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Overcome Worry – The Biggest Obstacle To Weight Loss & Your Health!

Overcome worryDo you eat food peacefully or with worry on your mind? Do you exercise happily or with worry on your mind? Do you also go to bed worried? Are you low on energy through the day and only the thought of outside food or entertainment can cheer you up? Are you unable to overcome worry?

Do you accept defeat when:

  • Your weight does not budge
  • You have a restless night sleep
  • You give in to food cravings
  • Your friends around you seem to lose weight faster or look better than you

A roadside advertisement for a certain brand of motor oil read “A clean engine always delivers power”…

So will a mind, free of negative thoughts, and very positive or in other words, a clean mind will deliver power! Therefore, flush out your negative thoughts, give yourself a clean mental engine, remembering that a clean mind, can always deliver power.

Why You Need To Overcome Worry

Overcome worry - obstacle to weight lossMost of our obstacles to weight loss and health are mental in character. You might say, “mine are not mental, they are real”, perhaps so, but your attitude towards them is clearly mental. “Worry” is the most subtle and destructive of all human diseases. Through “worry”, we have the dangerous ability to manifest diseases, stress, failure, defeat, anger, frustration and depression.

Do not accept defeat so easily. When your weight does not budge, be patient and instead of giving up, be more consistent with the things you should be doing to lose weight. It took you months or years to pile on fat, what makes you think it will go in few weeks without some sacrifice and effort?

Are you being honest with yourself when it comes to your food, exercise and eating outside?

Ask yourself, if the defeat that you have accepted is because you keep comparing yourself or your body to those around you? Your friends? Your social circle? If yes, then you will never be happy with the progress you make, you will get further depressed and you will fail. Have you even seen any two actors with the same body type? How can you ever have the same body as someone else then?

Comparing ourselves with others is the most drastic mistake one can make when it comes to our health or weight. Your benchmark for progress should be you and what you did yesterday, compared to what you will do today and tomorrow. Keep getting better, getting consistent and that will get you to your goal and peace of mind.

If you struggle to sleep, filter your thoughts and your mind. Easy to say, but hard to do. However, you must make the effort if you want to sleep well again. Worry stems of our insecurity, greed, fear, low confidence, guilt and other factors. Sometimes, you have to let go and if you don’t, your health will make that decision for you.

One of the best exercises to combat insecurities is to count your blessings

overcome worry - gratitudeTake a paper and write down all the things that you have and are grateful for. This should come from your heart. When you are done with this, your problems and insecurities will suddenly seem less. When you begin to eliminate worry, your energy levels automatically increase.

You see, we have over 60,000 thoughts running through our heads everyday. So it’s difficult to focus on what we have (which is usually enough) and instead fill our minds with chaos, which in turn stems worry and negativity. This causes stress and we all know by now that stress causes disease, a weak immune system, and is the biggest – I repeat ‘THE BIGGEST’ obstacle to fat loss and sleep.

Don’t see yoga or breathing as just an exercise. Use that one hour or 45 minutes to actually reflect, count your blessings, pray or analyze the goodness in your life. It is being proved today that the best way to cure a disease or a pain, is not to focus on it, instead focus on everything else that’s going well in your life.

To reach our goal, just have faith. All religions preach this and most people fail to follow or believe in that. Use a day or a weekend in a month for you to weed out negative thoughts, detox your mind, relax your body and count your blessings. Worry is a down payment on a problem that may NEVER occur and worry has never been known to solve a problem.

We hope this article helps you stress less and overcome worry! To know more about how you can beat stress, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach for further guidance by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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Sleep Series: A Primer On Circadian Rhythm

sleep series

  • Circa – Circular – meaning the one going round and round – repeating itself 
  • “Di”an – Pertaining to Day – or Daily 
  • Rhythm – A regular & repeated pattern of movements (ups & downs) occurring naturally 

Circadian Rhythm (CR) is driven by consumption of light – (light again!) – however, research has proven that light is not necessary and it was observed that the rhythm works more or less correctly even if someone is locked in a very dark place for a long time. But it is also proven that light can drive/influence the rhythm.

Trivia: CR is not exactly 24 hours – it is approximately 24 hours + some 15 minutes! 

The Third Eye/Body clock – known technically as “Suprachiasmatic Nuclei” (why not a simple name?) – of just 10,000 neurons (brain has 100 billion) situated in the hypothalamus area of brain, exactly above the place where the optic nerves from the left and right eye do the “X over” to the other side of the brain, is the main controller of the Circadian Rhythm. It is impacted by the “light” signals coming from the eyes. 

Be very clear, the Third eye controls the “sleep-wake” cycle and it is sensitive to “light”!

Not all people have SAME CR!! They fall into either of the 3 types: 

  1. The Early Birds (25%) 
  2. The Night Owls (25%) 
  3. The Commoners (50%)

There is approximately 1-2 hours of difference in the rhythm between the Early Birds and the Night Owls and the Commoners fall in between. To check your type, google it – web has several free tests.

One’s energy levels, alertness, body temperature, heart rate all have clear correlation to the CR. It is proven that core body temperature falls by up to 2 degree Celsius and heart rate by up to 20 beats per minute. Modern day work environment requires one to have an average to above average energy level and alertness throughout the day. But it is a natural fact that it is NOT. So, we resort to coffee or tea (impact of caffeine in a separate note later). 

If we can closely observe and keep our key meetings in alignment with the CR, we may actually get more productive. In my personal experience I have observed peak productivity between 11-1 in pre-lunch and 4-6 in post lunch sessions. HR processes in companies could use such simple tests to identify rhythm types and create groups of people that complement each other to boost productivity. As I have often seen in boardrooms, there’s always one person presenting with lots of energy and some are following and some are behind! It could simply be the difference in their CR type.

Jet lag is primarily a result due to change in CR. Time clock of the geography and your CR are not aligned, hence the lag. It is said that the lag adjusts @ 1 hour per day.

Circadian Rhythm & Sleep – How To Make It Work For You

  • Observe your CR and understand your CR type, hours of peak productivity – they remain the same throughout your life. Use the natural surge in alertness to your advantage.
  • One tip to get sleep is to start on time and send clear signals to the CR system in the morning by standing in clear sunlight for at least 10 minutes (you might get Vitamin D in the bargain) – When CR registers that signal, it will promptly align the clock to trigger sleep in the night – I tried this as many days as possible
  • World over, people keep an alarm to wake up – Reverse the process – If only you can keep an alarm to start sleep at same time of the night, then you WOULD NOT need an alarm to wake up – that too grumpily – Stick to SAME time (or in a range of 30 minutes) to go to bed, even if you do not get sleep in the beginning.
  • One should reduce exposure to light post 7:30PM – send clear signals that it is night time – Candlelight dinners are a brilliant way to signal Melatonin secretion. 

We hope you enjoyed reading this article so far. Stay tuned for more from the Sleep Series! To read more about sleep and sleeping techniques, check out Healthy Reads or speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce 

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Start Living, Stop Dieting

drink-more-water

Diets don’t work. They just don’t. You lose weight, and you put it back on again after a few months. Sometimes you even gain more than you lost.

The ‘diet game’ leads to frustration, depression, starvation and deprivation. It begins to dominate our lives and social conversations. At almost every party, people talk about weight, health or envy someone who has lost weight, causing feeling of insecurity and low self- esteem. It’s a vicious cycle that sucks you into the whole ‘diet game’.

Too many people measure their worth with the wrong scale. Your weighing scale does not determine who you are.

Now sit back, relax and think about this. If it took you a year, or maybe two, or even three years to gain extra fat, weight, belly fat, cellulite, etc., is it really possible to find a plan that makes you lose all of that in 3-6 months? It’s not possible. The science of the human body defies that.

If you have a weight problem, the first thing you need to do is think about all the things/ behavior etc. you have been engaged in over the last few months, years, that has got you in the shape that you are currently in. Write down the following – the extra coffees, desserts, reduction in your workout days, increased meal portions, increased number of outside meals, holidays, etc.

Write it down. Your solution will be staring right back at you in the face- REDUCE!!!  CUT BACK!! ADD!!!

Don’t always blame it on your age, hormones or genes. First, study your LIFESTYLE and how it has changed over the last few months or years.

You don’t need professional help to figure that out.

And then….start making lifestyle changes, but one at a time. The most fantastic research I have been exposed to over the last few weeks is the fact that even if the unhealthiest person makes as little as one lifestyle change in a month, and keeps it consistent, he or she will begin to make a positive impact on weight or health.

Just one lifestyle change.

It could work miracles – –

  • Increasing your water intake
  • Reducing meal sizes
  • Reducing sugar
  • Cutting back on outside meals
  • Exercising more
  • Stopping smoking
  • Drinking alcohol in moderation
  • Increase intake of fruits and vegetables
  • Get a GOQii coaching subscription to help you make goals and impact lifestyle
  • Sleeping 7 hours
  • Meditating
  • Stretching more
  • Practicing gratitude and kindness
  • Manage stress effectively
  • Keeping your dinners light

The list can go on and on. Select something and start working on it.

The truth is that burning fat is multi-factorial. You need to do more, much more than a ‘diet’ to reach your goal. You need to feel good about yourself.

You need to stop following fad plans that you read about blindly. It must make sense to you if you are doing it. Never do something that does not make sense to you or that you don’t understand how it will work for you.

Fat burn = Lifestyle change = Need time and patience if you want the real thing. (There are no shortcuts)

Know your goal, understand why you really really want to achieve it, and then be patient, consistent, and positive.

If you need help getting started, look for resources that provide support and guidance.

Remember, achieving lasting health isn’t about quick fixes or temporary diets; it’s about making sustainable lifestyle changes. Start small, stay consistent, and celebrate every step towards a healthier you. For personalized guidance and support on your wellness journey, subscribe to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here. Start living, and stop dieting.

#BeTheForce

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Dealing with Bone Problems in Menopause!!

The other day one of my patients who is in her 60s fell while walking and she got a hip fracture. When I asked what the reason for your fracture was? She said it’s my old age. I asked if you would have fallen like this 30 years back, would you have got a fracture? She said No.

As we age, naturally our bones start becoming weaker. But there are certain milestones we need to be aware of. And menopause is one important milestone in women’s life.

The menopause is NOT JUST the end of your period cycle. A lot more changes happen in your body before, during and after menopause. And changes in your bones are very important because bone is NOT JUST a hard and brittle skeleton but it’s a living organ, alive with cells. Bones are constantly renewed. And during menopause women may lose bone mass rapidly for several years.

Why is Bone Health Important During Menopause?

Oestrogen hormone is crucial for bone formation. During menopause, oestrogen levels decrease, leading to rapid bone density loss and increasing the risk of osteoporosis, which weakens bones and heightens fracture risk. Bone loss begins 1-3 years before your last period, accelerating rapidly after menopause and continuing for the next 5-10 years, with an average annual bone density loss of 2%.

What to Check for Osteoporosis Risk?

Be aware of conditions that increase osteoporosis risk, aside from menopause:

  • Low Bone Mass: High risk if you had lower bone mass in your younger years.
  • Early Menopause: Increased risk if menopause occurs before age 45.
  • Lifestyle Factors: Smoking and alcohol use elevate risk.
  • Medications: Taking depression medicine or steroids adds further risk.

Steps for healthy Bone Life

  1. Seek Medical Help: Osteoporosis is often called a silent disease because it has no symptoms until a fracture occurs. Don’t wait for a fracture to find out about your bone health. Talk to your doctor about the need for osteoporosis screening. Hormone treatments can also be used to help manage bone density.
  2. Do Weight-Bearing Exercises: Exercise is crucial in preventing osteoporosis. Weight-bearing activities like walking, running, and lifting weights help strengthen bones. Start with light exercises for about 30 minutes daily and include strength training 2-3 times a week. Activities like brisk walking, cycling, swimming, and controlled dancing can be very beneficial.
  3. Eat Calcium and Vitamin D: 50-70% of your bones are made up of calcium. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption. Include dairy products, green leafy vegetables, almonds, fish with bones, and soy in your diet. Exposure to sunlight is the primary source of Vitamin D, but dietary sources include egg yolk, fatty fish like mackerel, salmon, tuna, and fortified foods. If necessary, consult your doctor about supplements.

Additional Tips

  • Quit Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of osteoporosis.
  • Limit Alcohol: Reducing alcohol intake can help protect your bones.
  • Reduce Caffeine: Switch to decaf drinks to minimize the impact of caffeine on bone health.
  • Maintain a Healthy Weight: Both overweight and underweight conditions can increase the risk of osteoporosis.

If you or someone you know is at risk for osteoporosis, it’s crucial to take preventive steps before a fracture affects the quality of life. By following a triangle of exercise, diet, and medical help, you can continue to enjoy activities like hiking, dancing, or playing with your grandkids. Take care of your bone health as soon as possible to avoid osteoporosis from becoming a significant issue in your life. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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