Weight Loss Archives

October 14, 2026 By GOQii Leave a Comment

How Stress Triggers Unhealthy Eating Habits & How to Stop It

At a glance

Stress eating has a biological basis. Stress that lasts keeps the hormone cortisol raised, and cortisol increases appetite and the drive to eat.
It changes what you eat as well as how much. Across 54 studies of nearly 120,000 adults, stress nudged people towards less healthy food and away from healthier food.
The average effect is small, and people differ. Some people react far more strongly than others, and a sudden shock can switch appetite off for a while.
A pause helps. In one trial, a brisk 15-minute walk lowered cravings for sugary snacks, including after a stress test.
Strict rules and guilt tend to backfire. Banning every treat can increase cravings. Forgiving a slip and starting fresh works better.
Sometimes it needs more than self-help. Eating that regularly feels out of control is a reason to speak to a doctor.

It is 10 pm. The deadline has passed, the inbox is finally quiet, and you are standing at the kitchen counter with a packet of chips you do not remember opening. You were not hungry. You were stressed, and what followed has a name: stress eating.

Stress eating is not a lack of willpower. It follows from the way stress acts on your hormones, your food choices and your daily routine. The effect is real, it varies from person to person, and there are practical ways to interrupt it.

Why does stress make you eat more?

Stress makes many people eat more because of the hormone cortisol. When stress lasts for days or weeks, cortisol stays raised, and it increases both appetite and the motivation to eat.

Stress also changes what you choose. Under pressure, people lean towards food that is high in fat, sugar or both, and eat less of the healthier food they would normally pick. Poor sleep, less movement and more alcohol often come with a stressful period and add to the effect.

What stress does inside your body

Researchers have identified several ways in which stress pushes eating up. They tend to act together.

1. Cortisol turns up your appetite

A sudden fright, like a near miss in traffic, does the opposite of what you might expect. The body releases adrenaline, which Harvard Health describes as putting eating on hold for a while.

Stress that does not let up is different. The adrenal glands release cortisol, which increases appetite. If the stress continues, cortisol can stay raised. Our guide to cortisol and chronic stress explains what else that does to the body.

2. Comfort food does comfort, briefly

Food that is rich in fat and sugar seems to dampen the body’s stress response and the emotions that go with it, according to Harvard Health. Much of this research has been done in animals, so the size of the effect in people is less certain.

The pattern is easy to learn all the same: stress, snack, relief. Repeated often enough, it can become a habit that runs without much thought.

3. Stress tilts your choices towards taste

In a 2015 study from the University of Zurich, 29 people put a hand in ice water for three minutes while being watched and evaluated. Another 22 did not. All of them were trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

When they then chose between a tasty, less healthy food and a healthier, less tasty one, the stressed group gave more weight to taste. Brain scans showed weaker connections between regions linked to self-control. The stress was moderate, which matters because moderate stress is far more common than extreme events.

4. Some people react more strongly than others

In a laboratory study of 59 women, those who released the most cortisol under stress ate more calories on the stress day than those who released less. On a calm day, the two groups ate about the same. The high-cortisol group also ate more sweet food.

Harvard Health describes a 2007 British study with a similar finding outside the laboratory. People with a strong cortisol response to stress were more likely to snack in response to everyday hassles.

5. Sleep, movement and alcohol shift too

People under stress tend to sleep less, exercise less and drink more alcohol. Each can add to weight gain. Sleep has the clearest link with eating: in pooled data from 11 trials, people ate about 385 kcal more when their sleep was cut short.

How big is the effect?

Smaller than it feels, on average. A 2022 analysis in Health Psychology Review pooled 54 studies covering 119,820 healthy adults. Stress was linked to eating slightly more overall, to eating more unhealthy food and to eating less healthy food. Each of these effects was small.

Averages hide a lot. Results differed widely from study to study, and the factors the authors tested explained little of that difference. The one that mattered was dietary restraint, meaning how strictly people try to limit what they eat.

Is it hunger, or is it stress?

The first skill is telling the two apart. The Mayo Clinic suggests a quick check: if you ate a few hours ago and your stomach is not rumbling, you are probably not hungry. The table below goes a step further.

	Physical hunger	Emotional hunger
How it starts	Builds gradually	Arrives suddenly
What you want	Most foods sound fine	One specific food, usually sweet, salty or fried
Where you feel it	In the stomach	In the head, as a craving
When it stops	When you are full	Often continues past fullness
How you feel after	Satisfied	Guilty or uneasy

Adapted from HelpGuide. Treat it as a rough guide, not a test.

If the right-hand column fits, food is unlikely to fix the problem. Something else might. Our mindful eating series has more on minding your mood before you eat.

Seven ways to break the cycle

You do not need all seven at once. Pick one or two that fit your day and build from there.

Eat regular meals. Arriving at the evening very hungry makes cravings harder to manage, so try not to skip lunch on busy days. Meals built around dal, eggs, curd, vegetables and whole grains tend to keep you full for longer.
Pause and check. When a craving hits, ask whether you are hungry or stressed. If it is stress, give the craving time to pass before you decide.
Walk for 15 minutes. In a trial of 47 adults with overweight who regularly ate sugary snacks, a brisk 15-minute walk lowered cravings compared with sitting quietly. Cravings also rose less after a stress test.
Give stress another exit. Meditation, exercise and time with supportive people all help to buffer stress, according to Harvard Health. A review of 14 studies found that mindfulness meditation appeared to reduce emotional eating and binge eating in people prone to them. Its effect on weight was mixed. For where to begin, see our guides to stress management techniques and the benefits of meditation.
Rearrange your kitchen. Keep fruit, nuts or roasted chana within reach. Put biscuits and namkeen on a high shelf, or leave them out of the weekly shop. Avoid food shopping when you are upset.
Protect your sleep. Short sleep is linked with eating more. A regular bedtime and wake-up time is the place to start, and our 12 science-backed tips for better sleep cover the rest.
Sit down and slow down. Eat at a table, away from the phone and the laptop, and take your time. It is easier to notice when you have had enough. Eating too quickly is one of the everyday habits we have linked with weight gain.

Go easy on the rules, and on yourself. Banning every treat can make cravings stronger, the Mayo Clinic notes. In a study of college women, a short exercise in self-compassion reduced overeating after an unhealthy snack among those who restricted their eating most strictly. A slip is one snack. Make the next meal a normal one and move on.

When to ask for help

Occasional stress eating is common and is not a medical problem. It is different from binge eating disorder, a recognised condition that needs proper support. The NHS lists these signs:

Eating a lot of food in a short time and not being able to stop when full
Eating when not hungry
Eating very fast during a binge
Eating alone or in secret
Feeling depressed, guilty, ashamed or disgusted afterwards

If these sound familiar, see a doctor as soon as you can. Treatment usually involves guided self-help or cognitive behavioural therapy, and most people recover with the right support. Our article on the difference between emotional eating and binge eating disorder explains more.

Speak to a doctor or mental health professional as well if stress itself feels unmanageable, or if you cannot get emotional eating under control on your own.

The takeaway

Stress will always be part of life. Reaching for food every time it shows up does not have to be. Notice the trigger, pause before you eat, and give your body what it is really asking for: rest, movement, connection or a proper meal. Start with one small change this week.

Pro Tip: Stress eating is easier to change once you can see it. Log your meals, mood, sleep and activity in the GOQii App for two weeks and look for the times and triggers that repeat. A GOQii Personalised Health Coach can help you plan meals around busy days and build other ways to unwind.

#BeTheForce

Frequently asked questions

Why do I eat more when I am stressed?

Ongoing stress keeps the hormone cortisol raised, and cortisol increases appetite and the motivation to eat. Stress also makes rich food more appealing and often disrupts sleep, which adds to the effect.

Why do I crave sweet or fried food when I am stressed?

Food high in fat and sugar appears to dampen the body’s stress response for a short time, so it feels soothing. In one study, people under moderate stress gave more weight to taste than to health when choosing food.

Why do some people lose their appetite under stress?

Sudden, short-term stress releases adrenaline, which puts eating on hold. This fight-or-flight response is temporary. If the stress continues, cortisol stays raised and appetite tends to rise.

Does stress eating cause weight gain?

It can over time, though the evidence varies. Harvard Health reports one study that linked stress with weight gain only in people who were already overweight. A Finnish study of more than 5,000 people linked stress-related eating with obesity in women but not in men.

How can I stop stress eating at night?

Eat regular meals during the day so that you do not reach the evening very hungry. Keep tempting snacks out of sight, and plan another way to unwind, such as a 15-minute walk after dinner.

Is stress eating the same as binge eating disorder?

No. Stress eating is an occasional response to pressure. Binge eating disorder involves regularly eating a lot of food in a short time, feeling unable to stop and feeling distressed afterwards. It is a medical condition, and a doctor can arrange treatment.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and education only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If eating feels out of control, if you are worried about your relationship with food, or if stress is affecting your health, please speak to a qualified healthcare professional.

October 13, 2026 By GOQii Leave a Comment

The Link Between Sleep & Weight Gain

At a glance

The link is real. Across 12 long-term studies, the risk of obesity rose by about 9% for each hour of sleep below seven.
It is mostly about eating more, not burning less. In pooled trial data, people ate around 385 kcal more per day when their sleep was cut short. The energy they burned barely changed.
Belly fat seems especially affected. Two weeks of four-hour nights raised deep abdominal fat by 11% in one tightly controlled study.
More sleep helps. Adults who extended their sleep by about 1.2 hours ate roughly 270 kcal less per day, without any diet advice.
It runs both ways. Excess weight raises the risk of sleep apnoea, which then disrupts sleep.
Sleep supports weight management. It does not replace it. It has not yet been shown that sleeping more, with nothing else changed, produces large or lasting weight loss.

Most weight advice comes down to two things: what you eat and how much you move. Sleep usually gets whatever time is left once work, the commute, dinner and the phone have taken theirs, even though sleep and weight gain are closely tied.

That ordering deserves a second look. Over the past two decades, research on sleep and weight gain has moved from noticing that short sleepers tend to weigh more to testing the idea directly: cutting people’s sleep under controlled conditions and measuring what happens to their appetite, their activity and their body fat. The results are consistent enough to act on, and more modest than the headlines suggest.

Does poor sleep cause weight gain?

Yes, it can. Regularly sleeping less than about seven hours a night is linked to a higher risk of gaining weight, and controlled trials show that at least part of that link is cause and effect.

The main route is appetite. People who are short on sleep eat more the next day, particularly in the evening, while burning roughly the same amount of energy. Over weeks, some of that surplus is stored as fat around the abdomen.

Sleep is one of several everyday habits that contribute to weight gain. Diet, physical activity, genetics, age, medicines and medical conditions all influence weight, and a full night’s sleep does not cancel any of them out. What sleep does is make the other things easier or harder to do.

What the research shows

Two kinds of evidence point the same way: large studies that follow people for years, and small experiments that change how long people sleep.

Long-term studies

A 2019 analysis in Sleep and Breathing pooled 12 studies that tracked sleep and weight over time. Obesity risk was lowest at seven to eight hours a night. Below seven, it rose by about 9% for each hour lost. Sleeping longer than that was not clearly linked to obesity either way.

Studies like these cannot prove cause. People who sleep little often differ in other ways: more stress, shift work, illness or low mood. Many also relied on people reporting their own sleep, which is not very accurate.

Sleep experiments

Trials deal with that problem by changing sleep and watching what follows.

Study	What was changed	What happened
Al Khatib et al., 2017: pooled analysis of 11 trials, 172 people	Sleep partly restricted, across several trial designs	Ate about 385 kcal more per day. Energy burned did not change significantly.
Covassin et al., 2022: 12 healthy adults living in a research unit	Four hours in bed instead of nine, for 14 nights	Ate over 300 kcal more per day. Gained about 0.5 kg. Deep abdominal fat rose 11%.
Zuraikat et al., 2026: 95 adults at home	Bedtime pushed back for six weeks, losing about 80 minutes a night	Gained about 0.45 kg. Was sedentary for 17 minutes longer each day.
Tasali et al., 2022: 80 adults with overweight, at home	Sleep extended by about 1.2 hours for two weeks	Ate about 270 kcal less per day than the comparison group.

How to read these numbers

The effect on any one person in any one week is small. Half a kilogram in six weeks is easy to miss. The concern is the slow drift when short nights become the routine for years.

The trials have limits too. Most are small and brief, and several used far harsher sleep loss than most people live with. The 2026 study matters because it tested something ordinary: going to bed about an hour and a half late.

How lack of sleep leads to weight gain

Short sleep does not act through one switch. Several small changes push in the same direction.

1. You eat more, and mostly late

More hours awake means more chances to eat, and the extra tends to arrive at night. In a 2013 study in Sleep, adults limited to four hours in bed, from 4 am to 8 am, ate an average of 553 extra kcal during the late-night hours.

This is the most consistent finding in the field. It is also the most useful one, because it is something you can plan around, for example by eating in line with your body clock.

2. High-calorie food becomes harder to resist

Tiredness changes what you want, not only how much. In a brain-imaging study of 23 adults, a night without sleep dulled activity in frontal regions involved in weighing up choices and heightened the response of the amygdala, a region involved in how appealing something feels.

Participants wanted high-calorie foods more. Their reported hunger did not change. That fits a familiar experience: after a bad night you are not hungrier for dal and vegetables, you are drawn to biscuits, namkeen and something sweet with your chai.

3. Hunger hormones may shift, though the evidence is mixed

This is the explanation you will read most often: sleep loss lowers leptin, which signals fullness, and raises ghrelin, which signals hunger. It comes from a well-known 2004 experiment in 12 young men. After two nights of four hours in bed, leptin fell 18%, ghrelin rose 28% and appetite rose 24%.

Later studies have not always agreed. A 2025 meta-analysis of six randomised trials concluded that sleep deprivation “does not consistently affect leptin and ghrelin levels”. A 2021 review found leptin reported as lower, unchanged and higher across studies.

Hormones probably play a part. The evidence that tired people eat more is much firmer than the evidence for exactly why.

4. You move a little less

In the 2026 trial, people were sedentary for about 17 minutes longer each day during the weeks of shorter sleep. That is a small amount, repeated daily. A planned workout is also easier to skip when you are tired.

5. Your body handles sugar less well

In a two-week study of 36 healthy adults, five-hour nights reduced insulin sensitivity by 13%. Lower insulin sensitivity is an early step on the road to type 2 diabetes.

6. More of the extra is stored around the abdomen

In the Mayo Clinic study, total abdominal fat rose 9% and visceral fat, the deep fat around the organs, rose 11% compared with normal sleep. Body weight went up by only about half a kilogram, so the scales alone would have missed it.

This matters in India in particular. In the ICMR-INDIAB national survey, 39.5% of adults had abdominal obesity, a pattern closely tied to heart disease and diabetes.

Weight can disrupt sleep too

The link runs in both directions. Obesity is one of the main risk factors for obstructive sleep apnoea, in which the airway narrows during sleep and breathing repeatedly stops and starts.

Each pause briefly rouses the brain, often without the person knowing. The result is a full night in bed and very little rest, followed by a tired day that makes activity harder and snacking easier.

The NHS lists these signs of sleep apnoea:

Breathing that stops and starts during sleep
Gasping, snorting or choking noises
Loud snoring
Waking often in the night
Feeling very tired in the day, with poor concentration or headaches on waking

A partner usually notices before you do. Sleep apnoea is treatable, and losing weight can improve it, so the loop can be broken from either side.

When to speak to a doctor

Book an appointment if any of these apply:

You have the signs of sleep apnoea listed above.
You have struggled to fall asleep or stay asleep for three months or more.
You sleep seven hours or more and still feel exhausted.
Your weight has changed noticeably without a clear reason.

Several medical conditions and some medicines affect both sleep and weight. A doctor can check for these. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without advice.

Can sleeping more help you lose weight?

It can help, and it is not a weight-loss method in its own right. Three findings show where the benefit lies.

Sleeping longer reduced how much people ate. In the University of Chicago trial, 80 adults with overweight who slept under six and a half hours had one counselling session on sleep habits. They slept about 1.2 hours longer and ate around 270 kcal less per day than the comparison group. Nobody gave them diet advice. The trial lasted two weeks and was not designed to measure weight loss.

Short sleep made a diet less effective. In a small study of 10 adults on a reduced-calorie diet, people lost about 3 kg in two weeks whether they had 8.5 or 5.5 hours in bed. With less sleep, only about 0.6 kg of that was fat, against 1.4 kg with more sleep. The rest was lean tissue, including muscle, which is one reason sleep matters for muscle recovery. They also felt hungrier.

Weekend lie-ins did not undo the week. In the two-week study of 36 adults, one group slept five hours on work nights and as long as they liked over the weekend. They still gained about 1.4 kg, the same as the group kept on five hours throughout, and their late-night snacking returned as soon as the short nights did.

Put together: enough sleep, most nights, makes eating sensibly and staying active easier, and helps a diet take fat instead of muscle. Longer-term trials are still needed to show how much weight this shifts over years.

What to do about it

For general advice, see our 12 science-backed tips for better sleep. The steps below are aimed at the specific ways short sleep affects weight.

Find your real number. Track your sleep for two weeks with a wearable or a simple diary, then look at the average, not your best night. Sleep experts recommend seven or more hours for adults. If you are well short, that gap is your target.
Fix the wake-up time first. Get up at the same time every day, then move bedtime earlier in steps of 15 to 20 minutes. Small shifts tend to be easier to keep than a sudden jump of an hour.
Give the kitchen a closing time. The extra calories arrive late, so decide in advance when eating ends, ideally two to three hours before bed. If work keeps you up, plan one proper snack in place of open-ended grazing.
Expect the cravings after a bad night. You will want sweet, salty and fried food more than usual. Knowing this helps. Eat your normal meals on time, keep snacks out of arm’s reach and avoid ordering in while tired.
Move anyway, at lower intensity. Tired days are when sitting creeps up. A 15-minute walk after lunch and dinner is worth more than a missed workout you meant to do.
Keep weekends close to weekdays. Aim to stay within about an hour of your usual times. Catch-up sleep feels good and does not fully clear a week of sleep debt.
Protect the last hour. Caffeine after mid-afternoon, alcohol near bedtime and a phone in bed can all cut into sleep. Put the phone to charge outside the bedroom if you can.

If your schedule is not in your hands

Shift workers, new parents and carers cannot simply go to bed earlier. A review of 28 studies found night-shift workers had a 23% higher risk of overweight or obesity, with the strongest link for abdominal obesity.

If this is you, the same priorities apply in a different order. Protect one main block of sleep in a dark, quiet room. Plan what you will eat before the shift starts, so the small hours are not left to the vending machine or the delivery app. Take naps when you can get them.

None of this is a failure of willpower. Being short of sleep makes food harder to manage for everyone.

The takeaway

Sleep will not do the work of a balanced diet and regular movement. It decides how hard that work feels. If your weight has been creeping up and your nights have been getting shorter, the two may be connected, and sleep is a reasonable place to start.

Pro Tip: Not sure how much you sleep? Use the GOQii App to track your sleep, activity and meals side by side for two weeks. Your GOQii Personalised Health Coach can help you spot how short nights show up in your eating and build a routine that suits your schedule.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours of sleep do I need to avoid weight gain?

Most adults need seven or more hours a night. In long-term studies, obesity risk was lowest at seven to eight hours. Needs vary between people, and those studies found no added benefit for weight from sleeping longer.

Does lack of sleep slow your metabolism?

Not by much. In pooled trial data, the energy people burned did not change significantly when sleep was restricted. The weight gain comes mainly from eating more, about 385 kcal a day on average.

Can lack of sleep cause belly fat?

It appears to contribute. In a controlled study, two weeks of four-hour nights increased visceral fat by 11% compared with normal sleep, even though body weight rose by only about half a kilogram. The study was small, with 12 participants.

Why do I crave junk food when I am tired?

Sleep loss changes how the brain responds to food. Brain scans show weaker activity in regions that weigh up choices and a stronger response in a region tied to how appealing food feels. People want richer food without necessarily feeling hungrier.

Will sleeping more help me lose weight?

It can support weight loss and is unlikely to cause it alone. In one trial, adults who slept about 1.2 hours longer ate around 270 kcal less per day. Whether that leads to lasting weight loss has not yet been tested in long-term trials.

Can I catch up on sleep at the weekend?

Only partly. In a two-week study, people who slept in over the weekend after five-hour weeknights still gained weight and still showed reduced insulin sensitivity. Regular sleep through the week works better.

Can sleeping too much cause weight gain?

The evidence is weak. In a pooled analysis of long-term studies, longer sleep was not significantly linked to obesity. Regularly needing much more sleep than usual, or sleeping long and still feeling tired, is worth raising with a doctor.

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and education only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have ongoing sleep problems, symptoms of sleep apnoea, unexplained changes in weight or a long-term health condition, please speak to a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your routine.

October 7, 2026 By Kusum Soni 8 Comments

5 Common Habits That Cause Obesity (And How to Break Them)

The Big Question

You’ve been trying hard to lose that stubborn weight. You are making sincere efforts to eat healthy, and you sweat it out through regular physical activity. Yet, despite all your hard work, the scale just doesn’t seem to budge. You might be wondering why.

To understand the roadblock, we have to understand what obesity actually is. According to the WHO, obesity is a medical condition where excess body fat accumulates to the point that it negatively impacts health increasing the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and osteoarthritis.

But obesity isn’t just caused by a lack of exercise or an obvious love for junk food. Often, it is slowly fueled by everyday, seemingly harmless lifestyle habits.

Quick Answer: What daily habits cause obesity?

Weight gain is commonly driven by hidden everyday behaviors: eating too quickly, chronic dehydration, sleep deprivation, stocking up on processed kitchen groceries, and remaining completely sedentary for long hours outside of your workout.

5 Common Habits That Secretly Cause Weight Gain

1. Eating Too Quickly

How many times have you practically inhaled your food while on a call, rushing to a meeting, or doing a chore, without even tasting it? This unmindful practice could be making you gain fat.

The Science: It takes approximately 20 minutes for satiety signals to reach your brain from your stomach. Eating hurriedly overrides this mechanism, making you overeat before your brain even realizes you are full.
The Fix: Be conscious while eating and take smaller bites. Chewing well promotes the release of salivary and digestive enzymes, metabolizing food faster and more efficiently. Eating slowly also enhances the thermogenic effect of food and balances hormones responsible for fat oxidation.

2. Not Drinking Enough Water

It is incredibly common for people to eat healthy and stay active, yet remain overweight simply because they drink less than 1 liter of water a day.

The Science: An average adult is 55-60% water, but some obese individuals can be as little as 15% water. Why? Because fat tissue contains only about 10% water, while muscle tissue holds roughly 75%. Proper hydration maintains healthy muscle mass, which is directly responsible for a higher metabolic rate.
The Fix: Combined with physical activity, drinking at least 1.5 to 2 liters of water increases fat oxidation and acts as a zero-calorie, natural appetite suppressant. Swap sugary teas, juices, and sodas for plain water (infuse it with lemon or cucumber if you find it boring!).

3. Not Getting Enough Sleep

Sleep deprivation has become a hallmark of modern society, driven by screen time, social media, and long work hours.

The Science: Skimping on sleep alters your metabolism and endocrine system. It decreases insulin sensitivity, spikes evening cortisol (stress hormone) levels, and deranges your hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin). Plus, the longer you are awake, the more you are exposed to late-night food stimuli.
The Fix: Prioritize 7-8 hours of quality sleep. Good rest keeps hormone levels in check, helping you eat better, exercise better, and maintain a healthy waist circumference.

4. Stocking Processed “Kitchen Grocery”

Take a look inside your kitchen cabinets. If they are filled with colorful packets of biscuits, sugary cereals, cookies, and packaged juices, you are setting yourself up for failure.

The Science: Processed foods cause massive spikes in blood sugar, followed by an inevitable crash. This “blood sugar roller coaster” triggers intense cravings for more high-carb foods. These items are filled with added white sugars and “empty calories” devoid of essential nutrients.
The Fix: Remember: A low-fat cookie is still a cookie! Aim to stock your pantry with whole foods—whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. This naturally balances your diet and lowers your daily calorie intake.

5. Long Sitting Hours (The Active Couch Potato)

More than 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas where jobs revolve around screens and prolonged sitting.

The Science: Researchers have found a startling truth: one hour of intense physical exercise does not make up for the negative effects of inactivity if you spend the remaining 10-12 hours of your day sitting.
The Fix: Don’t throw away your morning gym session by hitting the office chair or couch for the rest of the day.
- Stand up and move for 3-5 minutes every hour.
- Walk while talking on your mobile phone.
- Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Keep your water bottle away from your desk so you have to get up to drink.

Pro Tip: You don’t have to overhaul all your habits at once. Use the GOQii App to track your daily water intake, sleep patterns, and step count. For the right guidance on how to lose weight and sustain it in a healthy way, speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why does eating fast cause weight gain?

It takes your stomach about 20 minutes to send “I’m full” signals to your brain. When you eat too quickly, you consume far more calories than your body needs before your brain has a chance to tell you to stop.

Can drinking water really help with weight loss?

Yes. Water acts as a natural, zero-calorie appetite suppressant. It also helps maintain healthy muscle mass (which boosts metabolism) and increases fat oxidation when combined with physical activity.

How does sleep affect my weight?

Lack of sleep disrupts hunger hormones (increasing ghrelin, which makes you hungry, and decreasing leptin, which makes you feel full). It also decreases insulin sensitivity and raises cortisol levels, promoting fat storage.

What is the problem with “low-fat” processed foods?

Many low-fat processed foods compensate for the lack of fat by adding massive amounts of refined sugar and artificial additives. These cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, leading to intense cravings and empty calorie consumption.

Is a 1-hour workout enough if I sit at a desk all day?

Unfortunately, no. While a 1-hour workout is great for cardiovascular health, sitting for the remaining hours of the day slows down your metabolism significantly. You need frequent micro-movements (like standing or walking for 5 minutes every hour) to stay metabolically active.

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health.

July 18, 2026 By GOQii Leave a Comment

From Burnout to Balance: How Dr. Ranjit Reclaimed His Health

Dr Ranjit Bhatt has spent years tending to others. A practising doctor in Odisha, his days were packed with patients, surgeries, and emergencies. From the outside, it looked like a life lived in service. But on the inside, something wasn’t right.

“I had no control over my schedule. I’d sleep late, eat at odd hours, snack on high-calorie junk, and barely get any movement except walking up and down the hospital corridors,” he recalls.

The work never stopped. But his body did. At first, it was just fatigue. Then one day, he fainted in the operating theatre. “Not once. Twice, actually. Inside the operating theatre. That moment scared me. It made me stop and ask myself, ‘If I collapse, who’s going to help my patients?’ That thought haunted me.”

That was the turning point. Life had been trying to send him signals. Now it had finally yelled loud enough for him to listen.

A Drawer. A Watch. A Turning Point.

Around the same time in 2019, a Pharma company rep who had visited him gave him a GOQii watch. At first, it sat in a drawer. For six to 8 months, he didn’t use it. “I thought it was just another gadget. I didn’t think it would fit into my routine, or even help, to be honest,” he says with a shrug.

But curiosity eventually won. And, he decided to try it. He wore the band, downloaded the app, and started exploring. To his surprise, it wasn’t just a step counter. It helped him log his meals, track his water intake, monitor his sleep, and reflect on his daily habits. “Suddenly, I had a dashboard of my life,” he says. “I saw how little I moved, how poorly I slept.

All this while, he did not use the coach service. “I was losing weight, but I did not take note of my diet and exercise. I was not sure how to interpret the data that was on my app. I was still missing one piece, human guidance.” Bhatt says.

This is when he activated the code and availed of the coach service since 2021. “At first, I just posted what I ate. But when I started with the coach service, my coach responded to every post. She started giving me small tips. No lectures. Just practical nudges,” he says.

The Power of Coaching

The coach started with his diet. She brought about minor changes by cutting down on processed carbs, added more fibre, and encouraged him to eat at consistent times. These changes help him reduce bloating and improve his digestion. Then came the movement. Nothing fancy. Just walking for 30 minutes a day.

“It sounds simple, right? But when someone walks that journey with you, holds you accountable, and celebrates small wins, that’s when things change.”

And change they did. Over time, he dropped from 82 kilos to 68. His waist trimmed down from 34 inches to 30. His lipid profile tells the same story. Back in September 2023, his total cholesterol was sitting at 228. Today, it’s down to 189. His LDL has fallen from 151 to 131, and his triglycerides have dropped from 160 to 129.

These changes aren’t just numbers. His GOQii Health Risk Assessment score climbed from 75 to 86. His skin started glowing, his energy levels soared, and that constant fatigue? Gone.

“I sleep well now. I wake up with clarity. I no longer crash during the day. Even my patients have noticed me. Some even ask me what I’m doing differently.”

His family sees it too. His friends joke that he looks like he’s turned the clock back.

“Some of them say I look 16,” he laughs. “I tell them, if I can do it, anyone can. You just need to start.”

More Than a Transformation

Now, after seven consistent years with GOQii, Dr Ranjit isn’t just healthier, he’s a different man altogether. One who understands the value of self-care not as an indulgence, but as a responsibility.

“As doctors, we often put ourselves last. But we forget, we are the instrument. If we don’t keep ourselves sharp and well, how can we help others?”

This is more than a fitness transformation. It’s a reminder that change doesn’t always come from grand resolutions. Sometimes, it begins with listening to your own body. Sometimes, it’s as simple as saying yes to something you once ignored.

And sometimes, like in Dr Ranjit’s case, it’s a quiet moment of collapse that forces you to stand up again, this time, stronger and more mindful than ever.

Does the journey of Dr Ranjit Bhatt inspire you to begin yours? Speak to a GOQii Coach by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching here.

For more inspiring stories, check out Healthy Reads.

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