Archives for October 2019

October 22, 2019 By Sunita Arora 1 Comment

11 Unhealthy Habits That Are Destroying Your Health

Old habits die hard and that’s true. Habits are stored in our subconscious mind. We keep on carrying out tasks or habits, without even realizing we are doing it. While some habits help us complete day to day activities, there are some which aren’t good for our health, especially the ones which affect our diet. It is crucial to follow habits which have a positive impact on health. It is time to identify unhealthy habits and get rid of them for good health’s sake.

Unhealthy Habits You Need to Stop

Skipping Breakfast: For some people, skipping breakfast is an easy way to cut calories. However, if you skip breakfast, you’ll probably overeat during lunch. Secondly, in the morning, our metabolic rate is high. To maintain it, we need to give enough fuel to our body in the form of breakfast. So you should not skip your morning meal at any cost.
Emotional Eating: If you are stressed or if you’ve had a bad day, call a friend, listen to music, write in a journal or try going for a walk. These options are better than binge-eating junk food due to emotional reasons.
Including Unhealthy Drinks: At some point, we all reach out for a soft drink after a meal. It has somehow become a norm. Sweetened/Aerated drinks increase your daily calorie intake and cause other health issues. Instead, drink lemon water, coconut water or buttermilk. In fact, you can make your own healthy energy drinks!
Eating Out Frequently: Avoid the habit to grab something unhealthy when going out for a long day. Take healthier shortcuts! Eat a vegetable sandwich, protein salads, whole grain crackers & veggies with humus. You can even carry fresh fruits.
Munching While Watching TV or During Long Drives: Try to avoid unnecessary munching while watching your favorite program or when you are on a long drive or a road trip. Instead of having processed foods like chips, cookies, etc. you can have a handful of nuts, air popcorn, seed trail-mix and unsalted peanuts.
Lack of Sleep: Sleep works as nutrition for the brain. Our body needs 8-9 hours of sleep every night. Less than 8 hour of sleep triggers a cortisol spike and hampers our metabolism and contributes to weight gain. Shut your computer, mobile, and TV at least an hour before sleeping.
Long Gap Between Meals: There shouldn’t be a huge time gap between meals. When you are on a weight loss journey, you shouldn’t just be careful about the food you eat but the time you eat as well! Many studies show that, if you are not eating at the right time, you might not be able to achieve your weight loss goals. The ideal gap between breakfast – Lunch & lunch –dinner should not exceed 4 hours.
Eating Late at Night: You should not eat dinner very late as it promotes weight gain. Your last meal or your dinner should always be 3 hours before bedtime.
Consuming Extra Salt: Eating a lot of salt can cause an increase in water weight and fat in your body. If you eat too much salt, extra water gets stored in your body which can raise your blood pressure. Higher blood pressure leads to heart attacks, strokes and kidney diseases. Avoid sauces, pickles, sprinkling extra on salad & curd in your meals.
Eating Heavy Meals Close to Bedtime: Avoid eating heavy meals close to bedtime, it can cause acidity, severe heartburn and make difficult to fall asleep. Also avoid tea, coffee, and chocolate in the evening because caffeine can stay in our system for 5-6 hrs and suppress the sleep hormone.
Putting Calorie Restrictions: Eating more calories than your body needs will lead to weight gain. Whereas, eating lesser calories than your body needs will lead to weight loss. However, restricting calories too much may slow down metabolism, can cause fatigue, nutrient deficiencies and lower immunity too.

These 11 unhealthy habits can contribute to weight gain, affect metabolism and can be extremely detrimental to your health. Avoid them and adopt a healthier lifestyle. For tips on how to improve your health, do watch our expert coaches live on GOQii Play within the GOQii App or reach out to your personal coach via subscription.

We hope this article has helped you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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October 21, 2019 By Palak Mittal Leave a Comment

5 Reasons Why You Need to Begin Weight Training Now!

We all want that lean body, six-packs and look absolutely stunning all the time. But, the one thing that always gets in the way is excess fat! It never leaves us, clinging on to the body like moss on stone. The funny part is that no matter how much you sweat on cardio, it doesn’t seem to help. Before you begin thinking there is no absolute solution, let me ask you if you’ve heard of weight training?

Before I get to telling you how weight training helps, let’s clear some misconceptions. It is a myth that weight training only bulks you up. People believe that one becomes heavy and bulky, especially women but that’s not true. Don’t worry, it won’t turn you into Hulk. Secondly, for weight loss people often turn to cardio while neglecting weight training but that’s not the right route to go. Want to know why?

5 Benefits of Weight Training

It Makes You Burn Fat: When you lift weights, you will be building muscles. Muscles require less space than fat. A person with more muscles may weigh the same as that of a person with more fat but the muscular person will definitely look much skinnier and toned.
Protection From Injuries: Weight lifting makes the skeletal system strong. Not only bones, but muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues as well. Strengthening these helps in preventing injuries and also reduces the risk for osteoporosis as it strengthens the bones too!
Major Boost to Self-Confidence: Lifting weights improves overall physique of both men and women by building more lean muscle. It improves one’s body image. Imagine seeing a leaner and toned you in the mirror. Wouldn’t that boost your self-confidence? This in essence means you will have more energy, less stress, anxiety and depression. Indirectly, it is a good way to boost your mental health as well.
Fights Insomnia: Weight training is exhausting! Once you’re done, you’ll sleep like a baby. If one is suffering from insomnia or finding it difficult to fall asleep, then weight training is the way to go! Cardio or any exercise helps but lifting weights is like a cherry on the cake. Just get up and hit the gym!
Improves Flexibility, Stability and Balance: Lifting weights improves joint mobility through a full range of motion. It makes your joints flexible and strong. This in turn improves posture and provides the necessary stamina to perform basic activities such as walking, running and even performing other exercises and tasks including cardiovascular exercises.

You don’t even need a gym. You can literally lift weights at home too. If you haven’t thought of beginning your weight training journey, start now and get ready to see some positive change. To get a head start, try watching some classes by fitness and weight training experts on GOQii Play within the GOQii App.

We hope this article helps you in your weight loss journey. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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October 19, 2019 By Urvi Gohil Leave a Comment

Healthy Eating: Beetroot Mix Dal Dosa

Depending on your preferences, beetroot can be the most loved or most hated vegetable on your plate. Now, whether you hate it or love it, you can’t deny the fact that beetroots are extremely healthy for you! They are packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Beetroots are low in calories, help reduce blood pressure and improve digestive health, among many other benefits.

Enriching your normal day meals with a superfood always fetches you more nutrients! Today, let’s make beetroot more interesting than it already is by preparing this beetroot mix dal dosa! It is packed with protein and all the nourishment from beetroots!

Let’s get started.

What you will need:

Chana Dal – 2 tbsp
Moong Dal – 2 tbsp
Toor Dal – 2 tbsp
Urad Dal – 2 tbsp
Rice – 2 tbsp
Shredded beetroot – 1 medium sized
Garlic – 5-6
Shredded Ginger – 1 tsp
Green Chillies – 2
Finely Chopped Coriander – ½ cup
Jeera (cumin seeds) – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil

How to Prepare

Take a bowl and mix all dals and rice after washing them thoroughly. Add 1 cup of water to it and soak for 4-6 hrs.
Once soaked, remove excess water and blend it together in a mixer and make a smooth paste. Add 2 tsp of water if required. Keep the batter aside in a bowl.
Now, add beetroot, green chillies, jeera, ginger and garlic in a blender jar and blend it all without adding any water.
Mix the beetroot paste with blended pulses thoroughly.
Add salt and coriander to the batter and allow it to settle for 10-15 min.
Now heat a nonstick pan, brush some oil and using a spatula, spread the hot pink batter on the pan. After cooking it on one side, flip it over.
Serve it hot with coconut chutney.

Highlights of the Beetroot Mix Dal Dosa:

Best way to start your day! The proteins keep you full and beetroot gives you all the essential vitamins and minerals such as folate, manganese, potassium, iron, Vitamin C along with very important nitrates. These nitrates help in reducing blood pressure.
It is a must to try for kids as the color fascinates them.
Also instead of beetroot you can incorporate blanched spinach or even carrots.

Did you find this recipe new and exciting? Will you try it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

For more healthy recipes, do check out the live sessions on GOQii Play within the GOQii App.

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October 18, 2019 By Navnee Garg 1 Comment

10 Healthy Lunch Tips For a Healthier You!

Lunch is a very crucial hour of our daily routine because it makes us realise that half of the day has gone and we need to eat something now. It also gives us energy for the other half of the day. Lunch raises the blood sugar levels in the middle of the day, helping one maintain focus for the rest of the afternoon. For kids, lunch is even more important because this is when they get their vitamins and nutrients for the day.

But in this busy lifestyle, are we really doing justice with our day meal? Are we managing a balanced diet or just eating to satisfy hunger? Well, here are 10 Healthy Lunch Tips which can surely help you get the most out of your meal!

Follow the “My Plate” Rule: My plate illustrates the perfect way to have a balanced diet. It includes all the 5 food groups and represents the ideal portion size for each food group.
Simplify the diet plan: Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of colour, variety, and freshness.
Half cup of Green Peas Pulao served with Bottle Gourd (Lauki) raita is a great alternative to plain boiled rice and a perfect combination with any main course, vegetarian or meat-based. In addition, you can also try brown rice as it contains more fibre, and has a low Glycaemic index.
Include a variety of flattened breads or Rotis in a week. Try using different flours such as Ragi, Bajra, multigrain wheat and/or buckwheat to add all nutrients in the meal. Pack the rotis is a cotton cloth to sustain freshness.
Include a small milk-based drink (curd or buttermilk) in lunch to add probiotics for a healthy gut. If you have to carry it to the office, freeze it overnight, wrap it in a cloth and carry it along the next day. This would avoid souring of curd or buttermilk and would be chilled enough to enjoy with your meal.
Lean on Protein: Protein adds two benefits when added in lunch. Firstly, it takes longer to digest, so helps you avoid hunger pangs. Secondly, it helps you build and maintain metabolism-boosting muscle mass which turns the body into a calorie-burning machine.
Make the Meal Fiber Rich: Salads are equally important as other food items which we end up neglecting. Salads are the natural way of adding fiber, which will not only help in weight management but will also help you avoid the trap of eating high calories in the meal. Most importantly, salads are not boring. Only cucumber and tomato is not a salad. We can create very tasty and healthy salads with other fruits, vegetables, seeds and legumes as well.
Grease your Chapatis with a bit of ghee, especially if packed in the morning. Ghee, in moderate quantities, can be taken as it is a nutritional powerhouse and keeps your gut healthy. Also greasing ghee will keep the chapatis remain fresh!
Treat your sweet tooth with a small piece of jaggery, dark chocolate, yogurt or granola. These are healthier options and they not only satisfy your taste buds but also add various nutrients to your diet.
Avoid Distractions and focus on Mindful Eating. Avoid sitting in front of a TV or using mobile phones while on the lunch table. This leads to overeating or incomplete chewing of food. Rather, spend time with family, friends, enjoy a healthy conversation and charge yourself up for the next half of the day.

We hope these healthy lunch tips help you add more value to your meals! Make your lunch healthy and yourself healthier! What do you usually eat for lunch? Share it with us in the comments below!

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