Archives for July 2014

July 31, 2014 By Parwage Alam 2 Comments

Sitting Job leads to a shorter life

You might have often heard people say “Sitting is Killing Me”. This phrase seems to be spoken lot more these days thanks to the busy schedules that people have. I believe that 75% of working people are in desk jobs which require them to be seated on their chair for at least 8 to 10 hours a day of not more. No wonder that most of these corporate employees complaint of lot of pain issues including one of sitting pain due to sitting all day long.

A sitting job is as dangerous as smoking can be for your body. Most sit at their work stations and have no other activity apart from staring into their computers. On an average 10 hours a day is spent at the work desk as compared to 7 hours of sleeping. Sitting is so prevalent and so pervasive that we don’t even question how much we’re doing it.

Excessive sitting, defined as nine to 10 hours a day, has been called a lethal activity. Dry eyes? (“Your eyes are not designed to keep focusing and moving repetitively across a computer screen,”) Weight gain? (Sitting job mostly stressful and when you are stressed out, your body is flooded with Cortisol, a stress hormone, which makes you crave for carbohydrates, sugar and fatty foods). You might not realize this being parked at a desk but, all this goes into your body.

A sitting Job leads you towards a shorter life. Sitting down the whole day doubles diabetes and heart attacks risk. Some research shows difference in health outcomes between the most and least sedentary workers. Those who spent the most time sitting down had a greater risk of diabetes. Risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks or strokes increased in the most sedentary workers.

You should get to know how uninterrupted sitting hours can be dangerous for your health:-

Working long hours in a similar sitting position affects the blood circulation of body
Increased risk of having diabetes and heart diseases
Causes eye strain
Causes tiredness in the back and neck muscles
Reduces efficiency of heart and lungs
Leads to back and joint pains
Responsible for digestive problems

Few suggestions to keep you active at workplace:-

Take small breaks.
Avoid the elevator, use stairs.
Go for a short walk during the lunch hour
Rinse your eyes with water
Move neck forward or backward
Change body positions frequently
Make correct adjustment of chair (height, tilt etc.)
Carry out some simple exercises
Sit in a comfortable position

July 30, 2014 By Mitali Ambekar 5 Comments

Do you know your Body Type?

I have always come across people who think that any diet can be used to lose weight/maintain weight/gain weight, which is not the case. There are different body types according to which a diet is made; of course individual health history is also important. In fact even gym workouts are based on this different body types..

The Three Body Types are:

Ectomorph

People with this body type are very thin in structure. They have small shoulders and light build. Their metabolism is way too high thus; they find it hard to gain weight. In fact the metabolism is so high that the body burns fat for sure but even uses muscle as a source of energy, thus making them look so thin. These are people who despite eating a lot do not gain weight. Their tendency to lose weight is more than gaining.

Triats of Ectomorph

Small Shoulder
Thin Body Frame
Under weight/skinny appearance
Long limbs
Fast metabolism thus very low fat
Hard to gain muscles.

MESOMORPH

The most athletic body is this one, where in they have large body structure. They gain muscle and lose fat very easily. This body type has positives such as low body fat like ectomorph and large frame like endomorph. This is the kind of body everyone usually dreams of. But, again if not maintained well it’s no use having such a body type

Traits of a Mesomorph

Shoulders are wide
Easily gain muscle
Lean body
Has less body fat
Small waist.
Large frame.

ENDOMORPH

This body type is the one which has more fat. People with this body type have short limbs and gain weight very easily. Appear large in size. They find it hard to lose weight in spite of working on their diet and workout.

Traits of Endomorph

Broad Shoulders
Appear large
Gain fat easily
Metabolism is slow
Short limbs.

Every body type has its own advantage and disadvantages. According to an individual’s health goal, we work towards it.

It is not necessary for a person to be of any one specific body type only. There is even a combination of the above body types like Endo-Mesomorph or Ecto-Mesomorph.

With the above information, you can figure out your own body type easily. But, it is not necessary that Endomorph cannot become a Mesomorph, With dedication, efforts and hard work anything is possible.

July 28, 2014 By Shimpli Patil 3 Comments

Let’s dance… for a better health and a better you!!

How many of us look at dance as a form of exercise?

For me the word “Dance” itself has so much of energy and power that it sets my pulse rate in motion. Dance is something that I have been doing since my childhood. Being a child, I used to dance just for fun and enjoyment… little did I know about the positive changes that it was creating within me.

Dance has several benefits not only in terms of our physical health but also for our emotional and mental health.

The best thing about dancing is that there is absolutely NO AGE LIMIT for it! It’s something that can be taken up early in life and still provide plenty of entertainment well after retirement. It’s the perfect example of “joyful workout”. While, we’re having fun grooving to music and meeting new people, we’re getting all the health benefits of a good workout.

Dance by large is an aerobic workout that speeds up your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time. It also involves some movements which are typically anaerobic in nature. We nearly use every muscle in our body to perform certain moves, holds, lifts, squats, spins, jumps or leaps. In fact, we build and tone our muscles while dancing, making them stronger with each session.

A good warm up for about 10 minutes is very essential before starting the dance to get into the groove. Once you get into regular dancing, it ensures increase in flexibility and agility as it involves stretching, bending and twisting.

Dance has innumerable benefits. No doubt it’s the best way to lose weight (provided the diet is correct) but it’s also been shown to be beneficial for heart health, blood pressure management, reduction of total blood cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase in levels of HDL (good cholesterol).

I have been looking at dance not only as a way to get better in terms of physical health but mental health as well. It’s one of the best ways to release stress and get your endorphin levels (feel good factor) up! Dance also helps you release all kinds of emotions. May it be happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, boredom…it all gets expressed while you dance. It’s a creative outlet as well wherein you can create your own new moves and choose a variety of music.

So let’s get active!! Put on your dancing shoes, turn the music on and dance. You may not have the best turns or neatest moves, but as long as you feel the rhythm, you’re a good dancer. And I assure you that you’ll never get bored with this workout as there is so much to explore in dance and try out new forms or steps. Of course, it’s way better than jogging on the same old treadmill every day.

Dance on, burn the calories and say good bye to a gloomy/lazy day!

July 22, 2014 By Satish Kurapaty 2 Comments

Healthy Indian Street Foods

It’s called the dream city and no wonder that lakhs of people enter this city on a daily basis mesmerised by its glitz and glamour, seeking opportunities to make it big here. One thing that’s good about the city of Mumbai is nobody goes hungry in this city. Whatever time of the day you can always find something to eat here. Being a cosmopolitan city it offers one variety of cuisines which are found locally around every nook and corner of the city.

One of the main attractions of this city is its street foods. They are cheaper, quicker, delicious and easily accessible. For some individuals, streets foods are preferable choice but for some they are unhealthy and unhygienic. It is considered unhygienic more during the monsoons. But, I would say street foods are not always bad or so called junk if the choice made is smarter.

Here are some smart choices one can opt for in order to satisfy sudden tummy growls.

Vegetable Toast Sandwich: One can surely opt for this (preferably brown bread) because it has enough vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, cucumber etc. Also toasting will reduce the number of microorganisms and make it safer. Even the cheese added on it can be a good source of protein if sodium is not a concern.

Idli/dosa and Sambhar: This fermented dish has goodness of protein and carbohydrates. Sambar includes lentils and vegetable. It’s an ideal choice for breakfast.

Masala Chana chat: This hot Channa (boiled kabuli channa or even chickpea) chat is a meal by itself. It’s loaded with protein and fibre. Adding vegetables added to it makes it more palatable and a healthy choice.

Momos: Rice covered steamed Momos packed with vegetable or meat, can never be unhealthy. The varieties of filling in the Momos available can satisfy the likes of people with different taste. Steamed is better than fried Momos.

Roasted peanuts and groundnuts: These are easily available handy chunks which can be popped in anytime like travelling, walking etc.

Fruit and vegetable juices: They rescue your thirst and are any day better choice than aerated drinks. These juices when consumed in the natural form (i.e. without sugar and unstrained) are good source to hydrate your body.

Fruit platter: It’s a platter loaded with antioxidants and fibre. The platter consists of variety of seasonal fruits and makes you feel full. This can be a choice over chips especially during fast.

Dabeli : It is like a sandwich, spicy potato mixture with different chutneys is spread between buns. And garnished with fine nylon sev, chopped onions, spicy peanuts and pomegranate seeds.

If you feel like indulging in street food make a smart choice and go for it. As I mentioned in my earlier blog (http://goqii.com/blog/eating-right-even-while-partying/) Keep GPRS rule (Grilled. Poached. Roasted. Steam) in mind.