GOQii

Blog

Search Results for: mental health

By Leave a Comment

8 Simple Ways to Keep the Environment and Yourself Healthy

World Environment DayImagine that you’ve just started out on your journey towards a healthier lifestyle. You go out for a jog. A few minutes away from home, you have to run through garbage and breathe in polluted air that goes above the recommended AQI. In the bargain of trying to get healthy and active, your body has gotten a little more damaged because of an unhealthy environment.

Unhealthy Environment! Does that ring a bell? A whooping 9 out of 10 people on Earth breathe highly polluted air and more than 80% of urban dwellers across the world have to endure outdoor pollution that exceeds health standards as per the World Health Organization’s World Global Ambient Air Quality database.

This essentially means that even if you lead a healthy lifestyle by eating the right foods, exercising and getting the required amount of rest, you can still fall prey to illnesses and disease based on the environment you’re living in. This scenario is especially worse in a country like India where pollution levels are at an all-time high!

So how exactly can you keep yourself healthy while helping the environment? The answer lies in taking small steps towards sustainable development. Here are a few things you can do!

1. Take a Walk Anywhere! 

Definitely the best exercise known to mankind! Walking helps you shed weight, improves your health and is great for the environment! Why take a vehicle to a walk able distance? You’ll be saving fuel as well as your health! You can even up the pace by jogging or running.

2. Cycle Your Way to Good Health

To cover distances that are too far to walk, there’s nothing like cycling! You’ll be amazed at the amount of fuel you will be saving by riding your bicycle to work. As a plus point, it is a great way to stay in shape and improve your aerobic fitness. If you haven’t yet, try this amazing environmentally friendly mode of transport now!

3. Opt For a Reusable Water Bottle

Bottled water is never a good idea. Given the fact that the chemicals in plastic bottles are not good for your health or the environment. What you drink in a few minutes, lingers in the environment for a thousand years. Instead, opt for an environmentally-friendly reusable stainless-steel bottle. Avoid contributing to the piling loads of plastic bottles and disposable tea/coffee cups.

4. Shower Less

If you love water as much as we do and want your future generations to enjoy the same, cut down on your shower time! While contemplating existential queries for an hour under a warm shower seems like a good idea, you’re wasting an important resource that might get scarce soon! Preserve for the future!

5. Give it Back! Plant a Tree

In your backyard or as a part of a community, you can plant a tree (or several) as a family project. Plants and trees keep you cool and are your natural source of oxygen! It is especially important to do so in a city where pollution levels only keep rising. Having greens around you is never a bad thing.

6. Grow Your Own Food

Do you frequent the supermarket for your food? Well, how about growing your own? Having a small vegetable garden of your own can be quite fruitful! For instance, the vegetables you grow will be fresh, tasty and pesticide/insecticide free. Also, imagine the long hours of exercise you’ll be putting in to grow them! You can also explore micro-greens as an option!

7. Take The Stairs

Give your butt and legs a great workout while saving on power used to run escalators and elevators! Taking the stairs is a great way to get in shape and reduce power usage!

8. Organize a Clean Up Drive

Karma has always been an important part of GOQii and there’s no better way to give back to nature all the good things it provides than cleaning it up! While out on a walk or run in your park or locality, keep a grocery bag handy and pick the mess you find along the way. You’ll be a lot fitter and will feel more productive.

To add to it, your park or locality will be a lot cleaner thanks to your efforts. You can take this a step ahead and organize a clean-up drive at a nearby beach, park or community.

Every small step towards a greener, cleaner and healthier future helps! As Captain Planet once said, “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle! The power is yours!”

#BeTheForce

By 1 Comment

11 Unhealthy Habits That Are Destroying Your Health

unhealthy habitsOld habits die hard and that’s true. Habits are stored in our subconscious mind. We keep on carrying out tasks or habits, without even realizing we are doing it. While some habits help us complete day to day activities, there are some which aren’t good for our health, especially the ones which affect our diet. It is crucial to follow habits which have a positive impact on health. It is time to identify unhealthy habits and get rid of them for good health’s sake.

Unhealthy Habits You Need to Stop 

  1. Skipping Breakfast: For some people, skipping breakfast is an easy way to cut calories. However, if you skip breakfast, you’ll probably overeat during lunch. Secondly, in the morning, our metabolic rate is high. To maintain it, we need to give enough fuel to our body in the form of breakfast. So you should not skip your morning meal at any cost.
  2. Emotional Eating: If you are stressed or if you’ve had a bad day, call a friend, listen to music, write in a journal or try going for a walk. These options are better than binge-eating junk food due to emotional reasons.
  3. Including Unhealthy Drinks: At some point, we all reach out for a soft drink after a meal. It has somehow become a norm. Sweetened/Aerated drinks increase your daily calorie intake and cause other health issues. Instead, drink lemon water, coconut water or buttermilk. In fact, you can make your own healthy energy drinks!
  4. Eating Out Frequently: Avoid the habit to grab something unhealthy when going out for a long day. Take healthier shortcuts! Eat a vegetable sandwich, protein salad, whole grain crackers & veggies with humus. You can even carry fresh fruits.
  5. Munching While Watching TV or During Long Drives: Try to avoid unnecessary munching while watching your favorite program or when you are on a long drive or a road trip. Instead of having processed foods like chips, cookies, etc. you can have a handful of nuts, air popcorn, seed trail-mix and unsalted peanuts.
  6. Lack of Sleep: Sleep works as nutrition for the brain. Our body needs 8-9 hours of sleep every night. Less than 8 hour of sleep triggers a cortisol spike and hampers our metabolism and contributes to weight gain. Shut your computer, mobile, and TV at least an hour before sleeping.
  7. Long Gap Between Meals: There shouldn’t be a huge time gap between meals. When you are on a weight loss journey, you shouldn’t just be careful about the food you eat but the time you eat as well! Many studies show that, if you are not eating at the right time, you might not be able to achieve your weight loss goals. The ideal gap between breakfast – Lunch & lunch –dinner should not exceed 4 hours.
  8. Eating Late at Night: You should not eat dinner very late as it promotes weight gain. Your last meal or your dinner should always be 3 hours before bedtime.
  9. Consuming Extra Salt: Eating a lot of salt can cause an increase in water weight and fat in your body. If you eat too much salt, extra water gets stored in your body which can raise your blood pressure.  Higher blood pressure leads to heart attacks, strokes and kidney diseases. Avoid sauces, pickles, sprinkling extra on salad & curd in your meals.
  10. Eating Heavy Meals Close to Bedtime: Avoid eating heavy meals close to bedtime, it can cause acidity, severe heartburn and make difficult to fall asleep. Also avoid tea, coffee, and chocolate in the evening because caffeine can stay in our system for 5-6 hrs and suppress the sleep hormone.
  11. Putting Calorie Restrictions: Eating more calories than your body needs will lead to weight gain. Whereas, eating lesser calories than your body needs will lead to weight loss. However, restricting calories too much may slow down metabolism, can cause fatigue, nutrient deficiencies and lower immunity too.

These 11 unhealthy habits can contribute to weight gain, affect metabolism and can be extremely detrimental to your health. Avoid them and adopt a healthier lifestyle. For more tips on living a healthier lifestyle, check out Healthy Reads or ask an expert by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

We hope this article has helped you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

By 3 Comments

10 Resolutions You Can Make In 2025 For A Healthier YOU!

10 resolutions for a healthier youIt’s that time of the year when most people start to ponder over their New Year resolutions. Every year, millions of people make New Year resolutions but 80% fail to keep them going through the year. It’s hard to keep up the enthusiasm going month after month after you’ve set goals for yourself, but it’s definitely not impossible. Most of us strive for unrealistic goals that are difficult to accomplish after a while. This year, let’s be different! Pick one of the following worthy resolutions, and do your best to stick to it.

Top 10 New Year Resolutions For A Healthy You 

  1. Eat breakfast: A healthy breakfast refuels the body after a whole 10-12 hours of previous night’s dinner and gets the metabolism going. It helps one concentrate better throughout the day and increase productivity.
  2. Stress Less: Stress on a daily basis takes a toll on physical and mental health. No matter what the job is, day to day affairs can lead to a lot of stress. Pent up emotions can not only create feelings of distress and promote destructive behavior. So make a New Year resolution to de-stress yourself by getting adequate sleep, exercising, meditating and following your hobbies.
  3. Improve posture at work: Prolonged use of the computer, sitting at one place for hours together can cause muscle aches and discomfort. This routine on a daily basis, through years of work, can lead to permanent damage. Follow these steps to correct your posture at work. Don’t forget to take a break, or several one or two minute breaks every 20-30 minutes, and a five minute break every hour. This will ensure that you do not strain your muscles.
  4. Get an annual health check up: Scheduling an annual routine check up for all your family members is a thoughtful New Year gift. Discuss your general health related queries and need for undergoing some preventive screening tests.
  5. Get adequate and good quality sleep: I know it is difficult to keep your hands off your mobile devices at night but believe me, late night usage of gadgets is one of the main reasons for low quality and inadequate sleep. Make a New Year resolution to keep all electronic devices out of the room and pledge to sleep soundly for 7 hours at least.
  6. Practice mindful eating: Don’t make your body a garbage bin. Every time you put food in your mouth, ask yourself – “Is this healthy?” Mindless eating can lead to a lot of calorie consumption and can add up to an extra of 600 calories daily to your diet. The next time you are tempted by a dish, when you are not actually hungry, have a list of other healthy/nutritious substitutes to try instead. Divert yourself by drinking a green tea, taking a stroll, have a quick chat with a co-worker, or simply drink a glass of water!
  7. Avoid crash diets: Diets that promote large amounts of protein and fat, like low carb diets, might help you lose weight but the effects of these are short term. Finally, NO pain – NO gain is an ideal weight/fat loss plan which must include regular exercise in addition to a wholesome diet. Remember no crash diet can be substitute for a healthy diet.
  8. Cut back on carbonated beverages: Believe it or not, consumption of fizzy carbonated drinks is on a fall in the United States and surprisingly on the rise in the Middle East and Asia. It’s an alarming call for us to re-write our habits. Ditch the carbonated drinks this year and replace them with healthier options like fresh lime water, coconut water, chamomile tea, green tea and of course our desi Shikanji! Water is your best bet on any given day. For a little change, add up just enough juice to change the color along with an orange or a lime!
  9. Practice Deep Breathing everyday: After a tiring day, do you prefer lying on the couch and watching TV? But for good relaxation, what you need is a mentally active process which leaves the body calm and focused. Deep breathing is free and can be practiced anywhere. The key of course is focused breathing. Just 5-10 minutes of your day for deep breathing will reduce anxiety and reduce stress. Deep breathing increases the supply of blood to your brain and releases relaxing hormones, which promotes a state of calmness.
  10. Exercise Regularly:  The New Year is an amazing time to kick-start a new fitness plan – so as long as you create one you can stick with, you’ll be fine! Here’s how you can build a good workout plan. If you need guidance and motivation, subscribe for a GOQii PRO class within the GOQii App – where you’ll be guided by experts in real-time.

We hope these New Year resolutions help you get healthier! Do let us know which resolutions you’ve planned for 2025 in the comments below.

#BeTheForce

By 1 Comment

Top Stress Busting Foods For A Healthy Mind!

stress busting foodsStress is a part and parcel of life. There’s no escaping it. Everyone endures stress, and it is perfectly natural to seek some relief from it. In fact, relief is necessary because prolonged stress can lead to chronic stress, which, if left untreated, can cause heart-related issues, burn you out, and affect your mental and emotional well-being. When faced with massive stress, we turn to food, but are you eating the right kind of stress-busting foods?

Top Healthy Stress Busting Foods

Don’t let relief come in the form of junk food. Instead, you can try these healthy stress-busting foods: 

  1. Asparagus: It is high in folic acid, which helps you relax. A vegetable like this, which is high in folate—a calming B-complex vitamin known to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety—also helps produce dopamine for the brain. Enjoy cooked or raw asparagus to reap the benefits of this powerful food.
  2. Avocado: Rich in healthy fat, magnesium, and fiber, avocado also contains vitamin B, which benefits your nerves and brain cells while reducing stress. It has a substance called potassium that helps by regulating your stress and blood pressure levels. Eating half an avocado daily is good for you!
  3. Almond: Vitamin B and magnesium help your body produce serotonin—a hormone that regulates mood and relieves stress—and almonds are loaded with them! So don’t be driven nuts by stress; instead, eat almonds!
  4. Spinach: It might not be on your go-to list of foods to eat when stressed, but it is necessary! The magnesium in spinach can lift your mood and keep your stress hormones in check.
  5. Coconuts: They are rich in medium-chain triglycerides, which are excellent fuel for the brain and body. The antioxidants in coconut can heal your system and protect your mind. Medium-chain triglycerides are also great for improving digestion and overall mood.
  6. Walnuts: They are known for their omega-3 content, which is very useful in fighting depression. They’re also packed with tryptophan, which indirectly increases serotonin levels. When your serotonin levels are high, you feel more relaxed, calm, and happy!
  7. Pumpkin seeds: These contain magnesium, which helps in reducing stress naturally and decreases the tension in your muscles. They also contain another mineral called zinc that keeps you cheerful always.
  8. Eggs: They have a good amount of vitamin B12, which is great for building mood. Eggs trigger the production of feel-good neurotransmitters like acetylcholine.
  9. Ghee: Homemade or pure A2 ghee is known to have medicinal properties that can heal your gut and improve digestion. Better digestion also improves your emotional state. This makes it one of the top stress-busting foods.
  10. Honey: It is packed with anti-inflammatory properties that can increase the spread of serotonin and dopamine in your brain. Some raw, organic honey can certainly make you happier
  11. Cashew Nuts: Apart from satisfying your taste buds, cashew nuts are one of the best stress-busting foods as they supply your body with a good amount of protein and zinc, which help you reduce stress and anxiety.

We hope you will incorporate these stress busting foods into your daily diet. Do you know someone who is perpetually stressed? Share this with them and help them find relief. For more articles on busting stress, check out Healthy Reads. Get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching here.

You can also purchase some of the above listed foods such as A2 Cow Ghee, Organic Honey, Pumpkin Seeds, Cashew Nuts and Walnuts for a discount using GOQii Cash on the GOQii Health Store within the GOQii App.  

#BeTheForce

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 […]