Anusha Subramanian, Author at GOQii

January 18, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian 1 Comment

GOQii Stories of Positivity and Progression

Hemant Kejriwal, participated in an 8 km run in February 2015

Beginning this week you will read success stories of GOQii users in this space. These are stories of people who thought it would be impossible for them to give up old habits and embrace new habits for the better. When heard of their success stories we were encouraged to share these stories with a larger community who can get inspired by them to bring positivity in their lives.

Our first story is about Hemant Kejriwal who from leading a sedentary lifestyle is now an energetic and active young man within just 15 months. Let’s find out how he managed

From being highly inactive to running 8 kms a day

Hemant Kejriwal, a 39-year-old Start-up Entrepreneur from Mumbai had tried and failed many times to get energetic and active. “Till the time I was in school and college I was energetic and active. But, slowly as work life took over I started leading a sedentary lifestyle. Though, I had my flirtatious flings with the gyms. I would spend loads on membership but would never go regularly as I would be bored. Finally, I was warned by my wife to stop wasting money on gyms,” says Hemant. “I knew I wanted to be energetic through the day but, I was unable to do so. I did not know how to get started with this,” he adds.

Hemant did what a lot of people do and vowed to get healthy and active in 2015. But, again he kept trying on his own. He would as a routine wake up at 4.30 am or 5 am and not step out of the house for a walk or run but sit down with his laptop and work. Then drive to his work place which was less than a kilometer (0.6 mile) from his house. “I knew I was leading an unhealthy life. I had put on a lot of weight, weighed 103 kgs and did not have enough energy to pull along through the day.”

During this time, he got to know from friends about GOQii. He decided to go in for a band that came with a personal coach. In Oct 2014 he signed up with GOQii and got a band and made a commitment. “My Goal was to be energetic through the day. For me feeling energetic was more important than looking good,” says Hemant.

Soon after I started interacting with my coach Hardika, I got on to the right track. I realised that ‘staying active’, above all else, was key. Within 4 months I had lost 9 kgs. The focus however was not so much on losing weight as much as it was getting fit overall – building strength, stamina, flexibility & agility.

And precisely that happened. From a XXL size shirt, Hemant within 4 months could start wearing a XL size shirt. From not walking even a kilometer or (0.6 mile) or (1000 steps) in an entire day, Hemant had soon got down to running 8 kms a day before even getting to work His best he says was being able to swim 2.5 km (50 laps) in one ago within 6 months of getting on to GOQii. “This was a huge milestone achieved by me after almost 20 years,” he asserts.

Talking about the changes he says: “I started by walking 5 km early in the morning (which gradually increased to 8 km) & adding another 3-4 km during the day. Then I focused on increasing my speed. And shifted to swimming in the summers,” Hemant says. Above all, his water consumption which was less than even a liter a day is consistently over 3 liters a day, now.

Being a health food enthusiast, there has been no significant dietary changes. But there were large gaps between meals & not enough protein. He corrected all of this, and his pre-post workout meals thanks to his coach.

For Hemant, the healthy lifestyle has helped his productivity at work and he says he has become a better husband and a better father.

Hemant sums it up by saying in the last 15 months since he got on to the GOQii ecosystem, he has had a more holistic wellbeing thanks to the active lifestyle he has been leading.

What does his Coach Hardika have to say?

Hemant has been a dedicated player over the last 15 months. Prior to getting on to the GOQii ecosystem he was highly inactive. Over a period we have been able to control these issues. I am happy that he could swim 50 laps at one go which was his goal.

Sporty and dedicated, Hemant has always been ready to take up any challenges that I have been giving. He has got very active. Within six months he was able to move from an XXL size to XL size shirt. I have sent him a GOQii Tshirt, a size smaller with a note: “I am happy with your progress and the way you are losing inches. I am sure you will need to change your wardrobe, so this is a contribution from my end which we will fit by end of this year”. He is motivated to work towards leading a better and healthy lifestyle and we are going to rock it!

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December 22, 2014 By Anusha Subramanian 1 Comment

‘Never Say Quit’ -Experience and lessons from 100 km trail walk

The morning of 5^th December, 2014, 04:30 am at Garudmachi, amidst the lap of nature in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra was nothing less than being vibrant. The silence of the night was broken with the chattering of the trail walkers getting ready of their big walk and a band playing on one side.

I was excited just by the thought of participating in the Oxfam-GOQii 100 km trail walker for the first time. I knew of it as an adventure race but it had another challenging task of raising funds- a minimum of Rs 50,000. Last year, I tried to put a team together but was unable to do so. People did not want to even attempt because of having to collect funds. I found that silly but could not do much.

This year when Vishal Gondal asked me to be part of his GOQii team and yours truly readily agreed. As a team ‘Force of Good’ comprising of Vishal Gondal, Harpreet Gondal, Vandana Trivedi and myself had pledged Rs 100,000 for Oxfam Fund raising and have managed to raise 80% and the balance will be raised in few days as we still have time.

Oxfam’s Mumbai Trail Walker is the world’s 3 most difficult and beautiful trek I was told. This trail walker in the Sahayadri hills was nothing but pure trekking. For mountaineers and trekker this would be a known playing field but for many out there it was an absolute blind trap. The 100 km trail walker in my sense is a test of your endurance, physical fitness, mental strength, team spirit, leadership skills, crisis management and the power to make the right decisions.

For me personally this was the first time that I was going to walk 100 km in the Sahyadri hills at a stretch. I am a regular walker in the Sahyadri and the Himalayas but yet this was not going to be easy. My focus was on finishing with in the said time frame along with my team while at the same time enjoying the walk with them. Timing was not so much of a concern initially.

Just as we were about to start, we noticed the Indian Army’s Maratha Regiment guys. They were participating for the first time and aimed to finish the trail walk in within 14 hours. We were glad to photograph ourselves with these Army men.

We started the walk at 6 am on 5^th Dec from Garudmachi-High Places Management Development Centre. To get to our first check point we had to walk 10.5 km and the trail passed through tar, mud , an uphill trek path ending at Tamhini main school.

The trail was entirely a trek trail in the Sahyadri hills with lots of up hills, dry open field and forest walks and few tar road walks. The morning walk to CP1 (check point) was pleasant but by 11 am the mercury was rising making it difficult for many to walk and slowing down their pace. This was also the trail while many got cramps on the way due to dehydration.

For me the trail personally was an easy going trail but, I had decided to walk with my team come what may. We had planned it well. We walked at a pace that was easy for all. Our aim was to finish the trail walker without any injuries and we managed that well. We rested well, ate well, slept well and thoroughly enjoyed our walk. Along the way, I also helped several people with first aid as I always carry a first aid kit with me and also gave few people tips on how to walk. Being a trekker and mountaineer it comes naturally to me to be able to help people and ease their stress.

My team and I slowly and steadily managed the walk from CP to CP through the various different types of straight trails, uphills, downhills and sultry hot weather sweating away but yet focused on our 100 km mission. Our target was to get to CP6 (62.5 kms) by 3-3.30 am. We reached CP4 at around 10 pm and we decided to have dinner and leave for CP5 immediately. We started off for CP4 at around 12 am and in the next one and half hour we were at CP5.

The other thing that kept us going was our 20 member support crew that used to eagerly wait for us at each CP. They would bring us food, water, electrolyte drinks also helped us with taping our feet, some stretching and they did it all so tirelessly.

As the walk started we were surrounded by an eerie silence of the night and had our headlamps and the bright sky full of stars and the moonlight for company. The night trail took us through a mud path, trek path and Tar road ending at Luthravan. I set the pace for my team and they just followed me. What really got us through so fast were the reflector markings on the trail which were absolutely perfect.

Walking in the dark proved fruitful as most of your fears are suppressed and all your focusing is on the walk unlike, unlike in the daylight where you end up being a bit over cautious. Thereafter our target to reach CP6 was in 2.30 hours and cover 12.5 km.

The route to CP6 once again began on a tar road. For 7 km we walked on the tar road under the bright moonlight and did not have to use our headlamps. Then it took us through a trek path and last few Kms again on Tar road we did manage to reach in 2: 15 hours. We had completed 62 kms on the first day. By 4 am the team had crashed. We had decided to get at least 3 hours of good sleep and start in the morning by 7 am.

Next morning at CP6 we met lot of our other team mates which was wonderful and motivating as well. By this time many had given up due to injuries or some did not have the sheer strength to continue or feel the urge to move forward.

Among our GOQIi teams few members had retired due to injury. In all we were 16 teams a total of 64 of us were walking the trail. Teams that continued their aim was to finish the trail walk within the given 48 hours. And am I glad to say that out of 16 GOQii teams 11 teams were complete teams of 4. Of the 64 participants 57 completed the entire trail and only 7 individuals retired. Of these 57, 85% were first timers including me.

One of the GOQii teams- SNOWLEOPARD led by Kuntal Joisher, a mountaineer who is aiming to be on the top of the world ( Mt Everest) the coming Summer of 2015 and Luke Coutinho, GOQii’s master coach completed the feat in 26 hours and were ranked among the top 10 teams. The other Ace team lead by KK ( Krishna Kumar) also a mountaineer completed the trail as a team in 31 hours despite one member of their team injured.

The second day walk was good trails. It was to a large extent easy on all of us. So we were able to make up on our timings. Just as we were feeling the fatigue, Vishal came up with this wonderful on the spot poetry – while we were walking from CP7 to CP8-

The poetry was something like this –

My wounds are competing for my attention

My body has given an SOS to My Brain

But mind is on a trail walk, having fun with my mates

And, tells my wounds and my Brian there is no ‘Pain without Gain’

So keep walking till the end

And the poetry was enough for us to keep moving with a smile on our faces. Finally ‘Force of Good’ completed the trail walk in 37:35 hours.

All in all, it was a fantastic experience. One met so many strangers on the way who were on the same path to accomplish this treacherous feat that we had undertaken. Many strangers became friends. I realised the trail walk was just not another just endurance event but actually imparts many a life’s crucial lessons.

Among a discerning few, the desire to enjoy the experience and deepen the bonds within team members was prominent, completion time being only a by-product. So some of you train for the Bangalore trail walk, the one learning that I take back from my experience is Stay strong and ‘Never say Quit’.

Route Snapshot:

Over all 100 km within 48 hours that included tar road, mud path, open fields, stones strewn roads and forest routes.

November 26, 2014 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Dos and Don’ts of Trail Walk

When I was told to be a part of the 100km Oxfam-Goqii trailwalker team, I immediately agreed. My initial reaction was there is nothing new about long distance walking. I do it all the time and do it in the Himalayan and the Shayadri hills. But, yet there was something new about this 100 km trailwalker. It was going to be a challenge for myself- a challenge to test my own endurance as I had never done a 100 km trail walking in 2 days.

Honestly, I will reiterate this point again that there is nothing tough about walking long distance. Walking 15-20 miles (24-32 km) daily is what human bodies are built for. But, sadly none of us do walk that much even in a week in our normal course of routine. So for many when they end up taking up such a challenge of 100 km they get a bit perturbed.

I would say first and foremost think and figure out why are you doing this? Are you doing this for yourself and to build your own endurance? Are you doing it because you are being forced -because you think you will be judged based on doing this challenge? Are you doing this to prove a point to others ? Once you have the answer for why you are doing it you will be at ease in deciding your next step. I would say do it for yourself.

While this is an Endurance Challenge it is also largely about team work and a strategy game. It’s

about patience and temperament.

I am a rookie to the 100 km challenge but, I know for sure I am mentally prepared and I ain’t thinking too much about it. Initially, I was not sure what to expect but after two practice session of 25 km each at Garudmachi also known as the Eagles Plateau, I am clear of what to expect.

With exactly 10 days left for the D -Day, here are a couple of dos and don’ts for the trailwalker that might help. This is based on a few learning from my practice session.

Dos: Get your footing right during your practice session especially if you are doing treks. Do not

injure yourself during the practice. Do enough strength training for neck, shoulders and legs.

Dos: Ideally it would be good to practice in a mixed terrain ( both tar and hillocks) so you are

comfortable on the day of the walk.

Dos: Be positive and happy all along the trail. Sing to yourself, laugh and motivate yourself.

These ease the pressure on you and your team mates.

DOs: On the day of the trailwalk try and rest a bit at checkpoints and then move forward. Target

to cover 60% on the first day . Believe me the remaining 40% will be easy on you.

DOs: learn to walk in the heat no matter how grim, awful and humid you feel.

Dos: Remember to thank your support crew after the event is over. Because they are going to be the ones who are going to be there for you waiting to make you feel comfortable with whatever you might need after long hours of walk. They will motivate you and make sure you do not have to think about anything else and just concentrate on your walk. So thank them.

DON’T talk much on the trail. Conserve energy. But do not be afraid to communicate uneasy.

DON’T over load the backpack you are carrying with you on the trail. 1 to 2 litres of Water is essential and your personal medication if you need anything on the trail. You really don’t need so many eats and energy bars on you at all times. Let your support crew carry the extras.

DON’T argue with your teammates. Always try and come to a consensus on any issues that may arise. Remember this is a team effort.

DON’T get overexcited early on in the walk. Walk at your pace lest you end up getting tired very soon.

Don’t: Walk with earphones on it could prove dangerous.

Don’t: Lastly do not litter. We are all educated people. However, tired you may be and might just want to throw away that bottle down.. do not do it. Keep it with you in your bag and dispose it off later.

May 19, 2014 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Cook for a Smile

Chef Vikas Khanna brings together India Inc., CEOs to cook for a good cause.

One seldom gets a chance to watch top head honchos of India Inc., cook for a good cause. And when you do get a chance to be a part of such an event then you can consider yourself lucky. I was lucky to be a part of one such event on Sunday-May 18, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai.

Smile Foundation’s ‘Cook for a Smile’ with chef Vikas Khanna was one of the most interesting charity events I have come across in a long time. Most often the charity events are bollywood and fashion centric with celebrities hogging the limelight more than the people for whom the charity or fund raising event is being done. Here truly, the lesser privileged kids were the stars and some of them got the opportunity to showcase their culinary skills by partnering with the CEOs.

I have always come across this debate of corporate people not doing enough for the lesser privileged or not supporting NGOs working towards good causes. The question is always how much is enough? But, the Sunday afternoon’s event reminded me that busy and well to do people occupying powerful positions in big businesses are also human beings who care as much about society as the rest of us.

Smile Foundation’s ‘Cook for a Smile’ event proved that, for one Sunday morning at least, big business and charity can come together to make some extra ordinary gestures. And who other than Vikas Khanna, the brand ambassador of Smile Foundation and who also runs his own foundation that is working towards the cause of World Hunger could have thought of an interesting idea like this. An extremely down to earth human being who is always smiling, Khanna, follows in the path of John D Rockefeller’s words who said “With every success comes big responsibility”. He says if one has achieved a successful position in life then one should try to make small contributions towards the lesser privileged in any which way they can.

And that’s precisely what the Sunday afternoon even did. It brought together 12 head honchos from India, to prepare their favourite recipe with the sole mission of supporting Smile Foundation’s ‘Nutrition for Better Literacy’. Each of these CEOs was joined by a junior master chef from Smile Foundation who acted as sous-chefs. The CEOs who participated proved that they do have culinary skills apart from their exemplary boardroom skills.

It’s sad that while on one hand Indian cuisine is going global on the other hand malnutrition in India is at its peak. 3 out of 10 children in India have stunted growth. Therefore, Khanna is working towards providing nutrition to 5000 children this year. He says it’s a small beginning for a cause that is so close to his heart.

Off late the Indian economy is going through tough times and being philanthropic at such times is a tough call to take. But, this caricature makes the decision of so many of these leading men and women of large corporations to take time out on a Sunday afternoon and cook food for those lesser privileged and raise funds is awe inspiring.

Among the CEOs who participated in this charity event was Vishal Gondal of GOQii Inc., who cooked ‘Ethyopian Spicy Chicken’ served with steamed rice along with his partner junior chef Shivam. Known to always take risks this time around too cooking Ethyopian Style Chicken was a big risk and secondly, it was something that aligns with Vishal’s idea of Karma or doing good. Vishal through GOQii has been supporting various causes of OXFAM.

Ethyopian Spicy Chicken by Chef Vishal Gondal for Cook for a Smile

Vishal or for that matter none of the CEOs has ever cooked in front of such large audiences. For most it’s an interest which has never been pursued. Both Vishal and his partner Shivam really enjoyed their cooking and won the runner up prize for their efforts. All the head honchos be it the young Arjun Bafna, MD of Seven Islands Harley-Davidson, Archana Kochhar, Founder and CEO of Archana Couture, Mohit Jain, regional director of Kitchen Aid, Arun Chatterje, VP-Depository Receipts BNY Mellon India to name a few, their goals were the same to make a difference in every which way that they can and this event was only a small gesture from their side to do good. They believe that they have achieved and reached the positions that they are in today, its only thanks to the people around them, their employees, society and they feel that if being in responsible positions they are able to help the lesser privileged then there cannot be anything better.

Most CEOs are understood to be associated with some cause either through their own organisations CSR activities or at a personal level. Like for instance Archana Kochhar is associated with Beti Foundation that work towards stopping Girl Child Foeticide, Smile Foundation and Project Crayons. Similarly, Arjun Bafna through the Bafna Group and Tata Motors support girl child education.

For Smile Foundation, this idea of Cook for a Smile was a unique idea. According to Vikram Singh Verma, COO of Smile Foundation, “One in every three malnourished children in the world is from India. The consequences are long term and it prevents children’s overall growth, learning ability, going to school and a chance to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty for yet another generation. This also prevents the country’s growth”. Given this back drop and to bring about some real and permanent change in the lives of the most deserving children across India, this event was conceptualised and brought together like minded individuals like Vikas Khanna long with the Hyatt team and corporate leaders for the ‘Cook for a Smile’ initiative.

Each of the 12 CEOs has contributed a decent sum towards this cause to Smile Foundation. Kitchen Aid also auctioned one of their products-Stand Mixer autographed by Chef Vikas Khanna. The Stand Mixer auction helped Kitchen Aid one of the sponsors of the event raise Rs 46,000 for Smile Foundation.

I think initiatives such as ‘CEO Cook for a Smile’ put the spotlight on the issue of malnutrition in this country whilst also raising money for this cause and providing as many as 5000 children education and nutrition for a year. Perhaps more importantly, though, the sight of wealthy business people and children working together for a good cause as an inspirational reminder of what can be achieved when all members of society contribute to achieve a common good.

Who better than successful business people can be better motivators as they themselves are motivated by compassion as any of us are. But big business – just like the government, charities, and ourselves as individuals – can and should do more to support causes such as this and push to eliminate malnutrition in this country. This kind of an effort will go a long way to help many children lead a decent life .

From left to right: DR RAMEN GOEL, Ex-President, All India Association for Advanced Research on Obesity, MANOJ CHACKO, CEO, Kuoni Business Travel, Kuoni India, TEJBIR SINGH SAWHNEY, CEO, Hindustan Colas Ltd. MOHIT JAIN, Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Kitchen Aid, YASMIN POONEGAR, Director of Corporate Communications, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts – Southwest Asia Ltd. HERMANN GROSSBICHLER- EXECUTIVE CHEF, GRAND HYATT MUMBAI, ARCHANA KOCHHAR, Chef VIKAS KHANNA, NITYANAND SHETTY, Managing Director, Essen Vision Software Ltd. DAVID MANSFIELD, Area Director & General Manager, Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, SHRAVAN KUMAR, CEO, Children Film Society India ARUN CHATTERJEE, – Depositary Receipts BNY Mellon India VISHAL GONDAL, Founder and CEO, GOQii Inc. ARJUN BAFNA, Managing Director, Seven Islands Harley-Davidson