health and fitness‎ Archives - Page 6 of 6

September 14, 2017 By Dr Akshat Chadha 3 Comments

When was the last time you had a complete health check?

The week began on a sad note. Monday morning was a morning, I would like to erase out of my memory as soon as possible. I was sitting at the breakfast table with my wife when I got a call from my mom saying that one of my cousins-Raj had suffered a major heart attack and had passed away even before reaching the hospital. It was an untimely death. He was barely 40 years of age, young and happy with no major worries. Nobody, in the family, had seen this coming, not even his wife.

He displayed no signs of stress, worry or any kind of illness. He was not fat nor did he lead a sedentary lifestyle. Then what happened? This thought kept bothering me ever since I heard of what had happened. Being a Doctor, I was determined to delve deep to find the root cause of the problem. After probing some of the family members, I found that there was a family history of heart disease and diabetes. Despite this, he had not done a single blood check in the last 3 years. Whenever I would enquire about getting a health checkup, he would brush it aside and say, “I am healthy and I do not see a need to get pricked unnecessarily”.

What upsets me more is that we are a family of doctors and within my own family, I have people who think otherwise about health check-ups and feel it’s unnecessary to have one done regularly more so when you do not display any symptoms of illness. The importance of health checkups is highlighted only when you encounter health problems you really can’t predict. Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry later?

Let me be loud and clear here when I say there is a reason why blood tests have been invented and have a huge diagnostic value. But, unfortunately, getting a blood test today, is considered as a money making a source for the Doctor. I don’t want to talk about blood tests today, I just want to emphasize the importance of getting a whole body check-up done once a year especially if you are over 30 years old. Timely medical checkups could make all the difference between prevention and cure; especially when each decade comes with its own set of lifestyle ailments.

What is the harm I ask? What do you have to lose? If it’s the money, then maybe you can cut down on eating out one weekend or reduce your shopping one month and instead utilize that money to get to know about your health?

A lot changes in 30 days leave alone in 365 days. We go through several ups and downs and our body goes through a lot of wear and tear process be it physical or mental. Our internal organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys are designed to work non-stop and there is no harm in knowing the state of our organs and bones in real time so that the necessary lifestyle changes can be made if needed.

One does not have to necessarily pop pills, more often than not lifestyle changes can make a huge difference. If a machine works well with regular maintenance and check-ups then why do we leave the most important machine (our body) to chance?

You need to listen to your body, feel the pain when it happens, and address the breakdown in a way to avoid its re-occurrence. You need to give your body a good fighting chance by living a good healthy life which is supported by well-functioning internal organs.

Personally, a good comprehensive screening package including CBC ( Complete Blood Count), Lipids, Renal (Kidney) and Liver profile, Sugar tests, Thyroid and basic Vitamins like D and B12 is a must for every individual once a year even if he or she is absolutely healthy. Make sure you are working fine inside so that you can do everything you want outside.

Age is not a factor. Anybody at the age of 30 years and above should get their blood tests done once a year at least. This is an excellent comprehensive screening of your entire body including heart, liver, and kidney along with important vitamins. We are putting in a lot of effort taking care of our bodies but, if our organs don’t support it then we will always fall short of results.

The prerequisite for leading a healthy life is a comprehensive health check-up once a year.

September 27, 2016 By Leah Burkhart 1 Comment

The Foods all Nutritionists agree are ‘Good For You’.

We all love reading about the latest trending super food. Whether its Acai berry, Maca powder, or cacao nibs…we wanna know what’s going to up our metabolism or give us that boost of energy we are absolutely itching to have again.

Well folks…let the drum roll begin. Because the REAL super food category of the hour is not some fancy-named upgraded coffee bean or a concoction of some super vitamin made in a lab somewhere.

It is…..

Plants. Specifically fruits and vegetables (Background applause!!!)

Wait….how come you’re leaving? Wait! No…seriously! they are SUPER good for you!

I know, I know. It’s WAY snazzier to imagine that the secret ingredient is some hidden oil or seed or fruit buried at the bottom of Indiana Jones’ cavern. We want the food to be a singular holy grail. But, that is just not the way of it.

No – I’m afraid your mother, and her mother before her and HER mother before HER knew what they were talking about when they said simply “eat your vegetables.”

We have the evidence to prove it. Here are just a FEW examples of the tangible benefits researchers have uncovered about eating more vegetables.

Those who eat more fruits and vegetables (at least 8 servings per day) are 30 percent less likely to have heart disease. (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/)
Those who eat more fruits and vegetables (specifically 8 servings or more) report greater levels of happiness and emotional satisfaction. http://sciencenewsjournal.com/eat-fruit-veggies-happy/
Eating fruits and vegetables is associated with better weight loss and management outcomes:https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/pdf/rtp_practitioner_10_07.pdf
Eating a high concentration of fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of cancer:http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/how-healthy-eating-prevents-cancer
Those who eat as few as five servings of fruits and vegetables every day tend to live longer. http://nutritionfacts.org/2015/09/17/how-much-longer-do-fruit-and-vegetable-eaters-live/
Eating fruits and vegetables can even improve your sex life:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/knowmore-tv/8-ways-eating-fruit-juice_b_9872488.html

So if you’re looking for the newest, latest and greatest super-food, you really need no look toward the dark corners of the Bermuda triangle. It’s right in front of you at your local farmer’s market.

September 21, 2016 By Anusha Subramanian 1 Comment

Working towards your Health goals

For the last couple of months I have been talking to GOQii players and tracing their journey to health and fitness. While doing so I realized how important it is for one to share their goals and their personal progression with others.If not for anything it’s simply a great ego booster and a motivator for the person to do much better going forward.

Working towards a health or fitness goal? Sharing your goals—and your progress!—with others can make a huge difference in how successful you are along the way. Research proves it. According to studies published in International journals, strong social circles can be very effective in combatting obesity and helping individuals succeed. It has also been proven that those who have shared their weight goals with their friends on social media have lost weight as compared to those who have kept their goals to themselves.

So what is it that makes one to achieve their goals easily if broadcasted?

Sharing Your Goals…Creates Accountability
Telling your family, friends, and colleagues about your goals creates the opportunity for someone to ask you about your progress down the road. And, knowing someone might be checking in can help you stay on track. If you have a coach or a personal trainer it becomes even more difficult to skip a day of training or chat on your diet. That constant watch over you to get healthy and fit will only help you in the long run.

…Provides Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is defined as the process of recognizing and rewarding a desired behavior in an effort to encourage its continuance. Getting a pat on your back is always encouraging and give you a sense of self-worth and in this case it is nudging you to be healthier and a fit person. Positive reinforcements like “great job” and ‘keep up the good work’ helps you to alleviate any self-doubts that you may have about yourself and your ability to perform well. In other words it will only help you to stick to your health and fitness goals.

…Strengthens Your Support Network
Sharing your goals and receiving support from your social circle, encourages others to share and get support too—it’s a positive feedback loop, says Steven Ledbetter, an expert on behavior change and co-founder of Habitry. “Talking about your goals in a common space where you feel safe, creates an intentional community—you share values, like living your healthiest life possible, and help each other live up to those values,” says Ledbetter. The more you share, the stronger your community becomes, and the easier it is for everyone to reach their goals.

GOQii Can Help!

The GOQii app’s ‘Social’ section helps you connect with other players and share your experience and stories. Also the GOQii active Sunday’s are great enablers for players to share each other’s stories and health goals with each other and motivate each other to achieve those goals. So what are you waiting for, let’s get started.

August 5, 2016 By Divita Bhatt Leave a Comment

ADD “LIFE” TO YOUR “STYLE”

Yes you read it right…! When we talk about lifestyle we mostly forget the two basics of the entire concept, the “Life” & the “Style”. It’s not about flaunting or getting attention from others, it’s all about living your life the way you have been and making all things around you the way you like – that is what is ‘YOUR’ style. And that’s why it is more worth saying adding life to your style, rather than adding style to your life.

Small things in our daily routine, our home as well as workplace makes a lot of difference to our lifestyle. And, when we talk about a healthier life style, it’s all about our workout and eating habits that matters most to our fitness and in a broader way – wellness.

Wear your Attitude to Workout: Yes, more than your gym ware, it’s your face and your body language that makes you ready for workout. And, of course a great combination of vibrant colored gym ware and trendy sport shoes only adds to your energy. They give yourself a mental warm-up before your actual warm up. Assigning a space for all your workout accessories like gym bag, workout clothes, socks, shoes, towel etc. instead make a dedicated space in your life for workout. And, every morning or any time of day when you have to work out, just reach that place and you will feel the force within.

Sing-along your fitness: Music has that energy to help you run for your goal. And, when it comes to music for workout, select your favorite songs that are full of energy and that motivates you. Making that energetic playlist and playing it while you walk, run or work-out is something that will add to your energy and the force to work harder and push you to extremes. Make sure that the duration of the playlist is at least three to four times of your workout duration, so that you shuffle it and don’t get bored. Also update it every now and then with newer tracks of your choice.

Re-design – Re-arrange your surroundings: Your surroundings at home and workplace are the places where you spend most of the time and see the things around. Refurbishing or making it look good makes you feel good the whole day. Posters of anything you like – cars, celebrities, quotes or natural landscapes, miniature models, cartoon characters, soft toys, showpieces, smiley balls or tags, good luck plant or any other tiny indoor plant kept in your bed room, kitchen or work place gives you the positive vibe and keeps you up in anything you do in and around that place.

Eat right – prepare right: Eating right is very important but, equally important is to prepare and present it in the right way. If you are the one who carry meal to work, packing it in trendy and colorful lunch box makes you look forward for packing as well as having the meal at the right time. Also, you can pack it in different colored boxes when you take multiple meals in a day. The way you cut and serve the salad also makes difference in how it looks and how it feels while having. Instead of cutting it the same way every time, use different sizes and shapes in routine, like cutting salad in cubes, slices, splits, cross slices, grated and sometimes eat it uncut.

So that’s how small things make big differences in the way you live. At times routine makes our life so monotonous that we forget our own likes and dislikes and keep moving with the pace. That’s the time to pause, think for our own style, our own way of doing things and kick start towards a better and healthier lifestyle by adding “LIFE” to our “STYLE”.

When was the last time you had a complete health check?

The Foods all Nutritionists agree are ‘Good For You’.

Working towards your Health goals

ADD “LIFE” TO YOUR “STYLE”

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