Search Results for: fat

August 8, 2022 By GOQii 10 Comments

Put Your Fat On Flame With Interval Training

Most of us have this desirable goal of losing fat but, when asked to act on it, we have a fixed set of excuses ready – No time! Too tough for me! Too boring to repeat the same pattern, etc. It’s time to ditch these excuses and rev up workouts which consume less time, can be done easily and are not monotonous. We suggest going for Interval Training!

What Is Interval Training?

Interval training is a workout in which we alternate the bursts of high-intensity exercises with intervals of lighter activity. All that we do here is, we repeatedly challenge our body and then give it shorter breaks to recover, for a massive cardio blast. It helps burn more calories in a short period of time, as compared to a steady-state exercise.

How Does It Work?

When we vary the intensity while working out, it leads to muscle confusion. Our body gets confused and wonders what’s happening! As a regulatory mechanism, our heart rate shoots up and it starts pumping more blood. More the blood, higher the Oxygen and to your surprise, fat combustion occurs more efficiently in the presence of Oxygen.

Ever wondered why a candle stops burning when we put a glass over it and block the Oxygen? That’s exactly the principle. Any burning process requires O2 which is a key to burning fat. And since interval training involves a lot of Oxygen, it’s been gaining fame in the fat loss/inch loss sector.

There are no hard and fast rules in interval training. We can have variations as we want, to make it most enjoyable and keep boredom at bay. We can:

Interval walk: Walking fast for 2 minutes, then walking slowly for a minute, again fast, then slow and go on this way as long as we can
Interval runs Alternating 2 minutes run with a 1-minute walk
Interval swim: Alternating fast-paced swimming moves with slow-paced moves

We can also try this with cycling, dancing, strengthening exercises (Tabata – being the most popular form of High Intensity Interval Training) and the list can go on.

It’s quite possible to take interval training to many levels. The length and speed of each high-intensity interval solely depend upon our strength and capacity. To get better with it, we need to make sure we push our body way past our comfort zone each time we do it. Remember, not to rush into strenuous exercise before our body is ready, to avoid injury. Ensure a good warm-up session before starting with it, and end it with stretches.

If you are a beginner to exercising, We’d say, don’t start with interval training directly. Give your body some time to build the stamina with steady cardio workouts for a few weeks to a month. You can then add interval training to your routine. In fact, you can also add these interval training plans to your gym routine once a week to enhance your speed and cardiovascular endurance.

So what are you waiting for? Jump into your workout shoes and jazz up your workout routine by adding interval training! If you have a chronic health condition (Hypertension or Cardiovascular illness), it’s better to keep away from interval training to avoid any aggravation. You can check with your trainer or coach to take the best course. For further guidance, you can subscribe for GOQii’s personalized health coaching and get the best exercises and habits to meet your weight loss goals.

Additionally, you can also join our online classes on GOQii PRO, where our certified fitness experts will guide you on the correct form and posture in real time, while making sure that you are well motivated! You can book a class now from the GOQii App.

For more on fitness and weight loss, check out Healthy Reads.

Get Active and #BeTheForce

October 13, 2021 By Palak Mittal 3 Comments

Fatty Liver Disease: What To Eat & What To Avoid

Our bodies have a tendency to store extra calories in terms of fat in each and every area to utilise it later for energy, or as a cushion for organs and insulation. The liver being the largest organ in the body, is partially made up of fat. However, if too much fat accumulates around the liver, it leads to Fatty Liver Disease.

Fatty liver disease is mainly associated with the excess usage of alcohol and is termed as Alcoholic Fatty Liver. However, those who do not drink alcohol at all, can also develop this condition over time and is known as Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver. Excess fat around the liver damages it and makes it difficult for the liver to remove toxins and produce bile for the digestive system.

The major plan of treatment for Fatty Liver Disease is dietary modifications and regular exercises. If the grade is too high, then one may need to see a doctor. For initial stages, the situation can be reversed completely with a few lifestyle modifications.

What Causes Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)?

Obesity: Overeating can cause weight gain which produces a load on the digestive system and the body forces the storage of extra calories in terms of fat, leading to NAFLD.
Pre-Diabetes: People with Insulin sensitivity or insulin resistance tend to store more fat in the liver as compared to non diabetics.
Over consumption of carbs and simple sugars: is linked with NAFLD as our body utilizes only what is required and rest is going to be stored as fat.
Poor Gut Health and genetics are also seen as linked with NAFLD.

Since it is a lifestyle disorder, modifying lifestyle with the right diet helps in controlling, maintaining and reversing both Alcoholic and Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

The diet should include:

Lots of fruits and vegetables
Reduced processed and packaged food with high salt and sugar
High fibre foods and less carbs
Whole grains like oats, quinoa, barley and millets
Nuts and seeds especially walnuts and flaxseeds as they are high in Omega 3
Vitamin E from Sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, olive oil or canola oil
Avocados as they are a good source of fat and fiber
Legumes

What Should You Avoid?

If you’re suffering from this disease, here is a list of foods you should avoid completely.

Alcohol: As it is completely oxidised by the liver, there is no enzyme present in the body that can digest alcohol.
Added or simple sugars like candy, cookies, sodas, and fruit juices. It increases sugar level which increases fat build up.
Fried & oily foods due to excess calories and fat.
Too much salt makes the body hold on to excess water and can be a reason to gain weight.
Simple processed carbs like white bread, rice, and pasta, as they lack fibre and increase blood sugar.
Red meat like Beef and mutton are high in saturated fat.

Other Lifestyle Modifications

Shed the extra weight
Control sugar levels well
Include Cardio and strength training consisting of 30 mins for 5 days a week
Lower down cholesterol especially triglycerides.

We hope these tips help you manage Fatty Liver Disease with ease. Before you begin with any of the foods listed above, do consult your doctor, dietitian or nutritionist. Do let us know your thoughts and queries in the comments below! To learn more about AFLD and NAFLD, speak to a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

May 12, 2021 By Sheryl Afonso 1 Comment

Fatigue Fighting Hacks To Supercharge Your Mornings At Home

Trrriiing! There goes your 6 a.m. alarm!

Boing! There goes the snooze button hit! Just another ten minutes you plead with your fatigued mind even though you know you’ll be late for that zoom call!

How often have you caught yourself doing that in a week? The day whizzes by in a blur as you struggle to stay awake through that all-important morning call, exercise restraint from unnecessarily blowing your top at your colleague, force yourself to be patient as your junior takes longer than expected to understand a concept, and stop short of actually dozing and snoring at your comfy workspace at home as the day slowly comes to a close…

Morning fatigue can be pinned down to many reasons: a super-late night, hypothyroidism, too much progesterone, midnight visits to the washroom, sleep apnea, an overworked mind, and more. Chronic fatigue can take a toll on human health, and is best nipped in the bud. Once hormonal imbalances and sleep apnea have been ruled out as the cause of your daily fatigue, try out these fatigue fighting hacks to keep you alert through the day.

Fatigue Fighting Hacks To Supercharge Your Mornings

Set a Double Alarm: A full sleep cycle is approximately 90 minutes. So, if you need to step out of bed at 7 a.m., set an alarm for 5:30 a.m. and another one for 7 a.m. Turn off the 5:30 alarm once it begins to shrill – go back to getting another complete sleep cycle – and bounce out of bed happily when the second alarm goes off! You won’t need the snooze button at all!
Exercise: If home workout isn’t your style – fret not! Begin your day with a few simple stretches or a 10-minute yoga session. The release of endorphins that this brings on will keep you feeling energized through the day.
Be a Sunflower: Just like a sunflower thrives on the energizing rays of the sun, so does your body. Throw open your windows, draw back the curtains and revel in the joy that comes along with the morning rays hitting your face. You’ll get a good dose of vitamin D too whilst you are at it.
Power-up with Protein: Skipping breakfast is never an option if you want to feel fresh throughout the day. But choosing the right breakfast foods is important. Begin and end your day with protein-rich foods. Research indicates that protein induces serotonin and subsequent melatonin release that brings on better quality sleep while also leading to a build-up of enzymes that signal the brain to wake-up in the mornings. Plate up the eggs, fish, yoghurt, pulses, peanut butter, and nuts and roll away the sugar-laden carbohydrates.
Tank up on Water: Dehydration can often be the reason for fatigue in the morning and all through the day. A glass of plain water or fruit-infused water is a sure shot way to get your body into “run” mode. Placing this by your bedside and reaching out for it as soon as your alarm goes off will get you moving faster than the Duracell rabbit!
Alexa to the Rescue: Programme Alexa to play out your favourite music at the exact hour you need to be out of bed. What better way to begin your day than with a blast of pop, hip hop, golden oldies, jazz or Hindi chartbusters?
Tease your Brain: Alarm clocks and mobiles that need you to perform a mental task before they can be “snoozed” or shut off are now available in the market! Not only will they supercharge your morning, but you’ll have increased your IQ by 5 points at least by the end of the month.

List Of Don’ts Before Bed

I don’t need to dwell on the much-touted DON’Ts that keep you away from enjoying your mornings, but a quick reminder will reinforce your learning:

Limit water intake to just one glass a couple of hours before you hit the sack; then you won’t need to blame your midnight loo visits for your morning fatigue.
Cut down the fat at dinner to help you drift away to dreamland sooner.
Make sure your bedroom has just the right amount of light and is at the right temperature to allow for some uninterrupted sleep.
Choose the right sleep accessories – pillow, mattress, blanket, and even a cuddly toy, if that’s what will keep your peepers tightly shut for 8 hours straight.
Stay away from electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime. Reading a book may be a better bit to bring on deeper sleep.
Maintain a sleep schedule so that the natural release of melatonin takes charge at the right time.
Stay away from alcohol and caffeine closer to bedtime; they are diuretics that will cause you to wake up to piddle in the middle of the night!

Sleep has no replacement. Fatigue is easily prevented. Do your health a huge favour – beat the morning blues!

We hope these fatigue fighting hacks help you make your work from home more productive! Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For more tips, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

To directly interact with your GOQii Coach, subscribe to GOQii now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

Stay home, stay safe and #BeTheForce

March 9, 2019 By GOQii 1 Comment

From Fattest to Fittest! Pratyush Dixit & His Awe-Inspiring Transformation

Have you ever been in a situation that felt hopeless? Do you think that your current predicament is irreversible? Have your circumstances chained you down to the extent that you feel you cannot achieve your dreams? If everything around you is crumbling to an inescapable pit of despair, we want to remind you that things can change. You can change. It’s never too late. It’s never too late to reverse your circumstances and achieve your dreams.

If you want to know how this is possible, we want you to read Pratyush Dixit’s inspiring story of reversing the odds!

A marketing professional from Delhi, Pratyush Dixit has been working since 2005. He was leading a sedentary life due to the strenuous nature of his work. Especially for the past 8 years, handling stock provisions, then the hospitality sector and now heading a marketing division, he was always seated and stressed. Apart from being sedentary, Pratyush was also a foodie. He had been winning food eating competitions for as long as he can remember, enjoyed street food and was never into healthy eating. On the medical front, he had a family history of diabetes. At 34, he weighed 105 kg and things weren’t working well for him. He found himself thirsty throughout the day and urinating frequently at night.

Identifying these as the classic symptoms of diabetes, he went for a medical checkup. He was aware that his blood sugar might be high but once his tests came in, he got the shock of his life. His Blood sugar level was at 330 and PP (post prandial sugar after meals) was more than 525 and his cholesterol was extremely high. When he consulted his family doctor, he advised immediate measures to bring the situation under control. He was put on heavy doses of insulin till his sugar dropped to 200. Pratyush knew he had to bring his weight under control as well for him to be able to recover. He immediately took to walking and in 2 months was able to shed 7.5 kg.

Enter GOQii

At this point, Pratyush Dixit had read extensively about diabetes. He was searching for a fitness tracker that could help him. He came across other bands but eventually settled for GOQii. Initially, he didn’t want the coaching option as he believed he had read enough about diabetes to know everything. After a long conversation with the GOQii Coach assigned to him, he realized that he needs a coach. His Coach was knowledgeable, patient, understanding and motivating. She assured Pratyush that he will achieve his health goals.

Starting slowly, she told Pratyush that he need not rush in one go but should take one step at a time. For instance, when on the phone, he could squeeze in a walk. She encouraged him to eat healthy. Whenever he wanted to eat a pizza, she advised him to not eat more than a few bites. She also advised him to eat smaller portions throughout the day so that he was full and didn’t feel the urge to eat unhealthy.

Changing Habits and Getting On Track!

Pratyush stopped eating unhealthy. Now, he avoids rice completely. His diet involves a lot of protein and complex carbohydrates. On a daily basis, he consumes fruits with cinnamon (as it helps control blood sugar) as well as a couple of teaspoons of apple cider.

In the mornings, he starts his day with Fenugreek and Fenugreek water. Then he goes for one liter of luke warm water with apple cider, lemon, pepper and black salt. Post that some apple and cinnamon. He follows that up with some cold milk with Basil (Sabja) seeds. Later, he eats either Porridge, Oats or Upma loaded with vegetables. He then goes on to eat nuts, some pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, almonds and/or walnuts.

For lunch, he takes multigrain chapati with one dal or vegetable or both and salads in good quantity. He also has buttermilk twice a day. In the evening, he munches on dehydrated pulses with some salt. He also eats a fruit, mostly pomegranate or pears. He avoids mangoes and pineapples. At night, he again eats a chapati, vegetable and salad. If he must opt for rice, he prefers brown rice.

For exercise, apart from walking, when he gets the time, Pratyush includes bicep and tricep curls as suggested by his Coach. He also manages to do a few pushups and squats. He has started jogging a little as well.

He was bedridden for 6 months because of lower back pain but was able to overcome that and recover. His GOQii Coach helped him with some yoga as well.

When Asked If He Still Eats Street Food, Pratyush Dixit Said:

“Now I go for healthy street food! Even if I go for the unhealthier one, instead of going for Dalda or ghee, I go for a olive oil tikki and I won’t take more than a bite or two. I avoid whole portions. I have stopped ordering from Dominos or Pizza Hut but opt for Pizza Express where they serve thin or wheat crust. If I’m out, instead of Aloo Tikka, I got for Paneer Tikka or Soya Chaat. Everything without butter. Then I opt for Green Tea regularly as well as Basil Leaves.”

What Were The Results?

Pratyush told us that he wasn’t worried about his blood sugar levels anymore. He slowly lost weight the healthy way with help from his GOQii Coach. He currently weighs around 80kg. Before, his HPCL was 14 and now, it is a stunning 5.2. His diabetes is completely under control. His PB recently was 95 and fasting was 80, both of which are not sugar levels of a diabetic. With diabetes under control and low cholesterol, he is always high on energy! He says that he is the healthiest person in his office! Recently, his TSH shot up. He is working towards controlling it. On a daily basis, he walks anywhere between 10k to 30k steps. He is a part of the Active Sunday group and every Sunday meets his like-minded GOQiites for some fun walks and exercises.

When Asked About GOQii, He Said:

“The best thing about GOQii is that it provides you some learned, educated and dedicated coaches. They are like friends who are helping you out. They are not just carrying that professional approach of ‘you have to do this and my job is done’. There is a lot of personal approach and they keep motivating you. That does not mean they are lenient. They keep pushing you to do better. Sometimes when I miss my walk, my coach tells me that it is okay. You can’t religiously follow your schedule every day. You aren’t a machine. The key is that even if you go off schedule, you should come back. With GOQii, there’s someone to motivate you to come back to that schedule. So that is what GOQii has done to me. When I told my coach of my problems, she assured me that we will overcome them and achieve my goals! I never thought I will be this fit person.”

People in Pratyush’s office consider him as their idol and often approach him for help. Once upon a time, he was fattest man in his society and now he is a role model with people asking him how he did it. He simply responds by saying because he had the zest to do it!

Going forward, Pratyush wishes to push his limits and practice Parkour Running. He is currently working with his coach to achieve this. As it was always his dream, now he feels he can finally achieve it.

What did you think about Pratyush’s journey? Share your thoughts in the comments below!