“Follow your dreams, work hard, practice and persevere. Make sure you eat a variety of foods, get plenty of exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”
Sasha Cohen
It’s been a few weeks since I joined the GOQii lifestyle campaign, and I have to admit I am enjoying it. It’s worth every step I take, with self motivation in every breath. YES, I still reach out for the GOQii band every morning, quite religiously, even before I grab my cell. Small changes go a long way, and I have to thank the sweet online coach for that. For her patience too.
The days have been BUSY, not a moment to rest. The headless chicken dance has taken over, where most of the day whizzes by in a blur. What keeps me going are the small, simple things that make a huge difference. It’s the advice from Elena, that she touches base everyday, that she gently cajoles, that she offers choices.
She gently reminds me to start each day with lime in water, to make sure I reach for walnuts. Drink more water. Are you staying well hydrated? She walks the talk. Summer’s here, so she’s promised to send me a new summer cooler recipe everyday. Here’s one, and it uses basil seeds.
They are fascinating little magical seeds. They swell up beautifully after 10 minutes of soaking. But she doesn’t just leave you with instructions to use the seeds. She explains why they are good, what their properties are etc. And these are the small things that matter. Madhuli sent me a bag of basil seeds recently. I was so thrilled to finally use them! Again, and again ….Too exhausted to skip or exercise, then eat more fibre says the coach. So here I am … sprouts, lentils, salads, smoothies. Summer is perfect to sprout whole lentils. 1 cup of dal sprouts into a lot. Someone asked me the other day on FB how my sprouts go so long. Seriously, they just happen. If it helps, here’s what I do
[print_this]Recipe: Whole Lentils Sprouted Salad
Summary: A protein and fibre rich salad that is great for summer. It’s filling, and quite nice stirred into a bowl of yogurt too. Plan 2 days in advance for the lentils to sprout. Serves 3-4
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes {plus soaking and time to sprout} Ingredients:
1 cup whole moong dal {whole green lentils}
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
Fresh herbs {coriander, mint}, finely chopped
1 English cucumber, finely chopped
1-2 green chilies, finely chopped {optional}
Juice of 1 lime
Himalayan pink salt to taste
Method:
Soak the beans overnight in plenty of water.
Drain the next morning, then leave them for a day in a sieve lined with muslin, kept over a glass bowl in a cool dark corner. By now they should be sprouting.
< Rinse and repeat for another 24 hours…that’s it. Then refrigerate. They just grown and grow. Maybe it’s the temperature. We are quite warm at 30C these days.
Toss everything together in a large bowl. Serve immediately, or chill until required.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Lao Tzu
Numbers have meant nothing to me. So far I mean. The number game and number crunching was meaningless. From how many blog visits, to blog rank, to page views, for me all unnecessary. Then I hit 10K!! Yes I fell into the number race and how! That 10 thousand refers to the number of steps I hit on Pi Day, the 14th of March!
This 10K is a special 10K and I owe it to GOQii Life.What is GOQii Life you might wonder. It’s a fitness program with a cool GOQii band with a complete 360 degree experience to stimulate your body, mind and soul and helping you make a permanent shift to a happier life through a healthier lifestyle.
For folk like me who want to get to a healthier lifestyle{read including exercise}, this is a GREAT campaign. It’s not about dieting to kill yourself, it’s not about going on a no carbs diet The campaign is about a lifestyle change, a change supported by a company that credits you with karma points. Karma points that you earn while you walk and meet your own set goals. To give back to society, GOQii translates those points into money and donates it to a charity of your choice. A win win situation no matter how you look at it. A GOOD FEEL to it too!
I began timidly as with anything new. Exercise and me are old enemies but my new pair of Sketchers stare at me all day. With renovation on at home, a million other targets to meet, recipes to be developed, grocery, dog, laundry all seem the perfect excuse to shy away from exercise. I know I got to embrace this too…but heck, it’s a tall order!
Actually was a tall order until I ‘met‘ Elena, my sweet online coach. Was it music to my ears when, after a long chat understanding my daily diet, she said “Wow, aren’t you a healthy eater despite being a food blogger! You don’t need changes to your diet. What would you like to achieve, what are your goals?” Ahem … to begin that dreaded walk at least I muttered, ‘those shoes‘ staring me in the eyes! She said, Great, I’ll nudge you once in a while. She did more than that. She motivated me, and on a day that I was dog tired, I reached out for those shoes. I had been on my feet all day, I had hit 7.5K steps …yet 10K called my name. Stepped out, it was raining. Almost turned back, but then I just walked on. And on & on. Then came back and took the dog for a walk. Suddenly there was whirring on my wrist. 10K. YES!! I was so thrilled.
I aim to get there 3 times a week. Today I did 9K, and then thanks to Elena a 10 minute stretching video was duly followed! In addition we touch base every morning, she showers me with tips, small changes that I might incorporate – lime, walnuts, breathing exercises …so much! The thing is that you feel accountable when the app is by your side. Accountable to yourself really!
So if I can do it, so can you! I’m telling you if this bag of lazy exercise bones can reach for the fitness band every morning instead of the smart phone, you can too. Do it. There’s a app with it that helps you go along syncing your daily food intake, steps, calories burnt, water too. Which reminds me. I’m drinking 200% more water than before! Yay!
And some of this beautiful fresh water too. Make it, keep a jugful next to yourself, sip along all day long, then make another batch. it’s just flavoured water. Lime, mint, strawberries, kumquats … anything to get me ready for the summer! Are you in? Make a splash!
I’m running a contest on twitter to give away a band. Join right in. All you need is to send in a healthy recipe to @GOQiiLife on twitter. Here’s the thread or find it on my timeline @vindee
