Vrushali Athavle, Author at GOQii

Vrushali comes from a Public health nutrition background. Masters in the field of Public Health Nutrition, she has worked with a leading international NGO as a nutrition consultant on various projects for addressing malnutrition in children, pre and post pregnancy diets and importance of diet for adolescent girls. She also speaks at several nutrition awareness programmes organized by the Government to educate the villagers as well as block, district and state level government officials. She is a certified Master trainer for “Infant Young Child Feeding Practices” and has conducted various sessions for pregnant & lactating women, care takers, hospital staff and adolescent girls through interactive, theoretical and role plays. She has been working to spread nutrition awareness among both the rural and urban population through various mediums like radio talk shows, street plays, school and college events and by counseling patients in hospitals. She strongly believes in the old saying “health is wealth”. “Being healthy for me is to be healthy both physically and mentally. I use my hobbies like listening to music and art (creativity) profoundly to be mentally fit and swimming and dancing to stay physically fit,” She ssays.

November 19, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 1 Comment

Do you know about NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)?

Are you one of those who know the importance of exercising but still give excuses for not working out regularly? Several research reports have indicated that like “Cigarette smoking is injurious to health”, there is a new saying in the health industry “Sitting is injurious to health” Sitting in one place for a long time can cause serious health issues.

Here is a quick fix for all the people who have sedentary lifestyle and job and do not get time to work out.
NEAT – also known as ‘Non-exercise activity thermogenesis’ include those activities which require to move the smallest muscle of the body due to which some energy expenditure occur. These exercises will not include very minimal movements like those while sleeping or eating and also will not include activities like sports where there is lot of calorie burning. Basically, it includes activities like walking to office, gardening, standing rather than sitting, gardening, doing household chores, carrying grocery bags in hand instead of using a trolley etc.
For more clarity on NEAT let’s take a peek into the various daily examples:

Brush to burn calories:

Instead of lazing around with a brush in your mouth stand near the wash basin with one leg lifted. This will help you strengthen your core and at the same time improve your concentration and balance.

Serve yourself:

Next thing which we usually do is to call out loud for tea/coffee or breakfast from the living room to the person in the kitchen. Instead, go ahead and serve yourself. This will ensure your sluggish metabolism is waking up slowing to burn more calories.

Catch up with some exercise on the way to office:

** Take the stair wherever possible and skip the elevators. This could be your building stairs or railway station stairs if you travel by train or walk up to the office in your building which is on the 7th or 8th floor. If climbing 7 floors seems tiring, climb 2 to 3 floors and take a lift for remaining. Climbing stairs is a great way to burn calories and strengthen your legs.”

** Sitting at the desk for long hours is the most dangerous thing as we just discussed in the beginning of this blog. Here is the solution- get up from your chair every 1 hour, do certain stretches, instead of asking the office boy to fill up your water bottle take a stroll and refill it yourself, talk to your friends and come back to your seat and continue with your work.

Stand up and stretch every time you hit ‘send’ on an e-mail.”

Use “Walk n talk method” i.e start walking while you are on long conversations on call.
(i) While sitting on a chair, raise one heel or both the heels then one leg and then both the legs while seated. This turn outs to be the best exercise for lower body, Similarly stretch out arms and do some free hand arm exercises or pick up water bottles and do some bicep curls which can be some good upper body workouts.
(ii) To strengthen the core, sit on a ball which forces you to balance yourself keeping your core engaged full time. If this is not possible in office, try out this ball method at home while watching television or eating dinner, playing video/mobile games or reading.

4) Get a Pedometer

Pedometer like GOQii band can be best used to motivate you by tracking the steps and kms everyday. To make this more interesting decide on certain weekly targets to completing steps target.
In a nutshell the above proves that there is no way you can say ‘I have a sedentary job’. NEAT exercises help you to shift your sedentary job to a bit active one with very simple efforts. Once you incorporate these activities, lot more will come to your mind.

Let me know “How do you squeeze extra activity into your day?”

October 6, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 1 Comment

How to push yourself to wake up early for morning workouts?

In one of my previous blogs “What time is the best time to exercise?” I explained the importance of morning workouts. I got a lot of queries saying “We totally agree that morning workouts are really effective, but the major issue is, how to push ourselves to wake up early for the workouts?

This concern from users set me thinking and I decided to write a blog addressing these issues and come up with ways to push yourself for morning exercise. I would say don’t give up on morning workout at all, if the only issue is how to wake up early.

Morning workouts boost’s up your metabolism and keeps it elevated for several hours, you psychologically feel healthy as you start your day in a healthy way, and fixed morning exercise schedule, ensures that you sleep too on time.

I remember an old saying which I would like to quote here. “For every lock there is a key, we just need to find out which is the correct key for the lock by some trials and errors”.

Here are few quick tips which you can try and find out for yourself which works for you:

Dress up yourself in sports outfit and sleep

This doesn’t really mean you need to wear your shoes, socks, athletic outfit and sleep but at least keep everything ready a night prior so that in the morning you don’t waste time looking out for the stuff. Instead of wasting time in finding your workout clothes like your trousers and t-shirt, water bottle, napkin, shoes and sock, spend those 15-20 mins in getting your sleep.

Make a fitness freak friend

If you forget to set up your alarm or you happen to shut off the alarm clock and sleep, your exercise buddy will make sure to wake you up. Schedule sessions with a friend who is dedicated and will make sure that you wake up for the session. You don’t need a friend to really wake you up but, the fact that he/she will be waiting for you for the session will make you feel responsible to reach for the workout.

Put your alarm clock far away

Instead of keeping the alarm clock next to your bed while sleeping, keep it far away. Increase the volume of the alarm and keep it in the next room. This will make sure that you get up from the bed to shut it off. Just imagine now, if you keep it on snooze, what would happen? How many times will you get up from bed and go to shut it off. It will be a workout in itself Lol! On a serious note, once you wake up and get out of the bed, your chances of waking up and going for the workout increases rather than just putting off the alarm from your bed. If your

alarm allows you to set up a song in it, it would be a great idea to play either a song which will make you dance on it’s moves or set up song from your workout playlist to help you get in to the mood for exercise.

Feel the morning beauty:

The National Sleep Foundation data says that “When your eye senses light, it sets off a chain reaction in your brain that leaves you feeling alert and energized”. This tip I use it for myself and my daughter too. Once I wake up I immediately walk to the balcony and breathe in the fresh air. The beautiful morning weather, cool breeze, chirping of the birds certainly wakes you up completely and gets you ready for the morning workouts. If it’s still dark when you wake up, make use of a light box that simulates natural light.

5.Get enough sleep the night before.

Make sure you get 7-8 hours of sound sleep. Many a times you wake and keep wondering for yourself “I slept early yesterday, don’t know why I still feel sleepy, should I complete my sleep or wake up?” The answer to this is, if you have completed 7 to 8 hours of sound sleep, just tell yourself that your body is ready for the workout. It’s just dedication and will power which is now pulling you back.

Due to hectic and stressful life, people want to spend the last few hours before hitting the bed either in watching television or surfing and chatting on laptops and mobiles. I understand these are few ways for relaxing yourself but the light emitted from these devices is actually hampering your sleep cycles keeping you awake for a longer time. Instead of this, read books, play with your kids, listen to light music or do some meditation or simple Yoga moves to relax your body and get better sleep.

To conclude, the best sleep routine would be “Keep your alarm in the next room near an open window so that you get up from the bed to shut the alarm. The open window will expose you to the beautiful morning weather which will open your eyes. Your snooze option will again make the alarm ring. If you set up a nice song, I am sure this time the alarm with your favourite song in it, will make you show some of your best moves and totally wake you up. Keep all the workout gears ready at night and place it just next to the alarm clock. This will further make sure you get geared up for the workout.

Try this and let me know if it worked for you or share if you have some other awesome ideas. I am waiting to hear!

July 31, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 3 Comments

Decoction Syrup (Kadha) – Out of Grandma’s books

It’s been pouring cats and dogs for the last few days thus giving us relief from the scorching heat of the sun. With the full fledged rains on, most rush to open their doors and windows of their house to let the cool breeze enter. One’s hands automatically get out of the window to feel the water droplets on their hands and face. The smell of the mud, the pleasant environment, the children happy and wanting to dance in the rain every time it rains, making paper boats makes us all feel rejuvenated. These are the little pleasures that the monsoon brings with it and there is no denying.

With all this pleasure, fun, greenery and cool climate, the rains also brings with it a bunch of illnesses like fever, cough, cold, infections, stomach disorders etc. Everyone from kids, adults and old gets trapped in it.

The quick fix which most choose in these conditions is to visit a doctor who prescribes us an antibiotic for quick relief. The medicines will definitely give you relief but, the relief is just temporary. Medicine suppresses our immunity and gives us temporary relief. In most cases the illness relapses.

I have a simple solution on to this ongoing monsoon illness. I try to keep myself and my family away from medicines as much as possible. My grandma has passed on her home remedial diary or more popularly known as “Dadiji ka batva” or ‘Grandma’s Home Remedy Tips’. It consists of natural remedies for many such illnesses.

Let me share one of those home-made natural herbs medicine for cough, cold, fever, stomach pain.

This special medicine is known as decoction syrup or KADHA (Decoction of Herbs) . Check out this recipe. It’s simple to prepare, tasty and kids too will like it. So you can avoid running behind them for medicines.

INGREDIENTS:

Garlic:

Amount: 1 clove of garlic. Crush it or slice it.

Properties: It contains sulfur compound known as Allicin which is anti-viral, antibiotic, and antiseptic.

Ginger:

Amount: 1 inch. Wash it properly, remove the skin and crush it a bit before adding.

Properties: Ginger is an excellent anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory herb known for suppressing nausea and vomiting, reducing fever and coughing, treating inflammation, congestion, cold, diarrhea, indigestion, and flatulence.

Cardamom:

Amount: 2 to 3 cardamoms

Properties: It stimulates digestion. It also helps to reduce body temperature and congestion of lunges.

Black Pepper :

Amount: 3 black pepper whole or crushed

Properties: It is loaded with antioxidants and relieves many pains including headaches

Jeshtimadh/ jyeshtamadhu (Liquorice Root)

Amount: 1 small stick

Properties: It is an excellent herb for getting relief from cough.

Cloves:

Amount: 2 Cloves

Properties: contains an anti-inflammatory chemical called Eugenol. The combination of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties spells heaps of health benefits.

Black Tulsi ( Basil)

Amount: 4 to 5 leaves

Properties: Black Tulsi or Basil leaves is an excellent anti-fungicidal, anti-bacterial and anti-biotic properties to fight fever. It is also know you reduce your fever.

Raw Honey/ Jaggery:

Amount: 1 teaspoon

Properties: Honey is antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antiseptic.

Lemon:

Amount: Half lemon

Properties: high in vitamin C, lemon may help decrease the strength of the cold and flu virus in the body and reduce phlegm.

METHOD:

Take 2 cups of water in a vessel
Add all the above ingredients (except honey/jaggery and lemon) into the water
Let the mixture boil, till the amount of water reduces to half
Switch off the gas and now add honey/jaggery and squeeze lemon
Strain it
Sip it hot

Try it and let us know if you did get relief from this simple Grandma’s home Remedy

Pls Note: Do visit a doctor in case of severe illness but, if you feel things are under control, try managing them with natural sources. Your body is designed to heal by itself.

June 1, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 1 Comment

Protein is not just about quantity. It’s also about quality

Every weight loss or weight gain programme talks about PROTEINS. They are the building blocks for growth and repair of muscle tissues of tendons, organs and skin. Proteins are made out of smaller molecules called amino acids which are linked together like beads on a string.

Some of these amino acids can be produced by the body and are called non essential amino acids, while some cannot be produced by the body and we need to get them from our foods. These are called the essential amino acids.

The protein requirement of each individual varies based on their intensity of workouts, medical conditions, height and ideal body weight. Before, we jump into the calculation of protein requirement, let’s first check out how to select the best protein out of the 3 major sources of proteins namely 1) Animal sources (chicken, fish, eggs, milk & milk products), 2) Plant sources (legumes, nuts, seeds and cereals) and 3) various Supplementary protein powders available in the market as protein shakes. This blog basically has two sections.

1) Protein Selection and 2) Protein Calculation

Section 1: Protein selection

Two things we need to consider while selecting your proteins source:

Complete or incomplete proteins:

* Animal proteins are considered complete proteins as they contain all essential amino

acids required by our body.

*Plants sources are classified as incomplete proteins as they contain only few essential

amino acids.

* Supplementary powders have most of the essential amino acids.

Bioavailability of proteins.

Bio-availability represents the percentage of how much our bodies can make use of certain protein sources. Animal proteins have better bioavailability than plant proteins. Supplementary proteins have highest % of bioavailability. It is important to note here that at a go our body can absorb only 15 to 20 gms of protein.

Section 2: Protein Calculation:

Calculate your protein intake by this formula:

Person with sedentary lifestyle, Protein intake= Ideal body weight in kgs (multiply by) 0.8 gm
Person with moderate workout, Protein intake= Ideal body weight in kgs (multiply by) 1 gm
Person with moderate to intense workouts, Protein intake= Ideal body weight in kgs (multiply by) 1.5 gm

Note: Consult your trainer/nutritionist/doctor while calculating this protein amount as your medical conditions and intensity of workouts also need to be considered.

To consume this amount of protein, we would want to divide this intake of protein into 5-6 meals over the course of the day.

Managing this protein intake is a bit difficult for vegetarians. Even for individual who consume non-veg and take up heavy workouts, just the thought of eating six chicken breasts a day or eight egg whites in each meal can seem like a daunting task. An alternative to this is to ingest 1 or 2 scoops of protein powders in the form of a protein shake.

Conclusion: Protein is not just about quantity. It’s also about quality. Protein intake needs to be wisely planned. Good sources of protein include high quality proteins like egg, chicken, fish, skimmed milk and soy. Red meat, egg yolk and high fat milk products are rich in saturated fats and hence should be avoided. Whole pulses, sprouts and daals(lentils) should be consumed in combination with a cereal to make the amino acid profile complete. For eg: Roti with Daal/Rice with Rajma/Khichadi.

If required protein powders can be included. Natural source of protein is the best but, due to day to day constraints of making and eating them, you may need to add the protein supplement into your diet. Getting all your protein from powders is not the best idea, as it could potentially restrict your intake of vitamins and minerals from other foods. Selection of protein powder will be discussed in my next blog. Stay tuned!