Being healthy is a consistent effort. No amount of crash dieting or overworking yourself at the gym for a few months can resolve health issues which have piled up over months and years. Many people find it difficult to follow a healthy routine. Sometimes, all you need is a little encouragement and the right guidance to get you started – something out player Lakshmi Ajitha realized through her association with GOQii!
Life Before GOQii
Lakshmi Ajitha is a 33 year old working professional from Bengaluru. She said that she’s always been on the heavier side since puberty. Post marriage, her weight only increased due to hormonal and lifestyle changes. Since the lockdown in March 2020, she only gained another 5-7kg. When someone would comment on her weight, she would turn to crash diets and quit them with zero consistency. Junk food, indulgence in sweets with no restrictions, eating out and lack of physical activities only contributed to her weight gain and slowly, all sorts of health issues such as thyroid and PCOS began creeping up on her.
In August 2020, a fitness challenge was rolled out in her company, and all who registered, received a GOQii tracker with 3 month subscription. Being someone who always lacked the inclination to do any kind of activity, she thought this might finally motivate her. So, she registered for the challenge and then there was no looking back.
Changing Habits To Improve Lifestyle
Lakshmi says though she received the tracker and had a coach assigned, she never took it seriously for at least a month. Then in October, when she was away on a 2 week vacation, there were numerous messages on her app from her Coach, expressing concern over her inactivity and not interacting with her. She felt there was someone who was really worried about her health and wished to help her.
She then had a call with her GOQii Coach Priyanka Mangla, who understood everything about her lifestyle, diet pattern and daily routine. She then slowly introduced small changes like a basic walk everyday to complete 5k steps, increasing water intake and cutting down on her tea intake from 5 cups a day to just 2 cups in a week. These changes also included avoiding maida, all kinds of processed food, reducing rice intake while increasing fruit and vegetable intake. Most importantly, her Coach taught her how to control sweet cravings which was a major challenge.
Lakshmi Ajitha says her coach never forced anything, always gave alternatives and gently guided her to the right foods. She always gave a reasoning as to why she should or shouldn’t do something. The Coach was also strict with her logging food and activity everyday.
Lakshmi says the best thing she liked about her Coach was that she appreciated even the smallest of her achievements, understood her body and suggested suitable options.
On the physical activity front, the third month saw her completing 10k steps everyday and thereafter, she was slowly introduced to basic bodyweight exercises. Sometime during December, she experienced knee pain which turned out to be OsteoArthritis. Her coach shared exercises which would not strain her knees and now the pain is very mild and only aggravates if she does any jumping activity.
Results After 6 Months Of Making a Lifestyle Change
Her weight reduced by 14kg over the last 6 months. In October and November, where her monthly cycles used to be completely unpredictable, now they have regularised and that too without any medication. Her TSH which used to hover between 7 and 12 until October last year, has come down to 1.4 when she last checked in February.
Lakshmi says what she liked about GOQii is that they focus on giving the best routes for the user rather than constantly nagging them about different plans and subscription renewals. She feels that’s the reason why she preferred to stick to GOQii rather than switch to competitors. She also finds GOQii Play as a huge repository of interesting and varied content.
In her own words, “Taking the first step is the most challenging and Priyanka did manage to break through my laziness and pulled me on the track to good health! Her concern seemed genuine and she was well qualified which further gave me the confidence to follow her instructions”.
Does Lakshmi Ajitha’s story inspire you to make a lifestyle change? Then download the GOQii App and subscribe now! To read more inspirational stories, check out Healthy Reads.
#BeTheForce
Dr. Arvind Sinha has been suffering from hypertension for the last 3 decades and has had cardiac problems for close to 2 decades now. He first developed cardiac problems when he was around 46-47 years of age due to a sedentary lifestyle. About 25 years back, he underwent a coronary bypass operation. Almost a year ago his son Dr. Chandan Sinha came across the GOQii Vital ECG band, he decided to get it for his father to keep a check on his ECG. 9 months later, Dr. Arvind Sinha, one afternoon, suddenly developed palpitations. This kind of palpitations was something he had never experienced in 3 years. He had an oximeter by his bedside and so he first checked his SpO2 levels. His SpO2 levels were normal and BP showed 148-88mmHg. But, the palpitations continued for a while. Then around half an hour later, he again felt uneasy which is when he decided to use the GOQii Vital ECG band and check his ECG. The time was around 5:30 pm. The ECG reading showed abnormal – Atrial Fibrillation. Dr. Sinha was having palpitations when he took the ECG. He took his ECG (on his own) and the device helped him to understand what was happening to him.
Dr Chandan Sinha says, “We do have a proper ECG machine at home where we would take my father’s ECG readings. But, it would have taken a while before we took his ECG when he had palpitations. In such a scenario, the device is handy and it helped understand the abnormal situation immediately. What surprised us was we got a call from their Bangalore HQ and the person on the other side sounded concerned and was asking for the well-being of the patient. Moreover, he wanted us to connect to a doctor if required. Now, this is something which would help the elderly staying alone in smaller cities of India. I feel it’s a must have item for parents, not a normal fitness band but the perfect health tracker!” he adds.
As we’re slowly unlocking, there is still that sense of panic and dread. COVID-19 might be far from over but should that stop you from being active? Should it get in the way of your business? At times like these, it is important to be cautious and even more important to be smart about it. The best part is that now, you can do both with the GOQii Smart Vital – the latest offering by the Smart-Tech Preventive Healthcare Platform, 
The GOQii Smart Vital is a device designed to measure your vitals. It has an integrated pulse oximeter which helps you monitor your blood oxygen and provide real time updates of variation in blood oxygen levels. Apart from monitoring your blood oxygen levels, the other features of the device include:
As we prepare to welcome the monsoons, along with the ongoing pandemic, the change in season might affect some of you as you may show symptoms of cold and flu. During this time especially, it becomes important to protect your body against any illness or disease caused by bacteria or viruses. The best way to prevent cold and flu is to boost your immunity! 
