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“I needed to be health conscious and not be on the sidelines of life”

Before & After-Natarjan

He works in the marketing department of a News Media organization and claims he has had a near sedentary lifestyle with spurts of fitness on and off. He weighed 88 kgs and was on the verge of being classified as overweight and also bordering on being diabetic. That’s when he realized he needed to be health conscious and not be on the sidelines of life….Here is Natarajan Viswanathan’s story in his own words.

I never had a fitness regime in my life. I would once in a while feel that I think I need to lose weight and I would spring into action following an exercise regime. I would remain focused, taking my resolution to lose weight seriously but soon lose interest and again go back to being laid back. I took up a gym membership for 3 years but barely hit the gym religiously, hardly making any difference to my weight or the fitness factor. Friends and family made fun of me for not being able to hold on to any fitness regime.

In December 2014, I went for a full body check-up. All the tests were normal but, I was told by the doctor that I was bordering on diabetes. I have a family history of diabetes. What the doctor said then scared me and that is when I got serious about reducing my weight and getting fit.

One evening we had a college reunion and there I got introduced to GOQii by a friend of mine. He explained how it works and what it can do for me. This discussion got me interested. But, he did have a word of caution when he said that just wearing it will not reduce your weight but one needs to make efforts to get active and reduce weight. Things just don’t happen.

Before: 

Pre-Diabetic:

  • Doctor advised reducing weight.
  • Had lost 14 kgs weight earlier but now weight had plateaued with no loss despite efforts.
  • Wants to walk 6 km per day

My journey with GOQii started in April 2015 and got Komilla Pareekh as my coach. They say that every journey needs motivation and direction. The band provided the much-needed motivation and the coach gave me the right direction. Many a time you want to do it but you either do not know how to go about it or you are plain lazy. I chose Komilla as my coach because she is a nutritionist and for my journey to a fitter life, I knew I should eat well and right.

When I got on to GOQii my health goal was to become fitter and reduce my weight. I wanted to fit into a pair of jeans I had got out of for a long long time.

I worked towards it along with my coach and am I glad to say that I have achieved my health goals. I have reduced considerably from 88 kgs I am down to 74 kgs.

My pre-diabetic condition is under control and I run 10 km now four days a week and my bigger goal is to run the Marathon in 2017.   

After:

  • Improved nutrition by focusing on high fibre, high protein and small frequent meals.
  • Introduced millets in the diet. Cut down fruits at night, added a salad to meals.
  • Worked on knees and back exercises.
  • Morning walks After Surpassed 6km goal. Starting jogging now. Weight loss and inch loss.

The good news is that I got into the pair of jeans that I wanted to get into for a long time.

Personally, how do I feel now? I feel fantastic. I have become more presentable. I never had confidence or communication issues but, I will not deny that now after having made these changes to life, my first impression in business meetings is good.

All these changes in me have also been noticed by my near and dear ones. I have been a great influencer to people around me and also got 4 others to register on GOQii.  I will certainly continue with GOQii and be motivated to be healthy and active.Another super initiative is the Karma point initiative. You can earn points and donate them to a cause you believe in. It gets you connected to your social quotient. So I have donated 4000 points to the education cause and for the Chennai floods. Great initiative. Keep it going.

What does Coach Komilla have to say about Natarajan?

When Natarajan joined GOQii, he had plateaued on his weight, despite having lost 14 kgs in past due to his will and determination. Being a borderline diabetic, he was advised by his doctor to lose a couple of more kgs to avoid medication. Also, he was nurturing a dream of walking 6 km in a single stance and to participate in a Marathon. The journey was not easy, but surelya challenging one full of hurdles- knee pain, back pain, time constraint, sweet craving, Mumbai rains …..but, he never lost the focus. Today, he runs not walks 10 km in a single stance and has lost weight and inches to settle on his healthy weight. The biggest strength of our relationshipand working was mutual trust and belief. Natarajan truthfully discussed all the challenges faced by him in working towards our goals and kept firm belief in his coach. That is the secret of our success!

 

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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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