Why Kristin Cavallari cut out cardio from her workout routine

Welcome to My Morning Routine, where Kristin Cavallari and other good-life gurus share their personal (frequently surprising, often healthy) morning rituals—to help you make your a.m.’s more awesome. 

Kristin Cavallari
TV personality, fashion designer, and ambassador for natural beauty brand Young Living

I’m either being woken up by [my son] Jackson or I wake up before everybody. When that happens, I’ll start getting breakfast ready. I’ll either do pancakes or eggs, it depends.

My kids usually wake up between 6:30 and 7:30 and then we all eat. I usually don’t even brush my teeth until an hour or hour and a half after we’ve all gotten up since mornings are hectic. In the summer we’ll all go play outside.

I never used to really drink coffee but I’ve been drinking it a lot in the last few months. Having three kids kind of makes me need it, but I’m trying to get back off of it and limit myself to only a couple of times a week.

At around 9 my nanny comes and I’ll go work out. I just lift weights, usually four to five times a week—I’ve worked out with a trainer for so many years that I just kind of know what to do now. I guess you could call it circuit training. I don’t do any cardio. Cardio used to be all I did before I had kids, but once I had them my lifestyle changed—I’m a much healthier eater and I hardly drink alcohol, so I’ve found that it’s about building and maintaining muscle rather than losing weight now.

I try to be as natural as possible in every facet of my life, from cleaning supplies to skin care and beauty. I wanted the best for my baby when I was pregnant and for myself, too—at first I changed the way I was eating, and I’ve maintained it ever since. I feel the best I’ve ever felt. I haven’t been on a diet in five years. I have more energy, my skin is the clearest it’s been, and I sleep like a baby.

Acure is great—my favorite product is their Brightening Facial Scrub. I think it’s awesome and such a safe product, I love it. Day to day, I’m pretty no-fuss—all I really put on in the morning is mascara, fill in my brows a little, and put some sheen on my cheeks. That’s pretty much it. On date night, though, I really love going all-out and doing my makeup since I don’t do it too often.

I wish I could say I wake up and meditate. I try to do it at night sometimes—that’s more realistic for me because the kids are in bed. But I wish I did it more than I actually do—it’s on my list of things to get better at.

More first-thing-in-the-morning inspo: Anna Camp has a trick to get her in a good mood instantly when she wakes up. And here’s the one ingredient Olivia Wilde always puts in her a.m. smoothie.