Luke Coutinho, Author at GOQii

September 12, 2021 By Luke Coutinho 2 Comments

Portion Control: The Right Method To Lose Weight

The concept of weight gain and weight loss will always remain the same, irrespective of any new theories on molecular science and diet, blood group diets, fad exercise programs, restrictive diets etc. The fact is that Your body will only use how much it needs of the food you eat for its functions. Anything extra will get stored away, leading to possible fat gain.

If you are very famished, and your only option is a slice of pizza, you should eat it. Your body will break it down for the energy it needs. What it may not be able to do is break down a couple of slices of pizza, with a portion of pasta and a tiramisu. This ultimately brings us to the point of controlling our food portions. How much is enough for our body?

I would say that only you can tell by being aware. Eating 2-3 Rotis (Cooked plain flat breads) at night or at lunch is probably out of habit. It’s what you have done since you were growing up. But, the situations are different. You ate more when you were probably more active and younger with a quicker metabolism.

Things change. Everything changes, including the way your body works and breaks down food, year on year. What if your body really can do with just 1 roti instead of 3? What if your body can do with a small scoop of ice cream instead of a large or super-sized portion? What if you really don’t need 6 small meals in a day? What if you could still enjoy your dessert or piece of cake, but share it, so you don’t get into a deprivation mode?

Most humans eat more than their bodies require. Especially with the massive choice of culinary delights available, the eye appealing desserts, the way food is plated etc. it works on our minds to a level that we crave it. And that’s OK! I love good food too… who doesn’t?

The problem is, we eat too much of it and there reaches a point when the body does not know what to do with the crazy amounts of food we eat, so when you see your belly/tummy, mid riff, waist start to expand, that’s your body telling you, ‘You are eating too much’ OR ‘You are not exercising sufficiently or you are not using all this excess energy that you are feeding me’

And what takes months or even years to develop into abdominal fat, as humans we always want things to happen for us quickly. Instant gratification. Instant results, and then we get crazy and desperate to lose that tummy, choosing options that can create more harm than good for the other parts of our body. We get into intensive exercises, and damage our knees and backs. We get on crazy diets and lose a little weight along with bone density, and key nutrients.

PORTION CONTROL is difficult, yet the easiest way to lose weight, keep it off. Moreover, it’s a lifestyle change, something that can change this whole obesity epidemic. We all struggle with food. This maybe the solution to eating our favorite food, yet controlling the portions and being fair to our bodies.

India needs a portion control plate like it’s there in the US. It is such a simple tool that will teach people how to eat? How to eat the right quantities? Without feeling deprived. It can teach children all about the right portions that they should serve themselves, and I envision families using this portion control plate to serve themselves and build a culture of eating clean and right.

I, in fact, used it for a month, serving myself everyday using this portion plate and at first I thought the quantity was too less but, quickly figured I was eating more than I needed. I used a 1 cup portion serving for a few days and then cut back to a half cup serving at dinner. Like all habits, it took a few days getting used to but, all I can say now is, I am eating lesser for sure and I don’t feel hungry after doing this.

This beats all fat loss pills, which anyways never work. This teaches you to eat the right way and anything that works towards making a shift in your lifestyle, is worth it, is sustainable and is the right way to go. Once you get into the habit of controlling your portions and knowing how much your body really needs, you then begin to automatically apply the same when you eat out.

You can try this simple yet effective tool to change the way you eat and control or lose weight. Moreover, using this will ensure you eat a balanced meal of carbs, protein, fats and veggies.

We hope this article on portion control helps you! To know more about portion control, check out Healthy Reads or ask your GOQii Coach directly by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

July 15, 2021 By Luke Coutinho 7 Comments

Heal Naturally From Monsoon Illnesses

With the monsoons here in full swing and given the current pandemic circumstances, each one of us get worried about our and our loved one’s health. Most of us worry about getting sick with an infection. With the weather change, the virals in the air also start reacting. The side effects of cold, fever, viral, sore throat get rampant with drastic changes in weather. A strong immune system will help you recover quickly and mostly without the need for medication. The lower your immunity, the longer the healing process and you may have to resort to antibiotics.

Natural Remedies That Work

Take a 1-inch piece ginger mashed, 1 clove garlic, 3 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 2 cardamoms and a cinnamon stick. Boil in water and reduce to half, strain and add organic honey. Drink this concoction twice or thrice a day, or actually as much as you need to.
Be aware of your body and feelings. Usually, when sick, your appetite may reduce, and that’s a good sign. It means your body is using energy to repair and heal. So if you can, don’t eat until you feel your appetite slowly increasing. This is one of the best ways to heal rapidly and completely.
Stay warm, wear socks even while in bed. Cover your head to prevent contact with dew when out at night.
Sip on hot liquids through the day.
Breathe a lot! Almost all viruses and germs cannot survive in highly oxygenated cells so help your body create an environment that’s unfavorable for these germs.
Rest, rest, rest – This is the most natural and effective way to heal. It’s natures cure.

It’s good to fall sick once in a way, your body replenishes the white and red blood cells and it also strengthens immunity. So stay positive, don’t feel low and know you are doing the right things to get better.

We hope this article helps you. If you find these tips useful, let us know in the comments below! For more on managing illnesses during monsoon, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to classes by experts on GOQii Play.

To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

January 24, 2019 By Luke Coutinho 3 Comments

Inflammation – What you should know?

When you think pain, think inflammation. Inflammation is a good thing. It’s your body’s way to rise up to fight germs/bacteria/infections, heal bruises when you fall, heal torn ligaments/tissues/tendons etc. Once it does its job of fighting out these invaders or foreign organisms, the inflammation should reduce to normal. The problem is when that doesn’t happen.

Have a torn ligament or muscle pulls that your struggling to heal? Seen the best doctors, therapists etc., and still not fixed? Struggling with arthritis and joint pain? Check your CRP (C-Reactive Protein) levels and focus on reducing inflammation. The cure is in reducing inflammation.

Many of us live with chronic inflammation and that’s dangerous. It’s also the reason people –struggle to lose weight, experience painful joint pain, age faster than normal,feel tired thru the day. Also with chronic inflammation there are higher chances of heart disease, Alzheimer’s/dementia, struggle with diabetes, feel depressed. Lowsilent inflammation can destroy your nerves and cellular health, suppressing and weakening your immune system, leading to deadly diseases like cancer, etc.

What’s scary is the fact that you can be extremely healthy and fit, but silent inflammation could

be eating into you from inside, which is one of the many explainable reasons why cancer or heart attacks can strike down a healthy and young human being.

Checking cholesterol levels, Vitamin D3, B12, SGOT, SGTP is imperative, but what most people miss out on is checking their CRP levels. (C-Reactive protein). This is such an important protein level to check and a simple blood test will cover that for you.

CRP level will tell you volumes about the amount of inflammation you have in your body. In my years of experience what stands out in a cancer report of a person is an increase in CRP levels and white blood cells and the immediate action is to reduce inflammation thru food and lifestyle change.Diseases breathe in inflamed environments, in environments that are acidic and in environments where there is less oxygen supply to the cells.

Over training causes inflammation.Vigorous exercise, inconsistent exercise and high intensity training which is not planned for your body type will make your CRP levels soar and kill your immunity, which is why many trainers ask their clients to take a Vitamin C and E post workouts. Running marathons without proper nutrition causes massive inflammation.

Chronic stress, Improper nutrition (high fat foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, doughnuts, white sugar, aerated drinks, salty foods, packaged foods), Smoking causes inflammation. I’ve seen CRP levels fall in a smokers blood report within 10 days of kicking the butt.

How to keep your inflammation in check:

– Smart and moderate exercise

– Meditation and controlling your stress and BP levels,

– Nuts and seeds,Green leafy veggies and fruits.

– Good fats (like nuts, olive oil, coconut oil).

But, it has been proven that a small amount of alcohol can actually lower CRP levels.

-Vitamin D3, Curcumin (turmeric extract) is one of the best spice based inflammation fighters

August 28, 2018 By Luke Coutinho 1 Comment

What Antibiotics and Pills can do to your body?

The over prescription and wrongly prescribed antibiotics and medicines kills’ thousands of people worldwide every year. It is even said that the number of deaths caused by long term and incorrect use of these medicines are higher than road accident deaths.

Not only can it cause something like death, but the bigger problem is overuse of antibiotics and medicines causes our bacteria to become more and more resistant to these drugs, eventually they stop working, and then the need for more powerful drugs that do more harm, come into the picture.

Antibiotics, first used in the 1940s, are certainly one of the great advances in medicine. But overprescribing them has resulted in the development of resistant bacteria, that don’t respond to antibiotics that may have worked in the past. Plus, whenever kids and adults take antibiotics they run the risk of side-effects, such as stomach upset and diarrhea or even an allergic reaction and the immune system gets weaker and compromised.

We need to remember that antibiotics can only work on bacterial infections and diseases and not viruses. The body’s immune system can fight off some viruses before they cause illness, but others (colds, for example) must simply run their course. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

So if you are taking antibiotics for colds, coughs, virals, it’s so wrong and harmful.

Every time you swallow antibiotics, you kill the beneficial bacteria within your intestines. When you do so, you upset the delicate balance of your intestinal terrain. Yeasts grow unchecked into large colonies and take over, in a condition called dysbiosis.

Yeasts are opportunistic organisms. This means that, as the intestinal bacteria die, yeasts thrive, especially when their dietary needs are met. They can use their tendrils, or hyphae, to literally poke holes through the lining of your intestinal wall.

These result in a syndrome called leaky gut. Yeasts are not the only possible cause of this syndrome. Some scientists have linked non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as naproxen and ibuprofen to the problem. Given their ability to alter intestinal terrain, antibiotics also likely contribute to leaky gut syndrome.

In addition to possibly causing leaky gut syndrome, I believe that parasitic yeasts can also cause you to change what you eat in that they encourage you to binge on carbohydrates including pasta, bread, sugar, potatoes, etc. So, it should come as no surprise that weight gain counts as one of the telltale signs of antibiotic damage and subsequent yeast overgrowth.

By altering the normal terrain of the intestines, antibiotics can also make food allergies more likely. An array of intestinal disorders can ensue, as well. Sadly, most doctors claim ignorance concerning their patients’ intestinal disorders rather than admit that the drugs they themselves prescribed actually caused the disorders to begin with.

Tons of antibiotics are fed to livestock on a daily basis, purportedly to proof them against bacteria. This practice not only possibly contributes to antibiotic resistance in humans — many experts feel weight gain, and not disease prevention, is the real reason antibiotics are so widely used. Fat cattle sell for more than thin cattle. That’s all very well, but imagine what the antibiotics thereby possibly present in dairy products could be doing to our children’s health.

Remember, antibiotics are dangerous mycotoxins — fungal metabolites. Just as importantly, medical experts have written articles maintaining that these drugs kill people. But, other experts insist on remaining skeptical as to the problem, even though these same experts readily recognize the link between weakened immune systems and death.
Also, keep in mind the post-antibiotic importance of restoring the intestinal terrain with plain yogurt and probiotics. If you are experiencing bloating, belching, gas, constipation, diarrhea, GERD, or other intestinal problems then probiotics can play an important role in restoring your intestinal terrain.

That a new generation will grow up knowing of the dangers inherent in taking antibiotics is a good thing. That doctors will continue randomly prescribing fungal toxins should teach us the importance of knowing medical facts before blindly accepting any prescription. Please study the antimicrobial benefits and the immune system stimulants that nature provides. Know also that, in some instances, antibiotics may become necessary.

I can’t stress enough the importance of consuming foods rich in natural probiotics, especially if you have an infection of any kind. Your gut serves as your second brain, and even produces more serotonin—known to have a beneficial influence on your mood—than your brain does. It is also home to countless bacteria, both good and bad.

These bacteria outnumber the cells in your body by at least 10 to one, and maintaining the ideal balance of good and bad bacteria forms the foundation for good health—physical, mental and emotional. Most disease originates in your digestive system. This includes both physical and mental disease. Once you heal and seal your gut lining, and make your digestive system strong and work properly again, disease symptoms will typically resolve.

I encourage you to use nature and lifestyle changes to heal yourself and your children and use antibiotics and medicines only when you really need them.

Like I always say, ‘ The human body is designed to heal itself, if we give it a chance’