fat loss Archives - Page 11 of 14

September 24, 2022 By GOQii 1 Comment

Poulomi Bhattacharya Loses Weight, Gets Active & Fit With GOQii

Imagine having a good work-life balance and then a sudden change at work derails your otherwise active lifestyle. You begin gaining weight and that invites a host of other complications you would have not imagined! Our Player Poulomi Bhattacharya faced something similar. Here’s how her Health Story unfolded.

All Work and No Play

Based in Delhi, Poulomi Bhattacharya is a high flying senior hospitality professional. For the longest time she worked in the operations side of the Hotels business where she had a hectic but active life. Then, around 2005, she moved to the HR front in the Learning & Development side. This took a toll on her health in terms of gaining weight. “In Learning & Development, there is not much scope to be active,” she said. She led an inactive lifestyle and to further add to the already inactive lifestyle, was a slip disc that she suffered from.

This kind of inactive lifestyle was coupled with bad eating habits. Due to her hectic schedule, she was eating 3 meals a day at odd hours. During these years, she also traveled a lot and moved between different locations such as Goa and Bengaluru. In 2014, she began gaining weight and also developed Blood Pressure issues. She was on medication to control her BP. She suffered from menstrual issues.

In 2019, she moved back to Delhi for a new job and here, she used to travel approximately 20 days. This kind of fast-paced, on-the-go work environment gave her little scope to rectify her health issues or even be active. Her stress levels were high and thanks to the lack of a work-life balance, she decided to introduce some changes and lead a healthy lifestyle.

In Feb 2020, when she checked her weight, she weighed 71kg. She said that it’s the highest she’s hit in her life. “I realised that I had to find time to do something about it,” she said. Initially she started going to the gym and walking on the treadmill but in March 2020 when COVID struck, she was homebound.

While she indulged in all household chores, she had developed a terrible pain in her arms. The pain was due to lack of calcium. She says her calcium absorption was less and hence, she had to take injections. Her BP was also low and her doctor suggested that she walk for 20 minutes daily.

Making A Lifestyle Change With GOQii

After going through all these issues, her husband began looking for a fitness tracker that could also measure BP on a continuous basis. He came across GOQii and Poulomi decided to try it out. When subscribing for personalised health coaching, her goals were simple – to lose weight, be fit and active.

Initially, she was assigned Dr Naina Sudharshan. Poulomi Bhattarcharya says, “She guided me so well that she became my best friend.” Slowly and steadily, Poulomi started following all the habits set by the coach. Getting active was one of those habits coupled with a nutritarian diet that places emphasis on fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. Poulomi was also asked not to skip any meals.

She didn’t have a regular exercise routine but she began following live coaches on GOQii Play and GOQii Pro, and now, it has become a part of her daily life. She follows Coach Neha and Coach Anushka’s Yoga classes and they have helped her improve her mental health and strength. She also follows Coach Arooshi’s classes for tips on Nutrition.

For her pre-workout nutrition, she consumes lemon juice with chia seeds in it – as this has the ability to promote a feeling of fullness and also has great antioxidant properties. For the remainder of the day, she consumes a balanced diet that provides energy and nutrients to her body.

Meditation is something that she has introduced to her routine as well. This has helped her with her anger issues as well as helped her normalise her sleep. For meditation, she follows Coach Rounak on GOQii Play.

Some Changes Poulomi Bhattarcharya Experienced…

Since joining GOQii, Poulomi has reduced her weight to 56.4kg and her target weight now is 55kg. She said that she feels much lighter, has more energy and is more positive than she was before. She has completely stopped her Blood Pressure medication as well.

She recently spoke to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal on an episode of GOQii Health Stories. You can hear her speak about her entire journey in detail here:

Her current Coach Sheena Nambiar says, “Poulomi Bhattacharya is a very committed person who really wanted to develop her health and fitness levels day by day!”

Did this story inspire you? Do you want to manage a medical condition or simply lose weight? Let our Coaches and Experts help you make a lifestyle change. To write your own Health Story, subscribe for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring Health Stories, check out Healthy Reads and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

September 19, 2022 By Shaeba Shaikh 2 Comments

Top 5 Effective Indoor Workouts For Weight Loss During Monsoon

Visiting the gym, going for a yoga or zumba class can be quite challenging when there’s a heavy downpour and you want to get a good workout. And it is easy to feel stumped when your options are limited. But don’t let this minor setback stop you! It’s not worth it to put on all the weight you worked so hard to lose. Here are some easy and effective indoor workouts for weight loss you can do anywhere!

5 Easy and Effective Indoor Workouts For Weight Loss

1. Walking/Running: There’s nothing better than running outdoors – the fresh air and all but what do you do when there’s a heavy downpour? There are many ways, in fact, it is easier if you have a treadmill. If you don’t, try spot jogging and taking frequent breaks in between your work from home schedule to walk around the house and unwind.

2. Jump Rope: Do you want that sleek, slender body? Jump Rope is your answer! It is one of the most underrated yet effective workouts. If you’re new to this, start with a 2-5 min warm up, then do the traditional rope skipping with 30-50 reps. Then, you can run up and down your building stairs, do the rope again for 30-50 reps and end with a cool down. It is high intensity, low cost, doesn’t consume time and is still one of the most effective workouts for weight loss. If you want to invest in a good jump rope, try the GOQii Smart Skip.

3. High Intensity Interval Training: As the name suggests, it is periods of High Intensity exercises coupled with Low Intensity exercises/rest. The aim for HIIT workout is to target 80% of VO2 Max (Max Oxygen Consumption) for maximum results.

Your typical HIIT session can be:

Warm Up
Lunges for 1-2mins at a stretch
Walk/Jog in place for 30secs
Pushup for 1-2mins
Walk/Jog in place for 30secs
Squats for 1-2mins
Walk/Jog in place for 30secs
Abdominal Crunches for 1-2mins
Walk/Jog for 30secs
Cool down

You can add more exercises and modify the exercises as per your fitness levels.

4. Weight Training: Yes, this might be impossible since most of us don’t have dumbbells and other gym equipment at home but that shouldn’t pose much of a problem. You can still use your daily household equipment as weights. For instance, water bottles filled with water as dumbbells or a bucket of water for your deadlifts. In fact, you can also use your own bodyweight. The key idea here is to undergo a process called Hypertrophy of the muscles, wherein the body increases the size of the muscles and reduces the fat around it. Weight training helps in burning fat 24×7 as opposed to burning fat only during the workout. A beginner can start with 20 reps + 3 sets of deadlifts, squats, lunges, bicep curls, etc.

5. Boot Camp: This is one of the most intense and effective workouts which alternate between aerobic activities of sprinting/running along with strength exercises and drills. It simultaneously works on your endurance and strength.

You can start a typical routine as:

Warm up
1 min each of Push ups, Lunges, Pull ups, Crunches, Buttkickers, spot jog
Repeat the exercises
Cool down.

To make things easier for you, you can join a GOQii Pro class within the GOQii App where you’ll be guided by fitness experts in a live, interactive session of your choice. More so, you can also get tips, guidance and motivation from a certified GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

We hope this indoor workouts for weight loss help you choose your workouts and lose weight. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more tips on fitness and health, check out Healthy Reads.

Get Active and #BeTheForce

August 27, 2022 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Yogesh Shah Manages Multiple Illnesses & Gets Healthy With GOQii

Often, managing just one condition can be an insurmountable task. Imagine working your whole life, while your physical, mental and emotional health just spiral downward, while the number of pills you take keep increasing. Our Player Yogesh Shah was in such a predicament where he was dealing with multiple illnesses but managed to overcome them with help from his GOQii Coach Deepali Sharma. Here’s how Yogesh Shah wrote his own Health Story.

Dealing With Multiple Illnesses

Based in Ahmedabad’s Mani Nagar, Yogesh Shah is a 63 year old retired Government Employee. He said that he had a hectic schedule. “There were times when I would work from 7am to 11pm, never even having the sun’s rays hitting my body for years,” he said.

Erratic work hours led to bad eating habits, disturbed sleep and high levels of acidity as he consumed a lot of tea. Yogesh Shah told us that this was his routine for 36 years of his work life. While he was extremely dedicated and diligent towards his work, it took a toll on his health. He suffered from multiple issues which included weight gain, diabetes, hypertension, disturbed lipid profile, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, gastric trouble, anxiety (8-10 attacks a month), palpitations and cervical pain due to a surgery he had 4 years back.

Till 2021, he used to pop 18 tablets daily. Around Dec 2020, he was consuming 26 tablets which included medication for COVID. Despite the issues, he was positive and did not let his conditions damper his way of life.

“I realized I was not doing the right things and that this was taking a toll on my health but, I did not do anything about it,” says Yogesh Shah. The health issues started around 1992 and aggravated in 10 years. His family was worried and felt helpless about not knowing what they could do to help him.

Making A Positive Shift

He wanted to get better, reduce weight and control his illnesses but was not sure how to go about it. Then, just before retirement, he got to know about GOQii from two young women in his office. They motivated him to go for it. Yogesh Shah purchased GOQII from Amazon in Oct 2021. Initially, he found it difficult to decipher and understand GOQii but, slowly and steadily he was able to understand how the platform works.

He followed all the instructions given to him by his Coach Deepali Sharma. She introduced small changes which had a big impact. Over the course of time, he has been able to improve his health and control his illnesses. He says, “Initially I could not understand my coach but then slowly, I started understanding. Some of the changes she brought about made quite a difference.”

His daily routine begins with praying, then gardening in his little kitchen garden. He follows this up with morning meditation for which he follows Coach Rounak Gajjar on GOQii Play. He also follows Coach Sheetal Tewari and Coack Bhumika Unniyal for yoga, meditation and pranayama.

Currently, he walks about 15km on most days whereas before, he would feel breathless even after 1km. On the International Day of Yoga on June 21, he walked 21km. He says that he now wants to participate in the GOQii Trail Challenge 2022.

“Coach Deepali has given me a lot of habits and I follow them religiously. Hence, I have been able to make a change!” he says.

What Are The Results Of Yogesh Shah’s Efforts?

“Nothing will work unless you do. You need to work hard to achieve your goal. This is something which my Player Yogesh Shah has proven with flying colours,” says Coach Deepali Sharma. “Initially, he had multiple issues like weight gain, uncontrolled sugar levels, disturbed lipid profile, chronic stress, bipolar disorder, gastric trouble, anxiety and palpitations.

He used to feel tired after a kilometer walk and now, he is on 21km, which is equivalent to a half marathon. His HbA1c came down from 8% to 6% with almost controlled Fasting blood sugar. Episodes of anxiety dropped drastically from 10-12 episodes to almost nil now. Symptoms like shivering, headache, restlessness are completely out of our book, which were quite prominent before,” she says.

“It’s not stress that kills us but it is our reaction to it and Mr. Yogesh was outstanding in cultivating that positivity with intrinsic motivation. Stress was affecting his sleep a lot. With hard work and determination, he is now out of his anxiety medicines. We worked on setting a sleep-wake cycle as well and relaxation exercises also helped us a lot. I have seen an incredible improvement in his sleep from 2-3 hrs to an average of 5-6 hrs as of now. He is a person with a clear vision and that’s the reason we lost good weight. He is 71.25kg (latest) which was 82 kg when we started. This was achieved by keeping post sunset meals light, adding healthy snacks and carb control,” says Coach Deepali Sharma.

As of now, Yogesh Shah’s medication has been reduced to 13 pills. You can view Yogesh’s entire journey as he speaks to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal on an episode of GOQii Health Stories.

Do you suffer from similar conditions? Did this story inspire you to make a lifestyle change? Then reach out to a GOQii Coach and subscribe for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring Health Stories, check out Healthy Reads.

#BeTheForce

August 8, 2022 By GOQii 10 Comments

Put Your Fat On Flame With Interval Training

Most of us have this desirable goal of losing fat but, when asked to act on it, we have a fixed set of excuses ready – No time! Too tough for me! Too boring to repeat the same pattern, etc. It’s time to ditch these excuses and rev up workouts which consume less time, can be done easily and are not monotonous. We suggest going for Interval Training!

What Is Interval Training?

Interval training is a workout in which we alternate the bursts of high-intensity exercises with intervals of lighter activity. All that we do here is, we repeatedly challenge our body and then give it shorter breaks to recover, for a massive cardio blast. It helps burn more calories in a short period of time, as compared to a steady-state exercise.

How Does It Work?

When we vary the intensity while working out, it leads to muscle confusion. Our body gets confused and wonders what’s happening! As a regulatory mechanism, our heart rate shoots up and it starts pumping more blood. More the blood, higher the Oxygen and to your surprise, fat combustion occurs more efficiently in the presence of Oxygen.

Ever wondered why a candle stops burning when we put a glass over it and block the Oxygen? That’s exactly the principle. Any burning process requires O2 which is a key to burning fat. And since interval training involves a lot of Oxygen, it’s been gaining fame in the fat loss/inch loss sector.

There are no hard and fast rules in interval training. We can have variations as we want, to make it most enjoyable and keep boredom at bay. We can:

Interval walk: Walking fast for 2 minutes, then walking slowly for a minute, again fast, then slow and go on this way as long as we can
Interval runs Alternating 2 minutes run with a 1-minute walk
Interval swim: Alternating fast-paced swimming moves with slow-paced moves

We can also try this with cycling, dancing, strengthening exercises (Tabata – being the most popular form of High Intensity Interval Training) and the list can go on.

It’s quite possible to take interval training to many levels. The length and speed of each high-intensity interval solely depend upon our strength and capacity. To get better with it, we need to make sure we push our body way past our comfort zone each time we do it. Remember, not to rush into strenuous exercise before our body is ready, to avoid injury. Ensure a good warm-up session before starting with it, and end it with stretches.

If you are a beginner to exercising, We’d say, don’t start with interval training directly. Give your body some time to build the stamina with steady cardio workouts for a few weeks to a month. You can then add interval training to your routine. In fact, you can also add these interval training plans to your gym routine once a week to enhance your speed and cardiovascular endurance.

So what are you waiting for? Jump into your workout shoes and jazz up your workout routine by adding interval training! If you have a chronic health condition (Hypertension or Cardiovascular illness), it’s better to keep away from interval training to avoid any aggravation. You can check with your trainer or coach to take the best course. For further guidance, you can subscribe for GOQii’s personalized health coaching and get the best exercises and habits to meet your weight loss goals.

Additionally, you can also join our online classes on GOQii PRO, where our certified fitness experts will guide you on the correct form and posture in real time, while making sure that you are well motivated! You can book a class now from the GOQii App.

For more on fitness and weight loss, check out Healthy Reads.