GOQii band Archives - Page 4 of 6

April 7, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian 3 Comments

“Changing my diet and developing a workout habit were two of the best things I did for myself”

Fitness has got the better of him

He would come up with all the possible excuses for not working out. At 36, he had developed health issues such as BP, hypertension, and bloating etc. He knew he had to change and decided to get active. From no exercise, he started exercising and soon the positive results were there to see. Here is Prasad Puranik’s story in his own words.

I work for a telecom infrastructure company. I was very inactive and had developed medical issues such as BP, hypertension, bloating in the tummy etc. I was well aware of my situation. My self-esteem was not at its best and I felt invisible. I then started with aerobic classes thrice a week. But, nothing much happened. There was no improvement. I needed a change in me for the better. I needed an expert to guide.

A friend of mine then gifted me a GOQii band. I read about GOQii and I realized it comes with expert advice/coach. Now that is exactly what I was looking for. When I came on board the GOQii platform, my health goal was weight reduction to 72 kg and to get healthy. I wanted to get over the bloating effect. I liked the motto shared by my coach –‘A healthy body is a symbol of healthy mind’. I very much believed in this and it’s not only about physical strength but, mentally too you have to be strong to be overall healthy and fit.

In the last four months that I have been on the GOQii program, I have witnessed tremendous changes. There is a 1-inch reduction in my waist, the bloating effect has gone because of the addition of curd to my diet and eating frequently and eating small meals. From less than a litre of water a day to now 2.5 litres a day has been quite a journey. This has been possible due to systematic guidance and monitoring from my coach. It led to improved digestion and body cleansing.

Changing my diet and developing a workout habit were two of the best things I did for myself. Now, I watch what I eat and I work out all days of the week. I have also moved from Aerobics to gym workouts daily.

Thanks to GOQii, I feel extremely motivated as I interact with my coach on a daily basis. GOQii helps me track my activity and keep a check on what I am eating. As I started using the band, I realized I am liking the stat tracking and goal-setting. It’s such a small device and very discreet. I love that I can see my calories burned throughout the day and know that I’m on track with my activity.

I also had terrible sleep issues and with my coach’s advice, I have overcome that issue too. My coach advised me to listen to soothing music and believe me that has helped me a great deal in getting good sleep.

As of now, I am feeling euphoric about myself. Since my bloating has disappeared now when I wake up early in the morning I feel very light and, therefore, I am able to run more. In just 4 months of tracking my food and exercise, I would say I have achieved a huge milestone. It’s hard to believe I had all those medical issues, and now I am back on track purely through exercise and proper diet. Consulting a health expert who is always available for any health issue and getting an instant and right solution is what really clicked.

What does Coach PriyankaDeshmukh have to say about Prasad Puranik?

Before we started working on his health goals Prasad was already focused on his health. We started with a long term goal of reaching 72 Kg weight with a muscular fit and agile body. It started with improving nutrition. He complained of bloating. So we included some pro-biotic like curd and buttermilk in his diet. The problem has disappeared since then. By practicing mindful eating he could reduce his portion size.

After achieving the first goal we moved to the second stage wherein we worked on his sleep pattern. He always had trouble sleeping. I suggested he listens to some soothing music before sleeping. That helped him a great deal. Now, he also has a cup of milk before bedtime, as he has an early dinner. So far we have been able to improve on nutrition by making healthy choices. Today, Prasad is also happy that his double chin has halved. His friends are complimenting him about his appearance too. After experiencing that music is helping him, Prasad started learning to play music on the keyboard. That has made him happier and he feels good about himself overall.

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April 6, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

“Being healthy and fit is more of a habit for me now”

His rant of just work and no play was similar to the other professionals. His quest for a healthy and fit life was often disrupted by the fact that he does not have the time nor the motivation to do anything. Prashant Pathak’s excuse for leading an unhealthy life was his job and erratic work hours. Until one day when his wife stepped in to make him realize that he had to change….It’s been four months and he has taken to being physically active and is back on track walking the healthy trail.

My typical day when I’m at home usually involved going to work in the morning, eating anything that was available with no proper regulation of diet. I would sometimes remain hungry for long hours. Once I got home I would have a heavy dinner. On days I was on travel I would head out to work, and the rest of my day was filled with eating out and hanging out back at the hotel. As a result of all this, I had become overweight and weighed 93 kgs which were borderline obese.

I tried to get fit and have a regular exercise regime but I could never do it. My challenge was to find time for a workout. I would look at my schedule and invariably come up with an excuse to not workout. Every time it would be a new excuse. There was an aspiration but no motivation and hence no action.Then one fine day my wife gifted me GOQii. I was surprised but, a clear indication that I had to do something about myself.

My health goal when I got to the GOQii platform four months ago was weight reduction and feel energetic through the day. My coach is PayalChoudhary. We set small monthly goals in the beginning that could be easily achievable. It was delivering results. My coach started me only with a 15-minute workout that was doable. I had absolutely no activity of any kind for so many years and suddenly to be able to do exercise was not an easy task. But 15 minutes I felt was good enough to begin with.

She also simultaneously fine-tuned my diet pattern. I started having pre and post workout meals. I was having 6 small meals instead of bulky three meals. Secondly, I was also having fruits along with my meals which I was told to have before my meals. I have stopped tea/coffee with snacks. My water intake has also increased.

Clearly, in the last 5-6 years, I have not been so engaged with any kind of program for over a month. But, the GOQii program has been good. The very fact that somebody is monitoring you makes you accountable.

It was pretty tough. Although I was committed to this and had focus, it was still tough sticking to working out on a regular basis and eating healthy. It got easier after about month 3 months, at that point healthy was more of a habit for me.

Today, after 4 months I am walking 4 to 5 km daily, clocking 10k steps daily and I have reduced my weight as well. I am currently at 88 KG from 93 KG and I aim to get close to 80 kgs. During the weekends, I alternate between cycling and swimming. And in the last one month, I have also started on interval exercises.

As a result of this, the positive is that I feel very energetic and my well-being has gone up. By the end of 2016, my aim is to reach a weight of 80 Kgs. My coach has also been throwing some challenges at me. Like for instance, me being a complete sugar person, I was thrown a sugar-free challenge for a week. It was extremely difficult but I did it and now I have realized that I can curb my craving for sugar. I have the strength now mentally to go off sugar.

No more do I encourage samosa parties in office. Earlier we would gorge on samosa and all that is unhealthy. Now, even if it is a party in office and a cake is being cut I politely say no and people are amazed at me.What makes me happy is that I have become an inspiration to many who think that they will never be able to do get back on track. After seeing the progress I have made they see a ray of hope for themselves.

The final aspect of a good program like this is the concept of Karma. The dimension of karma is an added advantage. Earlier you would sweat it out for yourself but, here you are not only sweating it out for yourself and your health but in the process are also helping somebody else who is in need which is very enriching.

What does Coach PriyankaDeshmukh have to say about Prashant Pathak?

He is a very enthusiastic person. Willing to experiment. He has been regular with his routine and is very health conscious. A very active person who doesn’t prefer to be idle.He loves adventures, he is a foodie and implements that in his daily life with amazing variations in his meal platter. So far we have achieved all goals-incorporating mid meals, 6 days workout, with one day rest, sugar-free challenge etc, and so far it’s going well. His journey has been very consistent with an awesome performance each day.

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April 5, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

“There are no substitutions for hard work and dedication”

feeling triumphant-successfully completed 1st 100 Kms Trailwalk

Feeling Triumphant: Successfully completed the 1st 100 km Trail walk.

He was all work and no play. Priority was work and that got the better of him always. So much so that it was affecting his personal life at work and at home. As a result eating habits were erratic with no control on what was being eaten, there was no physical activity or exercising for that matter. The net result of all this was an unhealthy lifestyle that he was leading. But, a discussion with his wife made him realize that he had to make an effort to improve and get on the brighter and healthier side of life. Here is Dhawal Desai’s story in his own words.

I work in the IT industry and my focus was always more on work, meeting project deadlines. Personal life was almost zilch as I would be so exhausted when I came back from work. I was only pushing my team towards working harder and almost forgot that “Team success is a perfect blend between hard work and fun”. I realized Element of hard work was already there but no fun.

I had a serious discussion with my wife what is to be done. How could I make a change she spoke about balancing my act between work and home? And it had to start with “ME” I had to change… focus on my health and change my lifestyle. What my wife told me made sense. It was no rocket science but, I had to make that effort. The problem however was I did not know where to start and what to do?

Then one day I happened to be watching NDTV and I came across their reviews on fitness bands and all the features and how these bands can help you improve your lifestyle. I thought it was great but somewhere felt it a missing element of motivation and guidance.

I could wear the band and get all the stats but, then what do I do with those stats was the big question playing on my mind.

How do I interpret those stats and convert it into a performance or lifestyle change? I am not a fitness trainer nor a health or nutrition expert. Just increasing my step counts is not going to help me towards a healthy lifestyle. So I dropped the idea of getting a fitness band.

Few days later, I once again was going through the same program on tech on NDTV and this time around I heard about GOQii. The concept of GOQii appealed to me because it was not just another fitness tracker. The idea of having a coach connected all the dots for me. I read more about GOQii and its features and I was convinced.

An App + A coach + great eating suggestions + gradual workout sessions + motivation all of these without any impact on my work schedule was the right push I needed. I did not think twice and immediately bought myself a GOQii band and Shimpli Patil was my coach.

My coach had a call with me and I explained my lifestyle to her. In fact, even before my band arrived we started working on my issues. It took a while for the band to reach as I work in the Middle East (ME). Till my band arrived I was interacting my coach on Skype.

Then finally, when I got the band. My health goal was to lose some pounds as I was on the borderline of obesity (I was 120 kgs) and I wanted to change my attitude towards life. I wanted to be more positive.I started my daily routine wherein I started tracking my steps as well. I had started my regular workout. My water intake had increased. Anyway, the climate here in ME makes you dehydrated.

Within a couple of weeks, I could see the difference in my personal life and professional life. I wanted to ensure I was eating a balanced diet to support my increase in physical activity, I had also noticed that I had started eating better and right. All my in between junk snacking had stopped.

My coach helped me make adjustments to my nutrition while simultaneously kept me motivated to keep moving. As a result, I started seeing consistent results and completely fell in love with what I was doing. I had started feeling better and my team also noticed this positive change in me. Work became more fun for my team. I was not exhausted when I came home so could spend fruitful time with my family.

As I was getting my fitness level on track, one day the something impossible happened. My coach asked me if I wanted to try out 100KM Oxfam Trail walk

100 KMs in 48 hrs… now that’s something I doubted. But, again she managed to give me the right push and motivation to register. I registered for my first 100 km trail walk to be held in Dec 2014. I was all charged up for the trail walk. My team was Skywalkers.

During the trail walk, I happened to meet Kuntal Joisher and Anusha both trained mountaineers. Kuntal was going to be climbing Mount Everest in April 2015 and Anusha was doing the trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). I was always in love with mountains and green forests. Meeting them was my second motivation that I needed.

While on the trail walk, the thought of going to Everest Base Camp stuck with me. I thought if I manage to complete this 100KMs within 48 hrs I am going for the EBC trek. Well, Skywalkers completed the quest within 45 hrs and I said, there you go… Everest Base Camp here I come.

The trek was all planned and I registered for it for April 2015. I trained for 3 months to be fit to go to EBC. I had to bear in mind two things the weather conditions and altitude. I was asked to hydrate myself as much and also do some strength exercises or my legs, back and shoulder. I had to carry 3 liters of water and walk on the trek. The trail walker was a good initiation for trekking.

My second goal was to complete the EBC trek and guess what I did that as well without a hitch. My family initially was not sure or convinced that I would be able to do EBC trek but, after I completed it they could not believe their eyes.

Both, the successful completion of the 100 km Trail walk as well as the EBC trek was a great high and ego booster for me. I knew I could do a whole lot. Nothing was impossible.

Dhwal at 5190 mts ( 17,127 ft) -Enroute to EBC

Now I plan to take this further. I plan to do one Himalayan trek every year. And, I hope to keep the same spirit.

I am fit now and feeling fit as well. I am ranging around 94 kgs and my routine in the ME is to go to the gym once a day. On an average, I manage to clock 10k steps daily. My eating has improved drastically. Now I eat everything and I eat small meals. I eat salads and fruits regularly.

If you ask what GOQii has done for me…from ‘All play and no work that made Dhawal a dull boy’, ‘Its lots of work along with play for Dhawal now.’ My life is more balanced and I want to be an example for my 2-year-old daughter.

Through my journey, I have discovered one thing and that there are no substitutions for hard work and dedication. However, there are tools that make them a little easier. My GOQii coach made my hard work fun and the all the dedication seem possible. My GOQii band has made me accountable to myself.

What does Coach Shimpli Patil have to say about Dhawal Desai?

Dhawal has been on the GOQii ecosystem right from the time when I started my journey as a GOQii Coach. He was aiming at optimum fitness and feeling overall good about his health. We started off with some simple goals of increasing his daily water intake, having small frequent meals and hitting a good number of steps daily. We started working towards these goals and within no time, Dhawal picked these habits and embedded into his routine quite seamlessly. Later, we began with a good workout routine starting with cardio and then alternating cardio with strengthening exercises.

I could sense tremendous willingness and determination in him to achieve what he was supposed to. He got into a habit of surprising me each day with his magnificent performances. Little did we know that we would be heading towards massive goals in the coming days? Soon, in a few months, Dhawal geared himself for a 100 km trail walk and completed it victoriously! It was like a kick start to his phenomenal journey wherein he then enrolled himself for the incredible Everest Base Camp trek. And that wasn’t enough, he aspired to walk the 100 km trail again in 2015 and he triumphantly completed it again!

To achieve such great heights, good fitness is a must, but way beyond fitness, what one needs is the zeal and ginormous willpower, and Dhawal is a perfect illustration of it!

Dhawal with the local kids at Phakding-way back from EBC

Dhawal poses with the local kids on the way to EBC

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March 22, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

“It’s been a long, slow journey. And if you want to be successful, you need to change your lifestyle—that takes time”

Running keeps you Healthy & Fit.

Who does not want to be healthy and fit? Everybody does. But, only a few can take the decision instantly to make the change and lead a healthier life. Girish Narang is one of those few guys who one fine day decided enough is enough and decided he needed to get fit and healthy and control his sugar levels. Here is how he did it. Let’s hear it from him….

I head Equities for a foreign bank. My office starts at 8.30 am and till 4 pm (when the market closes) it’s too much pressure to deal with. And after market hours, it’s time for client meetings. You invariably are clueless about when you day is likely to end.

These work hours over a period of time had taken a toll on my health. Over and above that, I have always been overweight and a foodie. 5 years ago I weighed 102 kgs. My fasting sugar levels had gone up to 330. The result of this was that I could not even walk for one Km (mile). I was so unfit and unhealthy.

I tried few dieticians and other things to reduce weight but, I got limited success. I also did go to the gym and managed to lose some weight. That was not enough, though. I was on medication. I will not say that GOQii was like eureka moment for me. But, then when I got into that momentum of losing weight and trying to exercise it helped me a lot and brought about a lot of clarity in my concepts regarding fitness, diet, sleep, water etc.

Prior to GOQii, I got introduced to the pedometer and its functions through Stepathlon that was conducted in our office. It’s during this time that I started tracking steps and consciously started thinking that every step counts. The pedometer was an awareness for me. Even though you were not working out in the gym you can make a difference by bringing about some small lifestyle changes. That’s how things started for me. I was seeing some success and my sugar was getting controlled and then I decided to go in for GOQii in 2014.

I was mentally prepared that every step counts and when I was told about the GOQii concept and what it does beyond just counting steps, I realized that it is a natural extension of what a pedometer does but, with a specialized coach who is in constant dialogue with you and telling you what is to be done and how it is to be done.

The coaching factor appealed to me as there was someone constantly going to be there to keep a check on you and make you feel guilty about not being sincere towards your health and fitness.

My health goal when I got on board GOQii was to lose weight and control my sugar levels. Just as I started working towards these goals, I resolved to pay attention to my food choices and started tracking my meals as well. The step count and other numbers helped me see how far I needed to go and having access to my data and seeing how that impacted my health helped me a great deal.

Then, one day I saw my colleagues preparing to run the marathon. I found it intriguing that people are running 10km, 21 km, and 42 km. Initially, I felt these guys are crazy running so much. But, that thought stemmed from my own inabilities to be able to do something like this. I decided to just try once to do a long run. Running a marathon became my subconscious goal.

My initial plan was very simple. It was a small start. But, as I slowly started enjoying running and noticed the increase in stamina and my ability to run, I realized I could push myself further. I started training for a 10km, and that really opened things up for me.

Now, I’m running longer distances like a half marathon. 2015, I ran my first Standard Chartered half marathon and in 2016, I ran for the second time the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon. Now it’s been 2.5 years since I have started running seriously. And, this season I will do every run that I can.

From not being able to walk even a km (mile), I feel great now about being able to do long distance runs. After having run marathons, I also for the first time pushed my limits to do the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk in November 2015 and I completed it. This was a big high. The 100 km walk was an eye opener for me. It was no mean task to walk the 100 km that went through tough and smooth terrains. My shoes also gave away. My feet were swollen from the top and had blisters beneath. I had learnt to treat my blisters and continue my walk. And, I managed to complete the walk with my team.

When I finished the trail walk, the first question I was asked by my shoe benefactor “how did you complete it in those shoes”. It seems he was sending messages to people to stop me since those shoes would really hurt my feet, thanks to the phones not working most of the times the messages got delayed and I had already moved ahead. It was such a great moment to see somebody happier than myself for having completed the challenge.

Thanks to GOQii I have been able to do all of this. The coaching factor has helped me a great deal. Today, I am free of all medication. I just take one tablet for Sugar control. For the last one and a half years my sugar is under control. It’s is around 95-108 down from 330. My Cholesterol is under control and my weight has come down to 83 from 102 kgs and I have been maintaining it. One thing I have realised over a period is that running does not help you lose weight. Weight training helps you lose weight.

Also, you don’t become overweight overnight, and you don’t lose weight overnight either. It’s a long, slow journey. And if you want to be successful, you need to change your lifestyle—that takes time.

Now, I make sure that I workout at least thrice a week. I have also managed to pick up newer activities like outdoor cycling and Golfing. I am feeling extremely good about myself and I have become some kind of a fitness guru to my colleagues as well. My family thinks I have become more arrogant. From being the least fit person in the family to being very fit now my confidence is soaring and I feel great. It’s not an easy journey, but I can do things now I never could have done 3 years ago, and that’s a great feeling. I am continuing with GOQii.

What does Coach Vrushali Athavale have to say about him?

Girish is a dedicated and self-motivated player. His health goal was clearly to reduce weight and bring down his sugar levels. He was very active but, his meal pattern, water intake and rest was not adequate for the amount of activity he was doing in a day. So we worked initially on the normal food guidelines like having a heavy breakfast, light lunch, dinner needs to be light as well. Also, I worked towards helping him eat smaller meals and more frequently. Water intake was not enough so got him to start drinking 3 liters of water daily. And lastly, a proper combination of cardio and weight training was a must for him. Girish worked on all these factors and we have been successful in achieving our goals.