Search Results for: weight

August 19, 2016 By Neha Kapoor 1 Comment

Guide to pick healthy dishes from different cuisines

Eating out is a fashion or trend?

Today, most of us enjoy eating out and going to the restaurant is very common trend.

If you are a regular restaurant visitor you need to discipline yourself as it takes toll on your weight and impacts your health.

The biggest problems we faced while eating out are increased fascination towards outside food and eating in large portions. You can make the outing healthier by selecting the right food for yourself from different cuisines. It will help you in making eating out a joyful experience. This joyful journey starts with our very own “GPRS tool’ which resolves and simplifies all your food related queries.

G-Grilled, P- Poached, R-Roasted, S- Steamed

Select healthier meals from

(I) North Indian Food

We all love to try different cuisines among which North Indian foods is quite famous.

When we you go out choose low fat gravies and food without the cheese. Prefer more starters which have been roasted or grilled chose tandoori food.

1- Avoid curries which contains the highest amounts of fat. If you need to opt for it take out the pieces from it and have it ignoring the gravy. Food like (Lentils made in Butter) dal makhnai and other preparation with cream are rich in fat. Whenever you tend to eat it avoid top portion and take from the bottom as fat floats on the top and can impact our weight leading to various diseases. Eat in moderation.

2- Avoid friend breads (parathas ,puris). And Pulao. Opt for chapatti and steamed rice or tandori roti which is preferable to bread made of refined flour.

3- Have more baked products.

(II) South Indian meals

1- Go for big Idlis or large plain dosa. If possible go for lentil (dal) based filling avoid potato based fillings as they are contain fat layer.

2- Lentil based puffs (Dal Vada) well squeezed and drained on tissue also makes a good choice. Complement it with good veggies and green salad.

3- Non -Veg chicken, fish, prawns along with measured portion of grains/cereals is a good choice.

4- Keep yourself away from deserts as they are rich in sugar.

Today’s trendy and kids favorite Chinese food.

1- Start meals always with large helping soups without thickening sweet corn, noodles etc.

2- Go easy on fluid appetizer.

3- Order steamed rice instead of fried rice.

4- Always follow half plate rule. Fill mostly half the plate with green veggies and salad.

5- Light stir fried vegetables, tofu, chicken, fish, are good choices and very must satisfactory.

6- Reduce high salt food as it contains too much of sodium.

(III) Italian Cuisine

Skip bread and breadsticks. Ask for olives or a salad. Choose grilled sea food, lean meats, and breasts of chicken with extra vegetables added to it.
Chose a thin crust Pizza over the regular one. Two slices are good to eat.
Opt for tomato gravy as white gravies are rich in fat and serves extra calories.
Add a dash of parmesan cheese or olives to add taste and make you feel satiated.

Greek and Lebanese

1- Go for chicken kebabs/fish with salad. Resist pitas and wraps as they have high carbs.

2- Avoid heavy deserts.

Mexican food

1- Order sour cream and guacamole on the side and top it with low fat salad.

2- Order soft food rather than crispy as the food is fried for the crispness.

3- Go easy on Nachos and cheese. Order low fat soups.

4- Good choices include rice and beans and tamales, tostadas and stuffed with vegetables and shrimp or chicken.

I assure you this blog is going to help everyone reading it to make the right and healthy choices while they are out in restaurants. Keep enjoying life but, not at the cost of your health.

August 16, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian 2 Comments

Having achieved my goals, I can now proudly declare that my lifestyle has become active

He had a hectic work life that left him with little or no time for exercise or any form of fitness regime. It was all work and no play for him. His sedentary lifestyle got the better of him. As a result his eating habits were erratic with no control on what was being eaten. The net result of all this was he had gained weight apart from being unhealthy. The best part was that this 31 year old young man was aware of his issues and was keen on rectifying the situation. And, adapt a healthy lifestyle for a better future. However, he knew he had to make an effort to achieve his goals. Abhinav Sharma’s story in his own words on how he achieved his active lifestyle and health back.

Here is story in his own words

I work in the travel industry and have a very hectic work life due to which I led a very sedentary life style with no activities of any sort. I realised I was becoming nothing more than a couch potato and wanted to change. I tried to gym but could not sustain it. I then started looking for other solutions. I was looking forward for some options which I could follow and better my lifestyle. During the process of my research I came across GOQii. I got to know its features and one of the main things that attracted me was the unique human touch along with technology.

I came on board GOQii as a beta player two years ago. Personalised coaching attracted me and that was also the motivating factor. I knew that if I had to achieve my goals I would need someone to motivate and push me constantly. As soon as I came on board GOQii, I got Shimpli Patil as my coach. She took me through the GOQii ecosystem and explained the whole process which I found very interesting. Then she educated me about real fitness and how you could achieve an active lifestyle and your health goals by taking small steps initially and then gradually increasing the process. She also told me about water intake and also how in the office and while I am travelling I can keep myself active. And finally, she improved my dietary and nutrition habit. I learnt how a good and balanced diet plays an important part in fitness and overall health.

I did exactly what my coach asked me to. It wasn’t easy at all for me to bring about the changes, follow a routine. I would get tired easily but, I was sure I wasn’t going to give up. Soon, walking for 30 minutes became 45 minutes and then an hour. I then added strength training to my fitness and I gradually started walking the path of a healthy and active lifestyle thereby clocking 10,000 steps daily to the current 12000 steps daily. After a year of being on GOQii, I participated and successfully completed the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalker in November 2015.

Now my daily routine includes regular exercising- basic free hand exercise as suggested by my coach and after that I leave for office around 8:30am and in between office hours I take breaks, go for a walk and use the stairs now instead of taking elevators thereby also increasing my step count.

Along with moving and achieving my daily step count I also overhauled my diet. My diet now includes salads, veggies, lentils and fruits. Now, I know about good and bad foods, which is the right diet for me etc. My water intake increased to 3 litres from a mere one litre earlier.

My initial health goals when I came on board GOQii was two pronged. Firstly, to achieve a healthy lifestyle and secondly control my weight. Due to my hectic and erratic work schedule I gained lots of weigh.

Having achieved my goals, I can now proudly declare that my lifestyle has become active but, I still need to achieve more. My weight is also under control thanks to the changes in my diet. I am glad that I am now a part of the GOQii active family. Going for active Sundays here in Delhi and I have met so many like-minded individuals from GOQii family and it only inspires me further. A big thank you to my coach who has been constant source of motivation at every juncture of my journey be it in good times or when I have been low.

Infact, Shimpli has been my motivator for the participation in the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalker. At first when she told me about it and asked me to participate, I did not believe her. I did not think I could achieve my goal of completing 100 km within 48 hours. My first thought was it is really impossible to do that but, my coach told me that it is possible. I then participated in 2015 after a year f achieving some fitness levels.

Oxfam Trailwalker was an eye opener. I met so many personalities and people both young and old and watching them be so fit and walk so much was inspiring and motivating at the same time. My biggest question to myself was.. if they can do it why can’t I? That environment was conducive for someone like me to share my experience and listen to others too. Overall it was truly an outstanding experience.

What does coach Shimpli Patil have to say about Abhinav Sharma?

When I had my first interaction with Abhinav, he described himself as a ‘Lazy Person’. He had some really good health goals in mind to achieve but lacked motivation and the right push to achieve them. After a quality chat with him, I explained to him why it was important to achieve those health goals and how we could work together towards achieving these.

Abhinav was convinced and decided to go for it. Time was a challenge for him but, he was ready to realign his schedule in a way which could fit an exercise routine in the morning. He took the time to regularize his daily regime but, yes he could pull it off gradually. Jogging, core exercises, body weight exercises. We moved ahead step by step. The best thing about Abhinav was, he never said NO and when I added extra exercises to his routine. He paced up and he decided not to put a full stop and keep at it.

It is not exercises alone that we worked towards, he also brought about dietary changes wherein I introduced him to the concept of pre and post workout meals, some mid meals (to cut the large gaps between meals) and he learned to keep his dinner light yet balanced. With these wondrous dietary changes along with regular workout routine, there was no doubt he could reach his goals. After few months he noticed a drop in his inches (Fat loss), increase in stamina and endurance while he jogged and ran. He kept feeling better each day.

One day, after having shared his progress with me, he asked me now what next? And I immediately said ‘Let’s Walk 100 km within 48 hours’. ‘You are all set’, I said and he was dumbstruck for few seconds. I made him believe that ‘HE COULD DO IT’ and should have confidence in himself. He decided to take up this incredible challenge. And, guess what he completed it gracefully.

“When you have the will, you can achieve anything that you want!” That’s what Abhinav has proved.

‘Want to get featured here? Click Here to tell us your story.’

July 25, 2016 By Luke Coutinho 3 Comments

Why eating too healthy is dangerous for your health

Fruit diets, fruit juice diets, banana and milk diets, high protein diets, chia seed infused water, salads, Vegan food, sugarless snacks, low-fat foods, organic foods, fortified foods, innumerable ranges of organic vitamins, supplements etc……

We have it all….We also have more obesity, more cancer, more diabetes, more depression, more mental decay, more medication, more vitamin deficiencies, more time spent with doctors and in hospitals.

In our endeavor to get healthy, we may actually be doing more harm than good, if we don’t understand the physiology of the human body and mind. Too much of a good thing is bad…..even food… Yes, fruits are extremely nutrient dense foods but, it does not mean we constantly eat them.
Protein is needed, it’s good for repair, tone, muscle, recovery but, it does not mean we need more and more of it.

Many fats may be bad, but it does not mean we stop eating fat completely. It’s a very common belief that to be healthy, we need to eat more and more healthy foods.

Pure Ghee on a fresh hot wheat roti? What’s’ worse, the ghee or the roti?

Most people say that Ghee, is a fat and fat causes cholesterol and high cholesterol causes heart attacks… which really isn’t’ the case in most people who have cardiac arrests or strokes. There are many other reasons. I would worry about the roti, the wheat, where has the wheat come from, is it GMO? How processed is it?

Our beliefs about healthy foods need to be balanced with the understanding of what our body really needs and how our body assimilates nutrients from the food we eat.

A fruit diet is not going to do anything but cleansing……

Too much protein intake is going to do more harm than just repair or muscle build. This is when good food turns bad. When we have too much of even a good thing, it ceases to be good, and can in fact cause harm. There is absolutely no doubt that fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals and all things good, and that they also contain fibre, which prevents constipation and other gastric problems. But, too much fibre (for instance, when you eat platefuls of raw green leafy vegetables or salads like radish day in and out) can mess things up – big time. Excess fibre often causes bloating, abdominal cramps and gas right away.

In the long term, it can interfere with the absorption of minerals like iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, causing some serious deficiencies. Fruits also contain natural sugars, no harm in that but, too much is bad…your body only uses what it needs, the rest gets stored as fat or becomes waste and all waste is waste, whether it’s a fruit or a samosa. Waste is toxic.

Insane workouts or working out too much, I have a question for you, is it really working? are you really getting the desired body you have in mind? Or are you using exercise as a way of punishing your body because you ate too much?

It just doesn’t work, your body has a life, so does your bones, your muscles and joints and over exercising will decrease your bone density, deplete vitamins from your body , raise cortisol levels, decrease immunity and leave you with ‘STUBBORN BELLY FAT AND LOVE HANDLES’…

The body needs not more than 30 minutes of smart exercise to stay health and if your fat and you are trying to lose weight, more exercise DOES NOT mean more exercise…it means looking smartly at your food choices, your alcohol intake, your sleep, your stress levels, your sugar and the consistency of your exercise program.

Does your choice of exercise suit your body or are you just following the latest fad ?

The body needs protein to repair and build muscle, but eating excessive amounts won’t do the job better. In fact, in a diet where the protein intake goes beyond 30 per cent of the daily caloric intake, a build-up of toxic ketones in the body may occur, causing the kidneys to go into overdrive in an attempt to flush them out. This may lead to a significant loss of water and calcium from the body, causing dehydration and bone loss.

Symptoms include a feeling of weakness and dizziness, dry skin, loss of hair, low appetite, nausea and bad breath. In the long term, this may strain the kidneys, stretch out the liver and put stress on your heart too.

Weight loss efforts go bust too, as excess protein is converted into fat. Another problem is that while making protein into carbs or fat, the body converts the protein’s nitrogen into urea or uric acid. In large amounts, this can mess up your kidneys, lead to gout (a condition that causes your joints to become inflamed, tender and painful to move) and cause gallstones and kidney stones.”

Be super careful with protein shakes and bars. The body can process only about four to five grams of protein per hour, so the 50 grams you got from that protein bar or shake will take about 10 hours to digest and absorb. Also, when you replace your meals with protein shakes, you run the risk of missing the vitamins and nutrients you get from real food.

The Japanese eat soya and stay healthy and live longer. It is high in protein and has zero cholesterol. So what could be wrong with that?

That’s true, but, what is also true is that most Japanese eat only about 8 to 10g of soy protein a day, and even soya causes problems when eaten in excess. If overeaten, it may promote cancer, dementia, reproductive abnormalities, and osteoporosis and thyroid disorders. Increased consumption could also increase a woman’s total estrogen level, which is a risk factor for breast cancer.

For men, excessive soya can raise the risk of infertility, physical changes, and hormonal havoc.

The body will only use what it needs…anything in excess becomes fat or waste and both are detrimental to your mind-body health.

July 14, 2016 By Azra Faizan 4 Comments

Skip the Chips …..But not the CRISPS ….

We all have an inner child in us, which chooses to surface every time there are chips or other oily fried snacks in the vicinity.

Many of us indulge in these chips/crunchy cravings of ours while we are around our kids. And this is true from my own personal experience.

So why give up our crunchy snacks, and why make are kids give it up too. Kids don’t know the difference between healthy and junk, all they want is tasty snacks – and as my son adorably describes all crispy snacks – “Food that makes noise”.

All we need to do is change our perception, and put in a little effort, and I can assure you or your child would never want to pick up that packet of potato chips again.

I’ve put together a list of healthy snacks to satisfy our crispy cravings. Always remember any snack should be served in a small or medium sized bowl, as moderation is a key to good health.

I understand the time constraints that many of you face, and would want the easiest and quickest possible recipes available, so I’ve styled by list starting with the easiest and ending with recipes that require a bit more effort to make. I assure you all the recipes are extremely satisfying with the added bonus of being packed with healthy nutrients.

Roasted Fox nuts : Popularly called Makhana in India, it’s the easiest of the lot and packed with health benefits. Why open a packet of cheese puffs, if you have Fox nuts at hand. Just heat a teaspoon of ghee or oil, add a hand full of fox nuts and roast for 2 – 3 minutes. And Enjoy.

Shelf life –Fox nuts lose their crunch if stored too long and are best eaten on the same day. But they are so easy to make, that it’s not even a bother to make daily if required.

Popcorn – Popcorn is an all-time favourite and can go both ways on your health balance. Buy a pack of pre-seasoned, ready to pop, packet of microwave popcorn and you are loading yourself with excessive salt and preservatives and most probably even trans fats. Whereas pop a cup of natural popcorn on your stove with a teaspoon of butter or oil and you have a wonderful, light and healthy snack which you can season any way you want.

Shelf life – can be kept in an airtight container for 1 – 2 days.

Chapati (Roasted wheat bread) crisps – An alternate to your packet of air filled, trans fats laden packet of potato chips.

Just cut up some day old chapattis (whole wheat breads) into triangles or squares or however you like. Toss it with 2 teaspoons of oil and any spice or seasoning you want – I prefer mine with garlic powder, a pinch of salt, pepper and oregano. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 10 – 12 minutes, toss once check for crunchiness and bake for another 6 – 8 minutes. And Enjoy.

This recipe can also be made with whole wheat pita bread.

Shelf life – can be kept in an airtight container for up to two days – that is if they last that long.

Baked Sweet potato or banana chips –

Yes chips, I know I initially said skip the chips, but I meant the fried kind. There is nothing wrong in baking your chips. And trust me the sweet potato ones are the best. Because of their mildly sweet flavor, they hardly require any salt.

Turn the oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with foil.

Thinly slice your sweet potato and put in a bowl of chilled water. Pat the sweet potato slices dry with some kitchen paper or a clean towel and arrange on the tray.
Mix with 2 tsp of oil and lightly stir to coat all sides.
Spread them out again so they are mainly in contact with the foil.
Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown, turning once half way through. Keep an eye on them towards the end as they can quickly turn from done to burnt.

Shelf life – 2 – 3 days in an airtight container.

Puffed Rice Mixture (Kurmura chivda) – This is a favorite with my son, and he actually prefers these over a packet of store bought snacks or banana chips. And I am not kidding. The best part of this recipe is you can add whatever you like.

1 – 2 cups of Mouri or Puffed Rice (As much as you want)

Hand full of Roasted Chickpea/Roasted peanuts/Roasted Foxnuts

2 tsp oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Curry leaves
Flax seeds & sesame seeds
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder and salt

Heat oil in a pan, temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin seeds, flax seeds and sesame seeds (you can even add chopped green chilies if you prefer it spicier). Add all the dry spices and then add the puffed rice or Kurmura and roast thoroughly till is gives of a nice aroma and is well coated with the spices. Turn of the heat and add the whole grams/peanuts/foxnuts or a bit of everything.

Shelf life – 4 -5 days in an air tight container

Roasted chickpeas – This is a more recent addition to my list, tried it after I read a bit about it on the net, and wasn’t really convinced how chickpeas would taste in a crunchy form, or if they would even turn crunchy. But all my doubts were put to rest after I actually tried and tasted it. It’s the best protein packed snack I can recommend to anyone be it someone looking for weight loss, weight gain, muscle gain or just for plain munching. The recipe is also pretty simple to follow.

1 cup boiled chickpeas – not made very soft, or you could say semi – boiled.
2 tbsp oil

Seasonings of your choice.

Boil your chickpeas after soaking them overnight and boil either in a sauce pan with sufficient water. Or in a pressure cooker for a 1 -2 whistles. Drain and dry the boiled chick peas thoroughly, the lesser the moisture the quicker it takes to roast. Mix with oil and salt. Roast in a preheated oven at 200 °C for 15 minutes, toss and roast for another 10 minutes or until crunchy. Mix with other seasonings of spices.

After the success of the recipe I thought to myself why stick with only chickpeas and tried the same recipe with some other pulses as well. Like whole green gram (moong), White peas (Vatanas) and green peas. All of these turn crunchy and are tasty the same way.

You could also make a crunchy pulse mix to munch in the evenings.

Shelf Life – 1 – 2 days in an airtight container – though mine didn’t last that long.

Baked crispy Okra – this one is actually more of a lunch side than a snack, but still falls in the crispy category. And again usually made to special requests from my little one.

It’s actually a traditional recipe in Gujarat in Western India. This is normally deep fried. All I’ve done is just baked it instead of frying it with the same results.

Okra (Bhindi) sliced into thin strips

1 tbsp Chickpea Flour
1 tsp oil
Salt
Red chilli powder
Dry Mango powder (Amchur)
Cumin seed (Jeera) powder

Mix all the ingredient with the Okra and keep for 30 minutes, spread out on a greased oven dish and bake at 160 °c in a pre – heated oven for 10 minutes. Stir once and bake again for 10 minutes or until crispy.

Shelf life – Eat on the same day prepared as it doesn’t keep

Multigrain / sweet potato / pumpkin crackers.

Last but not the least, homemade crackers, with the added goodness of pumkin or sweet potato. I love these, they are extremely healthy, but yes they are also a bit tedious.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ragi/nachni flour (or any flour blend you chose to use)
2 tbsp toasted flaxseed (ground or whole)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup of sweet potato puree (two small boiled sweet potatoes mashed with 1/4 cup milk)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
2 tsp mixed herbs (optional)
pepper or paprika (optional)
sesame seed to top
kalonji (nigella) seeds to top

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together into a large bowl. Place sifted flour mixture, butter, flax seeds and herbs and spices in the bowl of your food processor and pulse for a few times, until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Add the sweet potato puree and pulse a few more times.

The dough should blend together.If you find that it has dried a little you could add a bit of milk but, be careful not to make it too soft. Knead the dough with your hand and divide it into 4 – 5 large portions.

Roll each portion as thin as you can, an easy tip for rolling thin portions is to roll them in between wax paper or cling wrap. If you want to top them with sesame seeds, sprinkle sesame seeds on top and roll once with your rolling pin to seal the seeds. Cut into any desired shape and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

You can also store half the dough in the freezer for later use.

Shelf – life – keeps easily for a week in an airtight container.

NOTE: All recipes are a regular in my kitchen and have passed quality and taste tests by my 3 year old son.

Guide to pick healthy dishes from different cuisines

Having achieved my goals, I can now proudly declare that my lifestyle has become active

‘Want to get featured here? Click Here to tell us your story.’

Why eating too healthy is dangerous for your health

Skip the Chips …..But not the CRISPS ….

From “Laddu Nawin” to Fit and Fierce: How a 25-Year-Old Insurance Advisor Shed 20 Kilos and Gained His Life Back

“I’ve Challenged Myself to Live 100 Years” – The Story of Chandubhai Savani’s Second Chance at Life

From Shimla’s Slopes to Chandigarh’s Sidewalks: Surinder Kaur Bhalla’s Journey from Chaos to Control

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story