 

8:45 – 9:45 – Shower/eat/get ready for the day

I also rely on lots of prep the night before to help my mornings run smoother. I ALWAYS clean the kitchen completely – I’m one of those weird ones that it actually relaxes me down to do this before bed.

I also lay out my workout clothes the night before, and I even have everything I need to make my pancake ready to go.

I have the dry ingredients in a baggie in the mixing bowl with the measuring cups and whisk! It might seem crazy, but I really try to maximize my time and help things go smooth because we know it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

Also, I’ll note that life happens and things don’t always go according to plan. Just last week, my daughter was home from school for three days and I didn’t make it to the gym. I still woke up at 5 and got my walks in, but no extra workouts.

I’d love to hear about your mornings and where you fit in your workouts.

And I’m excited to share my 8 week fitness recap with you next Monday! Subscribe HERE so you don’t miss it!

Fitness Update | Weeks 1 & 2

Fitness Update | Weeks 3 & 4

Fitness Update | Weeks 5 & 6

Now let’s go kick Monday’s booty!