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“I needed a coach who could help me with understanding nutrition patterns better”

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She is a fitness instructor herself. One would wonder why would a fitness trainer need a fitness tracker? But, this fitness trainer wanted a tracker that would help her know how many steps she takes in a day and also wanted a motivating factor in a coach with whom she could interact and understand more on nutrition etc. Let us understand from Nyela Saeed in her own words  what is it that she has learnt and implemented for her ownself?

I am a fitness instructor by profession and I run various classes of aerobics, Bollywood workout etc. and I am trained with Reebok and have done many other short courses in fitness. I was gifted a GOQii fitness band a year back for my birthday by my husband.

I have been with it for a year and I have been extremely regular with my login and my meals but the reason I have actually got the band is because even though I am a fitness instructor and I am conscious in many ways just having a band on your self tells you how many steps you took and having a coach who is constantly watching over you is an important key feature that works for me.

I have a daily routine that starts with the workout classes in the morning and I am extremely busy through the day. I also have a three year old baby who I attend to and therefore end up paying less attention to myself.

Initially, I didn’t really know what GOQii was about, I knew that there are fitness bands in the market that measures your heart rate and track your step count etc. but I didn’t know GOQii existed and it comes with a live coach. When I got the band and synced with the app, I understood that this is not a robotic application its real who understands my needs and works accordingly.

I didn’t have any particular health goal because I am a fitness trainer myself. Despite the fact that fitness is something that has always been of interest to me, I still wasn’t paying a lot of attention to myself. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to my sleep cycle. I wasn’t eating mid meals at all earlier and I would get extremely hungry and eat a big supper. Now all of this is corrected thanks to my coach and also I make sure I meet my water intake level of three litres per day.

Other than this I get a lots of tips from my coach and I don’t have to keep googling to get my  questions answered. For e.g. the cooking oil that you use in the house. I always go and buy the same cooking oil from the same bottle. The way my coach has explained to me what is poly saturated and mono saturated fats and how to alternate your oils etc. these are the things you need somebody to personally tell you how to incorporate in your life.

Also lot of questions pertaining to nutrition, I now just ask my coach and take her word for it. She also, put me on a three to four days detox regime in between because I had a long wedding period. My wrong sleep patterns have come down drastically because of my coach. Sometimes I used to have my meal and then have chocolate cravings.

My coach has taught me to alter my meals and now after my meals I have flavoured saunf or jaggary and peanut bar. My meals are now only healthy choices and I have given up on white sugar for the last one year.That is a big thing for me. I only take jaggary for everything but my coach has told me not to go overboard with it.

Recently, I have also been away from tea and coffee not because my coach told me but because I have become more conscious. Tips on nutrition is what I was largely looking for and my concepts are now clear. Apart from my health, my baby’s nutrition is also taken care of.

Earlier I would workout 5 days a week, my coach suggested I add one more day of workout and have only one day for rest.I have stopped taking the car or an auto and instead walk to places that that has helped me reach my target step count. My water intake has always been good. All in all I am happy being on GOQii platform and it has helped me a lot.

What does coach Tejal Gupte have to say about Nyela Saeed?

Nyela has been on her GOQii health journey for more than a year now.  She has always been a cheerful and an enthusiastic person, always ready to learn more and new things about health and nutrition. Coming from a fitness background, staying physically active was never a big challenge for her. But, her lifestyle consisted of high frequency of eating out due to frequent socialization and she had been a sugar addict for a long time. So we took these two aspects as our short term goals one after another.

We regularly discussed ways to practice mindful eating when having outside food and importance of portion control in such situations was explained and imbibed in her routine. Dealing with the sugar cravings looked challenging and took time initially. Right from using healthy substitutes i.e jaggery based sweets, dates and fruits, to the distraction techniques like engaging in favorite activity, consuming saunf at the time of craving, and other tips were shared and incorporated. I must say, even though it was not easy for Nyela to go off sugar that easily, it was her determination and hard work that helped us to achieve these goals. She even participated and to her surprise finished the 7 days sugar free challenge. She also completed some other challenges like the “3 day detox challenge” and step count challenge.During the whole year, we also worked successfully on some other goals like water intake and adding healthy snacks in evening to beat the hunger pangs.

Nyela has been regularly syncing her band, sending her updates as well as interacting on her goals throughout, which has made it more helpful to work on her goals.In the current scenario, her water intake has improved a lot than earlier. Best part is that although we could not do much alteration in her frequency of eating out due to her highly social lifestyle, mindful eating has almost become a habit for her and she is able to master it most of the times. I feel really happy and proud to see the transformation she has brought in herself in this one year period.

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Exercises for overweight and obese people

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Everyone is busy in today’s life – with a packed schedules, calendars have no column for relaxation or time for doing anything good. This also translates into “No Time” for eating healthy food and for satisfying hunger we make do with all the JUNK food that is available. One of the reasons is that it is a ready to eat option. Ultimate result of eating junk food can get you one title- OBESE. With the effort and taste of 4-5 years when we reach the level of being OBESE, it is   then that we realize something is going wrong with our body. We start visiting a doctor multiple times and also start searching for options that will help us to reduce our weight and get back to on track.

o2 (1)Losing weight is hard for anyone but, not impossible if one is willing to put in that extra effort, dedication and have patience. Exercise is the key to creating a physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier body. However, at the same time some of the moves may be too painful or nearly impossible for those carrying extra weight.

With the help of Junk food restaurants, the new generation of overweight and obese adults is a plenty. If we really want our children to have healthy future with proper fitness than childhood nutrition and exercise intervention needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

Some exercise which can be done by any OBESE person, without any harm:

  1. WALKING– One of the best and basic workouts can be done by anyone, anywhere without spending a single penny, low-impact aerobic exercise. It may still be difficult to work for those who are morbidly obese, which is when baby steps need to be implemented with a walker, walking cane, or assistance. Slow walking burns extra calories for those carrying extra weight because they have to exert more energy than a normal-weight person.
  1. Exercise Ball Workouts: For a person who is OBESE, it’s uncomfortable to do the exercise in front of others, so the best solution is Exercise Ball, which is really a great help to do different workouts at home. An exercise ball will help them to do the variety of strengthening, toning, stretching and balancing exercises with support. Exercise balls can be used for abdominal crunches by lying on your back, setting your ankles onto the ball, and lifting upward with your core and both arms behind your head.

You can do:

# “Bouncing On the Ball Workout” which Target: Works core, quads, glutes, and hamstrings

# “Inner-Thigh Squeeze Workout”, which Target – Target: Strengthens inner thighs and core

# “Half Squat” with the help of Exercise Ball and wall”, which target: Strengthens abs, glutes, and hamstrings

Once you get comfortable with the ball, try incorporating it into your everyday activities, such as sitting on it while you are at the computer, eating at the dinner table, or reading a book.

  1. Aqua Aerobics:You can perform your exercise under water because while doing exercise in water, water makes you feel lighter by helping to support your body weight. It also lessens the impact on your joints. You can do swimming if you know. To get more information about this you can read my Blog “One-Stop Shop Workout – Swimming” :  http://goqii.com/blog/one-stop-shop-workout-swimming/
  1. Seated Stationary Bike: The seated or recumbent stationary bike is different than a normal upright exercise bike. It provides a backrest optimal for overweight or obese people who haven’t developed a strong enough abdominal core to hold them upright long enough. It also places less stress on your lower spine, which is a frequent problem for those with excess weight. Biking also engages different muscles than walking or running do. Alternating exercise days between biking and brisk walking will also give the body a dynamic bonus aerobic workout.
  1. Group Exercise Classes:There are chances when you do any exercise, you will get demotivated and stop giving your effort to achieve your goals. So this is the best way to motivate yourself – Join Group Exercise classes with other people who all are having a common goal, in this way everyone will motivate each other to achieve the goal. Initially, it will be difficult to achieve your goal, but with the continuous motivation and effort you will achieve your goal.

Are you still reading, it’s time to show your effort? So let’s get up, set your goal and start working towards.

Note: Please consult your Doctor before applying the upper suggestion into your routine, as an individual’s body and medical condition vary.  

 

 

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Mysterious Coffee

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Our very famous beverage and a favourite of many- Coffee, loves to be in the limelight! Personally, I am not too fond of this beverage, but the deep love that people have for coffee kind of triggers me to research upon it more to find out what is so good about this Coffee?

Coffee, as we all know, is a major source of caffeine, the world’s most widely used stimulant drug. Tiny amounts of caffeine can do good to our health, whereas a lot of caffeine can harm it. After all, anything in excess is bad, isn’t it?

The wonderfully enticing flavour of Coffee (taste+aroma) and the stimulant property that it possesses attracts people towards it and makes most of them dependent on it (addiction, you see). It gives us more energy, makes us feel more alert, improves athletic performance and so on. It gives us a super kick which helps us stay up during our long meetings/long hours of studying or while working on the most tedious project. It’s like a rocket fuel that keeps us going! No wonder so many love it?

Hold on, there’s more to it, coffee also suppresses appetite, so many people drink it to lose weight. Ahem! Now that’s something which definitely grabs attention. But that’s certainly not a healthy way of losing those extra pounds.

As I mentioned, I am not a usual coffee drinker, but there was this one day when I ended up drinking more than 4 cups of coffee as I was deeply engrossed in a project work with my buddies. They were grabbing coffee during breaks and I got carried along. I noticed something peculiar about myself on that day. I was eating more than I usually did and it was quite annoying to feel so hungry so often.

It’s true that our hunger and appetite are controlled by what we eat and drink, including coffee. Coffee is an appetite suppressant, that’s what I was aware about and I am sure most of you must have heard of its appetite suppressing property.

Coffee contains phytochemical compounds called chlorogenic acids, an important group of biologically active and antioxidant dietary phenols. Fruits like apples, pears, strawberries, pineapple, etc. also contain these compounds. Chlorogenic acids have captured attention in the field of obesity as researchers suggest that they can help decrease hunger. Caffeine, by itself, often masks hunger and fatigue as it provides a short-term boost in energy and alertness.

Now the question is, why did I feel so hungry on the day I drank too much coffee? It’s not just me, I have got this from many of my clients too.

After digging to find out more about this mysterious coffee, I finally unlocked its mysteries.

Here’s the story-

Coffee affects many neurotransmitters and hormones (such as cortisol and insulin).

Drinking more than 250-700 mg of caffeine during the day can actually lead to anxiety, hypertension, insomnia and nervousness. All these factors may spark off stress-related emotional eating. Reasons for this- going overboard with caffeine over stimulates the central nervous system, and our body responds to it by triggering the adrenal glands to generate cortisol (stress hormone), which tells our body to increase its energy stores by consuming calories. Exactly, why we are in this constant search of food.

Moreover, caffeine stimulates the secretion of insulin. Increased insulin secretion can result in a drop in blood sugar levels, which again makes us feel hungry and increases food cravings.

Additionally, caffeine is a diuretic, it draws water from our body cells leading to increased urination and dehydration. Thus, it actually makes us feel thirsty, but somehow, we may confuse the thirst with hunger and tend to eat more. Thirst and hunger cues are similar, remember my previous blog? (http://goqii.com/blog/how-important-is-it-to-know-if-youre-thirsty-or-hungry/)

Thus, coffee’s mixed effects are highly driven by the type of coffee (caffeinated/decaf), the amount we drink, when we drink it, our overall biological makeup, and so on.

How do we go about this mysterious beverage?

I would say, low or moderate consumption of caffeine doesn’t cause any noticeable side effects. A moderate caffeine intake would mean, around 200 to 300 milligrams per day, which is equal to anywhere between 2-4 cups of coffee.

I will never ask you to give up your love for coffee, after all, it gives you that extra boost you need to get out of your closet (and probably get to the gym!). All I would reiterate again is ‘Anything in excess is bad, so control your intake of caffeine’.

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Moderation – 365 days

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“CLEAN EATERS” be like – “Can’t wait till my cheat day !”

Is this your story too? What if I’d say, “let those “REASONABLY SIZED” treats be scattered throughout your life, instead of ‘cheat meal’ which often turns out as a ‘cheat day’ or ‘weekend binge’. And not to forget, the guilt that you take back home , after overdoing it .

Trust me, I too was pretty convinced initially with the idea of a cheat meal/treat. But, what happens in reality is totally different? It’s often blown out of proportion and we end up calling for anything and everything that fits within the 24 hour span of cheat day. This is pretty natural because we have literally “restricted” ourselves these 6 days.

 

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Consider this case –study:

Monday : EAT CLEAN !

Tuesday : EAT CLEAN !

Wednesday : EAT CLEAN ! ( Its mid-week and we are half-way through !)

Thursday : EAT CLEAN ! ( One more day to go ! )

Friday : EAT CLEAN ! (Cant wait for tomorrow ! )

Saturday : ATTACK !!!

-Breakfast is usually skipped, to save appetite for the feast .

-The cheat meal which was supposed to be a “treat” now looks like: “Eat all that you have craved for this week ”+ the weekend “pour” (if you have a habit of drinking alcohol )

Sunday : Who doesn’t want comfort food on Sunday !

Monday (next week) : The aftermath !

-Wake up feeling “HORRIBLE”, bloated, greasy and very unhealthy

-Exercise is generally not in picuture because you feel aweful about the weekend

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I am sure many can relate to this. No wonder, weekend binges were ruining our week’s hard work and goals seemed far away,

Hence, “moderation-365 days approach” !This no-brainer. Just requires practice, thoughtfulness, self-control and mindfulness.

Go ahead! In combination with clean eating, sprinkle those “tiny” treats here and there. The more we deprive, the more we feel the need to indulge (notice the word in inverted commas). BUT, that doesn’t mean we are better off eating whatever, whenever! There are a few rules here too :

  1. Find a healthy alternative:

Choose your battle: Dessert or a pizza and immediately think of its cleaner version. Like almond /coconut milk ice-cream or cauliflower crust pizza, zoodles (zucchini noodles), burritos made with clean ingredients.

I know cleaner versions means “high quality”, which means “expensive”. Accept it .After all, it’s of a “reasonable size” and will not burn a hole in your pocket.

OR

Make a home-made version, where you have a 100% control over what goes in it . Even better!

  1. In accordance to your appetite:

Eat what you actually want. Eat in tune with your hunger and you’ll likely end up eating a reasonable amount

  1. Enjoy treats time to time:

Like I mentioned several times before: SPRINKLE- REASONABLE SIZED TREATS .

Enjoy a piece or half of a cookie or a piece of dark chocolate…say on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday .

  1. Savour “EVERY” bite :

This is BIG ! Lack of this makes it easy to down a whole bar of chocolate or a tub of ice-cream or an entire pizza!

Place it in your mouth, take a moment to taste, smell and experience the food, Awaken your senses !

Well, these were my thoughts on what’s working for me . I know it’s a highly debatable topic but, this has helped me make a healthier pact with life and feel so much free and confident.

Neither does healthy food nor the cravings run my life. I am on the driver’s seat when it comes to my chow choices.

What do you think about this? If you are already following this, I ‘d love to hear your success story . Lay it on me!

 

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