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Why You Should Eat Slowly For Good Health & Better Digestion

Eat SlowlyMary Roach, in her book, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal describes the digestive system as a highly elaborate inside of the tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus.

Let’s address an important facet of pre-digestion: Chewing – a much neglected lifestyle habit.

What Happens When You Eat Slowly?

The chewing process serves as the first step to proper digestion. Two interesting things happen while chewing: Firstly, Ptyalin, which is required for digestion of carbohydrates is secreted. The other thing is that the brain kicks into action and recognizes whether you are chewing proteins, carbohydrates or fats and accordingly tells the stomach to secrete the right enzymes.

It takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to send out signals of fullness. When you eat slowly, it allows ample of time to trigger the signal from your brain that you are full. Feeling full translates into eating less.

Speed eating, gorging and binge eating majorly contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Studies confirmed that chewing every bite for a longer period of time helps you lose weight and improve digestion. This is because it provides more time for your brain to receive the signal. Therefore, the slower you chew, the lesser you eat and the more satisfied you are. Eating fast promotes weight gain and makes you feel out of control of your eating habits.

Follow These Simple Steps! 

  • The very first step to mindful eating is to choose the smallest plate in your house. Take that plate and serve your portions and sit
  • Sit down to eat in a calm environment with minimal distractions. It is your time with your food. Don’t eat while driving, watching TV, while texting, etc.
  • Add 1 exchange of raw or cooked vegetables right before the main meal and use a fork to eat it. Try setting a minimum number of chews per bite
  • Look at your plate and see how colorful it is and what good it is going to do to your body. Sense the aroma and question yourself about its nutrition
  • Take a fork or chop stick to eat your meal. If you’re eating roti-sabji, take very small bites of the roti and more vegetables. Chew 30 times or more per bite and gulp it down
  • Set your time to eat. At least 20-30 minutes for each meal and preferably even longer at dinner. This will set your relationship with food
  • When you eat slowly, it improves your health in more ways than one. It leads to better digestion, better absorption, reduced bloating, acidity & constipation as well as aids weight management

So eat slowly, chew properly and live healthy! We hope this article helps you chew your food for better digestion and absorption of all those precious nutrients. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

For more health tips like this, check out Healthy Reads or speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

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The Right Guidance With Gradual Change – Rishikesh Ayre User Journey

Rishikesh Ayre

Do you want to make a positive lifestyle change but don’t know how? Does it take every ounce of motivation for you to move? Do you need a nudge in the right direction? These are all valid questions and you’re not alone. Sometimes, we want to begin something new but don’t know where to start. Our player Rishikesh Ayre, faced the same situation and found the answer with GOQii! 

Life Before GOQii  

Rishikesh Ayre is a 28 year old software developer working in Coimbatore for the past 3 years. After college, when he began work, he had put on a lot of weight. He purchased a bicycle but couldn’t find the motivation to ride it. He says that he wanted someone who would question him, push and prod him to get active and reprimand him if he indulged in unhealthy habits too much. In short, what he needed was a person to monitor his health in a timely manner and tell him what to do and what not to do. What he needed was a coach. 

Rishikesh Ayre Discovers GOQii 

As a part of his work, he was involved in a marketing research project on fitness gadgets and apps when he chanced upon GOQii. The personalized coaching service grabbed his attention. The human element and personal touch of a health coach intrigued him the most as such a service-based model was literally unheard of back then. He joined GOQii in November 2017 and has continued his journey since then. 

Introduction to a Healthy Lifestyle 

For the first 3-4 months, he was not very keen on interacting with his GOQii Coach. He had no definitive goals and no idea where to start. Then he got a new coach, Mubasheera in early 2018 and that changed everything. Coach Mubasheera was more proactive and gave him a clear roadmap on how to proceed. 

His GOQii Coach noticed that his meals were heavy with bread as he consumed 5-6 slices every day in the morning coupled with evening snacks at the office cafeteria. He was asked to cut down on his bread intake. The second change was to take short walks after lunch, avoid the elevator and use stairs whenever possible. 

He finally began riding his bicycle for 4km a few days during the week. Now, he rides 17-25km every day. He calls this his “Me Time”. It helps him clear his mind and uplift his mood. He also joined swimming classes which he attends during the weekends. Coach Mubasheera has asked him to keep varying his routine so it doesn’t get monotonous. 

Staying Fit During the Lockdown 

The lockdown, though painful for other reasons, helped him lose another 5 kgs. Before the lockdown, he used to go for a lot of outings and weekend parties with friends. All that had to stop and he was restricted to home-cooked, healthy meals. Also work from home meant he had the flexibility to do workouts suggested by his GOQii Coach whenever time permitted. He continued cycling near his home. Now he has almost got himself accustomed to the routine of morning workout and evening cycling throughout the week.

What Were The Results?

Thanks to all the efforts put in by him with the guidance of his GOQii Coach, Rishikesh Ayre went from 104kg in 2017 to 78kg now. He says that it wasn’t a painful journey at all. It has been so smooth and informative. He is now better informed and aware of what is good to eat and what needs to be avoided. He has learned about portion size and hunger control. 

What Does Rishikesh Ayre Have To Say About His Coach? 

Due to the long association, Coach Mubasheera has become like a friend to him. He says they have their fair share of fights and arguments especially over what he can order and what he cannot during weekends. He says, “Sometimes I have to literally click a picture of the menu card and send it to her so she can tell me what I can order. She has instilled healthy eating habits in me gradually and cleverly. For instance, she made me switch from bread-butter to chocos to muesli and now plain corn flakes + banana +boiled egg.”  He also commends her on how she made him give up on his ice cream after meals habit gradually. From ice cream once every 2 days, she switched to flavored yogurt to plain curd nowadays. He says the best part is he didn’t even realize he was giving up on these things. He is thankful to her for being patient and hand holding him gradually through this entire journey towards an active and healthy lifestyle. She has met all his expectations of daily motivation, support and information. 

What Does Coach Mubasheera Have To Say? 

Rishikesh Ayre is very determined and passionate now, but when he had started his journey, he was very fussy and lacked the willpower. We have been together in this weight loss journey for 2 years now. When we began, Rishikesh’s weight was around 103kg, and he has lost 16+ kg in 2 years (current weight is 81kg). The major problem with Rishikesh was hunger control, irregular timings, lots of cravings and binge eating on junk food + lack of physical activity and low stamina. We have successfully managed to include more than 1 hour of proper daily intense workout along with reducing processed food and managing hunger. His endurance and stamina has improved and he can do 20 push ups now (initially he struggled with 11-12). He cycles non step for 2 hours as well.

Rishikesh is a fussy eater (hates milk and is a coffee addict) but after lots of interesting challenges, such as the no sugar challenge, made him reduce 2 tsp of sugar to 1/2 tsp and has begun to include milk to his diet now as well. During the initial part of the lockdown, he suffered from disturbed sleep but that was taken care of with a few sleep hygiene practices. Our long term goal now is to maintain healthy weight and continue with an active lifestyle! 

Does the journey of Rishikesh Ayre inspire you to begin yours? 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.

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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.

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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

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From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]