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4 Effective Ways To Track Your Fitness Progress To Meet Your Goals

Track your progressYour workout goals may vary greatly – from reducing a certain amount of weight and gaining muscles, to getting a toned body, a flat stomach and/or a lot more. Here’s where measuring your progress comes in handy. If you track your fitness progress over a course of time, you can take note of significant data that you can act upon and decide the next steps towards attaining your goal. If you’re unsure or don’t know how to track your fitness progress, we’ve got you covered!

4 Ways To Track Your Fitness Progress

Tracking is really important, not only for your progress, but to keep you motivated as well. It helps you stay focused and decide the next steps of your fitness journey. Here are 4 effective ways in which you can track your fitness progress:

1. Body Composition

Body Composition measurement determines your overall body fat percentage. A healthy body composition is one that includes a lower percentage of body fat and a higher percentage of fat-free mass which includes muscles, bones and organs. Body composition can provide you with a clear idea about how much lean muscle and fat you have.

This test can be used to check whether you are gaining muscles and/or losing fat. This test can be an eye opening experience because it reveals the ratio of fat to lean muscle tissue, the percentage of fat in the body, the metabolic rate (BMR) and BMI.  It can easily be done at gyms, health clinics and so on, at a nominal price.

How much Fat is OK?

           Women                     Men
Essential Fat             10-12%                     2-4%
Athletes             14-20%                     6-13%
Fitness             21-24%                     14-17%
Acceptable              25-31%                      18-25%

2. Girth Measurement

This is a wonderful way to track fat loss! Reduction in body fat is usually represented by the inches you have lost. It is one of the easiest and home-based methods to assess your progress. You can use a standardized flexible, flat measuring tape to measure different parts of the body, including your chest (across your nipple line), neck, abdomen (at your belly button), hips (measure the widest part of your buttocks with your feet together) and your calves (widest/largest part), among others.

As per ICMR, Abdominal obesity (AO) was defined as a waist circumference (WC) ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women. Isolated generalized obesity (IGO) was defined as a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 with a waist circumference of < 90 cm in men and < 80 cm in women.

3. Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms (kg) divided by his or her height in meters squared. On a BMI calculator, the number you get may fall into one of these four ranges: obese, overweight, normal weight or underweight. However, this number does not consider your muscle mass vs fat mass, which means muscular individuals, can end up with a higher BMI that may place them in the obese category. So, you should use BMI just as a beginning point.

As per WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO):

Nutritional Status

BMI
18.5 Underweight
18.5–24.9 Normal weight
25.0–29.9 Pre-obesity
30.0–34.9 Obesity class I
35.0–39.9 Obesity class II
Above 40 Obesity class III

And 4th is My Favorite…

4. Selfie Zone

A full body Mirror selfie is a perfect way to measure/compare your progress from a specific time period. Nothing can be better than a visual explanation. One gets to know his/her own progress by comparing the two selfies of BEFORE and AFTER.

Reasons to Track Your Fitness Progress

  1. It allows for modifications and indicates when and where you need to make changes
  2. It lets you manage your workout regimen and time more effectively
  3. Helps to drive direction and focus to your workout program
  4. Makes it easier to attain your goal
  5. It’s quite easy to go overboard when eating your meals. But, if you have clarity about your fitness progress, it will help you decide on the right portion size
  6. Tracking your progress with regard to your workouts acts as a strong motivator that keeps reminding you of the fitness goals you wish to achieve

We hope this article helps you! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more on health and fitness, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to live classes on GOQii PRO, where our experts will guide you on the correct form and posture in real time while making sure that you are well motivated! You can book a class now from the GOQii App.

To get workouts and tips directly from your GOQii Coach, sign up for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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5 Reasons Why You Need To Focus On Nutrition Over Calorie Counting

Nutrition over calorie counting

It’s funny how in an attempt to lose or gain weight, we begin counting every minute calorie intake, diligently doing the math, when we hated the subject in school. But the math isn’t too complicated, right? To lose weight, you go into a deficit where calories out > calories in, and the exact opposite if you want to bulk up. 

While we’re doing all this math, reading up articles on the internet, browsing through YouTube channels and relying on self-taught nutritionists and dietitians, are we really asking the right questions? Are we using food to only fill in whatever we can in our given calorie budgets? Are we using food to provide the right nutrition to our body? Are we even choosing the right foods while we’re at it?

Why You Shouldn’t Rely On Calorie Counting 

While counting calories to lose/gain weight might be the most popular and followed method, overdoing it may not be the correct one. It’s quite dangerous as it can lead to many nutritional deficiencies. 500 calories could look like 2 big slices of pizza or a plate with rice/roti, a bowl of vegetables or pulses with curd and salad. The goal can be attained with both, but are we making the right choice that’ll help us stay healthier in the long run? So, rather than counting calories, it would make more sense to look at the nutrients on your meal plate.

Why You Need To Choose Nutrition Over Calorie Counting  

Let’s look at a few reasons why the focus should be on nutrition over calorie counting

  1. Food Quality Matters: Calories do not look into the quality of food you are eating. A low-calorie food with well-balanced macro and micronutrients is considered healthier than a high calorie, nutritionally poor food. For instance, an apple may have the same calories as a cookie, but we know which one is healthier.
  2. Nutrient Dense Foods: When you follow calorie counting, one tends to avoid the natural calorie dense foods like nuts, seeds, ghee, oils, and avocados, etc. which are very healthy and important for good metabolism and maintaining healthy weight.
  3. Thermic Effect of Food: The number of calories used to digest our food is different for various food groups, so this can alter the effects of calorie counting to some extent. Food items made of processed and refined products are digested faster and are likely to spike up our sugar levels, than those made of natural and unrefined forms, which will take up more energy to break down and get digested and keep the sugar levels stabilized.
  4. Bioavailable Calories: Recent studies have indicated that many foods have less bioavailable calories than originally thought of. For instance, almonds, peanuts and pistachios all seem to be less completely digested, providing fewer calories, almost 20% less than what is mentioned on the label. This may be true for other foods with tough cell walls. So, calorie counting may not actually be accurate here.
  5. Effect of Food on our Satiety: Different foods have a different effect on our satiety levels, some give us a feeling of fullness for longer than others. So all foods are measured on a scale called the satiety index, which is basically the measure of the ability of the foods to reduce hunger, increase feeling of fullness and reduce calorie intake for the next few hours. Eating foods with a low satiety index will make you hungry faster than foods with a high satiety index. 500 calories from an ice cream/doughnut will make you hungry sooner than 500 calories from sprouts/beans and vegetable salad.

So, the bottom line is to make smart choices with your food and focus more on the nutritional aspect rather than calorie counting. Once you pick nutrition over calorie counting, you will notice more satiety, improved energy levels, reduced inflammation, you’ll be able to maintain healthy weight and witness an overall improvement in your health! 

We hope this article helps you make healthier choices. For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads. If you want to know more about what kind of food you should incorporate, based on your weight loss or weight gain goals, speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! 

#BeTheForce 

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How Neelima Kulshrestha Managed Diabetes & BP Issues with GOQii

Neelima Kulshrestha The decisions we make, no matter how small, sometimes have a big impact on our life. Have you ever been at a crossroad where you were unsure of a certain decision, but once you took it, it changed your life for the better? Our Player Neelima Kulshrestha was faced with such a decision and as she took it, her life changed for the better. Here’s how her health story unfolded with GOQii. 

Multiple Lifestyle Diseases and Medications 

Neelima is a 38 year old housewife who resides in Delhi. After marriage, her life only revolved around her family and children, leaving no time for herself. At 34, she developed Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Obesity, High Cholesterol, and Triglyceride issues. She was using medications to manage all these issues. 

She had to regularly keep a check on her BP as it would rise constantly. After a while, every time her arm was strapped to check her BP, she would suffer terrible pain in her hands. To help her, her husband began researching to find something like a smartwatch that could monitor her BP 24×7. Upon combing the internet, he found GOQii and was pleased with the reviews. He figured this could be the best option and bought the smart watch from the GOQii Website in Feb 2022. 

Taking A Decision To Make A Positive Lifestyle Change 

“Initially the device was purchased only to monitor my BP. I was not keen on going in for a coach and hence, never activated the code for a 3 month free coaching service,” said Neelima Kulshrestha. But, her husband insisted that she should try the coaching service out as it was free for 3 months. After much resistance, Neelima Kulshrestha finally activated the coaching subscription. In fact, she even asked her husband to attend the intro call and discuss her health with the coach. 

She had joined GOQii with the intention to lose weight. She thought that Diabetes and high blood pressure would be lifelong companions. She was not sure if both these issues could be managed with proper lifestyle changes.

For the first month, Neelima says it was quite a task to connect with the coach and she was not regular. It was during the 2nd month that she gave it a serious thought and said to herself, “Just try and see what happens and what changes the coach is likely to bring about.” Now, she says that, “I have no regrets.”

Once her GOQii Coach slowly started introducing new habits into her lifestyle, she started witnessing the change. She had started feeling active as she started following all the habits that her GOQii Coach recommended – whether it was having vegetable juices or switching over to millets or exercises. She never gave any excuses in spite of having a small child to look after.

As part of her daily routine, she now walks around 20k steps daily as well as exercises regularly. Her GOQii Coach helped her maintain portion control as well. 

Even her husband has seen the changes. Along with her GOQii Coach, Neelima also credits her husband for her change in lifestyle saying, “ If it was not for my husband and his motivation, I would have never been able to do this ever!”    

What Changes Did Neelima Kulshrestha Observe? 

“Neelima’s sugar level has spoken volumes about her dedication towards a healthy lifestyle,” says her GOQii Coach Madhu Soni. Her fasting sugar in April 2022 was 195 and PP was at 150. As of now, her fasting sugar is at 96 and PP at 102.  Her HbA1c has dropped from 8.6 to 6.4 in the month of June.

“When she began her journey with GOQii, her weight was 104kg and now, she weighs 82.4kg. Although her BP has not reached the benchmark, I’m sure we’ll see success there soon as well,” says her GOQii Coach Madhu Soni. 

Recently, Neelima spoke to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal on an episode of GOQii Health Stories, where she discussed her journey and the changes brought about by her GOQii Coach Madhu Soni. You can watch the full episode here:

As of now, Neelima Kulshrestha has been an Elite Player for 199 days and is in the top 6% of Active Players on the GOQii Platform. Owing to the changes she witnessed by making small lifestyle changes, she is now inspiring her family and friends to take up a healthy lifestyle as well. 

If this story inspired you or if you want to reduce your HbA1c levels and manage lifestyle diseases, reach out to us by downloading the GOQii App and subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

For more inspiring stories, check out Healthy Reads. 

#BeTheForce 

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Exercise Hacks To Stay Fit At Home

exercise hacksWe’re almost at the end of monsoons but with a decent amount of heavy rainfall still out there, we can understand if you’re worried about stepping out to hit the gym. Don’t let that general lethargy of being home get you down. If you’re worried about getting that workout burn, we’ve got some exercise hacks that will get your blood pumping! 

Exercise Hacks to Consider 

  • Brooming & Mopping the Floor: With no maids to aid you, this is a task you’ll have to do yourself. Sweeping and mopping has its own benefits. For one, it can be used as a workout if done in a squat position and two, cleaning the whole house will keep your activity levels up! 
  • Water Bottles: can be used as dumbbells for your regular exercises. Exercises which simply can be done with water bottles are squat with a front raise along with lunges. Ensure your knees don’t go beyond your toes when you squat or lunge. Then biceps can be trained by doing front raises, side raises, curls, etc.
  • Wall Sits: Walls of your living room can be utilised to train or tone the body. With the back flat against the wall, arms straight, try to sit as if sitting on a chair and hold yourself for 30-60 secs or more if possible. Slowly and gradually increase the holding time. This is a good exercise for glutes.
  • Staircase Workout: Now, with the staircase, we have a number of exercises that can be done: 
    1. Stair Jogging: Start climbing stairs as if you are jogging, then come back down but keep your knees soft. Repeat for 3-4 times.
    2. Box Jump: Keeping feet shoulder-width apart, jump off the ground with both feet on the step into a squat position (knees should be bent to better absorb the shock of that jump), step down one foot after the other. Do 10 reps or more if needed.
    3. Bent Knee Push-ups: Simple push-ups by assuming yourself in a push up position with bent knees and feet crossed at back. Keeping your head, neck and back in one line. Slowly lower yourself towards the stair bending your elbows. Then push back to the starting position. Inhale as you go down and exhale on your way up.
    4. Mountain Climbers: In a plank position with hands firmly on the stair and head, neck and spine is in a straight line. Bring each thigh towards the chest one by one, keeping knees towards the elbow.
  • Blanket Battle Ropes: Hold the both ends of your blanket in each hand and move your arms in an up-down motion for a minute by bending your knees. Ensure your knees don’t extend beyond your toes. Keep your head, neck and spine in a straight line.

Apart from these easy exercise hacks, you can also try yoga, Surya Namaskar and other body weight exercises to keep yourself active. Variations and other home workouts for everything mentioned in this article can also be found on GOQii Play – demonstrated by fitness experts. 

You can also read up more about home workouts on Healthy Reads or tune in to live classes on GOQii PRO where our experts will guide you on the correct form, posture and make sure that you are well motivated! You can book a class now from the GOQii App.

#BeTheForce 

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 […]