nutrition tips Archives

August 31, 2021 By Sunita Arora 2 Comments

11 Easy Habits to Help You Lose Weight

As a lifestyle coach and weight management expert, I often see people struggling to lose weight. In my previous blog, I have shared my insight on 11 Unhealthy Habits That Are Destroying Your Health. While I hope you read that, I will be sharing a few easy habits you can adopt to lose weight! By making small efforts and small changes in your habits, you can easily achieve your weight loss goals.

11 Habits For a Healthier You

Read Food Labels: Reading food labels helps you make the right food choices! It helps with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, etc. by helping you avoid food with ingredients which may aggravate these conditions. On the label, the greatest quantities come first. A product that lists sugar or corn syrup as its first ingredient will always be high in calories.
Maintain a Food Journal: After doing all of the above, if you’ve still not shed some weight, maintain a food journal. It will help you track your food and beverage intake. Then you can easily decide where you need to cut out extra calories which have affected your weight loss goals.
Begin Your Day With Protein: We couldn’t stress enough on the importance of breakfast! Never skip it. Eating a high protein breakfast helps us curb cravings and aids weight loss. Give a kick-start to your day by including nuts, seeds, oats, cottage cheese, yogurt, buttermilk and eggs in your breakfast.
Eat Slow and Chew More: The entire digestive process starts in the mouth with chewing. The faster you eat, the more food you will consume. Chewing food at a slower pace can help you reduce overall food intake. It can also help you get more nutrients from the food you eat.
Let Dinner Be The Last Meal: Boredom or stress can lead to unhealthy snacking! People often eat out of boredom or stress even when they aren’t hungry. If you feel hungry even after a good dinner, go for lighter, healthier options which are rich in fiber and protein such as nuts, whole grains, legumes, hummus, yogurt, air-popped popcorn, etc.
Don’t Skip Meals: Skipping meals can slow your metabolism down, making it harder to lose weight. It also leads to poor, unhealthy food choices, overeating and obesity. When you don’t eat enough, you don’t get the required nutrients for muscle growth, bone health and the immune system which leads to issues such as fatigue, hair loss and low immunity.
Avoid TV and Gadgets While Eating: Working or Watching TV while eating has harmful effects on your health. By paying attention to what you eat, you are more likely to make healthier food choices. You will enjoy your meals more with its smell, flavor and texture!
Use Smaller Plates: Using smaller plates helps one control the quantity of food consumed. It helps you maintain portion control. Using bigger plates often leads to overeating. If you are eating out, you can always ask for a half portion. This will save a lot of calories and prevent overeating.
Aim For 8 Hours of Sleep: Lack of sleep is associated with an increase in calorie intake. Going to bed early and taking in 8 hours of sleep helps in reducing weight. Without enough sleep, it is difficult to plan meals and exercise. If you stay up late, you will definitely overeat.
Drink Plenty of Water: Increasing your water intake reduces your appetite and helps you lose weight. Drinking 2-3 liters of water daily helps you flush toxins from your body and gives you a feeling of satiety too! Keep yourself well hydrated, always!
Move More: Regular physical activity is essential for maintaining weight and good health. Regular physical activity can improve muscle strength and boost metabolism. Depending on your workout, it can either prevent weight gain or help you maintain your weight.

We hope this article has helped you! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! To learn more tips and tricks for weight loss, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to coaching sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

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December 29, 2020 By Karishma Khot 2 Comments

7 Nutrition Tips For A Healthy Winter

Everyone likes the drop in temperature, hill station vacations, eating ice creams on cold nights, sitting around the bonfire while barbecuing delicious food, but do we really enjoy the cold and flu? Drying of our skin? Getting viral infections? And then the never ending consumption of cough syrups? Yes, we have entered the Winter season! The season of cool breeze as well as the season of cold and flu, and to accompany it, this year we have Covid-19, which has the same symptoms to be tested positive. Hence, it is more important to take care of ourselves this year, and avoid getting any viral fevers, cold and flu. To help you with it, I have some healthy nutrition tips for you this Winter.

7 Nutrition Tips For a Healthy Winter

Keep a check on your water intake: The most common negligence we do in winters is that we tend to forget to drink enough water. As the temperatures are down, we often do not drink water and consume it only while gulping down food. This leads to dehydration in the body, and further damages our skin, leaving a major impact on our bowel movements, due to which most of the time we are constipated. Make sure to drink at least 3-4 liters of water per day.
Build your immunity: Common cold & flu are 2 symptoms, which you will get quite often in the winter season. So the best thing will be following a healthy routine daily, so as to keep them at bay. Try drinking Saunth (dry ginger water), every alternate day just before you sleep or anytime once in a day. As dry ginger/Saunth has a bioactive compound called as Gingerol, which is anti-inflammatory and has other medicinal properties as well.
Avoid overeating: In winter as the temperatures are low, we always tend to overeat, consume hot and spicy meals, eat fried snacks, etc. All we know is the winter makes us hungry, but we need to realise that they also make us put on weight. Issues of bloating, gas and constipation take a toll on our health. To avoid this, we should not indulge in all the cravings. Instead, to beat the cold weather, we should consume hot soups, warm khichdi, seasonal green leafy veggies, and healthy homemade snacks like steamed muthiya’s, sprouts poha, idlis, and many more.
Restrict caffeine: Drinking tea/coffee every 2 hours to keep the body warm is not a good idea. We not only increase our sugar intake but also our caffeine intake. Caffeine leads to dehydration in the body, and as in winter we already have a tough time meeting our water intake, drinking caffeinated beverages will harm us further. In that case, we can consume antioxidant rich and caffeine free Green tea’s. Drinking or sipping on Green tea, turmeric water, cinnamon water, and herbal teas will also be a great deal.
Go seasonal: It is also advisable to eat things which are in season, as they are found in abundance. Bioavailability of the nutrients is high, and helps us with the essential vitamins and minerals as well. So winter season belongs to berries like strawberries, mulberries, blueberries and fruits like oranges, chiku, plums, guava. Green leafy vegetables and root vegetables as well. So snacking on a roasted sweet potato for your evening snack will be a great thing.
Consume superfoods to stay warm: There are a variety of ingredients or to be more precise, many dried foods and spices, which keep our body warm from the inside. Including these while cooking our food is definitely going to keep us warm from the inside. These ingredients include anjeer, figs, dates, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peppercorn, garlic, cloves, ginger, saunth and star anise.
Say no to processed: In the fast moving world, we often tend to have packaged soups, as they are more easy to make than actually chopping veggies and making it fresh. However, these packaged foods are high in preservatives and additives, which are very unhealthy for us. Instead of using them, try blending fresh veggies and make a healthy meal for yourself.

We hope these nutrition tips help you have a healthy winter! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on Winter, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

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May 13, 2020 By Madhu Soni 7 Comments

Easy Hacks To Control Hunger Pangs During Lockdown

Hunger is an important signal which should not be ignored but how often have you felt that this is a genuine one especially during this lockdown? Although growling and gurgling in the stomach are real signals to watch out for, here are some simple and effective hacks to control hunger pangs.

Effective Ways To Control Hunger Pangs

Chew Well: This has probably been repeated several times since our childhood but often ignored. Mindful eating begins by sniffing the aroma and relishing every bite. When we chew the food properly, the flavors of the food linger in the mouth and this brings about a satiety value because of the feeling of fullness. This helps us tide over binge eating.
Stay Hydrated: Quite often, our body is shouting for hydration and we end up stuffing food. Getting confused between thirst and hunger is very common. Drinking water from earthen pots quenches thirst as compared to refrigerated water. You can add nimbu pani and buttermilk to your diet. Summer coolants like aam panna and kokum sherbet are great too.
Adequate Protein: If in spite of eating breakfast, you are growling in anticipation for lunch then you probably need to look into the protein content in your diet. Research has shown that adequate amounts of protein help one stay full for a longer period of time. Ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone which signals to eat is lower with high proteins.
Soup: is a great rescue from the immense hunger pangs, especially in the evening. The high water content along with high fiber due to the veggies in the soup control hunger pangs. Having a warm intake surprisingly reduces the appetite. Stick to broth-based soups and not creamy ones.
Spice It Up: Major Hunger pangs occur due to bland and unsatisfactory food. Adding a few spices not only curbs your appetite but aids digestion too. Spicy food is known to increase satiety. A simple salad can become interesting if you add a dash of lemon, sprinkle some chaat masala or throw in some mint dip!
Healthy Snacking: What one eats when hungry during odd hours plays an important role to control hunger pangs. Having a small mid-meal snack is good but watch out for the quantity and quality. Seasonal fruits will keep you full and healthy. Nuts and seeds being rich in proteins are good as well.
Excessive Sugar: There is a direct link between sugar consumption and increased hunger pangs. Besides keeping a check on high sugar food intake, watch out for all the hidden sugar in food labels. Opt for natural sugar like jaggery, dry fruits and fresh fruits.
Exercise: Majority of us have that notion that with exercise our appetite increases. Contrary to our belief, with regular aerobic exercise our appetite decreases
Sleep: Lack of sleep can have an impact on our eating pattern. Incomplete sleep leads to low energy levels. To compensate for lower levels of energy, we tend to choose high sugary foods which make us fall in the vicious circle of empty calories and overeating.

And that’s it! Do follow these hacks to control hunger pangs. If in spite of following all these tips you still feel ravenous, then do consult a doctor. Do check out other articles for healthy recipes and for more topics on hunger, food, nutrition and health, tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

Stay home, stay safe, eat right and #BeTheForce!

March 6, 2020 By GOQii 7 Comments

Have You Tried The Raw Detox Diet? Try It Now!

I’ve always wondered what a raw detox diet is and how does one eat raw vegetables. Then, I found that a raw food detox diet is the dietary practice of eating only uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods. It can include raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, organic milk and organic milk yogurt. In India, most may not be comfortable with a long-term raw diet. However, including raw food in your diet as often as you can, definitely helps in detoxifying the system.

What is Detoxification?

It’s a way to recharge, rejuvenate, and renew your body. Detoxification can help you jump-start your body for a more active and healthier life. In our body, there is an ongoing process to remove the toxins which have been formed by the food we eat and also through the environment we are exposed to. Our body system is naturally designed to transform the toxins and excrete them out of the body. In order for this to happen naturally, our body should get a break from the regular exposure to processed foods, heavy diets, and environmental pollution.

Raw food is low in calories but contain good amounts of nutrients like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It also has high fiber content which eliminates toxins by managing bowel movement. The unhealthy diet has been the leading cause of headaches, fatigue, lack of concentration, feeling bloated, indigestion, bad breath, etc.

Including a raw diet will surely make you feel more fresh and energetic.

Remember to drink plenty of water when you are on a raw diet. It is the best detox food that you can have. Raw diet helps maintain your weight as well, it also saves your cooking time.

What Does a Raw Detox Diet Include?

Sprouts Salad: Sprouts provide good nutritious value and are easily digestible. They increase the vitamin and mineral content of the grain and decrease the carbohydrate and calorie content. Basically, any whole legume or grains can be sprouted. Some sprouts have a change in flavor after sprouting.

Avocado Salad: Avocado is a complete food with lots of nutrients. It is a very versatile fruit as it takes on both, sweet and savory taste, perfectly. It’s got a buttery texture and hence, can be used as a healthy substitute for butter with bread. This salad is very refreshing as an evening snack or as a side with roti. For those people under diet, this makes for a wonderful meal by itself.

Beetroot Pomegranate Juice: Pomegranates and beetroots, both contain good amounts of antioxidants and nutrients and are also rich in vitamin C. This colorful root vegetable contains powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects, and certain cancers, especially colon cancer. Beetroot is well known for its blood purifying properties. Due to the rich iron content, it is said to be an indispensable cure for anemia.

Tricolour Fruit Salad (Orange/ Papaya + Kiwi/ Dragon Fruit/ Berries/Tomato’s + Cucumber/ Lichi/ Honeydew): These fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and loaded with vitamins, minerals and water. It will help you to feel fresh and prevent any deficiencies of the same.

Cranberry Curds Salad: The possible health benefits of consuming cranberries include lowered risk of urinary tract infections, prevention of certain types of cancer, improved immune function, and decreased blood pressure.

Tender Coconut Smoothie: Tender coconut water is a natural, nutrient-rich isotonic drink. It is high in electrolytes, chlorides, potassium, and magnesium and has a moderate amount of sugar, sodium and protein. It’s also a good source of dietary fiber, manganese, calcium, riboflavin and vitamin C.

Cucumber Juice: Cucumbers contain multiple B vitamins, including vitamin B1, vitamin B5, and vitamin B7 (biotin). B vitamins are known to help ease feelings of anxiety and buffer some of the damaging effects of stress. Cucumbers are rich in two of the most basic elements needed for healthy digestion: water and fiber

Fresh Tomato Salads: As an excellent source of the strong antioxidant called Lycopene, vitamin C, and other antioxidants, tomatoes can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer.

Fresh Fig Salads: Figs are high in natural sugars, minerals, and soluble fiber. They are rich in minerals including potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper and are a good source of antioxidant vitamins A, E and K that contribute to health and wellness.

If you have never tried a raw food detox diet, now is the time. Give it a go and do let us know how it helps you! Before you begin any diet plan or try any of the above, do check with your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian in case you have any allergies. For more tips, guidance and queries on nutrition, interact with experts LIVE on GOQii Play.

#LevelUp your lifestyle and #BeTheForce!