January 19, 2023 By Saba Mirza 3 Comments

How to Set SMART Goals and Achieve Them

As a lifestyle coach, I often hear people complain about how they have been working on their health goals, but not getting anywhere. Most times, they aren’t able to achieve that “perfect target” is because they are either confused about the target they want to set or don’t know how to plan a strategy to achieve that goal. The simple solution is to plan SMART goals.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART is an acronym which was first used by George Doran in a Management Review Magazine in 1981. It gained popularity not just in companies but, also in other relevant fields including health and fitness.

SMART stands for:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time bound

In essence, a SMART goal is a simple formula which helps you define your goal clearly, focus your efforts, and utilize your time and resources productively to increase your chances of achieving a particular goal successfully.

How Do We Achieve It?

1. Specific
Your goal should be clear and specific! It is crucial to focus your effort towards one point and feel truly motivated to achieve it. When planning the goal, ask the five “W” questions, namely:

What do I want to accomplish?
Why is it important to me?
When do I want to achieve this goal?
How will I achieve this goal?
Which resources will help me in achieving them?

For example, a general goal would be ‘I want to get a toned body’. While a SMART goal would be ‘I want to join a Zumba class near my house and I will go there 4 days a week to improve flexibility and muscle strength’.

2. Measurable
It is important to measure your goals in order to track your progress regularly and feel motivated. Assessing your progress with specific indicators at regular intervals helps you stay focused and feel the thrill of getting closer to your goals. In fact, it even helps you change your strategy if needed. To make a goal measurable, ask:

How many/much?
How will I know when it is accomplished?
What is the indicator of my progress?

For example, building on a specific goal, we will add, ‘I will join the Zumba class near my house for 4 days a week to improve flexibility and muscle strength. I will aim to lose 1kg of body fat weight every 15 days’.

3. Achievable
Ensure that your goal is achievable. While it should stretch your abilities enough to make you feel challenged, it should also be possible to achieve. An achievable goal should answer the following questions:

How can I achieve it?
Do I have the proper resources and capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what am I missing?
Is the goal approved by experts in that field?

For example, setting a goal of reducing 4-5kg weight in one month may not be achievable and neither advisable by health professionals because of its harmful effects on the body. It can also demotivate you if you don’t achieve that goal.

4. Realistic
Keep your goals realistic! It should be practically achievable, given the resources and time available to you! A realistic goal should fulfil the following criteria:

Is the goal realistic and within reach?
Is the goal reachable given the time and resources?
Am I able to commit to achieving the goal?

For example, setting a specific goal of attending Zumba classes seven days a week may not be realistic if you have other commitments towards your family or professional life!

5. Time-Bound
Your goal should also have a specific deadline. This is to ensure that you have a well-defined duration to work towards it. Making your goal time-bound can also prevent the goal from slipping down your priority list.

A time-bound goal should answer the following questions:

When?
What can I achieve from six months now?
What can I achieve from six weeks now?
What can I achieve today?

For example, building on our goal above: ‘I will join a Zumba class from October 1 near my home. In order to improve muscle flexibility and strength, I will workout 4 days a week. Every 15 days I will target 1kg weight loss! By the end of October, I will have realised my goal if I lose 2kg of fat weight over the course of the month’.

As Bill Copeland has quoted, ”The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score!” So choose your goals SMARTly and get set to hit the bull’s eye!

What are some of your long-term and short-term health and fitness goals? Are they smart goals? Let us know in the comments below!

For more on goal setting and healthy living, check out Healthy Reads. To get started on your resolutions, sign up for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching and let our experts guide and motivate you!

#BeTheForce

March 15, 2022 By Tasneem Jawadwala 16 Comments

Healthy Weight Gain Tips

We’ve heard one too many instances of people having great success with weight loss! In fact, every time I visit the gym, I come across many such success stories. However, I can’t help this sinking feeling that the real strugglers are the ones who want to gain weight and build muscles.

Are you one of them? Ever wondered what you’re doing wrong despite indulging in healthy food and doing every possible workout and increase your appetite? Let’s see how you can gain healthy weight but before that…

Let’s See What You’re Doing Wrong

1. Protein: Gym trainers and dieticians often suggest including more protein, some in the form of powders and others suggest natural sources such as eggs, Sattu, curd, cottage cheese and the likes. However, calculating the right amount of protein required is often missed. One requires around 1.25g/kg ideal body weight proteins to build up muscles. For example if you are 60kg, then the required amount of protein required by you on a daily basis to build muscles is 75g.

If you aren’t having enough or the required amount of protein, you will not see a difference. Hence, take some time out and consult professionals who can help you calculate. To gain healthy weight and build muscles, you also need to watch your carbs, antioxidants and workouts.

2. Carbohydrates: I’ve noticed this as a trend. Most people place so much emphasis on proteins that they forget about carbs. Did you know that if approximately 60% of your diet isn’t from carbohydrate sources, your body will utilize protein to supply energy. Which means, your body will not have enough proteins for tissue building.

3. Antioxidants: Fruits and salads are often flawed to be used as a weight loss diet. Vegetables and fruits are the best source of antioxidants that help in tissue repairs, prevent injuries and inflammation. So include vegetables and fruits with selenium, zinc, vitamin C and Vitamin E in your diet on a daily basis.

4. Workout: Your workout should focus more on strength training, however, ensure that you still do some cardio. Cardio will help your heart and lungs function better which in turn will prevent you from falling ill during your program.

Foods That Help in Healthy Weight Gain and Muscle Building

Dates: They are loaded with iron, natural sugar and antioxidants. Eat 4-5 dates before your workout as dates provide you with instant energy and prevent muscle damage.
Sweet Nuts or Pulse balls (Chikkis): These is a sweet dish made up of pulses, nuts or seeds. It is nothing but roasted whole gram, peanuts or sesame seeds and jaggery. It’s a perfect combination of proteins and carbohydrates. Munching on them as mid meal snacks work as an energy booster.
Nut Shakes: A big serving of dry fruits is difficult to consume at a time but having them in a powdered form with milk will supply your body with good amounts of protein.
Fruit Smoothie: Eating fruits with curd will help add some antioxidants to your protein dose. This is probably the most tasty and delicious way to consume fruits!
Combination of Cereals and Pulses: Just eating a pulse at a time will really not help as it doesn’t provide us with good quality proteins. But, when combined with a cereal, it will provide the benefits of both protein and carbohydrates. Options like Dal Paratha (Pulse Flat Breads), Puranpoli (Sweet Jaggery Flat Breads), Khichdi (mix of pulses, rice and vegetables cooked together) and Idli (steamed rice pan cakes) should be considered.
Adding Vegetables to Meat: Eating a separate serving of vegetable becomes difficult. The meal size may exceed if we have 1 serving of vegetable for vitamins & minerals and 1 serving of non-veg preparation for proteins. The best option in my opinion is to combine a nonvegetarian source with vegetables. For instance, Spinach (Palak) Chicken, Tomato Omelet and Capsicum Stuffed with Mince.
Peanut Butter: People often go overboard with regular butter and get major changes in lipid profile but no change in weight. Ideally, one should apply peanut butter on their bread slices for the right fats and protein combination.

The key rule for healthy weight gain is to go for nutrient-dense meals. These healthy compact meals do not require an extreme appetite boost. Focus on healthy weight gain and be patient while you are in a weight gain program as it’s easy to cut on fats but takes time to add on muscles. Remember, it took 9 months to give you around 3kg of weight at birth. Stay at it and be patient.

We hope this article helps you! For more, check out Healthy Reads or you can speak to a GOQii Coach directly for expert guidance and motivation. Subscribe for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

December 6, 2021 By Roopa Tandur 1 Comment

6 Tips and Tricks to Help You Stay Motivated

Motivation is tricky. At one moment you have it and the next it’s gone! The enthusiasm with which you started off on your goals wanes and soon you begin to realize that your inclination to work towards a goal has completely withered. We’ve all experienced this and we all know it can be difficult to stay motivated.

Motivation or the motive i.e. the needs, desires or wants within an individual which stimulates them to perform or work towards a goal pertaining to success, money, business or fitness, requires a little more than sheer enthusiasm. Let’s look at how we can stay motivated and accomplish what we set our minds to.

Factors Which Help One Stay Motivated

While discipline is a key factor, there are many other tips and tricks that can help you stay on track with your goals. Let’s look at them in detail.

1. Set Defined and Realistic Goals
Setting goals which will outstrip your current lifestyle is more likely to disappoint you. You’re setting yourself up for failure. Make sure you set goals which you really want to achieve, which is not influenced by another’s opinion and wanting. The motive is to make your goals challenging and penalize you.

For instance, a realistic goal is “I will walk for 30 minutes for 3 days a week” or “I will cover 5000 steps a day in the beginning” instead of 1000 or 10,000 steps. 1000 steps is too less to achieve as a goal and will not give results whereas 10,000 steps is too tasking to begin with. 5000 steps or walking for 30 mins for 3 days a week is more manageable.

2. Break Goals into Smaller Tasks
The biggest hurdle starts with the mind. Many start by saying, “I have no time”. The key here is to break big tasks into smaller ones. For instance, a 30 minute exercise can be divided into 3 workout sessions of 10 minutes each through the day or with 2 varieties of exercises like walking for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes of stair exercises at work.

3. Keep It Fun and Free of Distractions
Taking new routes while walking or including a small variation in your daily exercise routine will make it more interesting. In fact, you’ll look forward to these new routes. Try not to follow too many things at a time. Stick to your routine without getting distracted with the results others have achieved using different methods. This will confuse your body and demotivate you. Each body type is different and requires different methods. So don’t get distracted and stick to the plan suggested by your Coach.

A trick you can use is to go live on social media, as the pressure itself will push you out of your couch. Getting your family members into your journey is a big time motivation, especially kids who can give you an extra boost of energy to always try a little harder.

4. Reward Yourself
Treat yourself for reaching every milestone you’ve set, despite the hurdles! Rewards need not be a big cake or fancy items. It can be as simple as a message or a new pair of skipping ropes or dumbbells. Planning a reward ahead will do the trick as each individual’s rewards are very personal and should give meaning to your journey.

5. Visualize Your Success
Having a mental picture of yourself in the next 6 months will help you stay motivated. As you can see what is possible, you work towards achieving it. Set photos of yourself, in which you think you were at your physical best, as mobile screensavers. Have a poster of your favourite stars, listen to motivational speeches and inspiring quotes that will motivate you to keep yourself going and remind you of your goals.

6. Knowing, Understanding and Challenging Your Shortcomings
Start with understanding your weak points, be it food or friends or fear of pain or weekends or anything that distracts you from achieving your goals. Plan wisely – always store healthy snacks at home and pre-plan your foods which will minimise leftovers and prevent boredom of having the same foods. Plan no food or no eating social plans with friends or choose to meet in salad counters or healthy food eateries. Any new exercise is sure to give you pains which will self-cure itself, so be prepared for it and also understand that there are no special measures to get over the pain. Learn to enjoy the sweet pain as it is going to improve your health in the long run.

Whether in a group or solo, the main motto is increasing motivation and a sense of fun and enjoyment all along the route. Consistency is important but without a bit of fun, it makes the journey troublesome. So always have a laughter session in the end or to begin the session next time.

We hope these tips help you achieve your goals! To get the right guidance, motivation and to stay on track with your goals, subscribe for GOQii’s Personalized Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more on living a healthy lifestyle, check out Healthy Reads.

#BeTheForce

March 26, 2018 By Anubha Sahu 3 Comments

6 Fitness goals to get you into awesome shape

“Fitness is not about being better than someone else…It’s about being better than you used to be”

The term ‘Fitness’ is very common among people now. Whenever we talk about fitness the only thing which comes to the mind is weight management. But, let me tell you that fitness is not only about weight loss or gain but increased inner strength which gives you extra energy to the body as well as to your soul.

So sharing some fitness goals with all you out there. These goals should help you to remain fit and confident if you spare some time out of your busy schedule.

Here it goes-

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1) Running:

Run 10km: A classic goal for those who want to get into running. Start small initially if you are not into running and then slowly get to the large goal of accomplishing 10Km. Benefits of running are not only physiologic but also psychological. Physiological benefits include cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, and improved upper and lower body strength. The often overlooked mental and emotional benefits include not only the sense of accomplishment after finishing the run but, also the self-confidence gained from reaching such a goal.

2) Yoga:

Yoga requires minimal equipment, provides stretching without stressing the joints, and can improve stress levels and posture. Individuals new to yoga should begin slowly, ideally with an experienced instructor so poses and postures can be corrected and not lead to injuries.

Three good yoga poses to master include:

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(i) Mountain Pose (Tadasana): Improve your body awareness, balance, and posture. Stand with big toes touching. Lift up your toes and let them fan out, then drop back down, creating a solid base. Bring your weight evenly to all parts of your feet. Tighten your quadriceps, allowing your kneecaps to rise. Rotate both thighs inward, tucking in your tailbone. Tighten your belly; widen your collar bones, making sure shoulders are parallel to the pelvis. Keep your neck long, and your shoulder blades down and back.

image source: Yoga Basic

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(ii) Warrior Pose: This pose lengthens the front of our bodies. Much of our day is spent sitting; and by stretching the front thigh muscle. It can improve our posture and can help with low back pain.

(iii) Bridge Pose: This pose address two areas where women want to improve: the buttocks and inner thigh.

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3) Plyometric moves: Plyometric moves are jumping exercises so adding a hop, skip, and a jump to your workouts boosts fat-burning and uses muscles which you don’t use normally in your daily routine. Do them prior to your workout and after a thorough warm-up. Repeat each for 10 seconds, or five jumps.

TwoPlyometric moves to master include:

(i) Squat Hops: Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your hands clasped behind your head. Keeping your weight on your heels, squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Pause in the squat position. Then without counter-movement and without the use of your arms, jump as high as possible. When landing, make sure to absorb the impact by pushing your hips back and flexing your knees.

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(ii) Slam Hops: Stand in an upright position with your knees slightly bent and your feet about shoulder-width apart. Flexing your knees to quickly drop your body 10 to 12 inches, rapidly explode upward, forward and to the side. Swing your arms forcefully upward. Upon landing, immediately repeat the jump, but jump forward diagonally in the opposite direction.

image source: SportPlan

4. Swimming:

Swimming can have a positive impact on body fat, insulin levels, and overall health. If you are swimming for 30 minutes at a moderate intensity three times a week then you will lose more weight, experience improved body-fat distribution, and insulin in the short term.

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Do 25 Push-Ups:

Mastering the ability to perform 25 Push-ups is a very reasonable, realistic, and attainable goal for most women. Benefits include upper-body strength in the chest (pectorals), shoulder girdle (scapular stabilizers), and arms (triceps). Push-Ups require no equipment and can be varied in many ways to train different muscle groups(i.e. a closer grip targets triceps). Aesthetically, Push-Ups develop the pectorals muscles of the chest, which help to prevent breast sagging as the women age.

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Add Sprinting to your routine:

Sprinting is one of the best ways to tone the glutes, and when practised as intervals, sprinting can also speed up calorie burning. Adding sprint training to your running routine has a number of benefits. The initial benefit comes simply from the variation in the workout, which prevents boredom. This type of training should be added gradually to avoid overuse injuries.

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Try this: 30 to 60 seconds of sprinting alternating with 60 seconds of light jogging; repeat for 10 or more minutes. Adjust the intensity of the active phase and length of the rest phase according to your fitness level.

So, think of your workouts as important meetings you have scheduled with yourself and be proud of each step you take towards reaching that goal and the result is for sure “FITNESS” and an ‘Awesome Looking You’