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June 4, 2019 By Vishal Gondal Leave a Comment

The Urgent Need For Healthy Eating

Ever wondered what constitutes healthy eating? I found my answer in creating new habits by adding beneficial foods and fostering a sense of responsibility to improve my quality of life! I am not talking about fad diets that make short term promises but making the right food choices and building a good relationship with them! Basically, embracing permanent and lasting changes.

Eat Real Food!

Scientific evidence has shown that what you eat can reduce your risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. It can ward off some forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis and obesity. Healthy eating and making the right food choices now is more important than ever.

Lifestyle Diseases on the Rise

Why so? Increasing members of our society are falling prey to lifestyle diseases due to wrong eating habits. Data collected from our very own GOQii IndiaFit Report 2019 indicates that there has been a rise in lifestyle diseases among people below the age of 45 since last year. High blood pressure has increased from 9% to 12%. Users affected by Cholesterol have increased from 10.1% to 14.1%.

Prioritize Your Health

If you prioritize your health, you’ll develop a “wellness state of mind”. The first thing you will begin with is making the healthiest choice when it comes to food and physical activity. Before you begin to make changes in your lifestyle, knowing where you are in your journey towards health and wellness is important. As a preventive healthcare company, we are striving to get people to be active and disease free. Our coaches promote balanced nutrition and healthy eating.

The IndiaFit Report indicates that there are key concerns in the nutrition area. Research indicates that 35% of the users have concerns around acidity and indigestion. 14% of the users are plagued by constipation. Bloating has increased from 8.5% last year to 10%. More than 25% have delayed meal patterns. All of these issues are due to bad eating habits.

Ask yourself the following question: Am I eating a balanced diet that comprises of all food groups to sustain health, energy, and well-being?

Healthy Eating is Not Complicated

While eating right is paramount, eating safe is equally important. We all know ingestion of pesticides can cause some serious issues including diseases like cancer over a period of time. From food grains to vegetables to fruits, everything is grown and ripened with the help of chemicals. Moreover, the concept of organic food is not well understood and most find it expensive.

But, having said that things are changing slowly and steadily. People are getting used to buying organic products from places like Farmer’s Market and few other health and wellness stores. In fact, the GOQii Health Store within the GOQii App offers curated products at a discount. These products are tested by our nutritionists and experts before being available for sale.

Remember eating right is not at all complicated. You don’t need to count calories all day long just eat the right foods and you will automatically start feeling healthy!

June 1, 2019 By GOQii 1 Comment

Motivation and Determination go Hand-in-Hand | Kalpana Sharma User Journey

Household chores can be quite healthy for you as they help you stay active! But like any journey towards good health, you have to support your activity with proper nutrition, sleep and manage stress as well. In most cases, individuals find it difficult to do so. This may be due to fatigue, lack of motivation or proper guidance. So what happens when you get the motivation you need with proper guidance? Let’s look at how they helped Kalpana Sharma!

Lifestyle Before GOQii

Kalpana Sharma, a 36-year-old housewife residing in Pune is married with 2 children, aged 9 and 3 years respectively. Prior to joining GOQii, she had no time or inclination to workout or manage her diet. She was too occupied with household chores and taking care of her family.

Apart from being inactive, she suffered from high acidity for almost 4 years due to unhealthy eating habits. She also had breathing problems due to weight issues. The meals prepared in her household were cooked in ghee and oil. The consumption of sweets was high as well.

Determination to Start a Healthier Lifestyle

During her second pregnancy, Kalpana Sharma weighed around 96kg. This was a frightening experience for her as she did not want to cross the 100kg mark. She knew she needed a drastic change. After her delivery in 2018, her husband gave her a GOQii tracker with a 3 month subscription as an anniversary gift.

Her husband motivated her to lose weight and get fit. Her health goal was to lose weight and get rid of acidity. Her GOQii Coach suggested she eats Fenugreek seeds that were soaked overnight, first thing the next morning. She had to include salads before lunch in order to reduce the portion size of her meal.

For dinner, she avoided carbs and switched to paneer and salads. She was asked to avoid sugar in her tea and coffee and eat sweets occasionally. On the exercise front, Kalpana began cardio for 30 minutes for 5 days a week. She also began walking after dinner. Her GOQii Coach shared some workout videos with her which she used to follow.

Embracing the Change

Under her 3 month subscription, Kalpana Sharma lost 3kg. This motivated her to extend her membership to 12 months. She weighed 88kg then and further reduced her weight to 71kg. Seeing the speed of her results, she wishes to lose another 3-4kg.

As per her GOQii Coach, she has been as consistent as possible with her habits. She switched to healthier alternatives while cooking. For instance, she began using jaggery instead of sugar. Any cakes or cookies she baked were made of whole wheat flour and jaggery.

Due to her healthy cooking methods, Kalpana has been able to improve the health of her entire family! She has even begun innovating her own cooking methods by opting for low fat alternatives.

In addition to all of this, she has also started strength training as suggested by her GOQii Coach. She now does cardio, abs and weights on alternate days. Kalpana ensures that she sets aside time for exercise no matter how hectic her routine is. She is dedicated to the extent that sometimes she is called ‘crazy’ by her family members!

3 months back, she was diagnosed with varicose veins and her doctor advised her to not stand for long periods of time and to ensure that she doesn’t gain weight. Instead of being defeated, this has only strengthened her motivation to exercise and lose more weight!

For her daily dose of inspiration, she regularly watches Coach Tufail Qureshi’s LIVE videos on GOQii Play and follows his instructions religiously. She also follows Coach Arooshi Garg’s Cooking Show.

Kalpana is quite active on the GOQii App and has explored a few snacking options from the GOQii Health Store. She finds them very tasty and healthy. When asked what she felt about GOQii, she said that it has transformed her and she is completely satisfied with GOQii and wishes to continue for many more years!

We wish Kalpana Sharma the best in her ongoing journey towards a healthier life. Did you find Kalpana Sharma’s story of determination inspiring? Drop a comment below and let us know what you feel!

#BeTheForce

May 18, 2019 By GOQii 1 Comment

Sapan Gupta: Running For Good Health!

Have you been passionate about something but as you turned older, your busy life overshadowed your passions? Most of us can relate to this, especially when it comes to running or some form of sport. While being really energetic and active at a young age, one often falls prey to a sedentary lifestyle. Such was the case with Sapan Gupta as well.

Life Before GOQii

Sapan Gupta, a 37-year-old working professional is a Deputy Manager with an Online Software Development Company. Since school days, he had always been passionate about running but as he grew older, he stopped. He also suffered from frequent bouts of cold, cough and sneezing. In 2016, he began jogging but jogged for 2km max.

Stepping it Up With GOQii

In Jan 2018, Sapan Gupta was introduced to GOQii via his Axis Bank Account. Since then, he hasn’t looked back. After joining GOQii, with help from his coach, he began training for marathons. His health goals were to stay fit and reduce belly fat.

Since Sapan always ate home cooked meals and ate out only once a fortnight, there weren’t many changes made to his diet. His GOQii Coach introduced him to healthy proteins and mindful eating. His intake is more balanced and nutritious now.

Now, instead of 2km, he runs for 5km easily, everyday and sometimes even without a water break. He tries to walk for 20 minutes even when he is at work. On the weekends, he plays badminton and cricket. Sometimes, he even cycles.

As of now, Sapan Gupta has lost 4-5kg and his stamina has tremendously improved as well! His issues of cold, cough and sneezing has reduced significantly as his immunity has increased. He has successfully completed 3 half marathons and over 52 10k runs in the past 1.5 years. He is currently preparing for a full marathon in August.

Last year, he participated in the GOQii Trail Challenge and completed it within 12 hours! He says that it was one of the most enriching experiences he has been through and looks forward to participating for the next one! He also said it was well-organized.

GOQii Active Sunday Champion

One day, Sapan received a notification for a GOQii Active Sunday session. As it was close to his house, he decided to check it out. When fellow Champion Subhash Achanta asked him to lead a session as he was unavailable, Sapan took it up without hesitation. Soon, he enrolled as a Champion and from then on he has been regularly heading the sessions in Hyderabad.

Sapan has been very active on the GOQii App. He orders products from the GOQii Health Store frequently during flash sales. As per his experience, the products he purchases are of good quality. He even participated in the India Steps Challenged and won the GOQii Vital. He says GOQii should organize more such events!

Though his family members think he is overdoing it, he feels there is still so much more to achieve!

Here’s what Sapan Gupta’s GOQii Coach Had to Say

“Sapan entered GOQii with a goal to lose weight and he worked hard to achieve it. He is very interactive, keeps me posted with his food logs and all the data he can. He is focused and has an idea of what he wants. We started with simple changes like replacing unhealthy snacks with healthy options and eating small and frequent meals.

He has great insights towards working out, which is his strength. Even on a vacation, he used do well with his physical activity. One word to describe Sapan is ‘Energetic’. With his involvement, I was motivated to guide him to achieve his health goals.”

Keep going, Sapan and #BeTheForce!

April 18, 2019 By Dr. Viral Thakkar 1 Comment

Epitome of Climax: The Big “O”

What is an Orgasm?

The climax of coitus, the mountaintop of making love and the ultimate, the almighty orgasm! Yes! This is what this article is about. You will agree that the pleasure of an orgasm is so heightened, it is difficult to know what is happening; but knowing what’s going on inside of us may heighten that.

Orgasm is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement resulting in rhythmic muscular contractions in the pelvic region of men and women. It is controlled by the involuntary or autonomic nervous system & associated with other involuntary actions, including muscular spasms in multiple areas of the body, a general euphoric sensation and, frequently, body movements and vocalizations due to intense pleasure.

How Does it Happen?

I believe it is extremely essential to be attracted to your partner before indulging in any sexual activity. In fact, I would go ahead and say, indulge only if you love the person, else do not! More about this in another article.

If you are in this wonderful state, the continual stimulation of erogenous zones, such as the genitals, anus, nipples, or perineum by your partner might lead to an orgasm. Many believe that orgasms actually happen in the brain. Hence, one can reach an orgasm through masturbation as well. Physiologically, orgasms occur following two basic responses to continual stimulation:

Vasocongestion: The process whereby body tissues fill up with blood, swelling in size as a result
Myotonia: The process whereby muscles tense, including both voluntary flexing and involuntary contracting

If you thought having an orgasm is just a minute’s game, then you are in for a surprise. The body undergoes a long process to reach that state through the sexual response cycle, which is the sequence of physical and emotional changes that occur as a person becomes sexually aroused and participates in sexually stimulating activities, including intercourse and masturbation.

Phase 1: Excitement

As the name suggests, this is the stage when you blush and breath heavily in the hope of your coitus. In this stage:

Skin may become flushed
Muscle tension will increase
Heart rate quickens and breathing is accelerated
Nipples become hardened or erect
Vaginal lubrication begins
Blood flow to the genitals increases, resulting in swelling of the woman’s clitoris and labia minora (inner lips), and erection of the man’s penis
The woman’s breasts become fuller and the vaginal walls begin to swell
The man’s testicles swell, his scrotum tightens, and he begins secreting a lubricating liquid

Phase 2: Plateau

This is the phase when you are about to get an orgasm, but haven’t yet! The part of the brain that controls sensations – the primary somatosensory cortex – sees an increase in activity and the parts of the brain that control alertness and anxiety – the amygdala and hippocampus – dropped off.

Several other areas of the prefrontal cortex all show a decrease in activity. In other words, having an orgasm shuts the parts of your brain that make you worry. No wonder all of mankind is crazy about having orgasams! It’s a great stress buster! It’s in the way our bodies are built!

The general characteristics in this stage are:

The changes of phase 1 are intensified
The vagina continues to swell from increased blood flow, and the vaginal walls turn a dark purple
The woman’s clitoris becomes highly sensitive (may even be painful to touch) and retracts under the clitoral hood to avoid direct stimulation from the penis
The man’s testicles are withdrawn up into the scrotum
Breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure continue to increase
Muscle spasms may begin in the feet, face, and hands
Muscle tension increases

Phase 3: Orgasm

The climax – It is the shortest of the phases and generally lasts only a few seconds. Both sexes feel the contractions in a variety of places from the head (that explains funny faces) to the feet (that explains clenched toes). You cannot control these contractions as they are involuntary and cannot be contained… kind of like when you sneeze. The loss of control can be messy, but it is ultimately why we enjoy our orgasms so much.

General characteristics of this phase include the following:

Involuntary muscle contractions begin
Blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing are at their highest rates, with a rapid intake of oxygen
Muscles in the feet spasm
There is a sudden, forceful release of sexual tension
In women, the muscles of the vagina contract. The uterus also undergoes rhythmic contractions
In men, rhythmic contractions of the muscles at the base of the penis results in the ejaculation of semen

Phase 4: Resolution

This is the feeling of “Oh my! What was that?” In this stage, the man enters a temporary recovery phase where further orgasms are not possible. This is known as the refractory period, and its length varies from person to person. It can last from a few minutes to a few days, and this period generally grows longer as a man ages. During this phase, the man’s penis and testicles return to their original size. The rate of breathing will be heavy and fast, and the pulse will be fast.

Orgasms are an inbuilt mechanism of human body (mammals). Our brain, emotions, and physiology are wired so that a person can experience it. In the second part of my article, I will elaborate on the benefits of orgasms, and why it is important to have a few now and then!

Want to know more? Drop a comment below!