GOQii

Blog

Search Results for: nutrition

By 1 Comment

Nutrition Tips For Traveling Athletes

Nutrition Tips For Traveling Athletes

Traveling is enthralling for anyone who loves indulging in new experiences, different cuisines and sightseeing. But when you’re an athlete, traveling can be quite challenging because you need to follow a specific eating pattern and routine to meet the nutrient needs for training and competition. This involves carbs in ample quantities, proteins in moderation, fat in low quantities and adequate hydration – all of which can go haywire in a new place!

Some Challenges that Athletes Face Include:

  • Availability of healthy food options
  • Unknown food options available
  • Contaminated food and water
  • Unfavourable weather conditions
  • Jet lag

Ways to Overcome Challenges While Travelling

1. On Road Travel

  • The meals should be pre-purchased and carried for the team from reliable restaurants or stores. Foods include packaged meals, energy bars, fruits, roasted grams or peanuts, nuts, sandwiches, etc. to avoid eating food from roadside stalls.
  • Carry sufficient water to avoid dehydration and to avoid having water from outside which may be contaminated.
  • Look out for restaurants or food outlets which provide healthy food options.
  • Always practice Portion Control while on the move to avoid accumulation of excess calories in the body.

 2. Inflight Meal Planning

  • Avoid eating flight food as its high on fats and sugars leading to intake of unwanted excess calories. Rather eat healthy food which you can carry with you.
  • Hydrate yourself well by drinking adequate water and unsweetened fruit juices as jet lag can cause digestion issues.
  • Make sure to replenish stocked water once it’s over.

 3. On Arriving at the Destination

  • Get to know the place well and the food options available there. In case some foods are unknown, get to know about them in terms of the nutritional values and ingredients to make sure the food is appropriate enough to be eaten.
  • Upon reaching the destination, the coach or the team manager should do a detailed research for suitable restaurants and grocery stores.
  • Athletes should include healthy foods such as whole grains, pulses, vegetables, fruits and lean meat for optimum nutrition.
  • Ask how many times you might be eating out during the stay.
  • Eat only when hungry and stop when full. In other words practise mindful eating.
  • Check for availability of sports supplementing foods in the stores around.
  • Try and have only bottled water to avoid water borne diseases like typhoid or diarrhoea and use the same for drinking and washing fruits or vegetables before consumption and if possible, even for brushing teeth. Also try and avoid ice cubes.
  • Always consume whole fruits and vegetables that can be peeled. Avoid consuming fruit juices as contaminated water and ice cubes may be used.

 4. Before the Competition Begins

  • Make sure to have a good pre-workout snack 30 minutes before the competition starts. Include carbohydrates, proteins and low fats.
  • Try and have a good post workout meal within 30 minutes of the competition like whey protein.
  • Space your meals accordingly and appropriately before the competition starts. Don’t stuff your stomach before the competition starts.
  • Consume branded bottled water before the competition.

Athletes may stay in a normal hotel or even fully equipped suites. They may face challenges as optimum nutrition supports their performance. Hence, pre-planning or an intelligent strategy to overcome the above mentioned challenges may prevent hindrances faced by an athlete and help them perform at their best!

For more tips, you can check out fitness and nutrition classes by experts for athletes on GOQii Play!

#BeTheForce

By Leave a Comment

“Balancing discipline, good nutrition and karma as a way to a fulfilling life”: Pinaak

FB_IMG_1529539768940

Achieving a goal is a fairly exhilarating feeling, if you intend to flirt with the idea of giving up, you could well be throwing away something very beautiful….

Today, we have a story of an individual who has never learnt to say no or give up. As far as I know him, he has been pushing himself harder every time to achieve something more and new. He has been constantly setting the bar high for himself and keeps himself self-motivated to be able to do all the extreme things that he attempts. We are talking of barefoot runner and GOQii player Pinaak Pande.

An Investment Banker by profession, his true inner calling is running. Living in Pune but working in the US time zone has not stopped him from running daily. But, there is a history to how it all started for him as well. Prior to 2014, Pinaak was just another corporate guy who had excuses galore for not being fit. He weighed 89 kgs and his erratic work timings kept him away from healthy living and healthy eating habits. Then one day in 2014, he decided to join the Fitness class conducted by Reebok Running Squad. He attended the fitness for 2-3 sessions and these sessions would be conducted on weekends. Thereafter they gave each one a training plan which they had to follow. People were being trained to run 5km, 10 km and so on. Since then and now there has been no looking back for Pinaak.

FB_IMG_1529340686133

An active GOQii player since 2015, this June he attempted the 12-hour stadium run and here is how he trained for it?

Pinaak had made up his mind to take up this challenge in the month of January. After having done several 10 km, 21 km and 42 km run, he thought, he should attempt something crazy this year and looked at the running calendar and got to see this ultra and registered for it. He said to himself, “Now that you have registered, you have no choice but to train and train hard”. Given that he works in night shifts where typically, his day ends at about 4.30AM in the morning. By this time most of his energy is already drained out at work but, he already had one moto behind on his mind, ‘never give up’. He constantly kept saying to himself, “Pinnaak, you have registered for a crazy ultrarace so prepare, no giving up”.

His week’s mileage from January started increasing. 2 weeks intense training, 1-week low-intensity training. The high-intensity training weeks went up to 96kms for a weekly mileage and the low-intensity training weeks average was about 50kms as the weekly mileage.

“Believe me, I clocked over 800+kms to train for this since January, 5 days of running that included strength training and swimming (at times). Strength training is so important for the ultras,” Pinaak says. He adds, “The mental challenge was, going around the 400mtrs track for 12 damn hours. I wondered how. I ran all my runs solo, except for 5 long runs. Out of these 5 long runs, I got to pace 5 different groups (Good brownie Karma points you see) and help achieve their targets too. That kept me happy and going”.

Running solo is a challenge in itself and solo of 45+ kms will tell you what you are made of. At times Pinnak says he has gotten home post work drained at 6 AM in the morning but he never said a no to the run because he loves his runs. Pinaakk backed up his runs with quick swims to give him a quick recovery and he says, it played a major role on his recoveries. Pinaak had absolutely no recovery days in the plan but at times on Friday’s he forcefully put his body to rest.

“On the race day— I had jitters on the morning of the race. I must say, the food from Herbivore (Thank you, Bela, for the food) just before the race day, gave me that extra carbs to run those 12 long hours. I will rate the food here as superduper excellent. I finished the first 6 hours of running and I had clocked about 40 odd kms. Trust me, the weather was just so different from what I trained in. Humid as hell and it kept pouring at times. I told myself, I have 6 more hours and I have to survive this. I was focused and determined to complete this no matter what. We had the best food on the course and were taken care of like babies by the organizers. Finally, at the end of 12 hours, I clocked a 74.8kms (187 laps of the damn 400 mts track). Goqii has been the best support system too for this run”.

On his diet, while training Pinaak’s plate had clean stuff every single day except for few weekends. His diet included- Fruits and Sattu mixed in water (natural protein) being the breakfast so in good quantity. Very less rice for lunch, 3 chapatis and some dal or vegetable. Pre-dinner included-Protein (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds, chicken at times) and then a dinner with 3 chapati and some vegetables.

On a lighter note- Pinaak adds: “After the race, I binged on some junk food for the next two or three days. These were like small sized pizzas by myself, 1 garlic bread. 4 bhaturas and chole for breakfast and pani puris. Pinaak however after 3 days of binge eating is back to clean eating since Thursday as he prepares for the next biggie.

Pinaak believes in balancing discipline, good nutrition and karma as a way to a fulfilling life.

 

By 9 Comments

Educating players to read Nutritional Labels

read Nutritional Labels

How many of us really read nutrition labels when we buy a food product?

Today, the market is full of fancy branded food products with fancier food labels that are very confusing and tricky to understand. To add to that, our busy schedule seldom allows us enough time to read, ponder and interpret the labels and figure what it means and how to use the products.

But, as people are getting more health conscious they have started checking out nutrition labels. Having said that, the food companies are no less and have gotten smarter than the consumers and have started choosing different ways to entice the consumers into buying products by making them believe that they are choosing healthy food. But, in reality, the consumers are just buying the same unhealthy food with fancy and attractive packaging.

Let me give you an example to explain the above better- It’s no secret that Bollywood and Cricket is a religion in this country. These stars are worshipped like a god. Probably one of the reasons why companies bring on board film stars and sports stars to endorse brands.

Stars endorse anything from perishable products like food and beverages to non-perishable items such as hair oils, cars and mobiles. The advantage of getting a film star or a sporting star on board is that they will prompt the consumers to buy the product. Anything recommended by our favourite star whether or not it’s required or beneficial to you, a consumer will buy the product only because it has been endorsed by the Star.

Take for instance beverages. Most of the Bollywood and Sports stars endorse them. The product is largely seeing sales thanks to these stars fan following.

Consumers here seldom have the habit of reading labels on food products whether be it for its expiry date or to understand its nutritious value. Therefore, the understanding of whether an aerated beverage is good for health or no is out of the question.

In reality, if one checks the label on the bottle, a half- litre aerated beverage bottle contains approximately 64gms of Sugar, which does no good for one’s health. Some adverse effects of Sugar include the rise in triglycerides, reduction in HDL (good cholesterol), suppressing your immune system, causing hyperactivity, anxiety, inability to concentrate and crankiness, especially in children.

Given the above example, you would realise how important it is for us to read the nutrition label on each product. As per my knowledge and the studies undertaken by me, here are a few tips I can safely recommend for packaged food and beverages.

Understanding food labels can help you make wise choices―if you know what to look for. Here’s a rundown of the most important elements. 

# Do not get fooled by fancy packaging. Always check the facts on the Nutrition label and ingredient list

# Always check the first ingredient in the greatest amount (by weight) in a food product. So if the first ingredient is SUGAR, you can easily conclude if the product is good or bad for you.

# Always avoid products that contain artificial flavours, partially hydrogenated oil, Trans Fat, Salts, High Fructose Corn Syrup.

# Try to choose food with the less Ingredient list because long ingredient list may hide things that your body doesn’t need. In general, foods with shorter lists tend to be closer to nature (more wholesome with more natural ingredients).

# Among the grain products try to get the product which has at least 2 grammes of fibre per serving. Beware of “whole grain imposters”. Choose whole grains and fewer refined grains.

While the above might come across as being very restrictive ideally, it is not so. You do not have to give up on the food you like; all you need to do is make the right choices. Today, there are a number of options available in the market. Therefore, you need to take care and read the nutrition label carefully and select the right option, which is good for your health.

By 2 Comments

Nutritional facts to help preserve muscles in Seniors

senior-citizen-exercise

As you grow older it become imperative to work towrads building strength. The elderly need strength training more and more as they grow older to stay mobile for their everyday activities. The less active a person’s lifestyle, the earlier age-related changes will manifest.

According to International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), Nutrition working Group examines role of Nutrition in Sarcopenia, with focus on protein, vitamin D and B, and acid-based diet.

Age-related muscle loss, called sarcopenia, is a natural part of aging. An article published in Harvard Health said that after age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade. Sarcopenia is a common consequence of aging, and poses a significant risk factor for disability in older adults. As muscle strength plays an important role in the tendency to fall, sarcopenia leads to an increased risk of fractures and other injuries.

Quoting from an article in Harvard Health, according to Dr. Thomas W. Storer, director of the exercise physiology and physical function lab at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, just because you lose muscle does not mean its gone forever. The elderly can increase muscle mass lost as a consequence of aging. “

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Nutrition Working Group has published a new review which identifies nutritional factors that contributes to loss of muscle mass, or conversely, are beneficial to the maintenance of muscle mass. The Group reviewed evidence on worldwide studies on the role of nutrition in sarcopenia, specifically looking at protein, acid-base balance, vitamin D/calcium, and other minor nutrients like B vitamins.

The most obvious intervention against sarcopenia is exercise in the form of resistance training. However, adequate nutritional intake and an optimal dietary acid-base balance are also very important elements of any strategy to preserve muscle mass and strength during aging.

The review discusses and identifies the following important nutritional factors that have been shown to be beneficial to the maintenance of muscle mass and the treatment and prevention of sarcopenia:

  • Protein: Your diet also plays a role in building muscle mass. Protein is the king of muscle food. The body breaks it down into amino acids, which it uses to build muscle. The authors of the study propose an intake of 1.0-1.2 g/kg of body weight per day as optimal for skeletal muscle and bone health in elderly people without severely impaired renal function. .”While food sources are the best, supplemental protein can help if you struggle with consuming enough calories and protein from your regular diet,” says Dr. Storer.
  • Vitamin D: As many studies indicate a role for vitamin D in the development and preservation of muscle mass and function, adequate Vitamin D should be ensured through exposure to sunlight and/or supplementation if required. Vitamin D supplementation in seniors, and specially in institutionalized elderly, is recommended for optimal musculoskeletal health.
  • Avoiding dietary acid loads: Excess intake of acid-producing nutrients (meat and cereal grains) in combination with low intake of alkalizing fruits and vegetable may have negative effects on musculoskeletal health. Modifying the diet to include more fruits and vegetables is likely to benefit both bones and muscles. Emerging evidence also suggests that vitamin B12 and/or folic acid play a role in improving muscles function and strength.

The Review discusses non-nutritional interventions such as hormones, and calls for more studies to identify the potential of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in the prevention of Sarcopenia.

Strategies to reduce the numbers of falls and fractures within aging populations must include measures to prevent sarcopenia. At present, the available evidence suggests that combining resistance training with optimal nutritional status has a synergistic effect in preventing and treating sarcopenia.

Check with your doctor before embarking on any kind of strength-training routine. Then have a well-qualified personal trainer to help set up a detailed routine and supervise your initial workouts to ensure you perform them safely and in the best manner.

 

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 […]