About Aqsa Shaikh

Aqsa Shaikh believes in being fit and healthy herself. A certified professional trainer from K-11 Academy she used to work with a reputed gym before joining GOQii. According to her gym workouts provide temporary solutions to individuals. At GOQii she aims to work towards changing people’s habits and motivate them towards being healthy. Aqsa herself is a true believer of a healthy lifestyle and is excited about wanting to bring a positive change in people. Passionate about food, Aqsa works out three days a week which is a combination of cardio and freestyle workout. Her mantra in life is eating healthy; staying fit and live life to the fullest.

October 16, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh 1 Comment

How to burn belly fat with proper nutrition

Belly fat! A large section of people in this world are obsessed with their body and more so belly fat. They might be doing the best of the exercise and eating the best of foods, but most lack somewhere in doing things right and that’s the reason they do not get rid of their belly fat.

The reasons behind not losing belly fat may be excessive use of sugar and fats. This in turn results in weight gain, development of fats around different parts of human body. Among all body parts, belly is the most affected area. This is because of the fats; belly grows quickly and leads to increased fitness problems. Studies have shown that human body reacts to increased level of sugar.

Will bringing changes in our diet impact our belly and other body fats?

Generally, 15 gram of sugar is recommended and not more than that

Few pointers which we can keep up:-

1 Reduction in Sugar Intake

Reduction in our daily sugar intake should be at a recommended level of 15 gram. This is one of the most effective steps in reducing belly fat through nutrition. Excess of sugar intake is one of the biggest reasons for obesity and diabetes in U.S

2 Avoiding Processed Food

Consumption of processed food items is one of the sources of excessive sugar and fat intake. Try to prepare your food with your hands if you are aware of the ingredients which will be used. And, carefully read ingredients used in processed food before you consume them.

3 Reduction of bad Carbohydrates

Reduction of carbohydrates is another step to reduce belly fat without doing exercise. Particularly, avoid consuming fizzy drinks. This is one of the sources of high carbohydrates.

4 Increase Intake of Fibre

Increased intakes of fiber will constraint your need for carbohydrates. Having more of veggies and fruits will help you with good carbs and avoid intake of bad carbs.

5 Eating Raw Vegetables only if these tips

Did you know? Having half cooked or raw vegetables helps you reduce your belly fat with proper nutrition and exercise, vegetables serves the best solution to fiber requirement. During the day take healthy carbohydrates, and night have a good meal of Protein/fiber and very less of good carbs.

6 Know what to eat

It is essential that you be aware of what you are eating. For example you can do some research about food items that have rich source of fibre and healthy carbohydrates and can add them to your diet.

These are some of the essential tips that one can keep in mind if one is serious about losing belly fat. But, this will work only if you are disciplined and follow the routine. Otherwise no amount you try there will be no change for the better and leave you to stress.

September 16, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh Leave a Comment

10 Habits which can destroy your Health

Habits play an important role in our lives. From the time we wake up, till we hit the pillow at night most of the things that we do during the day are wrapped up in some form of habits. Of these habits some are towards keeping our self healthy and there are some habits which might be unnoticeable but yet very harmful for us. Let’s take a look at what these are……

1:- Having fruits along with meals:- We do get good dose of carbohydrates.

in our regular meals and by adding extra carbohydrates. it will exceed the limit and lead to over intake of carbohydrates.

2:-Not having our meals on time:-We should always have our meals on time. Once you do that it help us set up our body clock according to that specific meal time so that digestion and nutrient absorption happens at the same time everyday and it won’t get distracted.

3:-Skipping breakfast or any other meals:-Skipping our meals and above all skipping breakfast is not a good idea. Skipping it, may lead to muscle loss/fatigue/irritation as there might not be any energy and glucose for us to go on during a hectic day.

4:-Having a heavy dinner:-The calories and carbs which we have during dinner will not be utilized during the night time as we tend to sleep and unfortunately that is turned into fats and stored in our body.

5-Less water intake:-Less water intake may lead to dehydration and that can directly hit our immunity, which in turn can be the cause for many diseases. At least 2 to 3 liters of water in a day is must!

6:-Keeping a long gap between your meals:-We should never keep long gaps between our meals. Long gaps will lead to over eating our next meal and it will also slow down our BMR so that we eat more and that is the cause for weight gain.

7:-Chewing your food fast:-We should always take at least 20 minutes to complete a meal, as chewing fast will not help in absorption and breakdown the nutrients of the food that we consume.

8:-Having processed foods:- Having processed foods which contain sugar, white flour, corn flour, may risk us with water retention in our body and will also increase our salt intake because of the preservatives.

9:-Confusing thirst with hunger:-Sometimes when we feel thirsty we may confuse it with hunger and start eating untimely meal, so it’s best to first feel and recongnize and keep our self hydrated so that we don’t feel hungry because of less water intake.

10:-Portion control:- It is said that “Those who master portion control will never have to diet”. Controlling our portion is the best way to eat mindfully.

So sit back and think for a minute… are we performing any of these habits in our day to day life?? If yes! Then don’t do it and bring on the positivity in your life!

September 4, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh 5 Comments

Cold water vs Hot Water: Which is better?

After a tiring day, I always opt to drink water with no ice and more often than not people think I am crazy because largely when one tends to have cold water. But, honestly I am not crazy I have a strong reason for doing what I do.

Let us take a minute and close our eyes and picture the following situation: It is spring and you are standing on a wooden dock that extends into a high mountain lake. While the temperature in the air is fairly warm, the top layer of the lake has only recently melted and you can tell by the color of the crystal clear blue water that it is anything but warm. You close your eyes and dive in to in the lake.

What does your body do? What happens to your skin? Are you relaxed and open, or tight and constricted?

I am not sure how many actually know this fact that warm water opens your pores and makes your skin feel looser, while cold water closes your pores and constricts your skin. Guess what? Drinking cold water does the same thing to your digestive tract!

What Happens When You Drink Cold Water

– When you drink cold beverages your blood vessels shrink, your digestion becomes restricted and hydration is hindered.

– Instead of working to digest the food and absorb the nutrients to create energy, your body is expending energy to regulate your temperature. This can lead to water loss.

– Drinking cold water after a meal creates excess mucus in your body, which can lead to a decrease in immune system function, making it easier to catch colds and illnesses.

– If you eat food while drinking cold beverages or immediately after, the water temperature solidifies fats from the foods we’ve just eaten and the body in turn finds it hard to digest the unwanted fats from our bodies.

Some people say that drinking ice cold water is beneficial because it burns more calories. I argue that we do not want to make our digestive system work harder; we want to make things as easy on it as we can. There are many other ways to burn calories. And one of the best ways to burn calories is exercising.

Benefits to Drinking Warm Water

Here are some benefits to drinking water that is room temperature or warmer

– Faster + increased hydration

– Natural digestive enzymes are stimulated and therefore your digestion is enhanced

– Food breaks down more easily

– Your bowels move better (warm water with lemon in the morning is great for this)

– It purifies your blood and increases your bodies natural detoxification processes via your skin, kidneys and lymphatic system

Once you get into the habit of drinking water at room temperature or warm, you will notice a dramatic improvement in your digestion and the way your body feels while eating and after the meal. Some people have also reported reduction in sugar cravings.

So, the next time you eat out ask your server to “Hold the Ice!”

August 18, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh Leave a Comment

Effects of Smoking on your Muscles

In my fitness carrier thus far, I have met many people with all kinds of obsessions. If I take the example of my closest friend who is a fitness and gym freak and wanted to develop muscles and also lose fats. But, he had this major misconception that cigarette smoking helps in fat loss and if he loses fats he will gain muscles automatically.

He then approached me to discuss the same and I started wondering? I wondered if fat loss was so simple why would people go for all kinds of diets and work outs ? They could just simply light a cigarette and lose those extra pounds in weeks. But, unfortunately this is not true.

Some people smoke to look cool or they are under the impression that this will help them to relieve stress and boost their happiness. But, the truth is that none of this happens and it only damages the lungs.

If you are a smoker not only that your lungs get damaged slowly and steadily smoking also affects your strength training? It also makes you lethargic. A smoker’s heart beats at an average 30 percent faster than that of a non-smoker this in turn significantly affects the outcome of any exercise that the smoker indulges in. Because, a smoker’s heart is working harder to achieve adequate circulation the individual uses more energy during his workouts.

This increase in heart rate and the resultant increase in blood pressure diminish blood flow and reduce the smoker’s overall performance while performing the same exercise routine as a non-smoker. When an individual’s exercise routine is designed to encourage muscle building, a smoker’s diminished performance will yield less muscle than that of a healthy non-smoker.

Testosterone level is also a thing which helps very much in muscle building. But, smoking may also damage the cells within the body which produces testosterones. Lack of testosterone levels will show a significant result in an individual’s muscle development. It can also sabotage one’s endurance level of your workouts and intensity of it. This may force you to cut down the workouts which will help you make progress in muscle building…

If you are planning to quit smoking there are many health benefits you will notice but, if you still want to continue it the result will be apparent to you sooner than later.