diabetes Archives - Page 2 of 6

February 8, 2020 By GOQii Leave a Comment

How Akhil Minocha Made a Positive U-Turn!

We have always advocated that inculcating small healthy habits into your lifestyle can yield big results! There are so many stories of individuals who were fit during their childhood but as soon as they hit adulthood, their health and fitness took a turn for the worse. While most people continue living with illnesses and refuse to make changes, Akhil Minocha stepped up and turned his life around for the best!

Before Joining GOQii

Akhil Minocha, now 47, works for a corporate based out of Gurugram which requires frequent traveling. As a child, he was always lean. As he is from a Defence background, he was well involved in all kinds of sports and physical activities including horse riding. Even during his MBA days, he managed to stay lean and fit.

Akhil’s struggle with weight began right after he got married in 2001. By the time he moved to Gurugram in 2005, he was fairly obese. His entire focus during this time was work and being a complete foodie. He indulged in all sorts of unhealthy food. Frequent travels for work added to his appetite, driving him further into an unhealthy lifestyle.

Joining GOQii and Making the Change

As he had interacted with our founder and CEO Vishal Gondal during his IndiaGames days and was actively in touch with him via social media, he had joined GOQii in 2015 and had a coach assigned to him. However, due to his work and his own personal lack of interest, he did not take it seriously.

Around July 2019, everything changed for him. He was diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. Akhil Minocha was clear from the start that he did not want to start with allopathy. Instead, he opted for Ayurveda which wasn’t helping him at all. His family suggested that he switch to Allopathy before it gets worse.

All of this coincided with a change of his GOQii Coach. His new GOQii Coach was a blessing in disguise for him. She gave him an expert’s perspective on various ideas related to diet, fitness and lifestyle. He had done some studies on diet and she validated whether it was worth incorporating or not. For instance, he had started with the keto diet which clearly did not benefit him but made things worse as his LDL shot up due to increase in fat intake. His GOQii Coach discouraged him against going for such diets and rather focus on a balanced diet.

He began exercising regularly and now works out 6 times a week on an average even on his travelling days. As for his diet, he almost stopped the consumption of rice and wheat and substituted them with alternative grains such as Amaranth, Ragi, Bajra, Quinoa and sometimes a mix of any 2 of these. Recently, he modified his diet further by including greens.

He has also started including different varieties of millets. He basically changed the way his meal plate looked like – increasing the amount of salads and vegetables, increasing protein and reducing carbs. He also began eating a fruit every day along with a light dinner. Short walks after meals have become his favorite activity.

Akhil Minocha’s GOQii Coach also introduced him to intermittent fasting and asked him to follow the guidelines set by Master Coach Luke Coutinho for maximum benefit. By following this, he has cleared a lot of his misconceptions.

As of now, his vitals are in the normal range especially his HBA1C which has dropped to 5.6. Also, his postprandial blood sugar stands at 130mg/dL. He has reduced his weight from 87kg to 77kg in a period of 5 months which is remarkable. Since then, he has participated in a few marathons and has completed a 10k run.

How Akhil Minocha uses GOQii

He regularly messages his coach though he does miss updating logs. He also watches GOQii Play videos of Heena, Dr. Paramjeet and couple of other coaches as and when he finds the time. He actively buys products from the GOQii Health Store and recently ordered some supplements for himself and family which he claims to be very useful.

He firmly believes that you can make a difference if you take care of your diet and have a supportive coach to handhold you through the journey. He says you can benefit immensely from this platform if you are focused on your end goal. Akhil Minocha says GOQii is the most cost effective platform delivering value for money through its various features & services.

We hope Akhil continues on this journey to good health as you know, a healthy lifestyle is not a race, it is a marathon! Even you can make a positive U-turn in your life and change things for the better. For more inspiring stories, visit the Healthy Reads section within the GOQii App!

#LevelUp and #BeTheForce

October 31, 2019 By GOQii Leave a Comment

The New Age Health Horror of Diabesity

When someone says “horror”, what do you imagine? Definitely nothing pleasant but something extremely scary, right? Do you picture ghosts and demons? If your perception of horror is limited to only supernatural occurrences, you might want to take a big step back. While supernatural entities are subjective, health issues are very much real and their stats are horrifying to say the least.

Recently, we came across a study titled ‘Finding a Policy Solution to India’s Diabetes Epidemic‘ by Karen Siegel, K. M Venkat Narayan and Sanjay Kinra. The study indicated that ‘In India, 35 million people have diabetes—a number expected to more than double by 2025, disproportionately affecting working-age people’. That means over 70 million people. Isn’t that scary?

Diabesity, which is a combination of Diabetes and Obesity, is even worse! Can you picture it? Obesity is a key risk factor for diabetes. India has the world’s largest number of people with Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG), which are the precursors for diabetes. Obesity and IGT are mostly found in younger populations.

Major Causes Leading to Diabesity

Globalization: facilitates access to various pre-packaged and processed foods. In fact, there is minimal physical activity as we have one touch access to almost everything! Surely, we are growing economically but at the cost of our health.
Nutrition Transition: There is a major shift observed in the meal patterns of Indians today. People are turning more towards western foods, foods that are pre-packaged, ready to eat foods, high in calories, sugar, aerated drinks, hydrogenated fats over the simple traditional food which are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber and other essential nutrients.
Higher Percentage of Abdominal Fat: Abdominal obesity is the key factor of insulin resistance and development of diabetes.
Malnutrition During Pregnancy: Because of the co-existence of underweight and overweight, children are often born underweight and adapted to a low-nutrition environment. Low-birth weight infants are more susceptible than those of normal birth weight to obesity and diabetes, especially when raised in an Obesogenic environment.
Lifestyle: Most people today lead sedentary lifestyles devoid of much movement. Even at work we’re glued to our desks and laptops. This accounts to minimal physical activity. At the same time, the stress factor is the maximum with respect to targets/goals associated with work, family and social circles.

How To Keep It At Bay

Keeping Diabesity at bay actually involves 3 very simple and basic lifestyle modifications:

Make Healthy Food Choices: Choose whole grains and its products over refined ones. Incorporate more fruits and veggies daily. Opt for products less in sugars, fats and high in fiber. Make a habit of reading nutritional labels before buying a product. Do not forget “MODERATION IS THE KEY”.
Exercise: Make it a point to exercise on a regular basis. Exercising will not only keep you active but also help reduce insulin resistance, improve cardio vascular strength, tone your muscles, and increase Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Exercising releases endorphins which is a feel good hormone that will also help you relieve stress(both physical and mental).
Stress Management: Managing time and stress is essential to stop the release of the stress hormone Cortisol which makes you crave for foods that are high in carbs. All that you eat when stressed is stored in the body as fats, especially in the belly. Meditating regularly before going to bed, deep breathing during stressful moments, indulging in your hobbies, exercising, completing your work on time, etc. will help curb stress levels. It is not a single factor that would work but both.

If you want to learn about effective ways to manage obesity and diabetes, or want effective exercises to combat both, tune into GOQii Play and get live coaching from renowned experts you can even interact with.

We hope this article on Diabesity alarms you enough to make necessary lifestyle modifications before its too late! Stay healthy and #BeTheForce!

October 23, 2019 By Vickel Dubey Leave a Comment

Understanding Patient Behaviour Towards Digital Therapeutics

Are we, as patients ready to pay for an app which is intended for Therapeutic Purpose & Helping us manage our lifestyle better?

What a Patient Thinks

Ideation of this whole article took a shape while having a discussion with my father who is a Type 2 Diabetes patient. I was actually insisting him to install an app to better manage his lifestyle specifically the dietary recommendation (Since he is a banker by profession and also manages family business, day to day life is a complete mess) given by his doctor. Initially he was in agreement but when he asked me if there is any cost associated, I nodded yes. His decision changed immediately. According to him, he knows what to eat, what not to eat and on top of it, he is taking his medication (which he often forgets) so there is no need of a digital intervention. I tried to explain to him multiple times thereafter but all in vain. According to him, it’s just a waste of money.

Patient Compliance Behaviour: Medication vs Lifestyle Recommendation

This is the story of most Chronic Disease patients for whom managing their lifestyle is a crucial need. But it’s really sad to see the poor grades when it comes to be compliant of various lifestyle aspects. According to a study conducted among Indian diabetes patients, only 24.1% were aware and have been following self-blood glucose monitoring appropriately. Similarly, only 37% of the patients are adhered to the dietary prescription made by their physicians and only 35% follow up the physical exercise recommendations.

Why is it important to talk about “Patient’s Compliance Behaviour” before getting into the “Patient’s Commercial Behaviour”? The reason is that patients need a push specifically in case of chronic diseases because it’s all about care, whether it’s done by the patient himself or by a caregiver. In case of medication, the weightage is higher since it’s coming from doctors (with serious words) while in case of lifestyle, it comes as a recommendation rather than a prescription which defines the seriousness.

So, if a patient is serious enough about his disease condition and strictly follows the testing, medication and lifestyle modification, he/she doesn’t need any intervention, traditional or digital to manage his/her lifestyle but the statistics don’t reflect the same. Hence, it becomes important for patients who are not serious or moderately serious to keep engaged and motivated to adhere with the doctor’s recommendation via a push. Digital gives that push.

Now comes the commercial behaviour. There are hundreds of apps available in the market to manage your disease conditions. Some are freely available; some are coming complementary with the devices/treatment and for some, you have to lighten your pockets. Definitely the skewness is higher towards the free ones. Most of us preferred the free apps and uninstall any paid app when it asks for a payment after the trial period. But free apps have their own limitation and for better services/attributes or features, you have to pay. Same goes with the apps which are offering lifestyle management solutions for patients.

A Preliminary Investigation

To get a deeper understanding of patient’s behaviour, I conducted a small survey among diabetes patients. The survey designed on SurveyMonkey consists of 10 questions (5 open ended, 5 close ended) and shared on a few social media & chatting platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp etc. The key questions are:

Patient’s Name
Age
Is he a diabetic patient?
If yes, is he using any online application to manage his Lifestyle?
Name of the app he is currently using
Is it a paid app?
Approximate cost of the app.
Will he pay for an app which promises to better manage lifestyle (in case the answer of Q6 is no)?
If yes, what is the approximate cost he will pay?
If no, why?

There were 43 responses received in total out of which 32 were diabetics. The outcome of the survey are as follows:

~80% of the total respondents are within the age group of 30 to 60 years
Out of total diabetes patients, only 36% are using one or another app to manage their lifestyle
Majority of the patients are using MySugar (45%) followed by Apollo Sugar (27%), GOQii (18%) and Wellthy (9%).
Only 2 out of the total patients with diabetes who are using an app have paid some amount
The approximate cost which they have paid is ~INR 2500
77% of the patients who are using an app (and answered no for Q6) are not ready to pay even if it provides a better solution, while only 23% are ready to pay.
The approximate cost which most of the patients feel comfortable to pay is INR 100-200 per month.
Free availability, YouTube videos, Advice by friends and family, waste of money etc. are some of the major reasons why people don’t want to pay for an app.

So, if we look closely, patients are quite ignorant when it comes to pay for an app. Reason, they consider it as a waste of money. This outlook needs to be changed. This perception needs to be changed. And it can only be changed when it comes as a prescription and not just a simple recommendation.

Conclusion

If a patient can spend ~INR 9,000 (from an analysis conducted by Lady Hardinge Medical College) annually for his diabetes treatment, he can definitely spend few hundred bucks to manage his lifestyle for better outcomes. But the patient also needs support from other industry stakeholders such as Pharma, Devices and payers so that the cost can be shared and patient will have to bear minimum cost burden.

September 14, 2019 By GOQii 1 Comment

Diet & Exercise: How Timanna Gudi Battled Diabetes

Access to medication is easy! We live in a day and age where even a sneeze can be seen as a good enough reason to swallow a pill. The number of those pills only increase with time as health deteriorates. The more pills you swallow, the more you realize that they aren’t working. Without intervention, without data or without trying, you never realize that a pill is not the answer, it is your lifestyle! In the face of adversity, change is imperative. Here’s how 49 yr old Timanna Gudi made a positive U-turn!

Hailing from Hubli, Karnataka, this mechanical engineer by qualification worked with an MNC as a managing director. His job responsibilities and efforts placed immense stress on his wellbeing. Realizing this, he knew he had to quit. He did so 5 years back and started his own business. However, this did not change anything and his health problems continued.

Battling Diabetes

In 2008, Timanna Gudi was diagnosed with Diabetes. This was just one part of his struggle. Along with diabetes, he had to face hypertension and high cholesterol as well! He was immediately put on medication and with every visit to the doctor, his dosage only seemed to increase. He would have to get tests and visit the doctor every 3 months while his doctor only increased the number of medicines. With no concrete solution in sight, Timanna was only confused.

Making Lifestyle Modifications to Fight Diabetes

He happened to come across a talk by B M Hedge, Dean of Manipal Medical College and a renowned doctor. He said that people shouldn’t be visiting doctors for lifestyle diseases like diabetes and cholesterol. The medicines they need are available in their kitchens. Of course, medical assistance is required in case of an emergency but it must be supplemented by a healthy lifestyle. This got Timanna thinking…

He had lost his Dad and his elder sister to diabetes in spite of them being on heavy medications like him. He told himself that if his condition is a disorder, there should be a way to bring it in order! This very thought became the turning point which would pivot his life to balance and wellbeing.

He came to Pune in 2011 and joined a therapy called Freedom from Diabetes. He managed to get rid of all his medicines in a matter of 40 days through diet control and some light exercise. From then on, he began advocating his approach to everyone who was affected by the same medical condition as his. He gave them hope that they too could change!

Joining GOQii and Being the Force

In 2018, he bought some equipment to perform exercises at home. He followed YouTube channels and performed his routine accordingly. However, he ended up with a frozen shoulder due to an incorrect position. This kept him from exercising for about 8-9 months.

In March 2019, a friend introduced him to GOQii. He was intrigued with the idea of coaches demonstrating exercises LIVE on the app. The GOQii app solved two of his needs i.e. exercise and nutrition. He was getting expert advice from topics relating to a healthy diet, lifestyle, meditation and so on. He saw GOQii as an opportunity to get back into routine!

He joined during the India Steps Challenge and began competing, clocking in 6000 steps a day. He initially started with basic walking and increased his target to 12,000 steps after he invited a few of his friends. Due to walking too much, he began losing a lot of weight and was underweight by 7kg. He was asked to stop walking and jogging completely. To keep the momentum of his physical activity going, he began strength training in order to build muscle mass.

He is a regular on GOQii Play. He watches Coach Tufail Qureshi, Coach Alistrair Fernandes and Coach Shweta Kariya, following the workout routines demonstrated by them on a daily basis. As his work requires him to travel often, he carries a resistance band in his luggage as suggested by Play Coaches. He feels that a resistance band is a handy equipment that can be used to target any body part!

Being lactose intolerant, he shifted to a vegan diet. This essentially means that he avoids milk, curd and cheese. He avoids processed foods like bread, biscuits, etc. He begins his day with a glass of green smoothie which is a wholesome blend of raw Spinach (Palak) or any other leafy vegetable coupled with Betel leaf, Pudina (Mint), Tulsi (Holy Basil), Curry Leaves, Cinnamon Powder, Black Pepper and one fruit along with soaked nuts and seeds.

He follows this up with 45mins to an hour of exercise. His breakfast is more protein-based which includes a dal-based Cheela or sprouts and salad. In between meals, he grabs a spoonful of any seeds or a cup of green tea. His Lunch includes a Roti, one bowl each of dal, vegetable and raw salad. He also drinks Apple Cider Vinegar, which he believes has helped in keeping his body more alkaline. His family mostly uses cold pressed virgin coconut oil instead of refined oil.

Opting For Natural Methods Instead of Medicines

Timanna Gudi reiterates that commitment is absolutely necessary. There is no way you can cheat or give in to temptations. He strongly believes that Diabetes is a medical condition which should be eradicated from India.

He says, “The medicines never stop and you just keep losing your vital organs to it slowly. However, everybody is different and not all solutions suit everyone. You need to go test and try before settling down with what suits you.”

He in fact, also got rid of his Acute Bronchitis, something which he suffered from since childhood which required him to use inhalers. He did so by practicing Pranayama (You too can reap the benefits of this wonderful practice. Here are 6 Variations of Pranayama and their Benefits)

In the course of his time fighting diabetes, he has also helped his younger brother reduce his sugar levels. He feels it is his duty to share the knowledge he has gained from his experience combating lifestyle disorders.

Timanna feels GOQii is a fantastic platform with lot of resources that can benefit anyone and everyone. He regularly shops on the GOQii Health Store and advocates the fact that you get good options at competitive rates.

We wish Timanna Gudi the best for his journey. If this story inspired you or if you are fighting your own uphill battle against a lifestyle disease, share your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce