Search Results for: portion control

September 12, 2017 By Luke Coutinho 1 Comment

Are you a sugar addict?

At first we want to believe that we are not addicts. The very word ‘ addict ‘ makes us think ‘ Drugs ‘ or ‘ Alcohol ‘

But, did you know that sugar is sweet poison….it’s a silent killer. The effects of massive sugar consumption creeps in on us and suddenly strikes, in the form of a deadly disease or mood swings or depression or extreme fatigue, lowered libido etc…

There is too much to write about the dangers of white refine sugar or its other ‘disguises’.
The results though, of this consumption can be seen all around us.

~ Obese children and obese parents.

~ People with midriff fat or a ‘ tyre’

~ Bulging bellies.

~ Increasing cases of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, and inability to sleep.

~ Hyper children

~Children finding it difficult to concentrate and focus in school.

~ Individual behaviors that stem from low self-esteem caused due to one’s looks

~ Depression and unhappiness caused because the’ scale does not move ‘

~ Supposedly ‘ fit’ people dying of heart attacks.

If you are told to give up sugar for 10 days, and it worries or angers you, you should accept that you are addicted to it

if your children cannot go 10 days without sugar, they are addicted.

If you can’t control your portions of sugar, for example: if you start with a piece of chocolate and end up finishing the whole bar or the cake or many cupcakes at one go (that’s me) you are addicted to sugar.

Some of the worst stages of cancer require the person to starve the body of sugar, and yet if the only pleading request from that person is to do anything, but not take away sugar from the diet then it definitely sounds like an addiction.

There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of sugar, but when you have a diet that comprises of packaged foods, outside foods and junk, you are in taking more sugar than your body can handle.

Here are three reasons why you should immediately make plans to cut your sugar intake –

Sugar makes you crave for more sugar and if you restrict yourself it leads to mood swings, behavioral changes and a feeling of ‘restriction’. Sugar starts the chain reaction of addiction and more sugar means more calories which in turn mean more weight.

Sugar is the chief cause of ‘ belly’ fat or love handles or Cellulite. It ferments in the body making the body acidic and giving rise to bloating and gas. We then tend to perceive these problems as something else, and end up doing a whole load of wrong things to beat the bloating and gas. For example, we cut down on beans, because we think that all that bloat and gas formation is because of these extremely healthy and nutritious beans. And, so we eliminate beans from our diet and fail to cut down on the substance that is the real cause, sugar.

Sugar makes the environment in our cells acidic.Almost all diseases breathe in an acidic environment. Enough has been said about that. If you feel you’re addicted, get aware of your consumption and slowly start reducing it over time.

Find sweet substitutes, or set small milestones to reach your goal of consuming less sugar.

Till then, be conscious of your sugar intake. At times no matter how much you work out or walk, but if you are consuming too much sugar, you will find you lose some weight, but not from your belly or sides or not as much as you want to and that obstacle is nothing but sugar.

September 1, 2017 By Anusha Subramanian 16 Comments

“#FitBy40: To lose 40 KGS by the time I turn 40”

He led a sedentary lifestyle for several years until one day he realized that he had crossed the barrier of being unhealthy. Here is Arjun Narayan’s inspirational story in his own words.

I couldn’t believe my ears when the guy at the Levi’s store said, “Sir, a 32” size jeans would be perfect for you”. I was shocked because I always wore a 44” jeans until recently!

My normal day would start pretty late. If early, I would begin my day at 8 AM or even 9 AM depending on how late I slept the previous night. I had absolutely no grip on my meals, the greasier and tastier the meal – the higher the chances that I would go for it. I led sedentary lifestyle and walked less than 2,000 steps a day. Dinner times would be erratic and could be as bad as 2 AM. Beer cans would get opened for the smallest event that called for a celebration. All in all, it was as bad as it could get. I also stated that I probably get a zero for a quiz about nutrition or what protein was, what carbohydrates are as my knowledge on this was absolute zilch.

Before a doctor could ask me to get the situation under control regarding my health, I wanted to take charge. Another thing that kept bothering me was, I could never purchase a ready to wear trouser from the market as most brands did not cater to a 44” waist size.

I decided to hire a personal gym trainer. My story was similar to many out there who join the gym to lose weight. I was regular at the gym for a period of three months, but I did not shed a single gram of weight.

When I analysed to check what was I doing wrong– I realised, despite working out in the gym there was absolutely no discipline on my diet. While, I was battling the dilemma on how to rectify the situation, I bumped into these two statements in an article – ‘Weight Loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise’ and ‘Abs are made in the kitchen’. These statements made me think about this entire weight loss program in a different way”. Now, I knew that I had to get a personal coach who can advise me on diet and be by my side if I wanted this weight loss exercise to get anywhere”.

I had been following Vishal Gondal on Twitter for about 2 years and I knew about GOQii. What made GOQii interesting was the ‘services’ component to the business in addition to the product. I never evaluated any other option as I knew it had to be GOQii. Any other band would not solve the problem as I would have the data – but the bigger concern was not knowing what to do with the data.

In Jan 2016, I took up GOQii and came up with a project for myself #FitBy40 and the goal of the project was to lose 40 KGS by the time I turn 40 (which is this month). By the 9^th month – 5th September to be precise, I had lost 36 KGS! I started my GOQii journey at 115.1 KGS and by September I was at 79 KGS.

Today, diet and exercising is my pet topic. I get up at 5:30 AM and on bad days it is not later than 7:15 AM.

I attribute my success to my GOQii coach Kruti Jain. While, I have been extremely sincere and diligent about the entire process, she is the one who gave me the direction.

In the beginning she started advising me on what kind of a meal would be ideal for me, and it gradually started building from there. As I started seeing the results, I was motivated to push harder.

Now I can hold fitness sessions for an hour to a group of people and tell them how they can get a grip on stuff and the best part is that it is practical and doable. A year ago, I would have felt that this would be impossible to achieve – but trust me it is very doable. Today, people come up to me and say that I am an inspiration to them and it feels so good and if I have to look back, I don’t think I could have achieved any of this without Kruti’s assistance.

A normal day in my life ‘today’ looks like this:

My day starts with 2 hours of tennis / an hour in the gym and then I go for a swim in the evenings or for a walk. A newly opened restaurant in town doesn’t excite me anymore. What excites me is going for a run on the treadmill and running for 45 minutes or playing tennis for 2 hours. What excites me even more is going to a readymade garment store and trying out new trousers as my waist size is now down to 32″ from 44″. The last I had worn a 32″ jeans was probably in 1999 or so or maybe even earlier.

What does Coach,Kruti Jain have to say about her player Arjun Narayan?

Arjun came on board with a goal of bringing his weight down to 70 kgs (ideal body weight). He further specified the goal by saying that he would like to get to a 2 digit weight, i.e, 99 kgs within 5-6 weeks (about 10 kg loss)

Achieving such a goal would’ve required drastic dietary modifications and intense workouts. I explained to him the challenges expected on this path and tried convincing him to choose a rather easier and sustainable path of correcting the lifestyle which will automatically lead him to his health goal. He did agree to this but, only in words (for the sake of it).

As a coach, I helped him understand the nature and the nutritive quality of different foods, the trick of balancing meals, healthy snacking, and the impact of foods or lack of food / nutrients on our behaviour and food choices (cravings). These are just a few points to mention but our discussions went beyond the basics.

On the workout front, he chose his activities on his own as doing something of your interest is what keeps you going. I only helped him change and modify the workouts when his body got used to these activities.

According to me, what helped in this case was the player’s strong determination to get to his goal. He was religious in monitoring his progress and kept revising his plans and targets. Not only that, if the progress wasn’t as expected for a particular week, he had me reason it out & find out the limiting factors.

If I asked him to slow down (workouts) or to not be so strict on the diet front (to avoid its negative impact on his health), he would try to understand the “Why?” in detail and argue if not convinced. You just couldn’t stop or slow him down because he could only see the goal and the distance in between them.

Lifestyle before I came on board as his coach:

Diet: He was already following a low fat, high protein diet which was helping him lose weight.

Workout: 1- 1.5 hr of Tennis/ walking everyday

How I helped?

Tried educating him about the negative impact of such diets on health (only proteins or only salads for meals)
Improve satiety quotient of the meals by adding fibre and complex carbs
Balance meals (right proportions of carbs, proteins, fibre& micro- nutrients)
Snacking on nutrient dense foods to avoid deficiencies
Satisfy taste buds without guilt (indulgence on a weekly basis, but in controlled portions)
Deal with cravings and avoiding them
Change the workout at the right time or modify them so that the rate of weight loss does not fall (combination of workouts like swimming/ tennis/ walking/ gym cardio).

These changes helped him sustain the diet and lose weight at such a rate (1.5 kgs/ week)

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August 28, 2017 By ASHWINI PRAKASH CHAUDHARI 16 Comments

Fat Burning Foods

In my previous blog, you read about 5 easy ways to cut down on fat. When we are talking about burning that extra fat from our body, we need to take care of our food too. Let’s understand what are these fat burning foods?

I have chosen some fat burning foods that we use in our daily routine but, unaware of its impact on our health.

When we talk about fat burning food, the first thing that comes to mind is Green Tea.

#GreenTea is packed with antioxidants but, did you also know that it can help you shed the fat? It’s the Catechins-(a type of an antioxidant which found in tea). These are a part of green tea that gets your body to switch over to burning more calories, as well as fat. Several studies suggest green tea may promote weight loss by stimulating the body to burn abdominal fat. It temporarily speeds metabolism after sipping it. To get the most benefit of it, you may need to drink green tea 2-3 cups per day.

#Bulletproof Coffee-I am sure you will love this one. Your favorite beverage may actually help rev the metabolism and help you lose weight. Try to have a cuppa coffee first thing in the morning but, try this new and healthier version of the coffee-‘the bulletproof coffee’. For this coffee cut out the sugar and cream and add 1tsp of virgin coconut oil or our very own desi-ghee or unsalted butter and get your daily dose of MCT’-(Medium chain triglycerides, it’s a type of fatty acids. It helps in food absorption, decreases body fat and increases lean muscle mass), the good fats which helps you in reducing cholesterol, controlling hunger pangs and helps in fat burning.

#Egg whites : One of the best source of protein. It is also known to be rich in branched-chain amino acids, which keep your metabolism boosted for several hours.

#Chicken, Lean meat and Fish- Excellent source of protein, they help us pump up our muscles. More the muscles in body, higher is the metabolism and higher is fat burning. Protein has a high thermogenic effect: You burn about 30% of the calories the food contains during digestion. They are also rich in Iron. Iron deficiencies often make our metabolism sluggish refraining from fat burning. Grab on these protein-iron rich combo foods at least twice a week. Skinless chicken breast is a great choice. Lean meats are full of protein and less fats. Then there are fishes that are rich in omega-3 fats, proteins and iron- look out for salmon, herring and other fatty fishes.

#Fiber– High fiber foods tend to be less “energy dense,” which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food. Most of the fiber rich foods have the thermogenic affect which increases energy expenditure by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system to cause enhanced metabolic activity. When metabolic rate enhances, fats breakdown rapidly. Example, Fruits, green leafy veggies like spinach, Whole wheat, nuts, beans, oats, etc

As I have mentioned in my earlier blogs, that I have been on a healthier side. So, to cut down the extra fat from the body,I have increased the fiber intake in my meals. Most of us begin their day with oats and even I did the same. I started having oats in my breakfast. Oats are a fiber-rich whole-grain. Your body burns twice as many calories breaking down whole foods (especially those rich in fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice) than processed foods. To make it healthier, I started adding nuts in it. They’re high in protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats. The combination of oats and nuts were so impactful that it helps me blow up the fats.

Nuts are an excellent way to curb hunger between meals. They’re also rich in calories, so limit your portions. So, you can have handful nuts in a whole day. If you don’t like eating nuts for snacks, chop them and sprinkle over main dishes or side items. You’ll still get the good fats, they bring, and they help to flavor up the meal.

Similarly, the other raw vegetables make for an outstanding snack. They satisfy the desire to crunch, they’re full of water to help you feel full, and they’re low in calories. When you’re in the mood for chips and dip, replace the chips with raw veggies. Another way to fill up before a meal is by eating salad. Make your salad interesting by adding a variety of fruits and vegetables or pomegranate, corn. Be careful about dressing, which can add a lot of fat building foods.

Water: For all the above listed foods, water is the most wanted nutrient. Without sufficient water intake, your body goes into dehydration and we very well know “Dehydrated body almost kills your metabolism”. 3 liters of water every day is ideal. Also to digest of the above listed foods and get the maximum benefit of them, water is required. While reading this article too, grasp a glass of cold water, which forces your body to use more calories to warm it up.

There are many other foods which you can add to your daily routine which can help you to burn fats like berries, especially blueberries, chilli peppers, grapefruit, olive oil, Enova oils (soy or canola), whole grains, beans and legumes, low fat dairy products, yogurt, flax seeds, etc.

So let’s start adding these foods in our daily routine and start en-kindling the fat.

April 20, 2017 By GOQii Editor 1 Comment

GOQii enters into alliance with Max Bupa and Swiss Re for Health Offerings

In the current times buying a health insurance plan has become very difficult owing to the increase in the costs of these plans. Secondly, healthy people are paying more premiums for the people who are sick. More often than not healthy people are carrying the burden of the unhealthy people and paying disproportionately. This is exactly how all insurance plans work. Healthy people are always found asking the questions why am I paying so much in spite of being healthy?

Three-year-old GOQii, the health and wellness ecosystem start-up focused on preventive healthcare has been working on how it could help all those who are healthy, benefit from healthcare plans. To complement its offerings around pre-emptive healthcare and wellness, GOQii has entered into a partnership with Max Bupa, a specialised health insurer, and Swiss Re, leading global reinsurer to provide differentiated and comprehensive health offerings.

As a part of this three-way deal, Max Bupa consumers will get ready access to GOQii’s unique personalised wellness engine which is equipped with solutions such as health coaching and health management tools. Swiss Re will provide technical assistance to Max Bupa in creating relevant products and building expertise to create risk assessment models for future.

“At GOQii, we respond to consumer insights with the help of technology innovations to offer fitness products and services which blend seamlessly in a consumer’s lifestyle and add value. Going beyond the wearable fitness band, we have introduced tools and services which inculcate the intent of healthy living among consumers. Our tie-up with Max Bupa complements our current offerings around pre-emptive healthcare and wellness,” says Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii.

Ashish Mehrotra, MD & CEO, Max Bupa says, “Over the last few years, we have seen a significant increase in uptake of health insurance among customers under the age of 35 years. This segment is very active digitally and is turning to technology to stay fit. It is predicted that by 2019, 2 out of 5 internet users will use a health app. Engagement with such tools could be as high as 50%. This gives us a huge opportunity to promote holistic wellness by leveraging personal healthcare devices that are capable of tracking and relaying medically useful information”.

“Offering pre-emptive wellness solutions for maintaining their health is one effective way to engage with young customers and encourage them to buy health insurance. GOQii, with its rich expertise in the digital wellness space, provides an ideal platform that will help us penetrate deeper into this segment and serve the large uninsured population in the country,” Mehrotra adds.

For Swiss Re with the opening of its India branch, its focus is to develop sustainable practices in health insurance. We will provide technical support through our costing and risk management expertise. Kalpana Sampat, CEO of Swiss Re India Branch, added, “We are delighted to partner with Max Bupa and GOQii. With more tech-savvy and health conscious consumers, insurers like Max Bupa will have much to gain from working together with partners like GoQii. The overall health insurance programme connected with technology will help to reduce claims cost and allow insurers to better price their products for consumers”.

The new offering is also in line with the recent health insurance guidelines where IRDA is laying a strong emphasis on driving the shift from ‘illness to wellness’ and encouraging insurance companies to create offerings that cater to preventive healthcare needs of customers. With this alliance, Max Bupa has become the first health insurer in the country to partner with a digital health and fitness brand to create digitally enabled, holistic wellness solutions, tailor-made to meet the evolving health needs of customers.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/max-bupa-partners-with-goqii-swiss-re-117042000616_1.html

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/max-bupa-partners-with-goqii-swiss-re-for-wellness-solutions-2262439.html

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/max-bupa-inks-alliance-with-goqii-swiss-re/article9652945.ece