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8 Simple Health Tips You Can Follow At Work

8 Simple & Healthy Tips For Office WorkersIn the present day, our lifestyles have changed drastically. It’s not just our lifestyle but our working style as well. Being glued to a laptop or a system without moving for hours has become the current trend. We work for nearly 10-12 hours seated on a chair with minimal movement for lunch or to get fresh.

While this sedentary lifestyle is important to earn a livelihood, it comes at the cost of many health issues such as neck pain, back ache, eye problems and digestion issues from irregular eating habits, to name a few. Let’s not forget the part stress plays in our lives. The effects of being seated with no activity affects not only our physical health but our mental health as well. When at home, most people are either irregular with their workouts or do not have a fitness regime at all. Not being active at work and at home can be detrimental to your well-being.

This is certainly not a good way to lead a life. One should take some time out for themselves and give a thought to maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Introducing even a little bit of workout or walking in your daily routine can make a world of a difference. Some physical activity and slight changes in your working pattern and eating habits can help you stay healthy. Try following these 8 simple health tips while you work!

8 Simple Health Tips You Can Follow At Work 

Bring about a slight change in your lifestyle by doing these 8 simple health tips:

  1. Include a walk in between while traveling to work and back.
  2. Use the stairs instead of an elevator
  3. Sit with your back straight, in an erect position while seated on a chair. Try this technique to correct your posture while seated: https://goqii.com/blog/how-to-correct-your-posture-at-work/
  4. Get up after every couple of hours to stretch your back, arms and legs
  5. Keep a bottle of water at your desk and drink it frequently. Don’t forget that you need to drink at least 3l of water a day. You can also set reminders through the GOQii App
  6. Keep a few snacks, fruits or dry fruits on your desk so you can munch on them when hungry
  7. Keep the brightness of your system low and maintain a decent distance away from the screen
  8. Do not overeat when stressed. If you have begun a fitness regime, your appetite is likely to increase. If weight loss or maintaining a certain weight is one of your goals, you should stick to your diet and not eat more than required by your body. Avoid junk food especially.

In addition, you can add a freehand workout session of 15 minutes which you can perform either at work or at home. 5 basic but effective exercises like jumping jacks, squats, push ups, crunches and planks will do wonders. Do two sets of each of these exercises with 15-20 repetitions each. This will not only improve your health but stamina levels as well, helping you concentrate better as well as relieve you of stress or any other aches and pains caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Following these simple health tips won’t affect your routine and they are easy to squeeze into your schedule as well. Try them out and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

For more tips such as this, check out Healthy Reads or ask an expert by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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Poulomi Bhattacharya Loses Weight, Gets Active & Fit With GOQii

Poulomi BhattacharyaImagine having a good work-life balance and then a sudden change at work derails your otherwise active lifestyle. You begin gaining weight and that invites a host of other complications you would have not imagined! Our Player Poulomi Bhattacharya faced something similar. Here’s how her Health Story unfolded.

All Work and No Play

Based in Delhi, Poulomi Bhattacharya is a high flying senior hospitality professional. For the longest time she worked in the operations side of the Hotels business where she had a hectic but active life. Then, around 2005, she moved to the HR front in the Learning & Development side. This took a toll on her health in terms of gaining weight. “In Learning & Development, there is not much scope to be active,” she said. She led an inactive lifestyle and to further add to the already inactive lifestyle, was a slip disc that she suffered from.

This kind of inactive lifestyle was coupled with bad eating habits. Due to her hectic schedule, she was eating 3 meals a day at odd hours. During these years, she also traveled a lot and moved between different locations such as Goa and Bengaluru. In 2014, she began gaining weight and also developed Blood Pressure issues. She was on medication to control her BP. She suffered from menstrual issues.

In 2019, she moved back to Delhi for a new job and here, she used to travel approximately 20 days. This kind of fast-paced, on-the-go work environment gave her little scope to rectify her health issues or even be active. Her stress levels were high and thanks to the lack of a work-life balance, she decided to introduce some changes and lead a healthy lifestyle.

In Feb 2020, when she checked her weight, she weighed 71kg. She said that it’s the highest she’s hit in her life. “I realised that I had to find time to do something about it,” she said. Initially she started going to the gym and walking on the treadmill but in March 2020 when COVID struck, she was homebound. 

While she indulged in all household chores, she had developed a terrible pain in her arms. The pain was due to lack of calcium. She says her calcium absorption was less and hence, she had to take injections. Her BP was also  low and her doctor suggested that she walk for 20 minutes daily. 

Making A Lifestyle Change With GOQii

After going through all these issues, her husband began looking for a fitness tracker that could also measure BP on a continuous basis. He came across GOQii and Poulomi decided to try it out. When subscribing for personalised health coaching, her goals were simple – to lose weight, be fit and active.

Initially, she was assigned Dr Naina Sudharshan. Poulomi Bhattarcharya says, “She guided me so well that she became my best friend.” Slowly and steadily, Poulomi started following all the habits set by the coach. Getting active was one of those habits coupled with a nutritarian diet that places emphasis on fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. Poulomi was also asked not to skip any meals.

She didn’t have a regular exercise routine but she began following live coaches on GOQii Play and GOQii Pro, and now, it has become a part of her daily life. She follows Coach Neha and Coach Anushka’s Yoga classes and they have helped her improve her mental health and strength. She also follows Coach Arooshi’s classes for tips on Nutrition.

For her pre-workout nutrition, she consumes lemon juice with chia seeds in it – as this has the ability to promote a feeling of fullness and also has great antioxidant properties. For the remainder of the day, she consumes a balanced diet that provides energy and nutrients to her body.

Meditation is something that she has introduced to her routine as well. This has helped her with her anger issues as well as helped her normalise her sleep. For meditation, she follows Coach Rounak on GOQii Play.

Some Changes Poulomi Bhattarcharya Experienced…

Since joining GOQii, Poulomi has reduced her weight to 56.4kg and her target weight now is 55kg. She said that she feels much lighter, has more energy and is more positive than she was before. She has completely stopped her Blood Pressure medication as well.

She recently spoke to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal on an episode of GOQii Health Stories. You can hear her speak about her entire journey in detail here: 

Her current Coach Sheena Nambiar says, “Poulomi Bhattacharya is a very committed person who really wanted to develop her health and fitness levels day by day!” 

Did this story inspire you? Do you want to manage a medical condition or simply lose weight? Let our Coaches and Experts help you make a lifestyle change. To write your own Health Story, subscribe for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring Health Stories, check out Healthy Reads and let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

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How To Build Endurance and Stamina

endurance and stamina

When you go for your usual runs, do you find yourself grasping for breath? Is it difficult for you to run for a longer period without tiring yourself out? Do you want to run freely and participate in marathons and other sporting events? It’s time to improve your endurance and stamina! We’ve got you covered with tips that will help you increase your speed and improve your time duration while avoiding injuries.

Tips To Improve Endurance and Stamina 

Endurance and stamina are the body’s ability to exert itself to its maximum without completely gasping for breath while being able to speak a sentence. There are certain tips and tricks to increase and build endurance and stamina.  

  1. Maintain a Schedule: with 2-3 short distance runs and a long distance run at least once a week to acclimatize the body to run farther distances and to build Aerobic capacity. Then slowly try to increase the duration of the run by 1km per week or 0.5 km per week depending on your fitness levels. For instance, 2-3times, 5-8km runs in a week with one 10km run in the first week (this is for athletes who are at moderate level intensity). With increasing the distance by 0.5-1km per week for Long runs for a couple of months, followed with increasing the Speed needed to cover the same distance.
  2. A simple rule of thumb that can be followed here is the FITT (Frequency of exercise, Intensity of Exercise, Type of Exercise and Time duration needed to complete a distance) principle: Always increase the time duration first (of the long runs) in the first few weeks of training. Then increase the speed/intensity of the workout in the coming months of training. This trick  helps in preventing any form of injury.
  3. Muscle Strengthening: For completing marathons in less time and improving speed and fitness, strengthening the core muscles and the lower body muscles is a necessity as doing only cardio will reduce the resistance in joints and muscles. The weight of the entire body lies on the legs and is supported by the core muscles. It would be great to sneak in a couple of days of weight bearing strength training into the schedule. But my advice would be try for more repetitions and lesser weights while doing strength training (avoid extremely heavy weights as the goal is to build on Muscular Endurance and strength and not become bulky). 
  4. Nutrition: is as important as exercises for improving stamina. It can make or break a performance. 1-2 bananas or 12-15 grapes 20mins before a short run would be a great option or 1 bowl muesli with 1 banana and milk would be perfect 1-1.5 hours before a long run. Even 1-2 Idlis 1 hour before the workouts would be a perfect blend of Carbs, Proteins and Salt. A homemade Nimboo pani with pink salt and jaggery/sugar would be great to be carried for sipping during the runs or a coconut water or even an electoral would work the trick for long runs. 20-30mins post workout is the window of anabolic opportunity where max absorption of nutrients happens. Preferable to have post workout nutrition within 20mins of workout. Dates(4-5 in nos), Prunes(handful), Banana(1-2), Raisins(handful), Grapes(12-15 in nos), Watermelon(1-2 slices) along with a glass of Milk or Whey isolate or 2 (whites):1(yolk) eggs for proteins would be great. Even having your Breakfast rich in carbs-proteins immediately post workout (if a morning run) would work as a fantastic post workout meal.
  5. Recovery: No training or progression with any goal is complete without sufficient rest and recovery periods. Sleep, rest is essential to excrete toxin and lactic acid build up in the body. It is very important to also reduce the levels of the stress hormone Cortisol (which also increases with training), it helps in recovery of every cell and muscle in the body thereby enabling better performance.

Simple things like doing an active warm-up pre-workout and static cool down stretches post workout is essential to prevent any forms of injury and will indirectly help in building endurance and stamina.

We hope this article helps you improve your endurance and stamina. To read more about indoor workouts, check out Healthy Reads. For tips on weight/strength training, and to workout with our experts on a live session, subscribe for a GOQii Pro class within the GOQii App.  

Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below! 

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Anupa Samuel Lowers Triglycerides and Cholesterol Levels With Help From Her GOQii Coach!

Anupa SamuelWhile the lockdown was a great move to curb the spread of COVID-19, it affected the health and lifestyle of a lot of people. Those leading active lifestyles had to be homebound and this led to the development of certain ailments that affect them even today. Our player Anupa Samuel faced a similar situation where her triglycerides and cholesterol levels shot up but with the help of her GOQii Coach, she was able to reverse her condition. Here’s how her Health Story unfolded.

The Journey From Active To Inactive

Anupa Samuel is a 46 year old who lives in Mumbai with her husband and 2 children. She claimed to be a sports enthusiast, playing sports since childhood. She enjoyed playing sports such as throwball and badminton. She was quite active even before the COVID pandemic, walking almost 14km a day.

After the lockdown, Anupa Samuel was unable to participate in the activities she enjoyed. She stopped walking. “It got difficult to walk even 5k steps,” she said. Her eating habits became problematic as well as her lunch and dinner was too heavy and she began eating at odd hours. Although weight wasn’t an issue for her, her triglycerides and cholesterol levels shot up significantly. 

Choosing Diet Over Medicine 

When she figured her triglyceride and cholesterol levels were high, she made a decision to avoid medicines. “I don’t like taking medicines,” she said. She was willing to do anything apart from taking medication and wanted to solely focus on reversing her condition through diet and nutrition. 

When her husband asked his friends and colleagues if it is possible to reduce triglyceride and cholesterol levels through diet alone, they said it would be a difficult task as you need to switch your food habits and eat lots of salads, to which Anupa said, “I can do it!” 

Joining GOQii & Making A Positive Lifestyle Change 

Anupa joined GOQii on Feb 11, 2022 when her husband gave it to her as a gift. Around April, she was assigned to Coach Nikhil Sapate. “Now, he’s not just a coach but a very good friend of mine, so I’m very comfortable with him,” says Anupa about her GOQii Coach Nikhil. 

He closely monitored her habits and took into account her goal of wanting to reverse her condition through diet and nutrition alone and suggested a few changes.

These suggestions included: 

  • Start the day with apple cider vinegar with turmeric and lukewarm water for detox 
  • Drink bay leaf ginger tea in the evening
  • Eat fruits, roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, soaked brazilian nuts, walnuts and almonds 
  • Include red rice in meals 
  • Eat heavy meals only till lunch, whereas before her lunch and dinner used to be heavy 
  • Post lunch, stick to green tea
  • For dinner, eat fruits or a bowl of salad
  • Drink more than 2L of water a day 

Apart from the changes above, Coach Nikhil also ensured that she stopped consuming brown bread. She also began indulging in activities she enjoyed doing before. Currently, she spends her time being active throughout the day by walking, playing table tennis, performing aerobics, planks, squats and badminton, etc. She varies her workout to keep it from being boring. Albeit, she tries to cover these activities within a single day. She says, “I enjoy activities so I can give as much time as needed for exercising”.  

When her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April, she had to do hospital visits once a month. While waiting for her father’s treatment, she found ways to keep herself active like meditating while waiting or trying to complete her steps by walking up and down the stairs of the hospital.

Within 6 months of joining GOQii Anupa is already an Elite Player. When asked about her progress, she says, “All the credit goes to my GOQii Coach. He is outstanding. Apart from him, coaches like Anushka Contractor and Mukesh Morwall have helped me a lot!” 

This can also be credited to the fact that Anupa is quite active on the GOQii App. “My kids say that I am married to GOQii only,” she said as she has a hard time when she is not close to her GOQii Tracker. 

She is a regular on GOQii Play and also joins live online classes on GOQii PRO. Her favorite coaches include Anushka Contractor, Mukesh Morwall, Rounak Gajjar, Sheetal Tewari and Alistair Fernandes as well as she enjoys dancing. 

She is also an active reader of the GOQii Blog. Her main goal right now is to improve her sleep and hydration levels. She joins the ASMR sessions on GOQii Play to improve her sleep. 

Results Of Personalized Health Coaching With GOQii 

At the time of joining, Anupa’s triglycerides were at 345 and her total cholesterol level was at 239. Her TSH levels were at 7.33. “She was looking to bring her triglycerides and total cholesterol down with the help of natural food and no medication,” says her Coach Nikhil. “After cutting processed foods and fried items, she managed to bring her triglycerides down to 187, and cholesterol to 174, while her TSH levels dropped massively to 4.64. The levels were achieved in 3 months,” he added.

As of now, she avoids biscuits, crackers and packaged foods as well as any type of bread. She consumes air fried chicken and fish with minimum oil intake. She also completes 17k steps a day. 

“All the changes we made gave good results. She feels that her energy levels have improved and she can work the whole day without any sign of fatigue. She has gotten leaner as well. Now, to achieve her goal of improving her sleep, we’ve begun with chamomile tea,” said Coach Nikhil.

Anupa Samuel made significant changes in just a few months. You can do the same with dedication, discipline and a little bit of guidance and motivation from our experts. Sign up for GOQii’s personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring Health Stories, check out Healthy Reads. 

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