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8 Diet and Lifestyle Tips For The Winter Season

lifestyle tips winter

By now, we are all experiencing the cool winter breeze. While the weather is quite pleasant, it also causes several issues like dry and itchy skin, cold and cough, etc. To help you stay healthy during this season, we’ve got some effective diet and lifestyle tips that will keep these issues at bay.

Diet & Lifestyle Tips for a Healthier You

  1. Healthy Diet: Sir Robert McCarrison, one of the best known nutritionists says, “The right kind of food is the most important single factor in the promotion of health; and the wrong kind of food is the most important single factor in the promotion of disease.” There is an elaborate healing mechanism within the body, but it can perform its function only if it is abundantly supplied with all the essential nutritional factors. There are certain dishes which are winter specific in our country. We all relish them and besides being delicious, they serve a special purpose to keep us warm. Let’s start with our favorite, Gajar ka halwa which we all love. It is winter specific because we get the best seasonal carrots during this time. Next comes sarson ka saag. The saag is not just a flavoursome package but also a whole bunch of nutrition. Then we have gond ka ladoo (made from gum resin). This contains nuts and seeds too. It will keep you super warm. We have our own snack this time with nuts and jaggery chikki. A chikki a day is sure to keep the winter chills away! While we enjoy these, let’s not forget portion size. 
  2. Regular exercise: will keep you warm with a good circulation of blood. During winter, due to contraction of muscles to preserve energy, which is a natural phenomenon, many elderly folks suffer from joint pains and stiffness. To avoid that, it is best to continue doing light exercises. One can start off with a brisk walk for 15-20 minutes. People with a heart ailment or high blood pressure should avoid going out very early in the morning because of low oxygen levels. 
  3. Water: We tend to forget drinking water in winters as we don’t feel thirsty. But you know, water is the carrier of nutrients in our body and helps in detoxification. So make sure you load up on at least 2-3liters of water a day.
  4. Hygiene: Next comes the hygiene! Regular bathing is essential to keep the skin healthy and nourished. Wash your hands after coming back from somewhere, before cooking or eating food.
  5. Skin: Most of us suffer from dry, cracked skin during winter and we get tired applying lotions and oils throughout the day. I have a very useful tip for you to avoid this. Apply coconut oil or any other moisturizer immediately after bathing as during this time your skin is moist enough to absorb the oil and you will feel the softness throughout the day. You can also try these simple winter skincare tips: https://goqii.com/blog/8-simple-and-effective-winter-skincare-tips/ 
  6. Sleep: Good, restful, quality sleep helps in boosting our immunity by repairing the wear and tear of the body and mind. For an adult, 6-9 hours of sleep is required and for the aged ones, 5-7 hours. 
  7. Vitamin D: Vitamin D deficiency is on a rise in Indians despite the fact that we are blessed with the sunshine throughout the year. People prefer to stay indoors. Vitamin D not only keeps the bones healthy but also regulates our mood. You would have heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder, more prevalent in the western countries as they are devoid of sunlight. So, what are you waiting for? Go and get some sunshine! 
  8. Clothing: Wear warm, woollen clothing to protect yourself from the cold. 

And that’s it! These lifestyle tips are simple to follow and will keep you warm during this cold season. We hope this article helps you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more winter tips, check out Healthy Reads or speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

#BeTheForce 

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Healthy Eating: Chinese Quinoa Pulao

Chinese Quinoa Pulao

Have you been craving for some delicious chinese food? Well, we’ve got an exciting recipe for you! Satisfy your cravings with this delicious Chinese Quinoa Pulao recipe that’s a healthy twist on fried rice!  

What You Will Need 

  • Quinoa – 1 cup 
  • Water – 2 cups 
  • Salt to taste
  • Black pepper powder – 1 tsp 
  • Soya sauce – 1 tsp 
  • Red chilli sauce – 1 tsp 
  • Oil/Ghee – 2 tsp
  • Mixed vegetables (carrot, green beans, cabbage and capsicum) – 2 cups 
  • Chopped onion – 1 medium 
  • Chopped garlic pods – 3 
  • Chopped green chilli – 1 

How To Prepare

  1. ,Heat a pan with one tsp of oil/ghee
  2. Add soaked, rinsed and strained quinoa. 
  3. Let it roast for a minute on a medium flame and keep stirring it. 
  4. Now add two cups of water to it and salt to taste. 
  5. Once it starts boiling, turn the flame on low, cover and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep checking to prevent burning. 
  6. After 15 minutes, switch the flame off and keep it covered for 5 minutes so it gets steam cooked. After 5 minutes check if the quinoa is cooked and not sticking to the pan.
  7. Next we take another pan and add a spoon of oil to it. Once the oil is heated, add 2-3 garlic pods and chopped onion. 
  8. Slowly add chopped vegetables, a little salt and cover it for a minute till all vegetables are cooked but still crunchy. 
  9. Now add 1 tsp soya sauce, one tsp red chili sauce and half tsp black pepper powder. Give it all a mix. 
  10. Finally, add the cooked quinoa and stir it all well. Your Chinese Quinoa Pulao is ready! 

Please Note: Quinoa has high quantities of saponin coatings on the outside of the kernel which is bitter to taste. So it’s very important to rinse it well after soaking it for at least 10-20 minutes. 1 cup of dry quinoa will give almost 3 cups of cooked quinoa.

Highlights of the Chinese Quinoa Pulao Recipe  

  • It is a good one pot meal consisting of proportionate carbs, protein, fiber and fat.
  • It will give you a healthy satiety for your cravings for restaurant style Chinese food, without any guilt.
  • Suitable for balanced dinners, for weight loss, diabetics, PCOS and muscle builders as well. 
  • This dish is excellent for vegetarians as they have to rely upon good sources of plant protein and quinoa is complete protein as it has all the essential amino acids which the body is unable to make itself

We hope you try and enjoy this delicious Chinese Quinoa Pulao recipe! Do leave your thoughts and feedback in the comments below! For more Healthy Recipes, check out Healthy Reads or you can ask a GOQii Coach directly by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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Venkatrao Alaparthi Loses 20kg With Guidance From His GOQii Coach

Venkatrao Alaparthi Loses 20kg With Guidance From His GOQii Coach

While earning a good livelihood is important, is it taking more life out of living? Long working hours, being seated most of the time with no physical activity and bad eating habits can take a toll on your health over a period of time. If this sounds relatable, you might have a lot in common with our Player Venkatrao Alaparthi.

Successful But Sedentary

Venkatrao Alaparthi, 46, is a Food Science Specialist having studied Dairy Science, and is currently working with Amul in Gujarat. Due to the nature of his work, he remains seated before his desk for long hours. For most of his work life, he has been sedentary without any exercise regime or proper eating habits.

As he wasn’t doing any regular exercise, the bare minimum being when he walked from his home to the factory, it led to severe weight gain. “I was consistently inconsistent in pursuing a health regime. I had no medical condition or medical issues but, I was obese due to a sedentary lifestyle and irregular patterns of eating,” says Venkatrao. As he is from South India, 90% of his diet consisted of carbs.

His work also involved touring. On one of his tours with his colleagues, Venkatrao Alaparthi realised how unfit he was as he couldn’t walk much. “I was sad that I was obese,” he says. As he was tired all the time, he couldn’t enjoy the visit as much. His 8 year old daughter pointed out saying, “you have a huge stomach” and his wife also told him how inconsistent he was while trying to lose weight on his own. 

“My wife has been getting me to take care of my health for the last 10 years, and I have been inconsistent in being able to maintain a good lifestyle and my health,” says Venkatrao. 

Due to all these factors, he decided that he would have to do something about his health. While researching the best way to lead a healthy lifestyle, he came across a GOQii Ad on social media. “GOQii & Fit India were my motivation to lead a healthy life. I decided to get the band and try it out,” he said.

Making Healthier Choices To Lose Weight

Venkatrao Alaparthi joined GOQii on Jan 30, 2022. He set his goal to lose weight. At the time, he weighed 91kg. After their initial conversation, GOQii Coach Parul Massey realised that he didn’t have any severe medical conditions and was only obese. She deemed that they had to work on weight loss slowly, in a healthier manner. 

“I asked him to start with 30 minutes of normal morning walk, reduce portions of rice from his daily diet and replace it with a protein-rich diet, jeera and lemon water on an empty stomach. He started following these habits daily,” says Coach Parul Massey

During the first week, Venkatrao Alaparthi found it difficult to walk for 30 minutes even at normal pace. But, he did not lose hope and continued doing it by slowly increasing his time to 45 mins after 10 days. In a month’s time, he began noticing some difference.

His diet had changed to include lots of proteins and vegetables for fibre. He also began including eggs, sprouts, and flax seeds, etc to his breakfast. In the second month of coaching, Coach Parul added a few more habits such as having nuts and seeds. 

Did These Changes Pay Off? 

After 2 months of following these minor tweaks in habits and changing his lifestyle, he lost 5kg. After months of making changes and following the course set by his GOQii Coach Parul Massey, Venkatrao Alaparthi lost 20kg. He is quite fit and active now. He even had to change his wardrobe due to his successful weight loss journey.

Currently, he clocks in over 20k steps daily. “I could not walk 3km and today, I can easily do 10km,” says Venkatrao Alaparthi. Apart from walking, he also plays badminton 3 times a week. For yoga and strength training, he subscribes to GOQii PRO classes within the GOQii App. 

His wife and his daughter are quite happy with the change he has made to his lifestyle and the weight he has lost. His wife says, “I am happy that you are more consistent now”. Venkatrao Alaparthi has been an Elite GOQii Player for 272 days and is among the top 6% of active players. He is still going strong with an active subscription, consistent changes, and guidance from his coach, Parul Massey. 

Do you want to make a lifestyle change and reduce weight too? Speak to a GOQii Coach by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring stories, check out Healthy Reads.

#BeTheForce 

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What’s Healthier: Coconut, Wheat or Almond Flour?

coconut, wheat or almond flourIf you’ve been taking a closer look at your pantry, then we’re sure you’re reconsidering your flour choices. When we talk about flour, most of us think about “wheat flour” as it is a kitchen staple. It is the flour that we have been having since ages to make chapatis. But, there could be plenty of other reasons why you’re considering switching from wheat flour to coconut or almond flour. Maybe you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance or just want to switch to a healthier alternative. So, we have listed a few differences between these three flours to make it easier for you to choose between coconut, wheat or almond flour!  

Nutritional Take On Coconut, Wheat & Almond Flour

Nutrition Coconut Almond Wheat
Calories 480 580 366
Carbs 59g 20g 76g
Protein 18g 21g 9.7g
Fat 15g 12g 1.5g
Fiber 38g 12g 12g

Coconut Flour

  • Health benefits of coconut flour: Coconut flour is gluten-free. It has a good moisture absorbing capacity and helps to give a good crumbly and dry texture to the baked goods. But, it has a higher content of phytic acid which leads to low nutrient absorption. Also, it has antioxidants and antimicrobial properties that support a healthy metabolism.
  • Cooking with coconut flour: Coconut flour is a versatile flour used in gluten-free and paleo baking. It can be used to prepare bread, muffins, cookies and cake. As it has a drying effect, it can be counteracted by using eggs while baking. The egg yolk provides moisture, whereas egg white offers structure to the baked goods.

Almond Flour

  • Health benefits of almond flour: Almond flour is incredibly healthy but contains more fat and calories. This makes this nutrient dense flour the best choice for a keto diet. It provides good vitamin E content which is a powerful antioxidant and magnesium that helps improve blood sugar levels.
  • Cooking with almond flour: Almond flour is commonly used in the preparation of pancakes, cakes, muffins and cookies. Other than baking, this flour combined with egg can be used to coat vegetables or meat and thereafter, bake or fry them. As it is free of gluten, it can be mixed with wheat flour to make pizza dough, pasta or bread.

Wheat Flour

  • Health benefits of wheat flour: Wheat flour is rich in fiber, minerals and protein. But it has gluten that makes it inappropriate for people who have gluten intolerance or celiac disease. Phytic acid in wheat flour is higher which reduces the nutrient absorption.
  • Cooking with wheat flour: Wheat flour can be used in making rotis, puris, ladoos and even quick breads, cookies and cakes.

Summing It Up 

Although as Indians, wheat flour is functional in our regular diet, we can definitely opt for almond and coconut flour as well. All the above-mentioned flours are healthy in their own ways and can be used together to reap nutritional benefits. So the choice between coconut, wheat or almond flour is solely based on what you want to prepare and what you’re looking for. 

If you’re still unable to come to a decision on whether you should opt for coconut, wheat or almond flour, you can speak to an expert for further guidance by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr. Your GOQii Coach can take a look at your habits, goals and let you know what would work best for you!

For more articles on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads! 

#BeTheForce! 

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]