Shimpli Patil, Author at GOQii

She is passionate about Nutrition and that explains Shimpli’s Master’s degree in Foods, Nutrition and Dietetics. This topper from Mumbai University also has a certification in Food Processing and Preservation and in Nutrition and Exercise for Fitness. That’s not all; she has a keen interest in the area of product development and has worked on the development of protein fortified chocolates in collaboration with Cadbury India Pvt Ltd, as a part of MSc. RnD. For over 3 years now she has been practicing as a clinical nutrition consultant. Shimpli is also a trained dancer from Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts and strongly believes that dance is the best exercise for Mind and Body and when dance is combined with the right nutrition it is the correct recipe for a healthier and fitter lifestyle.

October 31, 2017 By Shimpli Patil 1 Comment

Did you know? Water is a Super-nutrient – Part II

So how do you create the need to drink water

In my first part we looked at how water is an important nutrient in our body and why it is important to keep ourselves hydrated. In this second part I will tell you how do you keep yourself hydrated?

The answer is very simple – Keeping a bottle of water handy and sipping on it whenever you look at it. Personally this has worked well for me as I myself was terrible at water intake at one point in time. I could hardly drink even a litre throughout the day. Luckily, I was very well aware of the reason and I decided to overcome this problem.

Before stepping out of the house, I made sure that I have carried my water bottle. I followed this for quite a while and now it’s become a habit. If I deprive myself of water now, I can feel my cells and organs screaming out loud for water! My mouth starts to feel the dryness, ad to that the feeling of dullness and low energy, concentration level dips and my head starts aching if I am not well hydrated. These are some physiological signals that my body sends which compel me to grab a bottle of water immediately. Thus, once you make your body cells habituated to drinking enough water, your body makes sure you drink enough of it by sending you the thirst cues more often, thus creating the need to drink!

Now the question is how much water is enough for you?

There are different recommendations for water intake. A rule of thumb is one should drink about 3 litres (12 glasses) of water per day. However, different people need different amounts of water to stay hydrated. For some people, fewer than 8 glasses may be enough. Those who indulge in lot of physical activities and exercise have higher water requirements. The best way to check if you are well hydrated is to check your urine. If your urine is consistently colorless or light yellow, you are most likely to be optimally hydrated. Many a times, increasing your water intake may also increase your rounds to the washroom.

My answer to this problem is that, one should divide the water intake throughout the day instead of drinking 1 bottle at one shot. It’s always worked if you drink 1 glass of water every hour. This reduces the frequency to visit the washroom often and makes sure you are well hydrated throughout the day.

Let me summarize a few tips for staying hydrated

When you are out, consider carrying a reusable water bottle so that it could be re-filled with water once it’s empty. This can also make it easy for you to track how much water you actually drank through the day.
If plain water doesn’t fascinate you, try squeezing a lemon to your drink
Ensure that you drink water before, during and after your workout.
Begin and end your day with a glass of water
When you feel hungry, drink water. This will help you find if it’s just the thirst or you are actually hungry. True hunger will not be satisfied by drinking water.
Prepare a schedule if you have trouble remembering to drink water. For instance, drink water when you wake up; at breakfast, lunch and dinner; and when you go to bed or as I mentioned before, drink a small glass of water at the top of each hour.
Drink water when you go to a restaurant. It not only keeps you hydrated but also keeps you full so that you eat in controlled portions.

Take-away message: Stay well- hydrated, keep glowing and keep fit!

October 30, 2017 By Shimpli Patil 2 Comments

Did you know? Water is a Super-nutrient…Part 1

Not many are aware of the fact that ‘Water’ is a super-nutrient. When asked which are the nutrients the common answer is carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Some manage to include vitamins-minerals too.

Water is an important nutrient for our body and it is abundantly available. It is important from the point of view that if our body is not well hydrated then the other nutrients in our body don’t get metabolized well. Thus, the fate of other nutrients is completely dependent on water.

Water makes up for around 60-70% of our body weight. However, the amount of water contained in different body cells varies. Muscle cells comprise of 70-75% water whereas fat cells contain 10-15% water. Therefore, a muscular person will always have a good percentage of water in his body.

When one doesn’t hydrate himself adequately, his cells start losing water and the adverse effects of dehydration sets in. Dehydration can be a serious condition that can lead to problems ranging from swollen feet or a headache to life-threatening illnesses such as a heat stroke.

It is possible to go without food for a long time, but people cannot live without water for more than a few days. Every cell and organ depends on water to perform innumerable functions. The most essential functions include the following:
• Removal of waste and toxins out of the body
• Regulating the bowels
• Transport of nutrients and oxygen to all the cells
• Helping the heart pump blood efficiently
• Controlling the blood viscosity, blood circulation and thereby the blood pressure
• Regulating the body temperature
• Lubricating the joints
• Protecting the organs and tissues
• Helping in saliva production

Most of us are aware of these essential functions of water, yet many of them fail to drink enough of it on a daily basis. When questioned, a wide variety of reasons follow, “I tend to forget”, “I don’t feel the need to drink it”, “I don’t feel thirsty”…and so on. It’s been observed that many people tend to confuse thirst with hunger as our brain sends similar cues for both. Thus, some people end up grabbing some snacks in response to a thirst cue which could have been satisfied just by sipping water.

To be contd……..

In our next part we will talk of How do you create the need to drink water?

October 5, 2017 By Shimpli Patil 8 Comments

Mind It: Eat slowly, do not gobble down

I had just about done with my daily routine of a brisk walk in a park. And, I hear some noises- what is it that I hear…it was my stomach growling. Sending me hunger cues and reminding me that I should be eating something. And, yes I was so hungry that I could probably eat a horse.

I quickly walked up to the nearest café to grab some snacks so I could calm down my growling stomach. While I was awaiting my order, I started to look around the café. One of the best things to while you are alone in a café is to observe others sitting there. What do I see?

I see this young man eating at breakneck speed. Probably he was in a hurry to just grab some food and rush out to work. While he was eating a break neck speed he was also fidgeting with his phone. Ain’t we all good at multitasking of this nature? As he was eating he also managed to engage himself in few calls. If he could do that to me it came across as he wasn’t in such a hurry as it seemed! Then I thought to myself why would somebody be eating at such a speed? Probably, just a habit I thought to myself!

This is true though. There are many people whom I know have developed these fast eating habits. They are most often in a hurry to get over and done with their food to get away from the table. Most often one develops these habits during childhood and it continues through your adulthood.

But, let me tell you that gobbling down the food quickly without realizing what just went in, does no good to your body. In fact, eating too fast could nearly double your risk of being overweight or obese. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association shows that women aged 40-50 years who eat the quickest are more likely to be obese than slow eaters.

Once you start eating, it takes about 20 minutes for the “stop eating” signal to reach your brain. Fast eating overrides the mechanism of stimulating the satiety center in the brain. Thus, if you eat too quickly or say within 20 minutes, you tend to overfill your stomach and overeat, paving way for overweight and obesity and other related disorders.

Rather than thinking about food in terms of number of calories and nutrients, it would be more beneficial if you eat it mindfully. Eating slowly, chewing the food thoroughly, and savoring every bite of it are some important aspects of Mindful eating which contribute to your health in several ways.

Digestion: chewing well promotes the release of salivary enzymes in the mouth which in turn start off the digestion process, thus making your further digestion smoother and simple. Hence it is said that slower you eat, the faster and more efficiently you metabolize the food.

Portion control leading to weight control: Portion control is easily achieved when you slowdown your pace of eating. When you eat slowly you become aware of when you stomach gets full and you also know how much to serve yourself and when to stop. Portion size and eating speed can be well explained through the famous ‘French Paradox’ which says that despite high intake of calorie rich and fatty foods in France as compared to the US, the incidence of heart disease and overweight is relatively low in France. It is well documented fact that the French eat much slower than the Americans thus ending up taking smaller portions. Sensible eating therefore works miraculously for the weight-watchers.

Taste and Enjoying: Eating sensibly also involves relishing your food thoroughly by feeling the flavour on your palate. Sensible eating lets you experience the textures and the aroma of the food overall, making it a wonderful experience focused more on the impression and less on the health effects of eating.

In an age which is clouded by distractions, sensible or mindful eating gets difficult for many. It requires a conscious effort on an individual’s part to make sure that he or she is eating in an environment which is less distractive. To enable yourself eat mindfully, ensure that you are away from the television, mobile phones and other devices so that the focus is completely drawn towards eating. You can have some soft music playing in the background to make the eating experience more delightful.

When you eat, JUST EAT! Be mindful and Stay Healthy.

November 22, 2016 By Shimpli Patil 2 Comments

Preparing for a 50 km Trail walk – What you need to remember and do

Walking is one of the easiest things one can do. We all do it every day. But how does it feel when I say let’s walk 50 km in 18 hours! “Are you kidding me?” That’s exactly how I reacted when I came across the 50 km Trail Challenge. It is indeed a crazy bet!!

I have been into dancing and fitness for years. But, I never wanted to stop at just being fit. There has always been a kind of restlessness within me, an unreasonable desire to try out something new that I would remember for life and proudly tell my grandchildren about. That’s when I decided to push my limits and test my endurance and willpower, and there was ‘No way’ I could say a ‘No’ to this breath-taking Challenge – A 50 km Trail Challenge.

Apart from training, there are 2 most crucial things that we need to pay special heed to.

Nutrition and Hydration

Let’s check out what we need to do before, during and after the trail walk.

NUTRITION BEFORE THE TRAIL WALK (3 days prior)-

We need to keep our Glycogen stores ready. Glycogen is nothing but a storage form of Glucose (energy), which disintegrates to release glucose in the bloodstream when body demands energy.

The only way to build up the glycogen stores is to Carbo-load our body 3 days prior to the event (exactly how the marathoners do). Many people consider it as a “golden opportunity”. That’s simply because we have all the liberty to relish the foods which are otherwise considered “fattening”. You might think I am joking, but we need this to blow up our glycogen reserves, which would ensure sustained energy supply during the event.

It’s a complete carb-treat for 3 days! We need to have a mix of complex and simple carbs. We can enjoy Rice, Rotis, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Fruits, Dry Fruits, Breakfast Cereals (Oats, Cornflakes, Wheat flakes, Muesli), whole wheat bread with Peanut Butter, Daliya (broken wheat), Idli, Dosas, Biscuits, Noodles, Whole Wheat Pasta, Spaghetti, Nachos, Tortillas. Go for tomato sauce in pasta/spaghetti/nachos instead of cheese sauce. Foods with cheese is acidic which might just slow down our body.

Acidic body equals to less Oxygen to the cells. Thus, along with carb-loading, we also need to make sure we keep our body alkaline. Oxygen breeds in an alkaline medium, and our cells need maximum Oxygen during this period. Quick ways to ensure alkalinity- Grab a glass of lemon water twice a day or simply sprinkle lemon over your food before you eat or go for a bowl of sliced cucumber during lunch and dinner. Stay off Naans and Tandoori rotis. Most importantly, we need to stay miles away from the road-side food or unhygienic food as we don’t want to fall ill few days before the event or ever.

HYDRATION BEFORE THE TRAIL WALK

3 days prior, we need to double our water intake. If you drink 3 litres on a regular basis, you got to drink 6 litres now. This is just to make sure our body cells are well hydrated and well energized.

NUTRITION DURING THE TRAIL WALK

Surprisingly, you don’t feel very much hungry during the walk as your primary focus is on walking and completing it. Now that doesn’t mean you should forget to eat. We need the sugar boost, we need the food! Carry dry munchies with you such as dry fruits, nuts, khakras, biscuits, cookies, rice puffs or wheat puffs, roasted chanas, peanuts, fox nuts (makhanas), soya nuts, energy bars, etc. and munch on them at regular intervals not only for energy but to prevent acidity and headache caused due to large meal gaps.

When you halt for breakfast/lunch/dinner, make sure you aren’t loading your body with too much food. It might just make you sluggish and sleepy, making it difficult for you to get going again. Ensure that you effectively follow the ‘Portion Control’ mantra rather than going overboard with eating.

HYDRATION DURING THE WALK

Though we don’t feel the hunger, our thirst center is very much active and we need to quench our thirst at regular intervals. It’s important that we don’t GULP down water but patiently SIP it.

Apart from plain water, we also need electrolytes (Sodium-Potassium) to prevent cramps/spasms while walking. Carry a small 250 ml bottle filled with ORS (electoral/ glucon D/ enerzal/ lemon water with salt) and make sure it lasts for the 10 km distance, which means we need not even over consume the electrolytes. Remember, moderation is the key.

NUTRITION AFTER THE TRAIL WALK

Now this feels Wow! It’s time to celebrate! It’s time to rest and recover. Along with carbs, we now need adequate good quality proteins as well.

Look out for a good mix of carb+protein in your meals-

Milkshakes or Fruit Smoothies, Paneer Roll or Paneer toast, Hummus with Pita bread, roasted Chicken or Chicken gravy with bread/rotis, Yogurt sprinkled with crushed nuts/chopped fruits/pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds, Sprout Chaat with chopped veggies, Egg and Cheese toast, Grilled Fish with Boiled Potatoes and Salad, Bean rice (Rajma-Kidney Beans) with curd.

These are a few ways of ensuring that your muscles are well treated with proteins for recuperation and that your body is fuelled with a good power supply (carbs).

HYDRATION AFTER THE TRAIL WALK-

You can get your water intake back to normal, but make sure it doesn’t go below 3 litres.

12 glasses or 3 litres is what our body needs to stay hydrated even on a regular basis.

So folks, gear up for the Mega event of your life, feel the rush and say it out loud- “BE THE FORCE!”

Did you know? Water is a Super-nutrient – Part II

Did you know? Water is a Super-nutrient…Part 1

Mind It: Eat slowly, do not gobble down

Preparing for a 50 km Trail walk – What you need to remember and do

Transforming Health and Life: Dhiren Matani’s Inspirational Journey to Wellness

What’s Your Excuse?

Prioritizing Health: Kuntal Goswami’s Post-Pandemic Pursuit of Wellness

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