Detox Archives

May 26, 2021 By Neha Goyal Leave a Comment

All About Digital Detox: Part 2

You might have understood the basic idea about digital detox in the first part of this article. In this part, I’ll be sharing how you can actually digitally detox! I promise, after reading this, you will definitely want to give it a try.

What Happens To Your Brain and Body During a Detox?

Here are some good things that you can expect during a digital detox:

Spending some time away from your phone that regularly beeps can result in a calmer state of mind.
Staying away from social media can make you more productive and your memory power may improve.
Your mind will be more clear & focused.
You may have lower anxiety & stress levels.
Growing awareness about how you use technology.
Improvement in sleep quality.
Better posture & reduced tech neck.
Improved social life as you connect with people in reality & eye contact will become a thing again.
Better engagement with yourself and the world around you.

Challenges You Might Face

It will be uncomfortable at first as you might feel alone or disconnected.
The thought of quitting the digital detox will fill your mind recurrently, but it will lessen over time.
You may feel you are missing out even if there is nothing to miss out on other than pictures & gossips.
Boredom will try to deter you as you might feel uncomfortable without having something to do.
You might feel unproductive at first.
Other people may directly or indirectly pressure you to quit.
You might find it challenging to go out without a phone.

Easy Steps To Do A Digital Detox

For many of us, quitting gadgets completely is not at all possible. But here are few practical and easy ways you can try to have a taste of digital detox.

First step in your digital detox journey can be observation of your daily digital involvement time. This will reinforce you to make a change and unplug.
Clean your device. Delete old apps and social media accounts.
Have a device free morning. Do not check your phone as soon as you wake up. In fact, keep your phone away during bedtime.
Choose a day in a week when you will stay away from gadgets. On this day, focus more on health, meditation and spend time with family.
Turn off notifications as they distract you constantly. Set a time for checking messages, emails and notifications.
While reading, eating and doing some work when you need to focus, keep your phone out of sight in another room, or turn it on silent or vibration mode.

How Do You Ensure Digital Detox Success?

Consider doing it during vacation or start with weekends if you have a technology focused job.
Commit loudly: Let your family & friends know that you will not be available on social media during a particular period of time & ask for their help & support.
Fill the void: Plan, in advance, some ways to stay distracted and some other activities/ hobbies in hand to keep you busy.
To reduce temptation and easy access, delete social media apps from your phone.
Keep a track of your progress and write down your thoughts & experiences.
Plan for real meetings with your friends and family or simply go for a walk when you feel most tempted to use your gadgets.

Going device free might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but if you can just start doing it, you will find it much more rewarding. So try this detox over the coming weekend and share your feedback in the comments below!

For more tips on improving mental health, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, sign up for our personal coaching service now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

#BeTheForce

March 29, 2019 By CHARMI GOGRI 43 Comments

Water Fasting: The Healthiest Way to Detox!

A couple of months ago, my aunt practiced a month-long water fast. In essence, she only drank water throughout the day. No food, no tea, no coffee, no milk and not even coconut or lime water. In short, it was nothing but just water!

When I got to know of this I was initially taken aback. I rushed to my aunt and asked if she was alright and what was the need to punish her body in this manner. To which my aunt replied, “I am doing this for religious purposes”.

Does Water Fasting Actually Help?

I am aware that fasting is an ancient, spiritual practice in many religions across the world. Also, fasting gives inner strength and confidence. But, like most of the traditional remedies, beliefs and practices have scientific reasoning and benefits attached. I was pretty sure water fasting would have some too. I researched on the benefits of ‘water only fast’ and was astonished to see multiple articles on the same that stated the various benefits of ‘Water Fasting’. Broadly, the benefits lie on the basic belief that the human body has self-healing abilities.

Water fasting gives improved energy and vigour. It removes mental blocks and gives clarity of mind. It also eliminates toxins from the body and can go a long way in preventing future illnesses. Water Fasting can improve immunity and has anti-aging benefits. The digestive system gets a break. All the energy that is used by our digestive system to break down foods, beverages, toxins, fats, and sugars, gets channelled to actual cleansing, detoxification, and repair of our vital organs, cells, and tissues. Many report a certain euphoria after a day or two of water fasting. You’ll likely feel a certain increase in energy as well, as you lose that slack, logy feeling.

After all the research and understanding about ‘Water Fasting’, I was naturally prompted to attempt water fasting for a day. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try just for a day and then post some tips from my personal experience which can be guidelines for others who wish to take this up for a day or two.

It was not easy for me or let me put it this way, if you have never attempted to do any kind of fast, this is going to be a little tough. Hence, I would like to share some tips and my personal experience which might inspire or support you to take up this challenge once in a week or probably a month.

Tips for Water Fasting

The right day to take up this fast would be to choose a day when you have lesser activities planned. If there are excessive activities, then they consume a lot of calories and that will make you hungry
Fasting should ideally start in the morning by drinking about two glasses of water which will clear your bowel movement
Simple pure water is the best. Boiled or cool water will also do. Drinking 1 ½ liters to 3 liters of plain water in one full day depending on individual capacity is good. You can drink more if you are up for it. I honestly did not count mine
Few bodily reactions which may seem scary but are considered normal and you all will experience as well if you are water fasting for the first time. Some of the signs are weakness, dizziness and nausea and these are common due to the sudden lack of food. I personally experienced a slight drop in blood pressure and headaches during the latter part of the day. The key to this is just lie down and relax whenever these symptoms become intense. The more difficult you find it, the more it means that your body has a lot of toxins to clean out
Towards mid-day, you will feel a sudden bout of hunger. Just have one or two glasses of water to dilute the gastric secretions. Then lie down and take rest. The hunger should go away in a short time
After having fasted, learning how to break a fast is important. As there is hardly any digestive activity during fasting, one should be very careful while breaking the fast. The best way to break a fast is with lime juice or orange juice which will make the stomach alkaline. It’s wiser to have few spices and no oily food during this time. Second meal of the day can be normal

All in all, I enjoyed my water-only fast of 24 hours. I look forward to doing this once every month. I recommend this to everyone to self-realize the benefits attached to this. If you can’t do 24 hours start off with 12hrs and then build it up as you get better and used to it. As we always say, take gradual and small steps to reach your big goals sooner. So Good luck! Use nature and natural ways as your best medicine to prevent as well as treat your body.

#BeTheForce

August 15, 2018 By Trupti Hingad Leave a Comment

A Fusion of Taste & Health : Exotic Salads for you to try.

Trupti Hingad

This Independence day let’s get healthy and try out some of these power packed nutrient salads. Why are salads important and what are its health benefits is nicely described in this blog https://goqii.com/blog/health-benefits-of-eating-a-bowl-of-salad-daily/.

Salad or veggies is the most important part of the meal platter. You cannot afford to skip if you want to get your daily dose of micronutrients. But, it is so boring and monotonous to cut slices of cucumber, tomato and onion and have it daily. There are various veggies available which you can twist and turn and make your salad interesting and colourful and tasty too. Wondering how? Keep reading.

Here I am listing some tasty salads with amazing dressings

CRUNCHY MUNCHY SALAD

Crunchy Munchy Salad

Ingredients:

Wheat/oat flakes- ½ bowl

Baby Corn- 5-6 in no

Bell Peppers (3 coloured)- ½ bowl

Lettuce- 2 leaves

Pomogranate- ¼ bowl

Seasoning

Lime juice – 2-3 tap

Salt- acc to taste

Chaat masala- According to taste

Method

Roast the oats a bit. Then mix all ingredients with the seasoning. Toss well and serve.

DETOX SALAD

Detox Salad

Ingredients:

Broccoli- ½ bowl florets

Carrot- ½ bowl juliennes

Bell pepper- ¼ bowl juliennes (red, yellow, green)

Baby Corn- 4-5 in no diced finely

Cherry tomatoes-1/4 bowl or regular tomatoes

Red Cabbage- ½ bowl finely chopped

Zucchini (yellow) – ¼ bowl sliced

Alfa Alfa sprouts- 2 Tbsp (for garnishing)

Seasoning:

Vinegar- 2 tsp

Red Chilli Flakes- 1 tsp

Salt – according to taste

Flax seeds- coarsely pounded 2 tsp

Walnuts- coarsely pounded 3-4 in no

Method:

Toss all ingredients with seasoning in a bowl.

Refrigerate for ½ an hour & serve.

SPROUTED METHI SALAD

sprouted-methi-seed-salad-recipe.1024x1024

Sprouted Methi Salad

Ingredients:

Sprouted Methi seeds- ½ cup

Pomegranate- ¼ cup

Cucumber- 1 in no diced

Carrot- 1 in no diced

Capsicum- ½ each diced (3 coloured)

Tomato- 1 in no chopped

Spring onion- 1 stalk finely chopped

Seasoning:

Chaat masala- ¼ tsp

Lemon juice- ½ lemon

Salt – acc to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients in a salad bowl. Add seasoning to the same. Toss well. And Serve.

WALDORF SALAD

Waldorf Salad

Ingredients

10-12 cup walnuts halves

2 tsp flax seeds
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
1 stick finely chopped parsley

1 stick finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon honey

2 leaves of Ice berg lettuce chopped
2 large crisp apples
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 lemon, juiced
Method

Cut apple into chunks. Add all ingredients in a salad bowl. Toss all the ingredients. Refrigerate for 30-45mins and serve.

BEAN SALAD WITH PROBIOTIC DRESSING

Bean Salad with Pro-biotic dressing

Ingredients

Bean sprouts- 1 cup

Fresh pomegranate- ¼ cup kernels

Cucumber- 1 in no (diced)

3 coloured bell pepper- ½ each (diced)

Tomatoes- 1 in no (diced)

Dressing:

Curd- ½ cup

Honey- 1 tsp

Olive oil- ½ tsp

Flax seeds – 2 tsp (coarsely crushed)

Chaat masala- ½ tsp

Salt- if required

Method:

For dressing: Whip all ingredients together with a fork. Add other ingredients in a bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Refrigerate & serve on a bed of lettuce.

TANGY TROPICANA

Tangy Tropicana

Ingredients:

Pineapple- 3 fresh slices (diced)

Cherry tomatoes- 6-8 in no

Red, Yellow & Green bell peppers- ½ each cut into juliennes

Lettuce- 2 leaves chopped

Walnuts- 2 in no chopped

Seasoning:

Lime juice- ½ lemon

Honey-1/2tsp

Ginger- grated a small piece

Salt – As per taste

Black pepper powder- As per taste

Method:

Soak grated ginger, lemon juice & honey together

Add all veggies & walnuts in a salad bowl

Add the dressing prepared, salt & pepper

Toss well

Serve chilled

What are you waiting for? Get healthy-dress up your meal platter with the above colourful veggie mixes!

November 28, 2017 By Zehra Fatima 4 Comments

Myths and Facts about Dieting

diet myths

Dieting is synonymous with Weight loss. But what does dieting mean? There is a lot of misconception among people that going on a diet means not eating enough food is dieting.

Let’s clear this misconception by proper examples and scientific approach.

1. Dieting means to skip meals?

The major misconception that leads to health risk is skipping meals which people assume will help them to achieve weight loss. Skipping meals will only increase acidity levels, more food cravings and large portion size. The sensible approach is to take lesser quantity food at regular intervals what we call as “small ad frequent meals”.

2.Reducing calories

Reducing calories doesn’t mean you skip your major course meals, for instance, skipping rice, roti or oats. The smart approach is to fill your stomach with low calorie and more fluid foods. If you take a salad plate include more cucumber and sprouts which will fill your stomach with a good amount of food but are low in calories.

3.Restrict non-vegetarian food

The non-vegetarian food contains all the essential amino acids that lack in vegetarian or vegan food. However, food preference is a matter of choice for each individual. If you choose chicken, fish or lean beef you are probably increasing proteins in your diet. Make sure the portion size is not more. Your plate should have more of low calorie, high protein food and less of calorie dense food.

4. Cut back on carbs to lose weight.

Carbohydrates come in different forms: simple and complex. Simple carbs found in foods like cookies and candy lack vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Cutting back on these sweets is a great way to eat healthier. Foods with complex carbs like whole-wheat bread, beans, and fruit, have lots of nutrients that are good for you. Cut back on simple carbs but keep complex carbs on the menu.

5. You need fat in your diet. Fat keeps you full and satisfied.

Fat is the slowest food component to clear the stomach. For ages, it was assumed that fatty foods slow digestion and keep you feeling full longer. Recent research proves that the proportion of sugar and fat has little or no difference in satiety ratings. What’s more, fat actually has twice the calories of protein or carbohydrates. In reality, protein tends to leave people feeling more satisfied than either carbohydrates or fat while fibre and whole grains affect feelings of fullness and satisfaction. To stay full longer, eat healthy foods that are high in fibre, like fruits and veggies and lots of healthy whole grains.

6. Only dieting will promote weight loss.

Weight loss is 50% with proper diet (as mentioned above) and 50% with exercise. You need to burn already stored calories in the body to lose weight. Extra calories and extra carbs are converted into fat in the body for storage. Extra proteins get converted to uric acid. You need to burn out and eliminate that extra energy. Choose exercise from low intensity to gradually increasing to moderate and then high.

7.Detoxification is the quickest way to lose weight.

The truth is that while detox actually does help you lose weight very quickly, most of the weight loss is body water and the weight will come right back on as soon as you stop doing it. Detox can also help you lose stool through diarrhoea and that will cause your weight to drop fast but as soon as you eat, the stool will build up again. You can lose only so much weight when participating in a cleanse diet. It is much better to lose weight the conventional way—through eating a low-calorie diet and exercising in order to lose the extra pounds.