Have you ever noticed that when the day starts badly for you, everything just seems to 'go to pot' after that! Your mood is negative, you eat more food and of course the day feels like a battle!

The key to this problem, which inevitably leads to more comfort eating, is what you do immediately you get up in the morning. If you are anything like I used to be (and still can be at times when I forget this key), I either lie there thinking and worrying about the day ahead or get up and rush round like a headless chicken trying to fit everything in before I go out! Both of these actions have a tendency to start the day on a bad footing.

When I realised the huge difference a good start to the day made to my motivation, happiness and eating habits I began to make it a priority in my life. So here are the 'Morning Ritual' tips I would like to share with you today...

1. Get up an hour before you normally do.

Now don't pull that face! This is the time of the day that is truly your own private time ('Me Time'). So relish it with delight, especially if you can go outside and enjoy the beauty of the world around you.

2. Decide on an action you want to take that is self-loving, enjoyable and energising.

I love to do 30 minutes of jog/dancing followed by a series of stretching yoga type exercises that help me switch my mind into my body and away from any thoughts of the day or negative nattering.

3. Spend 15 to 20 minutes in meditation.

If you have never meditated, I can highly recommend it as a wonderful way of starting the day. You would be surprised just how much tension and negative emotion can be held over from the previous day that meditation can relieve.

4. If meditation is not your thing then try a relaxing peaceful bath or an activity/exercise you really love.

Don't try to do any activity / exercise that is a struggle or not enjoyable. The whole part of this ritual is to bring enjoyment and love into the first hour of your day.

5. Spend a few moments giving thanks for all your blessings.

Gratitude is a very powerful process that when practiced throughout the day helps you focuses, so much more easily, on the positive things that life offers.

6. Finally, play a movie in your mind of all the things that you are planning to do that day and see yourself undertaking them easily and smoothly. Visualise the people around you happily helping you and the day being filled with fun and laughter.

Don't be tempted to skip this last bit as it has a major impact on how you cope when reality does not match up to your 'morning movie'.

Give it a try and see the difference it can make to your day.

Chrissie Webber is a published author, business coach and leadership trainer. As Managing Director of Life-Shapers Ltd she is developing her online weight-loss motivation company http://www.lifeshapers.co.uk into a franchise of Life Shapers Weight Management Coaches.

Her track record in the area of weight management is firstly a personal one. Following a lifetime of weight issues - at her heaviest, over 21 stone and a massive size 30 - she has personal experience of diets and their devastating effect on size and psyche.

With a background in nursing, psychology and business coaching, coupled with a lifetime of dieting, she developed and successfully used a series of models and tools that enhance weight loss motivation. Now over 5 dress sizes smaller and having sustained her weight loss for several years she has written a book about her motivational journey. Weight Loss, Life Gain - A Motivational Journey to Permanent Weight Loss was published in January 2008 by Accent Press.

Her Blog http://www.chrissiewebber.co.uk and free monthly eZine now offer support to others.