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Venkatrao Alaparthi Loses 20kg With Guidance From His GOQii Coach

Venkatrao Alaparthi Loses 20kg With Guidance From His GOQii Coach

While earning a good livelihood is important, is it taking more life out of living? Long working hours, being seated most of the time with no physical activity and bad eating habits can take a toll on your health over a period of time. If this sounds relatable, you might have a lot in common with our Player Venkatrao Alaparthi.

Successful But Sedentary

Venkatrao Alaparthi, 46, is a Food Science Specialist having studied Dairy Science, and is currently working with Amul in Gujarat. Due to the nature of his work, he remains seated before his desk for long hours. For most of his work life, he has been sedentary without any exercise regime or proper eating habits.

As he wasn’t doing any regular exercise, the bare minimum being when he walked from his home to the factory, it led to severe weight gain. “I was consistently inconsistent in pursuing a health regime. I had no medical condition or medical issues but, I was obese due to a sedentary lifestyle and irregular patterns of eating,” says Venkatrao. As he is from South India, 90% of his diet consisted of carbs.

His work also involved touring. On one of his tours with his colleagues, Venkatrao Alaparthi realised how unfit he was as he couldn’t walk much. “I was sad that I was obese,” he says. As he was tired all the time, he couldn’t enjoy the visit as much. His 8 year old daughter pointed out saying, “you have a huge stomach” and his wife also told him how inconsistent he was while trying to lose weight on his own. 

“My wife has been getting me to take care of my health for the last 10 years, and I have been inconsistent in being able to maintain a good lifestyle and my health,” says Venkatrao. 

Due to all these factors, he decided that he would have to do something about his health. While researching the best way to lead a healthy lifestyle, he came across a GOQii Ad on social media. “GOQii & Fit India were my motivation to lead a healthy life. I decided to get the band and try it out,” he said.

Making Healthier Choices To Lose Weight

Venkatrao Alaparthi joined GOQii on Jan 30, 2022. He set his goal to lose weight. At the time, he weighed 91kg. After their initial conversation, GOQii Coach Parul Massey realised that he didn’t have any severe medical conditions and was only obese. She deemed that they had to work on weight loss slowly, in a healthier manner. 

“I asked him to start with 30 minutes of normal morning walk, reduce portions of rice from his daily diet and replace it with a protein-rich diet, jeera and lemon water on an empty stomach. He started following these habits daily,” says Coach Parul Massey

During the first week, Venkatrao Alaparthi found it difficult to walk for 30 minutes even at normal pace. But, he did not lose hope and continued doing it by slowly increasing his time to 45 mins after 10 days. In a month’s time, he began noticing some difference.

His diet had changed to include lots of proteins and vegetables for fibre. He also began including eggs, sprouts, and flax seeds, etc to his breakfast. In the second month of coaching, Coach Parul added a few more habits such as having nuts and seeds. 

Did These Changes Pay Off? 

After 2 months of following these minor tweaks in habits and changing his lifestyle, he lost 5kg. After months of making changes and following the course set by his GOQii Coach Parul Massey, Venkatrao Alaparthi lost 20kg. He is quite fit and active now. He even had to change his wardrobe due to his successful weight loss journey.

Currently, he clocks in over 20k steps daily. “I could not walk 3km and today, I can easily do 10km,” says Venkatrao Alaparthi. Apart from walking, he also plays badminton 3 times a week. For yoga and strength training, he subscribes to GOQii PRO classes within the GOQii App. 

His wife and his daughter are quite happy with the change he has made to his lifestyle and the weight he has lost. His wife says, “I am happy that you are more consistent now”. Venkatrao Alaparthi has been an Elite GOQii Player for 272 days and is among the top 6% of active players. He is still going strong with an active subscription, consistent changes, and guidance from his coach, Parul Massey. 

Do you want to make a lifestyle change and reduce weight too? Speak to a GOQii Coach by subscribing to Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring stories, check out Healthy Reads.

#BeTheForce 

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Easy and Effective Tabata Routine For Beginners

effective tabata routineWhen it comes to getting active and losing weight, people generally get confused about where to start. So, let’s look at this effective Tabata routine which is simple and easy. TABATA (also called Tabata protocol) is a type of HIIT (high intensity interval training). It originated when a Japanese Scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata and his team from The National Institute of Fitness and Sports at Kagoshima, Japan were working on the fact that shorter high intensity workouts followed by a shorter period of rest can impact the body better rather than longer periods of continuous workout.

The structure of programme is like: 

  • Exercise hard for 20 seconds
  • Rest for 10 seconds
  • Complete 8 rounds

A combination of any exercise can be used in Tabata. It targets a wider range of muscles and helps in burning fat during and after workouts. 

Three major health benefits of this Effective Tabata routine are:

  1. Helps in burning more fat in a shorter period of time
  2. Helps in increasing endurance
  3. As it is high intensity training, it needs to be focused & attentive, thus, increases efficiency.

Before You Begin, Keep in Mind:  

  • A beginner has to first check his/her flexibility, efficiency and endurance before picking up the sets of exercises
  • Make sure to complete a dynamic warm up before you begin this easy and effective Tabata routine.
  • You can choose a group of 3-4 exercises for a week and then add some other exercises one by one depending upon your stamina.
  • Don’t do exercises in a hurry. Rather do it in proper posture and manner.
  • Always keep a stopwatch with you.

Exercise To Include In Your Tabata Routine  

There are basic 10 exercises which you can include in your Tabata protocol when you are planning to start. These are:

  1. Burpees: Toughest among all exercises and increases endurance, strength & power. It is most effective but for a beginner can be placed at last.
  2. Lunges: Can be included in beginners protocol & difficulty level can be increased once you are comfortable in traditional lunges.
  3. Jump Rope: It is an effective and portable form of exercise and can be included in the beginners list.
  4. Squat Jack: It combines two bodyweight exercises which are squats and jumping jacks. Can be safely included in the list.
  5. Tabata Sprints: It starts with 20 seconds of sprints followed by 10 seconds of walking, jogging or rest.
  6. Push Ups: One of the most simple and familiar exercises which can be included in the list.
  7. Super man: This will strengthen the back and core muscles and can be included in the list.
  8. Plank jack: These are simple. The difficulty level can be increased at one’s comfort ability.
  9. Mountain Climbers: Very effective for legs and most suitable for beginners.
  10. Windshield Wipers: Easy to do and can be included in the list and variations can be done later.

From the list above, you can choose any 4-5 exercises and start practicing according to the Tabata protocol and always start with high energy and not in a hurry.

For more effective workouts and to learn more about fitness, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to our live, interactive classes on GOQii PRO, where our experts will guide and motivate you in real time. Book a class now from the GOQii App.

#BeTheForce 

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Do Your Muscles Turn Into Fat When You Stop Weight Training?

musclesBeing indoors for this long has given people a lot of time to do some research. If you have been researching fitness, weight training and muscles, I’m sure the thought of  – “will my muscles turn into fat if I stop weight training” has crossed your mind. While you might watch your fitness levels, maintain a healthy weight and improve strength, etc, it is equally important to understand what happens once you stop weight training in order to preserve muscle mass. 

What Do Muscles Mean? 

Muscle is a tissue in animal bodies. Their main purpose is to help us move our body parts. When a muscle is activated via exercise, it contracts, making itself shorter and thicker i.e. it grows in size.

  • When you exercise, your body does not create new muscles. Instead, your existing muscles grow larger and stronger.
  • With regular exercise, muscles also develop more mitochondria (this is where biochemical processes of respiration and energy production occur in the cell). The result is larger and more muscle mass.
  • When you stop weight training/adopt a sedentary lifestyle, then the increased blood flow previously needed to fuel your cells during exercise is no longer required, so your body begins to contract and reduce the size of your capillaries. As a consequence, muscles shrink and decrease in mass.

Points To Consider 

Muscle cells and fat cells are different structures and are not interchangeable at all. They will become smaller and weaker if you stop weight training because they lose muscle mass. Although, it will not happen in a short period of time as the process of losing muscle mass is slow and gradual which may take  4-6 weeks. Fat may be produced if your diet provides your body with more calories than required based on the activity levels you maintain.

You can preserve and maintain your muscle mass by keeping yourself active. By active I do not mean hitting the gym everyday but by just walking in between breaks, using the staircase instead of the lift, stretching your body every 2 hours, walking while being on a call instead of just sitting at one place, walking after every meal whether it’s your main meal or just snacks in between and obviously by eating a well- balanced healthy diet.

Keep an eye on your protein intake because the protein requirement of your body is directly associated with building and losing muscle mass as well. Don’t overtrain as this can also lead to decreased muscle. Leaving weight training alone should not be blamed for decreased muscle mass. 40-45 minutes of exercise 5-6 days a week is recommended and 1 day should be dedicated for rest and recovery.

We hope this article helps you. For more useful information on muscles, strength training, etc. check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE, interactive workout classes by experts on GOQii PRO within the GOQii App. 

To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

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Tips To Eat Smart During Diwali & Avoid Weight Gain

Eat Healthy During DiwaliWith the long Diwali holidays ahead of us, there are sure to be outings, guests visit and dinner parties among other celebrations. More often than not, we end up indulging in sweets and other sinful foods and then feel guilty, which in turn makes us look for easy and quick ways to shed off those extra kilos. But, the unfortunate part is that we end up resorting to all the wrong ways of shedding that extra weight which again has a YO-YO effect. But don’t worry! We got a few health tips that will help you eat smart during Diwali!

Tips To Eat Smart During Diwali 

  • If you plan to go out, don’t go on an empty stomach. Eat a small snack before you head out. Choose snacks like boiled corn, mix veggie salad, a fruit bowl, sprouts, veggie soup, yogurt with crushed nuts, whole wheat bread sandwich, etc. This will keep you full and prevent binging/overeating when you are out.
  • If one meal goes for a toss, make sure the rest of the meals are absolutely on track. For instance, if you have a dinner party, make sure your meals through the day such as breakfast, lunch and mid meals are balanced and healthier.
  • Sip water frequently throughout the day. It will keep you hydrated and will also satiate false hunger.
  • Pick healthier desserts. Choose dry fruits, fruits, kheer, phirni, shrikhand (you can make it using hung curd), dark chocolates, til or peanut chikkis, dink laddoos (gum arabic), etc. over any other sugar-loaded sweets. Sweets made out of jaggery or organic honey are good to go. Remember, we need to take care of the portions too.
  • Choose baked food items over deep fried ones.
  • Compensate: It’s true that saying “NO” when you are offered sweets by your loved ones, especially during this festive season, is going to be difficult. Don’t worry! Pick one, eat it mindfully and enjoy the eating experience. Now you know what to do next. Compensate for your extra caloric intake in your following meals. More fibre (salads, veggies), good amount of proteins and lesser carbs.
  • Go easy on the alcohol. It’s a major dehydrator and contains empty calories. Choose red wine over any other hard drinks. Sangria would be the best option here (cut fruits in red wine).
  • Be a health-conscious host. Serve snacks like dhokla, masala peanuts, unsalted nuts and dry fruits, sprout-chaat, fruit salad, idlis, baked chaklis, etc. Avoid serving soft drinks or artificial juices. Lemon water, jal jeera, flavoured milk, spiced buttermilk, fresh fruit juices, etc. would be some better options here.
  • Firecrackers are going to pollute the air. The pollutants (free radicals) have an easy access to our body as we breathe. Neutralize the free radicals by consuming adequate antioxidants through colourful fruits, berries and vegetables.
  • Last but not the least, don’t forget to work out! Workouts would kick your body’s metabolism in high gear, helping you burn calories faster. It’s best to get your workout done before going out for a party. The spiked metabolism would help you burn better when you eat at a party.

We hope you have a great Diwali and these tips help you celebrate a happier, healthier and guilt-free one! If these tips help, do let us know in the comments below.

For more on healthy living, check out Healthy Reads or get some more tips directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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