Search Results for: winter

April 18, 2018 By Luke Coutinho 2 Comments

Dehydration and your Metabolism

Water is the most important thing that we should never ignore. How many of us have been told that we should drink at least 2.5 to 3 litres of water every day or 8 glasses minimum. And, how many of us actually follow this? Most of us drink water only when we realize that we are very thirsty. But, ideally that should not be the case.

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Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water. If you are thirsty, then it is already too late. The problem is that many of us have trouble deciding when we are thirsty.

I know I am thirsty when I feel sluggish or tired, experience mild headaches, have trouble concentrating or constipated. A dry mouth and a flushed or tired feeling are all signs that you could be thirsty, but you have realized it when it’s already too late.

‘Thirst’ is a tricky phenomenon to understand. The feeling of thirst is governed by the hypothalamus in the brain. It reads the salt levels in the body. When you are dehydrated, the salt concentration in your body rises. That triggers your thirst alarm. But, by this time, many of your vital organs are already severely deprived of water.

Water is a miracle liquid. You are a mixture of water, protein and a myriad of molecules blended together to create a physical you. Two-thirds of your body is water. Cells, bones and blood both hold water and float in it. Muscles are 75% water.

You need water to enable your body to keep eliminating the toxins generated, to produce digestive enzymes, maintain healthy skin, hair, organs and to help your body absorb essential vitamins, minerals and natural sugars. Water also regulates your body temperature, cooling you down by evaporating through your skin.

Even on a cold winter day your body will use and lose about 2 liters of water. Imagine how much greater that amount is on a hot summer day.

The important point over here is to understand that less water or getting dehydrated frequently SLOWS DOWN YOUR METABOLISM. A slow metabolism means slower fat loss and slumps in your energy levels and growth.

SIGNS OF DEHYDRATION:

Fatigue
Lethargy
Irritability
Headache
Blurred vision
Flushed skin
Lack of mental clarity
Constipation
Cystitis
Back pain
High cholesterol
Cellulite
Water retention

Don’t reach a point of dehydration.

** Always carry a water bottle with you.
** Wake up to 500ml to 800ml of water every morning.
** Sip through the day and keep a bottle at your desk so you remember to drink in case you get busy.
** Remember, coffee is a diuretic, if you drink coffee you need to drink 2 cups of water post that.
** If you drink alcohol, drink one glass of water for every drink you have.

April 9, 2018 By Trupti Hingad 1 Comment

The humble ‘Khichdi’

khichdi

My love for ‘Khichdi’, a mixture of cooked rice with lentils, vegetables with tempered spices dates back to my childhood days. It’s the preferred choice of mothers to feed their child Khichdi (minus the spices) as it’s the easiest to digest, well-balanced \food. Khichdi is a mixture of Carbohydrates, protein, Fibre and calcium.

History of Khichdi

Just to take you a little into the history of Khichdi, the wonderful dish traces its origin in the Indian subcontinent as early as 1350. ‘Khichdi’ was recently promoted globally by the government as India’s ‘Super Food” and Queen of all foods”. The government also plans to globally promote Khichdi as healthy, delicious and easy to make Superfood of India.

The Great World food India event held at the India Gate Lawns, New Delhi set a Guinness book world record of making the largest portion of Khichdi weighing 918kg. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and well-known yoga and Ayurveda Guru Baba Ramdev were among the eminent personalities who took part in preparing the KHICHDI. The humble khichdi has travelled across borders—From Egypt to Britain.

Taste better and retains nutrients when cooked in an earthen pot

Khichdi tastes best when cooked in an earthen pot. Clay pot’s porous nature allows both mixture and heat to circulate through the food. This results in aromatic food, which is generally lost in other types of utensils. Clay is alkaline in nature and it interacts with acidity in the food, thereby neutralizing the pH balance and eventually making the food healthy. It is believed to provide the required minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and sulphur that benefits health. Due to its heat resistance and slow cooking, the food retains all its nutrients and moisture, therefore you would not require extra oil or fat for providing moisture to your food. Apart from calming the body and detoxifying it, the ingredients in khichdi also have the perfect balance of the basic elements required to improve energy, immunity and digestion.

Health Benefits

Khichdi is the food of choice of Panchakarma, a form of Ayurvedic healing that helps in mind, body healing and detoxification. Wondering why white rice is part of the mix? During cleansing, the metabolism slows down and the digestive strength weakens, so any food you eat must be very easy to digest. You also need adequate proteins to keep the blood sugar stable and burn fat, which is where the lentils come in.

Nutritional Benefits

Nutritionally speaking, khichdi and veggies make a balanced meal that reboots your digestive system after eating packaged and restaurant foods. And if you want to add some colour to your khichdi, try a palak khichdi. It’s one of the healthiest one-dish meal you’ll eat. For most, khichdi is the kind of food you eat when you are unwell as it is considered a bland dish. While, yes moong khichdi is an easy-to-digest meal when you have an upset tummy or fever but hey, that’s not what khichdi is all about. Every region in India has a unique variant of this dish.

There is Bengal’s khichuri; Haryanvi Kichri with Bajra and moong dal served with lassi; Bisi Bela Bhat in Karnataka; Hyderabad’s popular breakfast khichdi-kheema khatta are some of the popular khichdi varieties.

Varieties of Khichdi

Moong khichdi may not fit in your definition of tasty food, but in Surat, this is a much-loved meal. You’ll love their khichdi served with piping hot kadhi, a mixture made of curd and some add-ons like cooked vegetables. Khichdi is the ultimate comfort or soul food, however humble it may be.

Bajra ka khichdi is a popular dish in Rajasthan eaten during winter. Bajra along with ghee keeps your body warm and your skin soft and supple in the cold weather. You can whip up a lip-smacking bajra khichdi at home.

So let me share some amazing khichdi style with you

Daal Khicdhi—simplest and common one( rice, tur dal, spices, veggies, peanuts and desi ghee).

Bhogar Khichdi–(rice, moong dal, veggies, spices, and desi ghee)—This is BENGAL speciality.

Sprouted lentil khichdi–( rice, sprouted lentil, herbs spices, desi ghee)

Pongal (Tamil Nadu khichdi)-(rice, moong dal, desi ghee, Kaju, spices.

Barely khichdi-(barley, herbs, veggies, spices, desi ghee)

Khato-–Hyderabadi khichdi (rice, moong dal, veggies, desi ghee)

Mushroom pesto khichdi–( rice, mushroom, cheese, pasta, pine nut and desi ghee)

Corn Palak khichdi–( rice, moong dal, corn, spinach, spices, desi ghee)

Sabudana khichdi–( sabudana, peanuts, potatoes, and desi ghee) You can enjoy khichdi with curd, buttermilk, grilled fish and veggies.

So let’s cook some Khichdi in one meal today and sooth our soul.

December 13, 2017 By Rajnish Kansal Leave a Comment

“There is lot of positivity among us and that is being witnessed by people all around us”

Rajnish Kansal and Reena Kansal, both in their mid-forties is a happy couple with two happy kids. They are a fit family that firmly believes in healthy eating and being active daily to be able to lead a great life. And all this change happened within a year of following the GOQii Lifestyle.

Let’s hear Rajnish and his family’s story in their own words.

Just to give you’ll a background, I am 47 years of age and work for a food company that manufactures and sells processed food products. I was always an active person for many years at a stretch until one day I took up this vice called ‘smoking’. For 19 long years, I was a heavy smoker. In 2006 one fine day I decided I have had enough and wanted to quit smoking – and in a spur of the moment, I just quit.

Once I had quit smoking I wanted to get back to rebuilding the damage to my body. However, I didn’t know where to start from. I started following many things together without any tangible visible results. Then one of my ex-bosses motivated me towards the path of health and about 6 years ago I started my journey with first eating right. I started the process with whatever little knowledge I had and could glean from whatever sources and got into an active lifestyle. But, there was no proper regime and no discipline attached to it. It was just all over the place.

It was in end-December 2014 that I got to know of GOQii and the coach service that it provides. I decided to give it a shot, and my journey with GOQii started exactly a year ago on 2^nd of January 2015, today, I can confidently say that it has been one of the best decisions of my life.

Through constant guidance from my coach and internal motivation from within the GOQii ecosystem, I have physically become stronger with an increase in my muscle mass so much so that I “dared” to participate in the 100 km Trailwalk along with my wife in November 2015 – together both of us completed it in approx. 38.5 hours! This year I am hoping that my son will also join us. I also run the half marathons regularly.

I do indulge myself in cheat eating. But, it is guilt-free eating and only once in a while. I am not counting calories but I am conscious guilt-free eating and how much? Working for a processed food company… GOQii is a redemption for me!

Within a month’s time of me getting my GOQii band, my wife started noticing the positive changes in me and got interested. And, I gifted her a GOQii band last year on the Valentine’s Day.

Reena Kansal says: “It is one of the best gifts that I have ever got in all these years.” My food habits had already gone through a change after Rajnish got the band. So even without a band, I was following everything that Rajnish was being guided on. Post getting my own band, GOQii has brought in a lot of positives to me.

My food patterns have changed. While I was always a small eater at regular intervals, what I was eating was not always healthy. Now, I eat everything but, I am conscious of eating healthy. So much so that our household cooking has become healthier and kids have also readily accepted that. It’s been a major shift for us towards eating healthy and keeping fit. Earlier I used to go to the gym but not very regularly. Forget counting steps there was no proper regime to do anything. Now I have set a goal for myself to clock at least 13k steps daily.

I work for a fashion apparel company and am always on the move. Prior to GOQii, I did not have any routine but, ever since I have been on GOQii platform there is discipline in life. Now, I am supercharged and raring to go – No more being lethargic and tired. These days when I exercise, I do not give up easily. My energy levels have certainly gone up a lot.

“After my wife, I got my son who is 14 years old introduced to GOQii and subsequently my daughter who is 12 years old. My family has also got moving with me now”.

My kids changed their school last academic year and the kids have felt the positivity having the profound impact in their new environment as well so much so that they are now supercharged and participate in various physical activities like races etc.

Rimuksh Kansal says: I like the GOQii way of life. I used to eat lots of sugar and sweets. Now I can control myself to eat sweets and junk food. It’s been six months since I have eaten chips. Also, I wake up at 6 am on my own. After I am back from school at 3 pm I step out at 6 pm to play. I wanted to do the Trailwalk with my parents but, I could not as I am underage. However, I did go for the 3 practice sessions and completed them as well. This ability in me is something that my coach Neha Morche has brought out. I would say, GOQii has made me a lot more active than I was earlier.

Rijul Kansal is a chirpy and lively child. She is supercharged and she says: I got my band last year and I feel really good about being on GOQii. It has done a lot of good for me. I have changed my eating habits. Earlier I used to eat a lot of junk food but now I do not. I probably have once in a while where there is a picnic or something. However, I am able to control the urge for junk food. I follow everything my coach says. She has thrown a challenge of eating one fruit daily this month which I am trying to keep up. Until last year, I did not go participate much in the weekly GOQII event Active Sunday. But this year I have promised myself I will attend all Active Sundays and be very active. Because of GOQii, I am fit now. Before I had my GOQii band, I used to always fall ill during winters but last year I only fell once and that too because I had a cold drink. I do not get stressed because I am active. So I am able to participate in all school activities. Since I love running, during PT sessions I can easily run two rounds of the ground continuously without stopping.

Unfortunately, both the kids are unable to wear the band during the school hours – their school has a strict “no gadgets” rule – however, what is noteworthy is that they manage to clock their steps over the weekend and above all they understand what mindful eating and being active is and how it’s keeping them healthy.

Taking over from his kids, Rajnish continues, earlier we had a hard time living mindfully, but with GOQii, we are all aware when we are not moving. There are days when I look down to check my steps and if I find that I have not clocked enough steps then I go for long walks with my family – this gives me an opportunity to not only complete my step count target but also to spend quality time with the family.

We are now truly a GOQii family. The GOQii Active Sundays have become an inseparable part of our lives – as a family, we are some of the most active players of GOQii in Delhi – and all four of us are each other’s support system. The kids love it, and Reena and I love the fact that we were giving them tools to stay healthy as they get older. And to top it all, we have an awesome set of friends now, all with a similar motto in life – be physically and mentally healthy!

For us, wellness has now acquired meaning in its entirety – physical and mental, both and for the whole family. We are physically active and mentally we are far calmer now – we have started spending a lot of time with each other and pursuing new stress-busting hobbies like painting, calligraphy etc. And we are very happy, from within. In the last one year, I have realized that our demeanour has become extremely positive that people have started noticing it in all of us.

Thank you, GOQii! We sure appreciate being a part of the Ecosystem that supports us every step of the way in being healthy!

Coach Anushree Ashtekar on Rajnish

“Rajnish is one of the best GOQii players I have worked with. I remember; when he had come on board, we had set his health goals as reducing fat percentage, increasing stamina, bring high uric acid level under control and bringing about work-life balance.

He was an athlete during his college days but, fast-paced work life caught up with him. He had specifically mentioned that he wanted me to be a pushy coach; so, I became one! We brought about a major difference in his daily food intake by improving meal quality and that helped him in fat loss. Simultaneously, we also worked on the exercise part. With time, uric acid level improved and body fat percentage improved too.

Rajnish is a person who believes in not only taking care of his own health but, has strong views on today’s generation getting fitness conscious. His wife, son, and daughter are also GOQii players. This is one power-packed family who is regular at the GOQii Active Sunday sessions!

Rajnish’s love and determination for good health and fitness and his faith in me as his coach have given us awesome results. We are now working on progression in exercise and bringing about work-life balance. Am sure, like our other goals, Rajnish will achieve these too!”

December 11, 2017 By Neha Morche 14 Comments

Seasonal fruits and vegetables

Nature has given us all the possible amenities to keep ourselves healthy. Interestingly, our body responds according to the change in season say summer, spring, monsoon, autumn and winter depending on particular weather patterns and daylight hours.

It is important for us to know the seasonal fruits and vegetables to get accustomed to the climate. The food list may vary according to the hemisphere.

There are three main seasons Summer, Monsoon and winter.

During Winter: The temperature drops down compared to our body temperature thus, we face cold, cough. Building immunity becomes very necessary during this season. Availability of papaya, all citrus fruits like oranges, sweet lime, strawberries, apples, guava, lemons, mushrooms, cabbages, turnip, winter squash, potatoes, beets, carrots, leafy vegetables, pomegranates, pineapples, custard apple, asparagus, green beans, radish, cauliflowers, spinach and mustard greens are good for the consumer during Winters.

During Summer it is common to lose our appetite which makes us stay away from the heavy foods. Our body tends to maintain temperature by perspiring heavily, thus we need more amount of water to keep our body well hydrated.

Seasonal food has the naturally cooling effect on the body so we can rely completely on them such as watermelon, tomatoes, Cantaloupe, plums, peaches, raspberries, grapefruits, mangoes, kiwi, mushrooms, eggplant, corn, cucumbers, bell peppers, green peas, pumpkin, bottle guard, celery, bitter guard, apricots, bananas, zucchini, asparagus, artichokes, lettuce etc.

During Monsoon our body becomes vulnerable to infection, water born diseases. Hence our health takes a toll. Fruits and vegetables like pumpkins, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, sweet potatoes, corn, eggplant, cauliflower, cranberries, blueberries, apples, beets, ginger, garlic, Brussel sprouts etc. are good during this seasons.

Here are some amazing benefits of having seasonal fruits and vegetables:

It is affordable to buy them as it is more abundant and you can stock for future use.
It is tastier as it is fully, naturally ripened and they have significantly delicious taste than the artificial one.
They are grown in the season under appropriate conditions for the particular fruit or vegetables.
They retain the most natural colour and flavour.
We are more likely to get vitamins, other micronutrients and antioxidants from them.

While variety is important nutritionally, it is also important in terms of flavour and texture.