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“I have worked really hard with my coach to achieve my health goals and in the process learnt a lot”

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He is based in Cochin and has been active at a very minimal level. Activity was restricted to doing just some warm up exercises. Until one day he realized he needs to get more active and regular with his physical exercises. Being active on a regular basis was the only way he could reduce his belly fat and overall weight. Here is Vipin Thrissur’s story in his own words …

I work in a broking firm and my job involves lots of travel. Due to this constant travelling, I could never focus on having a daily routine. I was under the impression that routines never work if you are going to be on the move constantly.

You name it and I had all the issues. I did warm up exercises but never had an exercise regime. The only thing I did in the name of the exercise was to climb stairs instead of taking the elevator. I also did not have enough water through the day, there was a lack of sleep leave alone having quality sleep and last I did not have proper nutrition.

Before:

  • Being a South Indian, his Rice intake was more
  • He also had a lot of red meat
  • Less activity only stair climbing to compensate

One day as I was browsing the net for a fitness tracker and reading about fitness and nutrition, pop came a message about GOQii. I got intrigued and started reading about GOQii and tried to learn as much about it through the net. Then I contacted GOQii and got to know more. I was fairly convinced and decided to try it out. It was in Oct 2014 that I got on to GOQii platform and I am glad that I am still continuing with GOQii and my coach Sneha.

My health goal when I got on to the platform was fat and weight reduction.  It’s been one and half years with GOQii and I must say I am thoroughly enjoying my journey with GOQii. In so many months as I have worked hard along with my coach to achieve my health goals I have also learnt a lot about nutrition, exercising, why sleep is important and what is quality sleep etc. One always took all these things for granted.

Have I achieved my health goals? Oh yes, I have.

After :

  • Reduced rice intake slowly but steadily
  • Now red meat is replaced with chicken & fish
  • Started the 7 min workout along with Stair climbing
  • Tummy has reduced and has been getting compliments from his newly wedded wife

From being a person with very minimal activity and more excuses now I do at least 8000 steps a day. My exercise routine is still not up to the mark but, I am working on it.

My water intake has improved. I drink 2 liters of water daily without fail. My nutrition has also improved drastically. My fast food intake has stopped and I have also stopped aerated drinks. Thanks to the constant motivation push from my coach I have been able to bring about all these changes. My belly fat has also reduced considerably but it keeps fluctuating because I am not able to exercise regularly. But we are working towards overcoming this. The other positives are also that I am into meditation and that is considerably helping in relieving stress.

Overall I am positive about GOQii and my coach experience. The best part is that I am also being able to do some good in the society. I have been a blood donor and every three months I regularly donate blood but now I am also able to donate my Karma points. So far I have donated 3000 points to various causes.

What does coach Sneha Chikhale have to say about Vipin?

It’s been more than a year now, Vipin is a part of GOQii family. His goal was nothing but to lose few kilos and stay healthy. He was not someone who had a past history of health issues but, has always pursued a goal of staying fit and shed few kilos. Our journey started on a regular note and it became interesting as we proceeded further.

As he hailed from the southern region of India, cutting down on rice was a big challenge for   him, being absolute rice eater to now moderate rice eater is one of the healthy lifestyle change we made in this ongoing journey which has also helped him lose fat. The inclusion of mid meals has also made an impact on his overall eating patterns.

There was a time, when he has lost a band and till the time he did not get a new one, we continued our coaching for a certain period without the band because he was totally motivated. Losing the band had not deterred him from losing his motivation.

The best aspects about Vipin is that he has been a very active GOQii player, who maintains a regular connect with me on the app. This kind of connection between the coach and the player is very important for achieving the health goals. We are currently working with his sleep and stress patterns. I am sure, that like the other goals, he will be achieving these as well!

 

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5 tips to eat safe outside your home

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Eating outside your home comes as a big relief for most of us especially when we want to have something different from the regular routine “Ghar ka Khana”.

No matter how much we love home cooked food, there comes a point in time when we all crave for outside food even if it is not prepared in the best hygienic way. And well, it’s the first thing foodies like me look forward to do when on holidays or socializing.

Usually,nutritionists and dieticians always emphasize on healthy choices and mindful eating practices while eating out. But sadly, eating healthy i.e non-fatty, low calorie foods alone don’t help to stay healthy and fit. While we pay attention to the fat or sugar content and the processing method of the food while eating out, it’s also equally important to make sure what is served on our plate is safe enough to be consumed.

Failure to adhere to proper safety measures can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, stomach upset, and in worst case can lead to a serious episode of food poisoning or food borne illness. Thus,a mere act of enjoyment and pleasing the taste buds ends up putting extra stress on our digestive and immune system.

So what’s the alternative? Is there something which can take care of both-the taste buds and our body’s system? The Answer is YES

Here are 5 simple tips which can help us lower the health risk and ensure that the food safety part is not completely ignored!

1) Look for eateries having open kitchen or at least which allows a view of the kitchen

Food safety is all about what goes beyond the scenes i,e inside the kitchen and depends on the person who is cooking as well as the one who is serving the food. Hence, opting for places or restaurant joints that have open kitchen or dining place which allows you to have a view of the kitchen area helps a lot. This will give you some idea of the cleanliness of the kitchen premise, the utensils/equipment and also whether the chef and other kitchen staff are taking care of personal hygiene or not.

2) Go for places/joints which are always crowded or have high visitor ratio

Apart from ensuring that such restaurant is popular and serves tasty food, it will also ensure safer food. This is because crowded places have high turnover of food, and hence chances of getting served stale food reduces (example-the left over gravies and sauces or foods such as cooked rice from previous day).

3) Avoid opting for dishes which are too exotic, off beat or off seasonal

This is largely to play safe as we never know which ingredients go inthe preparation of such foods. Also,it’salways best to avoid dishes which have offseasonal food ingredients say any fruit or vegetable, because storage method of such foods then is a big question?Which if not stored properly as per the protocol can impose a potential risk for food toxicity.

4) Prefer cooked foods over raw or cold foods

This is applicable while eatingin the roadside eateries or joints as they often use food items like chopped onion, peeled potatoes, chutneys etc; which are pre prepared and if not covered and stored properlycan be subjected to contamination from flies, pests etc and thus become a potential health hazard. Opting for cooked foods ensures that at least some microbes get destroyed due to heat.

For example:

#Go for grilled/toasted sandwich instead of regular sandwich

5)Beware of what you eat during buffet set ups

** Avoid having cut salads, cold pastas and fruits in buffet set ups like weddings or in hotels since they are likely to sit there for a long time before they actually go into our plate.We can have soups, grilled/sauteedveggies or steamed starters instead of salads in such situations to fill ourselves and save us from overindulgence.

** Besides this, make sure that all other foods kept at buffet table are maintained at proper temperatures; cold food should be kept cold, hot food should be kept hot when you serve them on your plate.

Remember, next time when you head out just follow these simple tips to make sure you enjoy your time away from the kitchen without thinking of the extra calories or worrying about food poisoning…think good nutrition!!

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“I stopped making excuses and took efforts to change my lifestyle… you can do it too” Says Gaurav Shangari

Gaurav working out in the Gym - Copy

I am a 31-year-old  self- employed individual based in New Delhi. I was never very active throughout my life. I largely led a sedentary lifestyle and was not involved in any kind of physical activity. I would drive to work, would keep sitting in the office, and did not follow a proper diet although I was aware that I was not eating right and the importance of good nutrition in staying healthy.

About the time I turned 18, I started eating a lot of junk food. Outings with friends would always mean consuming junk food and sweetened beverages. It was excessive now that I look back and that led to tremendous weight gain even though I had been naturally skinny all my life.

Over the next 12 years of living, such a lifestyle meant that I was heavier by 30 kgs and this excess weight came with other issues such as high cholesterol, breathing difficulties and reduced mobility of the joints.

It had got to a point where I was fed up of seeing doctors and swallowing pills day in day out which provided only temporary relief from the effects of a self-destructive lifestyle. It’s then that I decided to put my foot down and take back control of my health.

In March 2015, on the strong insistence of my wife and my mother’s support, I went to a nutritionist to try and figure what to do. I was on the path to recovery but a major turning point came in May 2015 when I got introduced to GOQii. One of my friends had already tried GOQii and she strongly recommended it to me. So I decided to give it a shot as well and ordered the GOQii band. And I can say with confidence that I’m glad I made that decision.

I strapped the GOQii band to my wrist, got a personal coach in Anushree Ashtekar, and started on my journey to make a permanent shift to a healthier lifestyle. With the guidance of my coach, I started becoming physically more active. Initially, things were tough but my coach helped me in making gradual changes and today I am at the point that I work out at least 4-5 times a week.

My body composition has changed drastically and so many other annoying issues have completely disappeared. It’s been close to 10 months now and I have lost 20 kgs – going down from an unhealthy 90.5 kgs to the current 70 kg which led to my cholesterol levels also reducing significantly. It’s all about making a commitment to yourself.

My goal was to increase my activity levels and improve fitness, and the weight loss came naturally.

GOQii has done a lot of good to me. Personal coaching has been the key factor in my journey. The coach is a great motivator who helps you to make gradual changes for the better with each passing day.

My coach, Anushree, gives me practical advice and answers all the queries promptly, which is critical in being able to make immediate decisions towards better health as you go about your daily life.

Thanks to Anushree my eating habits have improved. It’s no more junk food for me but a diet full of nutritious food. Fruits and salads have become a part of my lifestyle these were missing earlier. I have gotten rid of my long standing issue of frequent muscle soreness. Digestive issues too are no longer a concern and the bottom line is that my energy levels have gone up considerably.

Currently, I am well on my way to becoming a physically active person. What I love most about GOQii is that it holds me accountable on a daily basis and my coach keeps me on my toes. When I glance at it and see that I’m short on steps today, for example, I know I have to take a few extra flights of stairs or go for a jog or a walk before the day is over. The last thing I want to do is go to bed without having reached my daily targets.

What does Anushree Ashtekar have to say about her Player?

Before coming on the GOQii program, Gaurav had quite a history of health issues. Sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol, vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 deficiencies, fatty liver etc.. His wife forced him towards Naturopathy and that was a turning point in his life. He got many of his health issues in control and then wished to try out the GOQii coaching program for further guidance from a personal coach. We clicked instantly, as a coach, I understood his needs and started working towards them. We started working on reducing his muscle soreness, building a healthy physique and immunity and bought many of these issues in control.Today, I can say, he has come a very long way. The health issues that he had to suffer have made him very self-driven now regarding his health. And what made our association successful on the GOQii program was his own dedication, determination, open-mindedness and trust in me as his coach.

He has changed for good and he will be getting only better!

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We Can I Can

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“We can I Can” is the theme for this year’s World Cancer Day and this theme will continue through 2018. The idea of ‘We Can I Can’ is to explore how everyone –together and individually- can do their part to reduce the global burden of Cancer.

Today is World Cancer Day and experts say that one of the best ways to reduce the risk of Cancer is by adopting a healthy lifestyle. It is said that you can reduce the risk of many common cancers such as bowel, breast, uterine, ovarian, Oesophagus, kidney and liver by maintaining a healthy weight, eating right and making physical activity part of your daily routine.

As individuals ‘I Can’:

  • Make healthy lifestyle choices that include avoiding tobacco, getting plenty of physical activity, eating a healthy diet
  • Learn to detect signs and symptoms of cancer it only makes it easier to treat
  • Support Cancer patients and survivors with physical and emotional impacts of cancer after treatment
  • Share stories of own cancer experiences, communicate with decision makers and join support groups to help make positive changes for all people affected by cancer
  • When possible return to work after cancer treatment to restore normality, routine, stability, social contact and income.

As community ‘We can’:

  • Educate people about the link between lifestyle behaviors – including smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity – and cancer risk.
  • Dispel myths that lead to stigma and discrimination against people with cancer in some communities.
  • Encourage schools and workplaces to implement nutrition and physical activity policies that can help people to adopt healthy habits for life.
  • Improve access to affordable cancer health care for all populations.

(source cancer.org)

We all can do our bit. I remember there is an organization in Mumbai called Ugam, a voluntary support group formed by Childhood Cancer survivors. UGAM means “To Rise” underscoring their determination to rise above all obstacles in life & be VICTORS. UGAM, based in Mumbai is the youngest unit of the oldest & most prominent NGO, The Indian Cancer Society( ICS) under its survivorship programme.

Ugam’s vision is to ensure that every childhood cancer survivor finds his/ her way to celebrate life after winning the battle with cancer. Ugam helps in self-empowerment of the survivors. It helps in fulfilling their dreams that were put on hold while they were battling this tormenting disease and the hardships of the treatments. Helping in overcoming social fears and hindrances, overcoming their physical and mental disabilities and moving ahead despite them, Educational and career related assistance and guidance.

Ugam provides a platform for them to talk about their experience and problems and help in building their confidence and self-esteem. Ugam tries and gives them a reason to lead a social and personal life in the future.

We at GOQii are advocates of a healthy lifestyle and doing Karma. So let make a beginning…..

Here is another interesting read….

http://goqii.com/blog/foods-for-breast-cancer-prevention/

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 […]