GOQii

Blog

Search Results for: karma

By 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.

 

By 1 Comment

Why do women ignore their own health?

women's health matters

Today’s woman of India might be overly worried about the health of her child and the well-being of her family, but she barely finds time to take care of herself. Most women don’t even understand the importance of regular checkups or visiting a medical practitioner for lifestyle advice.

The recently released GOQii India fit report 2018 (Indiafit.org) indicates that men seem to be better at leading a healthier lifestyle than women. They have greater step counts and more water. They have fewer illnesses and digestive disorders than women. While women are conscious about being healthy, they more often than not, neglect their own. It is increasingly being seen that women are more prone to being anaemic due to iron deficiency.

However, all is not dark. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are seeing some positive changes with several women now taking charge of their health or wanting to do it as soon as possible. They are getting conscious of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  When it comes to adapting to a healthy lifestyle, the first thing that women are concerned about is reducing their bulge. This is further confirmed in the India Fit report’18 which reveals that 78% Indian women consider weight management as one of the key focus areas whereas 61% focus on getting fit and active. According to the report, awareness about women health has become an important issue in the Indian society.

GOQii as a company is striving hard to get one and all to change their current habits and imbibe newer habits to lead a healthy and fulfilling disease-free life in the future. On this International Woman’s Day, the company’s focus for the month of March is on Women’s health. As part of its ‘Active Sunday’ program, the company has lined up a series of talks by inspiring men and women on March 11th across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kolkata and Hyderabad. REGISTER NOW

These inspiring men and women will take the attendees through their personal journey while they lay emphasis on woman’s health and its importance.

Here are the short profiles of the speakers

kolkotta moushmi

KOLKATA – Dr Moushumi Gongopadhyay  

GOQii Player, Dr Moushumi Gongopadhyay has over two decades of experience in Counselling. She is the only qualified Victimologist and the sole Certified Craniosacral Therapist in the City of Joy. She juggles the role of a Psychological Counsellor, to that of a Nutritionist, a Colour Therapist, to a Graphotherapist and so on. A true professional, Dr Gongopadhyay is the best in her trade because of her unwavering dedication. She is also an activist working for “Victims of Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Abuse” and helps them to lead normal lives. When she gets time off her super busy schedule, she likes to sing, dance and bake and honestly, her cakes are to die for.

REGISTER NOW

Reena delhi

DELHI-  Reena Kansal

GOQii Player Reena Kansal is a powerful woman, she is a doting mother to two teenagers, a womenswear Design Head at Wills lifestyle, a Fitness enthusiast and an Avid Reader. 19 years ago, Reena met with an accident that left her on crutches for almost 2 years. Her grit & determination and support from her family helped her not only overcame this trauma but also transformed her approach towards life. From crutches to rappelling down mountains, to white water rafting and trekking, Reena has conquered many demons in her mind. She has to her credit the badge of having completed 3 ultra walks of 100 km and recently she completed her first ever half marathon in under 3 hours.

REGISTER NOW

Amrita Photo

PUNE- AMRITA MOGHE

GOQii player, Amrita Moghe, a shot put and throw ball athlete in her growing years is now a power punch who wears many hats. She is a caregiver for her ageing parents, doting mom for her 5-year-old, and a Consultant at a Global Bank, she still manages to remove time to pursue her interests. She competes only with herself and for herself. She is a runner and believes running has tested her mental strength and aided her in overcoming mental and physical blocks.  Her focus to stay fit has helped her through her personal battles and has had a calming effect on her, helped her built perseverance and gave her the motivation to never quit. She takes each day as it comes and is a strong believer in karma.

REGISTER NOW

Madhu-Bala-Sharma

GURGAON- MADHU BALA SHARMA

Being blind from birth did not stop Madhu Bala Sharma from achieving her goals and becoming a role model for millions out there like her. From selling calendars and bookmarks for fun at a young age of 8 years to becoming a voice and accent trainer in GE Capital International Services, Madhubala has come a long way. She is proud when she says “I was the first one with a visual disability to take up the role of a Voice and Accent Trainer, both at GE Capital International Services and at IBM Daksh, now Concentrix. She took up voice and accent training as a challenge to ensure that she is able to create a new career opportunity for persons with visual disability.   On public demand, she has now started conducting her own workshops in this field.

REGISTER NOW

Rahul Sharma

AHMEDABAD-Rahul Sharma

Rahul Sharma, founder-Cyruns Sports & Wellness was leading an ideal life as one could imagine. He had a well-paying job, and his life was on track for a happy existence until one day he woke up to a rude shock. He was diagnosed with High Cholesterol & Hypertension & was put on lifetime medicine. It was his quest to be a healthy and off medicine that led him to take up running. His dedication and sheer determination towards transforming his own life have made him today a certified running trainer & nutritionist, leaving behind his 21 years of corporate life. He says, “Fitness is here to be enjoyed and lead a healthy active lifestyle”. As a passionate Certified Trainer, he motivates, enables and makes training a fun and rewarding experience. His mantra in life is “Realize Your Potential”.

REGISTER NOW

samara1

BENGALURU-Samara Mahindra

Having lost her mother to Cancer and being left alone to make her choices and take her decisions, Samara’s eyes opened to a lot of brutal realities during her mother’s long journey of struggle with Cancer. The oncology ward of numerous hospitals became her home where she witnessed extreme cases and dire situations that were unimaginable. She watched blank refusals of curable stage cancer treatment to those who didn’t have the funding and children who saw hospital wards before a classroom. Consequently, she decided not to settle. She knew exactly which door she wanted to unlock and how many steps she wished to take. That was the beginning of Carer Program. The CARER Program is an integrative cancer recovery program that helps a patient recover from the side effects of treatment and cancer itself. CARER provides a holistic approach to healing through complementary therapies that target nutrition, movement and mind-body healing for patients post-treatment.

REGISTER NOW

bela gupta mumbai

MUMBAI- Bela Gupta

Bela Gupta is an engineer by qualification, retailer by profession, healthy lifeline inspired by the GOQii family and now a food tech entrepreneur. As every other start-up entrepreneur, her life is rising to bring in the dawn very early every morning, gratitude to the sun, meditating, walking or running, working out, eating balanced nutrition from her food brand-Herbivore, living healthy lifestyles, reading and networking. She has been managing operations like an Indian Goddess with multiple hands taking charge of at least 7 to 8 roles, strategizing and thinking about next steps, training and motivating existing team, interviewing new hires, meeting with investors, vendors and clients, socialising spending time with friends and family. On weekends, she most likes to trek in the mountains or indulge in some adventure I have very few needs, I own very little and I make a living off doing the things I love.

REGISTER NOW

Estelia Pinto

MUMBAI – Estalita Pinto 

Estalita is a fitness coach who lived the corporate life for 16 years before she decided to make fitness her passion. While working in the corporate world she took up the challenge of Fitness Certification with Reebok Instructors Alliance. And since then, she’s never looked back. She took up Certifications for different programs with various institutions, national & international and now specializes in physical training and group classes. Her Fitness Mantra is’ to dance your way to a healthy life! Her single most important advice to others is to “Never miss a workout, however busy you may be… Like you would never miss food”

REGISTER NOW

sunita hyderabad

HYDERABAD – Sunita Tummalapalli

Sunita is a Reebok certified fitness instructor, and founding member of WIN (Women in Network), a non-profit organization that helps women and children from an underprivileged section in the areas of Health, Hygiene and Education. She has co-founded and operated Helios Fitness Center in Hyderabad. She is an active member of the Hyderabad Runner Club and has to her credit 41 full marathons, 8 ultra-marathons and 2 multi-day races. She has also completed numerous runs and walkathons, including several half marathons. She has completed marathons on all seven continents in 2015 to earn ‘Seven Continents Finisher’s Medal’. She ran all six World Majors and earned Abbott World Marathon Majors ‘Six Star Medal’ in Feb’ 2018 at Tokyo marathon. She is the 1st person of Indian origin to earn both ‘Seven Continents Medal’ and ‘Six Star Medal”.

REGISTER NOW

 

By Leave a Comment

“Good health is easily accomplished by just learning to live healthy and fit”

            Renu-2-years-aback

                     2 years back                    

Renu_Scan1

      As of Nov 2017

Like every other corporate professional, her excuse for not keeping fit and healthy was her busy schedule and family. She would go for a walk as and when she felt she had the time. It was clearly not a priority for her. Being a foodie she had no concept of portion controls. She ate to her heart’s content. The end result of all this Renu Rajani, 50, was 25 kgs on the heavier side along with low metabolism and thyroid. Her condition scared her to no end and she decided to take matters into her hand to rectify her habits and become healthy. One year of disciplined lifestyle change that included exercise, eating right and sleeping well has helped her shed over 12 kgs and she is still counting. Today, she walks 15-20 k steps on an average daily, apart from 45 minutes of Yoga every day. How has she been able to transform herself? Let’s hear Renu’s story in her own words

Until mid-2016, I used to pride myself with my busy schedule, international travels and when it came to my weight gains, justified it for lack of time, about being busy with growing children and time needed at home beyond my job. Also, being a foodie, I enjoyed the richness of food, at home as well as outside. I never believed in the concept of portions control. All my New Year resolutions were short-lived. Also, amount of catching up on work late in the evening made it just impossible to wake up the next morning for a fitness routine.

My idea of fitness was just about an easy walk if I found the time.  During the last 10 years, I was introduced to Fitbit and walkathons by my organizations, but I could not discipline myself.  I had stopped swimming due to lack of time and I had stopped using bicycle some 15 years back.  Over the last 10 years, my sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle had got me to acquire thyroid and I had to go on routine thyroid dosage. Doctors gave varied advice, some who took a view that since I had thyroid and started on medication, it should reduce my weight with some exercise. Some were of the view that given low metabolism with thyroid, it was difficult to reduce weight. I was then 25 kgs overweight.

It was difficult for me to take that 25 kgs and move around. I felt lethargy. Later in mid-2016, I started feeling stiffness in my knees, found it difficult to climb down stairs and felt swelling in my lower legs towards the evening. I found it difficult to drive back home from work. Initially, I thought it was temporary, but soon, it became a routine habit for me to come home and put my legs in the warm water to relax. My family and friends said I was ageing and that I should stop driving and have a driver. Not that I could not afford a driver, but I felt it would just make me more immobile and I would lose my freedom by restricting my activities.

I visited the doctor again and was suggested a full health examination. The examination revealed that apart from thyroid, I had borderline cholesterol, BP and Sugar. While I was thankful to god that I did not actually get into these health issues so deep, it was certainly a warning sign for me to rectify my lifestyle and in the process improve my health. I decided to accelerate my fitness journey as that was the only way to be healthy.

Soon my quest to my fitness journey started. I began with a regular walk every morning. In the process, I came across a group that performed Yoga and Pranayama in my neighbourhood. Doing Yoga at 6 am in morning meant I wake up at 5 am and walk/carry out my warm-ups. I took this seriously and had shed some 6 kgs with regular walk and yoga in about 4 months. I started to change my lifestyle influenced by my Yoga group. I started drinking water in the morning before warm-up, started carrying food from home to office, started to ensure, I slept on time to wake up for my fitness pursuits.

In the midst of my fitness journey, one day I came across GOQii in my office. It was being offered as a trial to all VPs in my organisation. I got one as well. Unlike other times where I have been introduced to a program and, I chose to not be active, this time around I took it very seriously. I thoroughly understood what GOQii does. I had an introductory call from my coach to set up goals for myself. I liked the discipline and methodical approach of GOQii. Some of my peers who were introduced to the same program used to joke about coach chasing them up for an appointment. But, having gone through a disease scare, I felt this was important and being pushed by a coach was needed. In fact, it’s the discipline and the routine set by my coach that helped me shed another 6 kgs within 6 months.

Although, I started slow. My initial goals were very basic – drink 3-litre water daily, walk 5000 steps a day, have minimum 6 hours of sleep, have smaller portions of meals more frequently (I started to have 5 smaller meals, rather than 3 big meals). I tried some simple changes – walk/cycle rather than using the car for short distances, climbing steps rather than taking the elevator, perform regular stretches to increase my activity levels. I started recording my Yoga sessions to be able to continue with Yoga during my official travels outside of Bengaluru. Food for me during international travels remained a challenge.  Each time I travelled overseas, I came back with 1 Kg added in 2 weeks trip.

GOQii coaches are well trained and I have been lucky to always get a good coach. I have been a unique case of having had 7 coaches in a span of a year. 3 coaches went on long leave and each time I felt very sad about losing a good coach.  On the positive note though, having the wisdom of more coaches is valuable as well. While I found one of them too easy on me and hence wanted a more pushy coach, there were two of them who pushed me beyond my stamina. Although one of my goals was weight reduction, my first priority was to get fit.   I realized despite my trying, body did not cooperate. I chose to ask for a coach who would have coached age group of 40-50 women. I then found the right coach as per my needs and goals set. I am happy with my current coach Pooja Rao now.

I feel very good about myself now. My coach has slowly made me realize that I could have the right nutrition I need and could have a balanced meal with low carbohydrates. She regularly looks at my logs, suggests me any changes to food if required, has advised me on sleep, water, exercises, nutrition, etc. I feel motivated to continue trying various activities.

Over the last year, I have reduced a total of 12 kgs.  Apart from my step count, Yoga/meditation and balanced food, I have been an active cyclist. I had discontinued music many years back and got back to practising music now.  A month back, I also joined Salsa to add a fun activity that can also contribute to fitness. I feel lighter and feel encouraged to try more activities. I have built my stamina over the last year. I walk 15-20k steps a day, apart from 45-60 minutes of Yoga every day.

3 months back I felt encouraged enough to start with high-intensity workouts. While my knees cooperated, I realised I needed 2 hours daytime sleep to cope with 30-45 minutes of high-intensity workout. I decided to take the advice of the GOQii doctor, who asked me to check on Vitamins B12, D3 levels as I felt fatigued.

Thanks to two consultations with GOQii doctor Viral Thakkar, which I found very helpful, I realized that I needed to first address my vitamin deficiency levels to be ready for more intensive workouts.

I am encouraged to see friends who have participated in marathons, given I am able to do 10-12 km fast walk, I am now feeling motivated to someday run a marathon. Given, I am an older age group and not an athlete in my early years, I am hoping will be able to make a beginning someday soon.

The best part of GOQii is that it not only gets you fit but also socially responsible. The karma points that we earn to be active can be donated to various causes listed on GOQii’s karma platform. To date, I have donated approximately 10000 Karma points (~1000 points earned every month based on my activity).

Health is wealth. In the busy lives that we lead, health keeps becoming a distant dream and ailments keep getting added. GOQii is leveraging simple tips combined with human connect from its coaches to help people be healthy. Good health is important and it is easily accomplished by making fitness a part of daily routine and learning to live healthily.

What does coach Pooja Rao think of her player Renu Rajani

Renu is a very focused and a determined player. Despite not having coached her from day one of she getting on to the platform, the one factor I realized about her is that she is extremely hardworking and puts in a lot of efforts to achieve her goals.

The main challenge with Renu is that she has a lot of travelling in her schedule it may be domestic or international due to which being on track with her exercise and food is always a challenge, never the less she tries to make it up once she is back by setting new targets for herself.

The best thing about Renu is, she understands the portion control of her meal very well which is a challenge with all new players and once that is understood then controlling food becomes easy.

When it comes to exercise, she is open to trying out new things like cycling, yoga, HIIT, salsa-dancing and now new challenge is to participate in a Marathon.

Having a history of thyroid losing weight is always a bigger challenge and despite her lifestyle, she has still managed to drop 10 kg by working twice as hard as a normal individual.

At 50, she epitomizes the adage- “It’s never too late to begin “ completely.

By Leave a Comment

Healthy gifts you can give this Christmas

Its red and White, the colours of this festive season with lots of joy and gifts, Christmas is celebrated by all. It celebrates the birth of Jesus. The tradition of celebrating Christmas around the world differs from country to country but they all include a feast, giving of gifts to each other or cards, and enjoying church ceremony such as singing Christmas carols.

Here’s our list of Healthy Christmas gift ideas to help you fill the stockings with goodness, and inspire your family and friends to have greater health and happiness!

* GOQii Life:

GOQii-Premium-JC-039-flipkart-indiapricecompare

Gift a GOQii band to your loved ones. GOQii band’s philosophy of adding a personal touch to the daily fitness tracking with lifestyle coach is unique. It plays a Lifestyle Coach fitness mentor for the user and they have a visual display of steps walked, active minutes, distance covered, calories burnt along with current time and date. The best of the band is the Karma points. GOQii’s philosophy has been to achieve the harmony between mind, body & soul. This gave birth to the concept of Karma, a point-based system that enables players to earn points based on the steps they walked daily and these points are then donated towards a good cause in the society. So while you get healthy and fit you also become a good human.

GOQii’s one-on-one mobile coaching and fitness tracking will help you make the shift to a healthier lifestyle. You get consistent support, motivation, focus, accountability, efficiency and expertise through unlimited text chats and scheduled video calls. So whether your goal is to feel better, have more energy, improve your diet, sleep better, or break a bad habit, be assured that your GOQii coach will help put you on your best path to success.

* Snack Smarter: Prepare your own healthy snack and organic food basket  

Indian food is famous, delicious and so every day, we look forward to our three meals of the day. Something that keeps us alive and kicking, happy and curious, innovative and hence thinking- the in-between small meals that we call ‘snacks’. What if those just-filling munchies became our powerhouses? How about snacks that are delicious, nutritious and healthier and is loved by all? so now you can prepare your own snack box and give your loved ones!

* The Great Indian Diet Book:

Shilpa n luke

This book tells you just how nutritious your locally grown and sourced ingredients are and that there is no need to look beyond borders to tailor that perfect diet. The book touches upon various food categories and not only tells you how to take care of your nutritional intake but also how to burn fat in the process. The combined experience of a professional nutritionist and an uber-fit celebrity who lives by the diet will open your eyes to why Indian food is the best in the world.

*Make Your Own Organic Gift Basket:

graze.com-box

 

Look for inexpensive baskets and packaging materials at your local arts and crafts store and visit your local natural foods store for the following organic foods to add to your basket.

# Green tea: Antioxidant.

# Honey: Immune-boosting powers.

# Dark Chocolate: iron, magnesium, copper, potassium, zinc and selenium.

#Herbs & Spices: Is an excellent source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium.

#Fruits and Nuts: Fiber + vitamin

#Flaxseeds & Mixed Seeds: omega 3 fatty acid.

So Enjoy your festive time on Christmas day and make the most of it. It is one day out of the year, and the food you eat is not going to massively impact your long-term progress. It is what you do the other 364 days that matters. So sit back, relax, eat with portion control of celebrations and have one or two glasses of wine. This is the time to enjoy good food with great company and make lasting memories. Don’t let your healthy lifestyle stop you from enjoying yourself.

Be the hit with your Secret Santa exchange this year with these above-mentioned gift ideas.

! Merry Christmas!

 

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]