goqii fitness tracker Archives

January 25, 2019 By Anusha Subramanian 1 Comment

From being lazy to being fit as a fiddle

Sense of accomplaihment -Gagan on the right with his team mates successfully having completed his first 100 Km Trail walk

He was Lazy and had no control of his food habits. But, everything changed drastically on the day his daughter was born 2 years ago. That is the day when he felt if not for anyone else, I have to get fit for my daughter. Today, he is no more lazing on the couch. Clocks on an average 10000 or more steps daily, walks 100 km within 48 hours and even goes trekking when time permits …This is Gagandeep Singh Randhawa’s story in his own words.

I was a very lazy person for the longest time. It dawned on me to get fit when my daughter Samaira was born in April 2014. It was to get fit for her so that I can run around and play with her. It was a wake-up call. I knew I had to do something as I was completely inactive and unfit. I was on an entrepreneurial journey and life got busy. I spent long days at work.

I started looking around to figure what options I have. I thought let’s try gym workout. And went and joined a gym. But, my laziness got the better of me and I missed out on going to the gym and working out on a regular basis due to lack of company. Then I started surfing the net to figure other options to get fit. I was looking for a fitness tracker as it was the in thing. That is when I came across GOQii.

I read about it and found it interesting as it was offering a personal coach. I liked the idea of a personal coach as I knew there will be somebody constantly there behind you to make sure you get active. I decided to go in for GOQii and bought the band in May 2014 with Parwage Alam as my coach.

My health goal was to make my core strong and get fit and active. My coach set a target for me to clock a minimum of 10000 steps daily. In order to be able to do this I started walking regularly, I went trekking and regularly attended Active Sunday sessions. If some day my step count was less I would even take a break from work and go for a walk and come back refreshed to my work desk.

Then in December 2014, I pushed my limits further by participating in the 100 km Oxfam trail walk. My coach convinced me that I could do it. It was my first attempt at something like this. And am I glad to say that I completed successfully? It was fun and yet very challenging for me. But, I realized I could push myself and do it.

Within 3 months of getting on board GOQii, I was able to run/walk 10 km. I was on an average clocking 15000 steps daily. Now, I am able to run behind my daughter with ease. GOQii was a good wake-up call for me. I guess when it comes to fitness half the battle is won when you are able to objectively and easily assess how active you are on a daily basis.

We are the Force-Gagan at an Active Sunday Session. ( Gagan seen in extreme right)

It’s been close to two years for me with GOQii and I have enjoyed every bit of my journey to health and fitness.

I have become more cautious about what I eat and when I eat. The whole change in me I would credit to the fact that there is a coach sitting above me and keeping track of what I am doing. The moment you become answerable to someone that is your transformation. I have realized it’s not about losing weight it’s about how healthy and fit you are by exercising, eating and sleeping right and how well you rest.

It’s not only me who has seen a transformation in myself, my family has also seen the change in me. They have never seen me so active or rather I have never been so active. In fact, my family members have got inspired by me and have got themselves the band as well. I gifted my wife a band last year and she is also regular with her step count and being active on a daily basis. She is more into activities like Zumba. GOQii has definitely helped my family and friends get more fit and heart-happy.

My wife and I along with our daughter go on walks. I want my daughter to be rough and tough and for that, I have to be first fit and tough.Lastly, the concept of donating karma points appeals to me a great deal. It gives me a feel good factor.

What does Coach Parwage Alam have to say about Gangandeep?

When Gagan came on board he was completely inactive. He wanted to become active, increase stamina and be fit. He wanted to start running 5km and slowly go up to 10 km. He was very serious about bringing about a change in himself. Looking at his sincerity and seriousness, I suggested to him why just think of 5km and 10 km why not think big?

I suggested why not go ahead and participate in the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk and practice for it. The goal was to successfully complete the 100 km. For him, it was ‘from the couch to 100 km’. He was very dedicated and practiced hard. Within 3 months he was able to run 10 km and he also completed the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk. After this, his activities started increasing drastically. He was regular at ‘Active Sundays’. On an average, he would clock 15k steps daily.

The effect of being active has also reflected in his nutrition. He has got more conscious about what he is eating and when and how he is eating. Overall, Gagan has been able to achieve his goals because of his dedication and sincerity and by making small changes to his lifestyle. He has taken all my advice positively. Seeing him motivated motivates me too.

Gagan getting his legs massaged during his first Oxfam Trail walk in 2014

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January 21, 2019 By Anusha Subramanian 3 Comments

Why is it difficult to make a lifestyle change? – 6 tips to follow

In a user story I recently wrote, the player said, “Making a lifestyle change is easy what is difficult is the commitment to follow through with determination”.

Rightly so, it’s indeed considered a tall order and hence many give it up mid-way. Most consider it forced, rather than a positive change to bring about within themselves.

This very attitude and constant cribbing of people around me prompted me to write this piece on why is it so difficult to make a lifestyle change?

Many of us have tried it sometime or the other in our life. Some of us have succeeded while many have found it extremely taxing. Making a lifestyle change is challenging, especially when you want to transform many things at once. Lifestyle changes are a process that take time and require support and lots of patience.

Here are a few tips that you could follow from my personal experience

** Start small. After you’ve identified a realistic short-term and long-term goals, break them down further into small steps that are well defined and can be managed and measured. If your long term goal (6-8 months) is to lose 20 kilos then a good monthly goal would be to reduce about 2 kilos a month in a healthy way. Physiologically too smaller goals gives you sense that it’s achievable and keep you motivated for the long term goal. Look at healthy eating options, eat smaller meals at regular intervals and balanced meals, and replace a dessert with a healthier option, like yogurt. At the end of the month, you’ll feel successful knowing you met your goal.

** Change one behavior at a time. It is said that old habits die hard. That is because behaviors develop over the course of time and replacing then will take a while. Focus on one goal at a time. If need be, get professional help to understand what changes you need to bring about within yourself to become healthy and fit. The problem arises when you try to change things really fast.

** Have a buddy or a personal coach or trainer: It can be anyone from a friend, to a family member, a co-worker or your personal trainer who you want to walk with you in your path to a healthy lifestyle. It works well for both the buddies. Your buddy and you can go for a walk, cycle or run together and keep each other motivated and charged. You can challenge each other to create some excitement in your training and make sure that it is not boring. Having someone with whom you can share your struggles and successes makes the work easier and the mission less intimidating.

** Make a plan that you will stick to. You have to plan in such a way that it will be your guide on this journey of change. Think out of the box and have things in your plan which you have never done before like an adventure or going for sport climbing (artificial wall climbing). But, don’t go haywire and be specific. Time manage well. Detail the time of day when you want to exercise, how long you want to exercise or when you can take walks and how long you’ll walk. Maintain a dairy in which all of these task are jotted down and ask yourself if these activities and goals are realistic for you. If not then start with baby steps.

** Have support around you: Having people around you to support you while you are on your journey towards health will help you to not slack. Don’t feel shy to ask for support wherever and whenever needed if you feel you are unable to meet your goals on your own.

Making the changes that you want takes time and commitment, but you can do it. Just remember that no one is perfect. You will have occasional lapses. Be kind to yourself. When you eat a brownie or skip the gym, don’t give up. Minor bumps on the road to your goals are normal and okay. Resolve to recover and get back on track.

** Self -Motivation: All the above points will help you in your journey to change your lifestyle but, the biggest factor of all and one of the most important factor is being self-motivated. No matter how many buddies you have, no matter what support your dear and near ones will give, no matter how good a plan you make yourself …but none of this will be effective till the time you are self-motivated and want to make the change.

Do it for yourself, do it on your own and feel good at the end of it all. Remember it is not about proving to anyone but yourself.

January 20, 2019 By Ranveer Allahbadia 3 Comments

The first step to a flat stomach & a new you

Long before candy crush, iPads & McDonalds came into existence there was a time when apes had just evolved into an intelligent, NEW species. Apes evolved to become the apex predator. This new species could “out run” any other animal and was known to hunt down its prey by doing exactly that – Chasing it till it gives up. That’s precisely what human bodies are meant to do. In our most natural form we are built to run gigantic distances, hunt mammoths and throw weapons to kill our prey.

A child born in 10,000BC grew up hunting and climbing trees. Humans born any time after World War II are spoilt by technology, luxuries and wrong food. Fortunately for us, a sudden wave has come our way. People all over the world are embracing ‘BEING FIT’. And “being fit” is all about drifting towards our more primal selves.

Being fit isn’t as hard as people think it is. The only thing people need help with is a road map.

On BeerBiceps, my Youtube channel, there is one idea that I promote more than any other. The one single substance keeping us away from attaining our maximum potential is sugar.

Sugar is a substance that activates the same parts of your brain that get activated by consuming addictive drugs like cocaine. But, unlike addictive drugs, you don’t buy sugar in shady lanes, you buy it in general stores. Any 10 year old can walk up to his local general store and purchase what is essentially a drug. This is why sugar is the single most dangerous food out there. It is a legal substance that can do as much harm as cigarettes or cocaine.

If you were wondering where YOUR journey in fitness should start – It should begin with Sugar. Eliminate this ENEMY and embrace a new you. Eliminating sugar from your diet can do wonders in the long term. With just this one change, I guarantee that you will drop those extra kilos and move towards that flat stomach you’ve always wanted.

When you eliminate all kinds of sugar, there are two main villains you are eliminating. Firstly liquid sugars in the form of fizzy (aerated) drinks. Secondly and more importantly – all desserts. Desserts are made of the 3 devil foods – sugar, refined carbs and unhealthy fats. And all these 3 ingredients destroy your body in different ways.

There is literally nothing worse you can put into your system than that simple dessert after dinner. In fact, for anyone who is overweight, I guarantee you it’s not the snacks between meals, the alcohol or the excess meat consumption – it’s the dessert that’s keeping them fat.

How you look depends primarily on what you eat. The kind of exercise you do will just hasten and enhance the process towards getting fit. And, for anyone with a sedentary lifestyle, remember these 5 words – ‘something is better than nothing’.

As I’ve always maintained – Fitness isn’t deadlifting a 100 kg or running marathons. Fitness is doing the smallest things to ensure that your body is better today than it was yesterday.

Do the minimal – walk around for 20 minutes every day, take the stairs instead of the lift, if you have the time then try your hand at free body movements like push-ups and sit-ups. But, above all just keep your body active.

The combination of a zero sugar diet and an active lifestyle is the key to long term health. This is the bare minimum you owe to your body. It’s about time we make our bodies do what they were created to do.

Take that first step!

January 13, 2019 By Arooshi Garg 6 Comments

7 Super foods you must try this year- Don’t miss out!

Since recent years the “Super Food” market has definitely been on the rise. But, what is a “superfood” anyway?

A “Superfood” refers to any food which is nutrient packed and dense. In other words, they have a rich supply of micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Such foods used to be the type only woo-woo health nuts would gravitate toward. But, more recently, they have expanded to appeal to folks in a variety of cohorts. For example, as recently as two years ago, quinoa, flax seeds, and kale were considered exotic and difficult to find in supermarkets. Now, however, these super foods have become staples in the ‘healthy diet’ of many. From herbs and spices to fruits, vegetables, and grains, each year brings about a whole new variety of nutrient-rich, vitamin-packed foods that we can add to our daily meals.

So how about we give you some examples of these power-packed, cutting edge foods filled with good-for-you vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting phytochemicals?

Here are 7 of the healthiest foods that you should be eating this year:

i) JU-SMOOTHIES

The newest word in the food dictionaries, everywhere… this trend is the latest to catch in the eye of health enthusiasts. What do you get when you cross a fresh juice with a smoothie? A Ju-Smoothie of course. A JU-smoothie is a fiber-filled liquid concoction with extra nutritional benefits than just a fruit-vegetable juice.

The JuSmoothie means you make your fresh juice and then blend it with bulky fruits or other ingredients that aren’t juicer friendly.

Vegetable and fruit juices absorb quickly which means they can leave you hungry a couple of hours later. But blend a super nutritious juice with a banana, melon or a sapota ( Chikoo) and some crushed flaxseeds or nuts and you’ve a more solid and substantial concoction that is absorbed slower and will keep you going longer with good satiety.

ii) MATCHA (the newest green tea)

Green tea has become a staple in diets for some years now. The new entry, “Matcha” is derived from the Japanese sencha leaf and then stone ground into a bright-green fine powder. Matcha literally means powdered tea, and it’s incredibly good for health. The concentration of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in Matcha is found to be 137 times greater than the amount found in most store-bought green tea. EGCG is known to boost lipolysis (the breakdown of fat) and block adipogenesis (the formation of fat cells), particularly in the belly. It can be made in the traditional way or be added to lattes, iced drinks, milkshakes, and smoothies. A single serving has around 4 grams of protein!!!

iii) Nut-Based Vegan Cheese

A lot of vegan cheese varieties are emerging. Everyone’s favorite staple – cheese – gets a healthy makeover with nut milk. Nut-based cheeses are made from (alternative mil such as)almond, cashew, and macadamia but, prepared in traditional cheese-making style. That’s good news for vegans and cheese lovers!

Vegan cheese can have several benefits. It boasts to be rich in vitamin E and B12 and the content depends on the milk used and preparation method used.

iv) Beet Greens

Vitamin A-rich beet greens look similar to chard and even people who don’t like the sweet starchy flavor of beets, love beet greens. So next time you get beets with the greens still attached, don’t toss away that superfood in a bin. Rather, toss it in a mixed salad with carrots, radishes, tomatoes, and cucumbers!

Beet greens can be used in smoothies and soups. You can also replace them into a recipe that calls for spinach, kale, or lettuce. You can even or sauté them for an easy side dish that cooks in just a couple of minutes.

v) Teff : Teff is gaining popularity worldwide. Teff is an ancient and intriguing grain, tiny in size yetpacked with nutrition. It is simple to prepare and similar to millet or quinoa if you cook it. It is a fine grain—about the size of a poppy seed—that comes in a variety of colors, from white and red to dark brown. This tiny grain that has been a staple of traditional Ethiopian cooking for thousands of years

First cultivated in Ethiopia, Teff is high in calcium, iron, fiber, and protein with a mild, sweet, and nutty taste. It’s also naturally gluten-free.

Teff works well in a main or side dish, in baked goods, sourdough flatbread, or as a substitute for cornmeal in some recipes.

vi) Rooibos Tea

Green tea isn’t the only super-healthy tea out there. Along with Matcha tea, Rooibos tea, too, has been showing up on supermarket shelves.

Rooibos tea is a red-colored herbal is a tea made from the leaves of the rooibos bush. Native to South Africa, it has shown to be beneficial for lowering LDL and improving HDL. Health benefits of red rooibos tea include its use as a cure for headaches, insomnia, asthma, eczema, bone weakness, hypertension, allergies, and premature aging.

The tea is absolutely free from caffeine content and is also low in tannins. Rooibos tea is said to contain rare nutrients like Quercetin and Bioflavonoids that assist in good blood circulation and obstructs hemorrhaging.

vii) Coconut sugar: Coconut is one food that has emerged as a superfood lately. From organic coconut oil to organic coconut water and coconut flour, all have shown potential high nutritional qualities. Foodies are moving on to a different palm product-coconut sugar, also known as palm sugar. It has been used as a sweetener for thousands of years in Southeast Asia where coconuts are abundant, and it’s gaining popularity all over the world now as a “healthier” sugar alternative.

Unlike pure table sugar, only 78 percent of coconut sugar is actually sugar; the remaining 22 percent comes from nutrients like zinc, iron and fiber—more specifically, inulin, a type of insoluble fiber that acts as a prebiotic to feed the healthy bacteria in your gut and slows down the digestion and absorption of sugar into the blood. But be cautious in the usage, while coconut sugar is marketed as a “low GI sweetener,” it is still sugar: caloric and potentially fattening. So approach this health trend with caution. Consider coconut sugar the new honey—an ever-so-slightly better alternative to refined sugar!

So whether you’re a health nut looking to try the latest and greatest or just a foodie looking for new ingredients to add to your beloved recipes…get all or at least some of these Super Foods on your plate this year!