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“I needed a coach who could help me with understanding nutrition patterns better”

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She is a fitness instructor herself. One would wonder why would a fitness trainer need a fitness tracker? But, this fitness trainer wanted a tracker that would help her know how many steps she takes in a day and also wanted a motivating factor in a coach with whom she could interact and understand more on nutrition etc. Let us understand from Nyela Saeed in her own words  what is it that she has learnt and implemented for her ownself?

I am a fitness instructor by profession and I run various classes of aerobics, Bollywood workout etc. and I am trained with Reebok and have done many other short courses in fitness. I was gifted a GOQii fitness band a year back for my birthday by my husband.

I have been with it for a year and I have been extremely regular with my login and my meals but the reason I have actually got the band is because even though I am a fitness instructor and I am conscious in many ways just having a band on your self tells you how many steps you took and having a coach who is constantly watching over you is an important key feature that works for me.

I have a daily routine that starts with the workout classes in the morning and I am extremely busy through the day. I also have a three year old baby who I attend to and therefore end up paying less attention to myself.

Initially, I didn’t really know what GOQii was about, I knew that there are fitness bands in the market that measures your heart rate and track your step count etc. but I didn’t know GOQii existed and it comes with a live coach. When I got the band and synced with the app, I understood that this is not a robotic application its real who understands my needs and works accordingly.

I didn’t have any particular health goal because I am a fitness trainer myself. Despite the fact that fitness is something that has always been of interest to me, I still wasn’t paying a lot of attention to myself. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to my sleep cycle. I wasn’t eating mid meals at all earlier and I would get extremely hungry and eat a big supper. Now all of this is corrected thanks to my coach and also I make sure I meet my water intake level of three litres per day.

Other than this I get a lots of tips from my coach and I don’t have to keep googling to get my  questions answered. For e.g. the cooking oil that you use in the house. I always go and buy the same cooking oil from the same bottle. The way my coach has explained to me what is poly saturated and mono saturated fats and how to alternate your oils etc. these are the things you need somebody to personally tell you how to incorporate in your life.

Also lot of questions pertaining to nutrition, I now just ask my coach and take her word for it. She also, put me on a three to four days detox regime in between because I had a long wedding period. My wrong sleep patterns have come down drastically because of my coach. Sometimes I used to have my meal and then have chocolate cravings.

My coach has taught me to alter my meals and now after my meals I have flavoured saunf or jaggary and peanut bar. My meals are now only healthy choices and I have given up on white sugar for the last one year.That is a big thing for me. I only take jaggary for everything but my coach has told me not to go overboard with it.

Recently, I have also been away from tea and coffee not because my coach told me but because I have become more conscious. Tips on nutrition is what I was largely looking for and my concepts are now clear. Apart from my health, my baby’s nutrition is also taken care of.

Earlier I would workout 5 days a week, my coach suggested I add one more day of workout and have only one day for rest.I have stopped taking the car or an auto and instead walk to places that that has helped me reach my target step count. My water intake has always been good. All in all I am happy being on GOQii platform and it has helped me a lot.

What does coach Tejal Gupte have to say about Nyela Saeed?

Nyela has been on her GOQii health journey for more than a year now.  She has always been a cheerful and an enthusiastic person, always ready to learn more and new things about health and nutrition. Coming from a fitness background, staying physically active was never a big challenge for her. But, her lifestyle consisted of high frequency of eating out due to frequent socialization and she had been a sugar addict for a long time. So we took these two aspects as our short term goals one after another.

We regularly discussed ways to practice mindful eating when having outside food and importance of portion control in such situations was explained and imbibed in her routine. Dealing with the sugar cravings looked challenging and took time initially. Right from using healthy substitutes i.e jaggery based sweets, dates and fruits, to the distraction techniques like engaging in favorite activity, consuming saunf at the time of craving, and other tips were shared and incorporated. I must say, even though it was not easy for Nyela to go off sugar that easily, it was her determination and hard work that helped us to achieve these goals. She even participated and to her surprise finished the 7 days sugar free challenge. She also completed some other challenges like the “3 day detox challenge” and step count challenge.During the whole year, we also worked successfully on some other goals like water intake and adding healthy snacks in evening to beat the hunger pangs.

Nyela has been regularly syncing her band, sending her updates as well as interacting on her goals throughout, which has made it more helpful to work on her goals.In the current scenario, her water intake has improved a lot than earlier. Best part is that although we could not do much alteration in her frequency of eating out due to her highly social lifestyle, mindful eating has almost become a habit for her and she is able to master it most of the times. I feel really happy and proud to see the transformation she has brought in herself in this one year period.

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“Being physically active is not enough, it has to be balanced with good nutrition”

anand krishnamurthy

From 1000k steps to 15000 steps daily is no mean task for someone who has had a very inactive lifestyle both at home and at work. He was overweight and realised it’s becoming a cause for concern. He, therefore, took efforts to implement a lifestyle change. And, soon realised how much of a significant difference it has had on his life. His outlook towards life has changed for the better and he has started looking at Life more positively.Let’s here Anand’s story in his own words.

I have a typical corporate job and as with all corporate guys, my life was pretty inactive. All I would do is sit on the chair through the day when in office and not travelling. I was quite aware of my problem and therefore was looking for something to get an active lifestyle. I was looking for something that came with an expert advice.

I went through the reviews of various fitness trackers that were available in the market such as the likes of Fitbit. Then I came across GOQii and what I really like about the GOQii device is that there is someone with whom we can chat or share our concerns to figure if we are on the right track or not.

Earlier, whenever I approached a fitness expert all I got was a list of things to do and then you are on your own. I had no clue whether I was doing the exercises right, whether I was eating right etc. As compared to this, I found GOQii to be significantly different from other fitness trackers. At GOQii, you have a coach who will help decipher the date that is clocked on the device and explain what it means.

The coach helps you to change few habits to bring about a lifestyle change, the food habits get regularised etc., and all these make a difference.

Initially, when I came on board GOQii in October 2015, my goal was to lose weight (I was around 109kgs) and get slimmer and fitter but, in the last 3-4 months, I would say my entire lifestyle has changed from what it used. I was looking at reducing slowly but, ended up reducing a lot more than what I had targeted. I actually have reduced around 9 and a half kilos. I am at around 99 KGs currently.

I am also super active now. From barely being able to walk 1000 steps a day that too with great difficulty, currently, I hit about 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day. And most of that is clocked through the first few hours of my run or walk in the morning.

What I have learnt from my experience is that just being physically active is not enough, it has to be balanced with good food intake. I am more conscious of what I eat. I am consuming fruits as well  and there is also more focus on proteins. I have started consuming a lot more vegetables and lots more chapattis and fruits during the week.

All those small changes that I have made has had a positive impact on me. And, at the same time, I didn’t give up on anything that I was enjoying. Once in a while, I am allowed to indulge and I can confess to my coach that I did not follow her rule. She motivates me quite a bit. She gives me lots of chances to get back on track which has really helped me.

More than the weight loss, it’s about how active I have got. The food that I eat keeps me energetic through the day unlike earlier when I used to feel sluggish and was unproductive at work. Now it’s no more like that. My outlook towards life has changed because of my lifestyle change.

I have realised, you can run 15 km and also lose 15 kilos of weight but, all of this does not matter if you don’t follow a good lifestyle. Now, I also take enough rest, sleep well and I am able to do a lot more work. And on weekends, I used to kind of slow down but now not so much. I compensate with more running and more activities on a weekend which kind of helped me bring in the balance. It is kind of mix of a lot of things.

If I have to rate GOQii, I would rate the coaching piece 10 out of 10 because the coach actually helps you change your lifestyle which is one of the toughest things to do. We talk about lifestyle change but, it’s only when you implement it do you realise how much of a significant difference it has had on your life. For me, my outlook towards life has changed for the better and I have started looking at life more positively. I am also more energetic through the day and that has helped me in my relationships both at home and at work.

My coach Priya has really helped me a lot. She has been a good listener and has been able to understand my routine, my schedule when I travel and has accordingly helped me to adapt change.  I believe that ‘One size fits all does not work’.

People around me have been surprised with the changes they see in me. They find me lighter and positive. Personally, too positive outlook towards life is really helping me in terms of being more productive at work and overall it has made me happy in life. 

What does Coach Priya Goel have to say about her player Anand Krishnamurthy?

Anand was excited and determined when he joined Goqii. His main goal was to shed his extra kilos and become fit and active. He wants to run in marathons but, did not know how to go about his diet and activity pattern. Because of his hectic work schedule and foreign trips he was not able to continue with his workout regime.

So we have decided some health goals that will be convenient for him to achieve.

Goals were-

  1. Time interval training for 1 hour
  2. Pre and post workout snacks
  3. Water intake should be more than 3 litres.
  4. Include more protein in the diet.

Anand followed every goal very precisely and diligently and the result was there for everyone to see. Today, he runs 5 km in 30 minutes and has progressed to running 10 km in one hour. He has lost 9.5 kg weight and inches too.  It was his sheer determination that helped him reach his goals.

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Nutrition for Skin!!

Skin-Tips-Blog

One is always on the lookout for that “miracle cream” that will make our skin glow and make us fair. Most of us in literal sense abuse our skin, especially our facial skin exposing it to various creams, lotions and treatments. No matter how we take it, but our skin regulates our body’s temperature, protect us from bacteria’s and viruses causing infectious diseases.

We often give much attention to our facial skin for obvious reasons. But, we should definitely try to maintain and keep our entire covering (skin) healthy rather than focusing only on face.

There are number of superficial treatments available in the market to bring a glow on your skin, however as a dietician, I will be showing you ways to keep your skin healthy by foods found in your kitchen itself.

You will be surprised to know that there is a strong link between the food choice you make and skin health. Your choice of food is revealed on your skin.

Vitamins:

Vitamins like B complex, A, D, E, and C have known to play an important role in maintaining healthy skin. They have chemical called photochemical which helps in preserving the body from various bacterial, viral, free radical invasions. They also have anti-oxidant properties which helps skin from the oxidative damage caused by stress, pollution, body’s own reaction etc.  

Tip–

  • Eat at least 5-6 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily.
  • Make your salad more colourful, the more colours you add, the more beneficial it is to your skin.
  • Try having Amla (Indian gooseberry) juice every day. I would say, “An Amla a day keeps dermatologist away”
  • Drink fresh fruit juices. Try different juice every week for example- Cranberry, blueberry, orange juice etc.

Supplementation:

Supplementation helps in maintaining healthy skin. Apart from the cosmetic point of view, many dermatologists now recommend nutritional supplements to tackle issues like acne. Supplementation of multivitamins and omega 3/ fish oil capsules have shown positive effects on skin.

Supplementation is needed when a person’s daily requirement of a certain nutrient is inadequate. Hence, before starting off with any nutritional supplement, consult your dietitian.
Avoiding certain foods:

As mentioned above, the kind of food we eat reflects on our skin, avoiding eating junk food, fatty foods, carbonated drinks, alcohol, and refined products affects your skin. This can be attributed to the fact that these foods have a negative impact on health by hindering with the absorption of certain nutrients. Also smoking can accelerate aging process causing wrinkles even before time.

Water:

This is tried and tested all over and also considered as “gharelunuska”-meaning home remedy. Drinking enough water and keeping good hydration status retains moisture of the skin. Also drink adequate water clears out toxins and waste from the body keeping body healthy and which is indirectly seen through skin.

Stress and Sleep:

Ever wondered why when you’re in stress you see acne on your face?

Research has shown a positive link between people who take too much of stress and its effect on skin. Getting a good night’s sleep and de-stressing yourself from everyday routine can be helpful and also improve your skin. Insufficient sleep causes dark circles around the eyes.

Early morning yoga outdoors will not only reduce your stress level but will also give you your daily dose of Vitamin D. There is a research that shows a strong link between stress and skin ageing. I am sure nobody wants look old, right? Try de-stressing yourself everytime you find it’s taking a toll on your health.

Exercise:

It is the key to healthy skin. We all are aware of the benefits of exercise and cardio respiratory fitness, but little do we know about its effect on skin. Regular exercise helps in regulating blood flow to our body especially skin. Blood not only carries oxygen but also the nutrients to our cells. Thus, exercise keeps your skin healthy by increasing blood flow and keeping nourishing skin cells and healthy and vital.

Nutrition is one the important component to modulate the vibrancy of your skin. As a dietician, I believe we should stop taking our skin for granted and that it’s just a covering over our body. But, think of it beyond creams, make ups and laser treatments. Nourish your skin not through chemicals but through foods found in your very own kitchen

 

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Strawberries and its nutritional benefits

strawberry

The moment I hear the word ‘Strawberry’ the first thing that comes to my mind is the dark red juicy strawberries of Mahabaleshwar. How about you? Have you ever wondered what is so good about this fruit that we all love? It is loved so much that you tend to get various food products ranging from syrups to biscuits, toffees, chocolates to ice creams etc with this flavour. People want to enjoy its flavour in any form possible.

Let us have a look at its nutritional values and its health benefits

Nutritional Informatiion for 1 serving (i.e 100 gms) of strawberries:

Calories – 44

Carbohydrates- 9.8 gms

Crude fiber- 1.1 gms

Proteins – 0.7 gms

Fats – 0.2 gms

Calcium and phosphorus – 30 mgs each

Iron – 1.8 mgs

Rich in Beta carotene, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C and also contains many of the essential aminoacids

Wow! Isn’t it amazing? Not only this, there is lots more to add to this super fruit. Do you know benefits of consuming strawberries? Well here it is:

  1. Improves immunity- The Vitamin C, Beta carotene, flavonoids and anthocyanins present in strawberry acts as antioxidants and help improve immunity. The fibre also helps remove heavy metals from our system helping to detoxify our system thus improving our immune system
  2. Prevents cancer-A phytochemical called ellagic acid and Vitamin C together yield anti-cancer properties like suppressing cancer cell growth. It also contains antioxidants lutein and zeathancins which are scavengers to free-radicals and neutralize the potentially negative effect they can have on our cell.
  3. Heart Friendly- The components in strawberry- ellagic acid and flavonoids has an antioxidant effect which benefits heart
  4. Younger looking skin-Strawberries help in producing collagen. Collagen (helps improve skin’s elasticity and resilience) which we tend to lose in the process of ageing. It fights occurrence of wrinkles but also prevents inflammatory response which is one of the cause of wrinkle formation.
  5. Improves eyesight- Antioxidants and Vitamin C present in strawberries prevent cataracts—the clouding over of the eye lens—which can lead to blindness in older age.Vitamin C not only protect eyes from exposure to free-radicals from the sun’s harsh UV rays, which can damage the protein in the lens but also strengthens eye’s cornea and retina
  6. Lowers bad cholesterol and helps reduce hypertension- Quercetin, flavonoids and fiber protects heart against damage caused by LDL cholesterol and it also prevents platelet build up. Its good potassium content helps maintain the blood pressure
  7. Reduces arthritis and other inflammatory diseases- The antioxidants and phytochemicals help reduce inflammation
  8. Helps improve digestion- The fibre and water content helps reduce constipation and other digestion related issues
  9. Good for weight and diabetes management– Strawberries are low in glycemic index and at the same time has good satiety value.
  10. Improves prenatal health- All the females who are either pregnant or trying to conceive is advised to have folate tablets. Strawberry is naturally high in folate which is one of the basic requirements for tissue/cell differentiation and development of brain, spinal cord etc. thereby preventing neural tube defects
  11. Helps control asthma and allergies- due to its anti-inflammatory properties and Vitamin C content
  12. Lifts your mood up- Folic acid helps reduce production of homocysteine which hinders with dopamine, serotonin(feel good hormone) which may cause depression

The list doesn’t end here. There are loads to add to this super fruit. Incorporate this seasonal fruit in your regime whenever possible as it is or in any form and enjoy all the benefits of this fruit.

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