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“I needed to be health conscious and not be on the sidelines of life”

Before & After-Natarjan

He works in the marketing department of a News Media organization and claims he has had a near sedentary lifestyle with spurts of fitness on and off. He weighed 88 kgs and was on the verge of being classified as overweight and also bordering on being diabetic. That’s when he realized he needed to be health conscious and not be on the sidelines of life….Here is Natarajan Viswanathan’s story in his own words.

I never had a fitness regime in my life. I would once in a while feel that I think I need to lose weight and I would spring into action following an exercise regime. I would remain focused, taking my resolution to lose weight seriously but soon lose interest and again go back to being laid back. I took up a gym membership for 3 years but barely hit the gym religiously, hardly making any difference to my weight or the fitness factor. Friends and family made fun of me for not being able to hold on to any fitness regime.

In December 2014, I went for a full body check-up. All the tests were normal but, I was told by the doctor that I was bordering on diabetes. I have a family history of diabetes. What the doctor said then scared me and that is when I got serious about reducing my weight and getting fit.

One evening we had a college reunion and there I got introduced to GOQii by a friend of mine. He explained how it works and what it can do for me. This discussion got me interested. But, he did have a word of caution when he said that just wearing it will not reduce your weight but one needs to make efforts to get active and reduce weight. Things just don’t happen.

Before: 

Pre-Diabetic:

  • Doctor advised reducing weight.
  • Had lost 14 kgs weight earlier but now weight had plateaued with no loss despite efforts.
  • Wants to walk 6 km per day

My journey with GOQii started in April 2015 and got Komilla Pareekh as my coach. They say that every journey needs motivation and direction. The band provided the much-needed motivation and the coach gave me the right direction. Many a time you want to do it but you either do not know how to go about it or you are plain lazy. I chose Komilla as my coach because she is a nutritionist and for my journey to a fitter life, I knew I should eat well and right.

When I got on to GOQii my health goal was to become fitter and reduce my weight. I wanted to fit into a pair of jeans I had got out of for a long long time.

I worked towards it along with my coach and am I glad to say that I have achieved my health goals. I have reduced considerably from 88 kgs I am down to 74 kgs.

My pre-diabetic condition is under control and I run 10 km now four days a week and my bigger goal is to run the Marathon in 2017.   

After:

  • Improved nutrition by focusing on high fibre, high protein and small frequent meals.
  • Introduced millets in the diet. Cut down fruits at night, added a salad to meals.
  • Worked on knees and back exercises.
  • Morning walks After Surpassed 6km goal. Starting jogging now. Weight loss and inch loss.

The good news is that I got into the pair of jeans that I wanted to get into for a long time.

Personally, how do I feel now? I feel fantastic. I have become more presentable. I never had confidence or communication issues but, I will not deny that now after having made these changes to life, my first impression in business meetings is good.

All these changes in me have also been noticed by my near and dear ones. I have been a great influencer to people around me and also got 4 others to register on GOQii.  I will certainly continue with GOQii and be motivated to be healthy and active.Another super initiative is the Karma point initiative. You can earn points and donate them to a cause you believe in. It gets you connected to your social quotient. So I have donated 4000 points to the education cause and for the Chennai floods. Great initiative. Keep it going.

What does Coach Komilla have to say about Natarajan?

When Natarajan joined GOQii, he had plateaued on his weight, despite having lost 14 kgs in past due to his will and determination. Being a borderline diabetic, he was advised by his doctor to lose a couple of more kgs to avoid medication. Also, he was nurturing a dream of walking 6 km in a single stance and to participate in a Marathon. The journey was not easy, but surelya challenging one full of hurdles- knee pain, back pain, time constraint, sweet craving, Mumbai rains …..but, he never lost the focus. Today, he runs not walks 10 km in a single stance and has lost weight and inches to settle on his healthy weight. The biggest strength of our relationshipand working was mutual trust and belief. Natarajan truthfully discussed all the challenges faced by him in working towards our goals and kept firm belief in his coach. That is the secret of our success!

 

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“I have worked really hard with my coach to achieve my health goals and in the process learnt a lot”

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He is based in Cochin and has been active at a very minimal level. Activity was restricted to doing just some warm up exercises. Until one day he realized he needs to get more active and regular with his physical exercises. Being active on a regular basis was the only way he could reduce his belly fat and overall weight. Here is Vipin Thrissur’s story in his own words …

I work in a broking firm and my job involves lots of travel. Due to this constant travelling, I could never focus on having a daily routine. I was under the impression that routines never work if you are going to be on the move constantly.

You name it and I had all the issues. I did warm up exercises but never had an exercise regime. The only thing I did in the name of the exercise was to climb stairs instead of taking the elevator. I also did not have enough water through the day, there was a lack of sleep leave alone having quality sleep and last I did not have proper nutrition.

Before:

  • Being a South Indian, his Rice intake was more
  • He also had a lot of red meat
  • Less activity only stair climbing to compensate

One day as I was browsing the net for a fitness tracker and reading about fitness and nutrition, pop came a message about GOQii. I got intrigued and started reading about GOQii and tried to learn as much about it through the net. Then I contacted GOQii and got to know more. I was fairly convinced and decided to try it out. It was in Oct 2014 that I got on to GOQii platform and I am glad that I am still continuing with GOQii and my coach Sneha.

My health goal when I got on to the platform was fat and weight reduction.  It’s been one and half years with GOQii and I must say I am thoroughly enjoying my journey with GOQii. In so many months as I have worked hard along with my coach to achieve my health goals I have also learnt a lot about nutrition, exercising, why sleep is important and what is quality sleep etc. One always took all these things for granted.

Have I achieved my health goals? Oh yes, I have.

After :

  • Reduced rice intake slowly but steadily
  • Now red meat is replaced with chicken & fish
  • Started the 7 min workout along with Stair climbing
  • Tummy has reduced and has been getting compliments from his newly wedded wife

From being a person with very minimal activity and more excuses now I do at least 8000 steps a day. My exercise routine is still not up to the mark but, I am working on it.

My water intake has improved. I drink 2 liters of water daily without fail. My nutrition has also improved drastically. My fast food intake has stopped and I have also stopped aerated drinks. Thanks to the constant motivation push from my coach I have been able to bring about all these changes. My belly fat has also reduced considerably but it keeps fluctuating because I am not able to exercise regularly. But we are working towards overcoming this. The other positives are also that I am into meditation and that is considerably helping in relieving stress.

Overall I am positive about GOQii and my coach experience. The best part is that I am also being able to do some good in the society. I have been a blood donor and every three months I regularly donate blood but now I am also able to donate my Karma points. So far I have donated 3000 points to various causes.

What does coach Sneha Chikhale have to say about Vipin?

It’s been more than a year now, Vipin is a part of GOQii family. His goal was nothing but to lose few kilos and stay healthy. He was not someone who had a past history of health issues but, has always pursued a goal of staying fit and shed few kilos. Our journey started on a regular note and it became interesting as we proceeded further.

As he hailed from the southern region of India, cutting down on rice was a big challenge for   him, being absolute rice eater to now moderate rice eater is one of the healthy lifestyle change we made in this ongoing journey which has also helped him lose fat. The inclusion of mid meals has also made an impact on his overall eating patterns.

There was a time, when he has lost a band and till the time he did not get a new one, we continued our coaching for a certain period without the band because he was totally motivated. Losing the band had not deterred him from losing his motivation.

The best aspects about Vipin is that he has been a very active GOQii player, who maintains a regular connect with me on the app. This kind of connection between the coach and the player is very important for achieving the health goals. We are currently working with his sleep and stress patterns. I am sure, that like the other goals, he will be achieving these as well!

 

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Nothing is Impossible! All you need to do is take that first step

Anurag on the move

Anurag on the move…..

It’s been few weeks since we started featuring GOQii Users success stories. These are stories of players who have reached their goals both in terms of clocking the required and more no. of steps, reaching their health goals, inspiring others to get healthy as well as doing well by donating their Karma Points. Anurag Bisen, 48, has conquered all of these aspects! Here is his success story, in his own words.

I am Anurag Bisen, a serving naval officer. Not that I was not active. I was active as I used to play Squash, go Yachting etc but, it was not a regulated regime for exercising. I did it all in spurts. Then I took to running sometime in March 2014 thinking every day running will become regular. But, yet again I was not happy about the way I was going about it. Then one day I was relaxing reading a tech magazine. I follow technology very closely and I came across an article about GOQii.

I found it extremely interesting to read about this new wearable from an Indian company and decided to find out more. Once, I got to know about GOQii I decided to go in for the band and became one of the beta players of GOQii on April 25, 2014. Since then I have had a fantastic experience with GOQii and my coach Shimpli Patil.

We initially discussed by issues and my goals. My coach in her own way kept me motivated to regulate my daily routine. My health goal initially was to reduce my weight. I was 98 kgs. Back then. I was very active and fit in my 20s and then somewhere I was unable to maintain a regulated regime. But, after getting on to the GOQii ecosystem I was determined to make a change. I was clear I had to do much more in a more disciplined manner. I made it a point to run regularly five days a week and on weekends played Golf as that was my rest day. But I clocked more steps on weekends as well. And because I do not run on weekends I run double the amount on Monday.

The change for me seemed like I have resurfaced again and all thanks to my coach for that.

Here is what I do daily…

I clock 10 km Monday to Friday –

Monday I walk 4 km in the morning and run double the amount (12 km)

Tuesday to Friday- I walk 4 km in the morning and run 6 km in the evenings. Monday I run double the amount as I do not run over the weekends.

On an average I run 70 km a week.

My weight reduced from 98 to 83 in just 11 months and I have been maintaining that.

Once my activity routine was regulated and I had started running enough, in 2014, GOQii put together teams to do the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalker. I have been interested in hiking and trekking and also indulged in these activities quite a bit. But, I had never walked 100 kms. And the best part we had to finish this 100 km Trailwalk within 48 hours.

GOQii interestingly also has a Karma initiative wherein based on your daily step count you earn karma points. These points can then be donated to charity that GOQii has partnered. Currently, it has a partnership with Oxfam and the points I earned I have donated part of those points to an Oxfam cause. This is a great initiative as one gets healthy and also does good for the society to make a difference in others life.

My experience in the first year of Oxfam Trailwalker was good. As a team though we could not finish. But, I was determined to complete the walk. All the steps that I’d accumulated up to this point clearly paid off. My training plan worked perfectly; I felt strong. So I took off on my own after my 3 teammates backed out. Technically our team was out but, I wanted to finish the 100 kms for my own self. GOQii team was there to motivate and that was good. I completed the 100 kms and I was in cloud 9.

Second year that is Nov 2105, I participated again in the trailwaker and this time we were four school mates who came together to walk 100 kms for charity. It was a sort of reunion for us. We had a memorable time walking together. It was completely overwhelming.

Overall, I can say that GOQii has made me extremely active and fit. I do not have any particular restrictions on food. I pretty much eat everything I want to. But, I am controlled. Sometimes I have my cheat days over the weekends when I indulge a bit. But, then I make sure I burn all those calories with a good run.

GOQii is a great concept and I am sure it can make a big change in people. Another fact I like about GOQii is the connect it has with its consumers.

Final Score:

In 23 months of being on GOQii platform

I have clocked a grand total of 10005k steps

Covered a distance of 7876 kms

Donated: 1417 Karma points towards one cause

In my mind I have set a target to earn a set amount of Karma points. Once I have earned those many points I shall donate them to charity.

To anyone who thinks they cannot or do not have it in them what it takes to do something like walking a 100 km or just about waking every morning and going for a 4 km walk or a 6 km run, just remember: all you need to do is take that first step. Put, one foot in front of the other. Keep it up. Before you know it, you’ll arrive.

Anurag with his 3 schoolmates after completing the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk in Nov 2015.

Anurag with his 3 schoolmates after completing the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk in Nov 2015.

What does his coach Shimpli have to say?

Anurag has been on the GOQii platform right since the beta phase. Being from the Indian Navy, he has always had a disciplined lifestyle. But, he felt there was something amiss. His aim was to make his workouts more regular and lose some weight (fat) and we kick started the GOQii journey with these ambitious goals.

During the course of Coaching, I was extremely astounded to see the way Anurag was progressing towards his goals. There were hardly any days where Anurag’s step count did not hit the target that we had set for him. It was very clear that this was easily achievable only because of Anurag’s infinite dedication, super strong willpower and the staggering amount of energy that he possesses. Anurag was so driven towards his goals that he could not resist going out for a run even when he was travelling or felt under the weather. One thing that just kept him going was his deep-rooted PASSION! With a passion like his, Anurag not only completed a couple of Marathons but also successfully completed the 100 km Oxfam Mumbai Trailwalker twice in the two consecutive years!

Anurag is indeed an inspiration to many! With his dedicated endeavor, he has managed to put his workouts in place and has come down from 98 kg to 83 kg today, with a very prominent reduction in the belly fat!

As a Coach, I motivate people to achieve their goals, but this is a rare instance where a GOQii Player reciprocates and motivates his Coach too! 🙂

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Stay Healthy and Save Money

budget-health

Today’s Union Budget presented by Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley provides for new health protection scheme that will provide health cover up to Rs One lakh per family. And for senior citizens an additional top-up package up to Rs 30,000 will be provided. This is good but, how about staying healthy and reducing health costs once for all.

Lifestyle plays an important role in heart ailments but, perhaps many have not taken this to heart. Getting angioplasties and stents that cost thousands of rupees do not prolong life or prevent heart attacks in stable patients. Similarly, lowering blood sugar with drugs does not fully prevent the economic and human costs of diabetes (including heart attacks, strokes, amputations, impotence, kidney failure, and blindness), but lowering blood sugar with diet and lifestyle prevents all of these human and economic costs.

Bringing about lifestyle changes is easier said than done. Simple lifestyle changes like walking or cycling instead of driving, climbing stairs instead of taking an elevator, eating nutritious food or making dietary changes, exercising on a daily basis and incorporating some behavior modification technique can have a big impact on you and your pocket for the better. And rather than buy a pricey gym membership to get in shape, there are ways to work out on the cheap or choose a fitness tracker with a coach to guide you.

Her are 6 healthy habits that can keep you fit.

  • Portion Control and Mindful Eating: Watching how much you eat is one of the best ways to maintain your weight. Have smaller portions of food instead of filling your plate in one go and have 5 small meals a day that is healthy and nutritious. This will help you manage your weight, keep your cool, maintain your focus and avoid cravings.
  • Exercise Daily: The best way to start your day is with some good physical activity. We all know the importance of physical activity, but still only a less percentage of the population in the world follow the same. Exercise has been found to decrease your chances of depression, anxiety, and stress. It is also related to higher success in your career. If you don’t care about your body, every other aspect of your life will suffer. Take care of your body. It is the only place you live.
  • Have Enough Water: Staying well hydrated is one of our body’s basic needs. Water is needed to enable the body to keep eliminating the toxins generated, to produce digestive enzymes, maintain healthy skin, hair, organs and to help your body absorb essential vitamins, minerals and natural sugars. Water also regulates the body temperature, cooling one down by evaporating through the skin. Drinking at least 3 litres of water a day is a must.
  • Get A Healthy 7+ Hours of Sleep: Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right time can help protect your mental and physical health, quality of life, and safety. Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result. The way you feel while you’re awake depends partly on how you have slept or what kind of sleep you have had. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health.
  • Think Positive and have a sense of Gratitude: Being positive and thinking positive builds a healthier immune system and boosts overall health. Body believes what you think so think positive. Gratitude is good for our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. Showing gratitude also keeps one happy. Gratitude also blocks toxic and negative emotions and
  • Avoid Stress: The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Here are few things you can do to avoid stress. Namely meditate, deep breathing, be alert, relax, laugh out loud, listen to music, and chase your hobbies.

So let’s stay healthy and save money and rather use that money for things we love to do.

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