Top Diet and Fitness Trends to Look For in 2022
With every passing day, the awareness and consciousness regarding taking care of one’s health are increasing. Earlier, experts in the health domain used to share their knowledge with others via books and different modes of communication. With the advent of the Internet and social media channels, this activity of knowledge transfer changed drastically.
At present, there is no dearth of resources when it comes to health-related subjects, such as physical fitness, mental state, emotional well-being, psychological condition, weight loss, chronic diseases, diet plans, fitness trends, and more. A sharp rise has been witnessed in the number and quality of resources after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, wait before you think about pressing the backspace button or closing the tab as this blog post is neither meant to show the difference in the health scenario pre- and post-covid (although that’s a topic of huge interest) nor it has been written to highlight the importance of health during covid and post-covid times. We are aware that you must have read a ton of articles and blog posts surrounding these themes by now.
We have curated this blog post with the objective of shedding light on top diet trends and fitness trends that will rule in 2022. Every new year brings with it new viewpoints, ideas, and predictions related to health. These pieces of opinion and advice are given by considering the results of the diet, weight loss, and fitness trends of the past.
How the Year 2022 Will be Different from Health Perspective?
It’s an unarguable statement that the most common topic discussed in both online and offline conversations at the time of New Year is ‘New Year Resolutions’. The majority of the people make new year resolutions with one of the most common of them being the ‘resolution to lose weight’. It can be described in other ways as well, for example, ‘become fit’, ‘achieve ideal weight’, ‘reduce weight’, ‘get healthy’, ‘reduce waist size’, ‘achieve fitness’, ‘get healthy’, ‘eliminate diseases’ and so on.
However, this resolution gets broken as quickly as it gets formed. In fact, it won’t be incorrect to say that some of the highest broken new year resolutions are related to health. If you are one of those who have made any such resolution, you should equip yourself with the necessary information regarding the diet trends in Australia, popular diet trends, latest weight loss trends, and fitness trends around the world to stay motivated.
But it’s worth mentioning here that 2022 will be quite a different year from previous years from the health standpoint. The reason behind this claim is the change in the outlook of people towards health. The true importance of the phrase “Health is Wealth” was understood by people throughout the world when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Before that, a vast majority of the people were indifferent towards their health. They were quite oblivious regarding the fact that health matters a lot, irrespective of their age, geographical location, occupation, the standard of living, personal interests, and other factors. So, now, people don’t need an excessive push to become motivated. All they need is a little information to reach their health goals.
Best Diet Trends for 2022: Read this Before Making Your Diet Plan
When you search for diet meals, diet ideas, weight loss friendly foods, easy diet trends, or hot diet trends in 2022, you obviously look for diet trends that work or weight loss trends that work. You might find a ton of health and fitness blogs, health and fitness videos, and health and fitness podcasts in Australia that offer a plethora of tips and tricks that aim at helping people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Some people rely on a single source and fail to obtain an adequate amount of information before making changes to their diet. On the other hand, some people follow too many resources and get overwhelmed. You should take the middle road and follow just enough resources that have the credibility to achieve the objective of preparing a weight loss meal plan for yourself.
- Ketogenic Diet
- The Mediterranean Diet
- Vegetarian Diet
- Vegan Diet
- Intermittent Fasting
The ketogenic diet, which is more popularly known as the ‘Keto Diet’ is one of the most highly discussed and debated over diet solutions. Originally developed as a cure for epilepsy by Dr. Russell Morse Wilder during the 1920s, the keto diet went on to become a preferable diet meal plan.
In research conducted on diet and diabetes, it was identified that when healthy individuals consume a diet that is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, their liver starts to produce three water-soluble compounds, which are collectively known as ketone bodies. At the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Russell Morse Wilder coined the term ‘Ketogenic Diet’ to refer to the diet plan made by using this research.
When people adopt a food consumption habit wherein the consumption of fat is high and the consumption of carbohydrates is less, the body goes into a metabolic state of ketosis. In simple words, the body uses fats for deriving energy and not sugar or glucose found in carbohydrate-rich foods. As result, a significant reduction in body weight is observed in a short duration of time.
The types of food items usually taken while being on a ketogenic diet are meat, seafood, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, plain Greek yoghurt, fatty oils, low-carb and fibrous vegetables, fruits low in carbohydrates, avocados, berries, dark chocolate, and unsweetened tea and coffee. Starchy vegetables, high-sugar fruits, juice, honey, baked products, breakfast cereals, and grains are avoided at all costs.
Although the keto diet has faced criticism from many food, nutrition, diet, and health experts all over the world on various occasions, it just seems to be a favourite pick of many people who begin their weight loss journey. One of the reasons why the keto diet is criticised is because it limits the amount of different nutrients (minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates). Fatty foods taken in excess can damage the body in the long run.
In recent years, the Mediterranean diet has gained a lot of popularity in the arena of weight loss diet trends. Believed to be developed by the American physiologist Ancel Keys and his Margaret Keys, the Mediterranean diet has proven to be beneficial in the case of many people. This diet became public when the Keys couple explained it in their book “How to Eat and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way”.
As you might have guessed by now, this diet has gotten its name due to the fact that it represents the eating habits and patterns of the people living in the Mediterranean countries. It was once declared as the best diet by the US News and World Report with regards to seven important parameters. These parameters are short term weight loss, long-term weight loss, cardiovascular disease prevention, diabetes prevention, other health risks, and ease.
People who follow a weight loss diet plan by using the Mediterranean diet consume foods that contain whole grains, vegetables, and seafood. This diet typically includes healthy and plant-based food items, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans, whole grains, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. The consumption of meat products should be in moderation.
Practised for centuries in many parts of the world and proven through various studies and experiments as ‘a diet that really works’, the vegetarian diet is a classic diet for weight loss. As the name suggests, this diet involves eating only those food items that are vegetarian.
Thus, consumption of meat, seafood, and poultry is strictly prohibited under the vegetarian diet. This diet provides the body with all the necessary nutrients, namely carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and fat. Grains, legumes, lentils, beans, fruits, vegetables, berries, oils, nuts, seeds, dry fruits, and dairy products are taken by people when they are on a vegetarian diet.
Soy butter and nut butter are also included in the diet. Some people even include eggs in their food while being on this diet. So, they eat different dishes prepared from eggs. Many people turn to a vegetarian diet when they look for a diet to reduce cholesterol, a diet to lower blood pressure, a diet to lose stomach fat, and a diet to eliminate various other health problems.
Now, even though the vegan diet has received a lot of attention in the past few years, a large number of people still remain confused when it comes to understanding the difference between a vegan diet and a vegetarian diet.
Therefore, in order to remove the confusion, we have tried to summarise the vegan diet in a few words here. Vegan diet = Vegetarian Diet – Any product that comes from animals and other living beings. So, along with meat, poultry, and seafood, dairy products and honey are also avoided. Vegans stay away from milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, ice cream, milk powder, condensed milk, and other dairy products. Basically, they rely only on plant-based nutrition.
Many people take a weight loss challenge online and follow the vegan diet strictly, especially when they want a diet to lose weight fast. The biggest reason behind adopting a vegan diet and the whole vegan movement is to reduce the cruelty practised by humans against animals and other living beings.
By now, intermittent fasting has become immensely popular all over the world. Millions of people have achieved spectacular results by following the intermittent fasting method. Every list of weight loss trends is incomplete with the inclusion of intermittent fasting.
This diet plan appeals to both types of audiences – One that believes in science related to body and health and the other that believes in the ancient practice of fasting for staying fit and active. The intermittent fasting diet involves dividing the twenty-four hours of the day into two intervals: 1) Fasting and 2) Eating. During the fasting interval, you have to fast, i.e., not eat anything.
But it does not mean that you have to eat all throughout the eating interval. Depending on the hours in the eating interval and your appetite, you can consume food and beverages once or more than once. The different timeframes that can be chosen for intermittent fasting are 16:8, 14:10, and 12:12. If you choose the 16:8 timeframe or schedule, you have to fast for 16 hours. In the remaining 8 hours, you can eat.
Usually, it’s preferred to finish your last meal between 6 to 8 PM. The reason behind it is a well-known fact that food consumed during evening and night time is difficult to digest. You can even opt for a different model of intermittent fasting in which you can keep a fast for two whole days in a week. These days should not be consecutive to one another. Thus, you can eat five days a week.
Here, we have discussed five healthy diet trends that have proven to be excellent diet trends over the years. But there are a few other diet trends as well that can become the preferred diet trends of 2022. Flexitarian diet and the Ornish diet are examples of this.
Before resorting to extreme measures like weight loss medication or weight loss surgery, you should definitely follow a weight loss diet plan. If you are someone who starts a diet but gives up soon, you should try some tricks, such as reading or speaking weight loss affirmations. You should prepare a diet food list and stick to it.
So, if you have to achieve your physical fitness goals, you should concentrate on both diet and exercise. Though we have used the term ‘exercising’ here, it does mean that we are referring to some particular exercises only. We mean that you should conduct some kind of physical activity for a considerable amount of time every day. We know that you might be thinking “I cook daily – that counts as an exercise” or “I run so many errands daily – it’s enough to burn my calories”.
But sadly, daily tasks like doing laundry or cooking are not enough for giving your body the amount of physical activity it needs. You should have a physical fitness plan that supplements your diet so that you can attain your health-related targets. Physical fitness refers to the active state of the body. Reaching a particular bodyweight is not enough. Your body should also meet other parameters like stamina and flexibility.
Therefore, you must follow a physical fitness program that suits your specific requirements. You can take into account factors like your ideal weight, your current weight, your lifestyle (physically active, moderate, or sedentary), calories you want to burn, and your diet plan.
Get the Physical Fitness Benefits with these Fitness Trends in 2022
Physical fitness and COVID is a subject everyone should be interested in as the pandemic taught everyone to treat their bodies with care and respect. The fast-paced life that people lead in this era has compelled them to ignore their health completely. Except for some people who give importance to their health, all others have forgotten the fact that they won’t be able to enjoy their fast-paced life if they become unwell.
People followed various health and fitness trends during COVID to stay fit and prevent getting infected. Some of these trends are age-old and validated by specialists, whereas the others are derived from ancient methods and cultural practices.
Fitness trends that will rule in 2022 are going to be those trends that have proved their effectiveness time and again. These are not those trends that become the hot favourite fitness trends on social media or promoted by companies selling health and fitness supplies for making profits. These trends are the ones that will become top fitness trends this year. We have curated the list of fitness trends for 2022 by observing the health and fitness industry in the past few years.
- High Intensity Interval Training
- Strength Training or Resistance Training
- Cardiovascular Exercise or Aerobic Exercise
- Low-Impact Workout or Low-Intensity Workout
- Mind-Body Training or Mind-Body Exercises
High Intensity interval training or HIIT has been popular for many years. If you use the Internet to find resources related to HIIT, you will notice that numerous health and fitness YouTubers and health and fitness influencers Australia create content to teach and guide people about this amazing form of exercise.
As the name suggests, this physical training has high intensity but also frequent intervals. You can carry out physical movements that require energy and pace. These activities are performed for a short duration like ten minutes or fifteen minutes. Then, you can relax for a while. Again, you have to perform exercises and then take a rest. This whole routine can be carried out for an hour or more.
Tabata, cardio HIIT, full-body HIIT, HIIT for runners, and HIIT with weights are different types of HIIT workouts. Each of the workouts involves various kinds of exercises and physical movements. You can do several rounds of HIIT exercises at once depending on your stamina, schedule, and targets.
Just like high intensity interval training, strength training, which is also known as resistance training or weight training, has also turned out to be one of the most preferred fitness trends over the years. This form of physical training is aimed at improving the strength of muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons.
Resistance force is applied to the muscles of the body by performing certain exercises and movements. It is believed that the muscles will work to overcome this resistance, and thus, become stronger. Though it’s named strength training, it provides other benefits as well. Resistance training helps to improve joint function, balance, mobility, flexibility, posture, and stamina.
While some exercises require the use of weights and other pieces of equipment, others can be performed by using the weight of your body. Strength training enhances your overall health and well-being by making your daily tasks easy to carry out.
Also known as aerobic exercise, cardiovascular exercise has remained the top choice of many fitness enthusiasts throughout the years. This type of physical fitness program involves carrying out activities that increase your heart rate. The goal is to bring your heart rate into the target heart rate zone. The target heart rate zone varies from person to person depending on their age.
Due to the increase in the heart rate, you can burn more calories than usual. The extent to which your body responds favourably to a cardiovascular workout depends on many factors, including your age and gender. Cardio or aerobic exercise includes performing some movements for a short duration of time.
Some of the activities that can be made a part of the cardiovascular workout are walking, running, jogging, cycling, climbing stairs, dancing, swimming, jumping jacks, squats, burpees, and lunges. These activities don’t require any equipment. If you want to take the help of equipment, you can use a jumping rope, pedal exerciser, treadmill, exercise bike and more.
When you do a low-impact or low-intensity workout, you have to conduct activities that are low in intensity or impact. Thus, people suffering from health-related problems like chronic pain in joints, neck, back, and other areas can also perform low-intensity exercises.
These exercises may be low in impact in terms of exertion created over the body, but they are not low in impact in terms of benefits to the body. The gentle movements provide relief from pain and burn calories. Some daily life activities like walking when carried out in a different manner become good low-intensity movements. Walking faster than normal, i.e., brisk walking is a low-impact exercise.
While doing a low-intensity workout, your heart rate works at 80 per cent to 95 per cent of your maximum heart rate. Along with brisk walking, a few other exercises that you can perform in your workout are Zumba, rowing, and yoga.
Owing to the level of stress that is experienced in today’s time, attaining peace of mind has become one of the main priorities of many people. Therefore, exercises that can provide benefits to mental health along with physical health are liked by a large number of people.
Moreover, the pandemic led to an increase in anxiety, fear, and other negative emotions amongst people. Mind-body exercises can help reduce these negative emotions to a great extent and make you feel calm and relaxed. These exercises combine body movements with mental focus so that you can use your thoughts, intent, and feelings to increase the overall strength and flexibility of your body.
A few mind-body exercises are yoga, Pilates, qigong, tai chi, walking meditation, and breathing. Each of these exercises can be divided into different categories, types, or movements. For example, there are numerous breathing exercises, such as alternate nostril breathing, belly breathing, and mindful breathing.
The physical fitness trends mentioned above will definitely be included in fitness trends at work, fitness trends for adults, and many other lists of fitness trends of 2022. Along with them, some other types of physical training that might occupy a place in the heart of people are functional fitness training (which is a type of strength training) and CrossFit training (which is a form of high intensity interval training).
You should choose the fitness training option that suits your needs the best. Along with the aforementioned factors, you can also consider factors like comfort, illnesses (if you are suffering from any), space and equipment available for a workout, resources available for coaching, and stamina for making this decision.
The whole health and fitness world has changed drastically in the last two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mindset and perception of people towards health have evolved significantly. The term ‘health’ no longer makes people visualise lean body, six-pack abs, slim waist, or thin legs. They don’t think that healthy or fit people are the ones who have a perfectly toned body.
Nowadays, health has become a subject of household discussion. Until a few years ago, fitness programs or diet plans were considered components of the life of only rich people or celebrities. But now everybody wants to stay fit and free from chronic diseases so as to prevent themselves from getting infected with deadly diseases.
People have now understood that adopting a healthy lifestyle can make their life better in many ways. They can live a longer and more stress-free life by getting regular exercise. They have realised that eating the right foods and staying physically active is the key to a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life. This realisation has brought several health and fitness trends into the picture.
Current Weight Loss Trends, Diet Trends and Nutrition Hacks
Diet culture and fitness trends post COVID will most likely include the following elements that people embedded in their lives to fight against the covid disease. These elements can be rightly called the future of the health and fitness realm of the world.
- Foods that Help in Increasing Your Immunity
- Online Fitness Classes and Yoga Sessions
- Free and Premium Health and Fitness Apps
- Content Available in Different Formats
- Return to Simplicity in Food and Health
- Buying Gym Equipment and Smart Wearables
The biggest consideration that people make these days while following any diet plan or making any diet chart is immunity. It’s no longer a secret that a strong immune system is necessary to keep harmful pathogens at bay. Numerous health-related problems can arise because of coming into contact with viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms.
You might think that the emergence of the pandemic was a one-time event, and so, in the future, you don’t have to worry about protecting yourself from any pathogen. But it’s not entirely true. You cannot ignore the fact that food adulteration and contamination, water pollution, air pollution, and other issues are only bound to increase.
In the wake of this fact, you should be more serious than ever to increase your immunity. People have started ensuring that their food contains an adequate amount of nutrients that can strengthen the immune system. Those who have low immunity take extra care in this regard. If you are following a special diet or suffering from any disorder, you should seek the advice of a diet nutritionist.
Before the pandemic, a very little percentage of instructors and institutes teaching exercises, yoga, and other techniques required for maintaining fitness used to conduct online classes. The reason behind that is that most people prefer attending such classes in person and not via the Internet.
But the pandemic changed their views as they had no other option than to perform physical exercises and yoga at their home. For some patients, who suffer from risky diseases and health conditions, getting some physical activity as advised by their doctor is important. In order to take care of their health, they got used to working out at their home. People use both indoor and outdoor spaces of their home for this purpose.
While some trainers arrange live classes, others record what they want to teach and share the links of the recordings with their students. Platforms like YouTube, Zoom, and WhatsApp are used for the purpose of conducting fitness classes online.
Many mobile applications compatible with both Android and iOS mobile phones were launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experts and professionals in the health industry launched these applications to meet the needs of people all around the world.
Although such apps existed before the pandemic as well, their importance and demand got increased tremendously when people were stuck at home due to the lockdown. Even many fitness instructions and centres built dedicated health-related apps to stay connected with their customers. So, the health and fitness centre that you joined before the pandemic could guide you during the pandemic as well. All you had to do was just the download their application on your mobile phone.
On these apps, you can also find live and/or recorded fitness classes. Some of the applications are available for free, whereas others require you to pay monthly charges. Not to mention, some apps have both free and premium versions to offer greater freedom to interested people.
Health and fitness books, magazines, blogs, and videos were available earlier as well. But the pandemic led to the increase in content related to diet trends, fitness activities, and other related topics. More online sources came into existence for sharing valuable and informative content. The best part is that the majority of this content is available for free.
Information is available in various formats, such as blogs, infographics, articles, videos, case studies, podcasts, videos, and more. Many people started consuming these content pieces to expand their knowledge base regarding diet and fitness.
Even those diet and fitness professionals who can’t afford to get their website or mobile application built can use platforms like YouTube and Vimeo for creating for free. Dieticians, nutritionists, instructors, trainers and other professionals in the health and fitness industry also arrange health and fitness related events online by using suitable platforms and tools.
People have returned to simplicity and basics in food, nutrition, wellness, and other aspects of their health. They have understood the importance of natural ingredients (i.e., fresh vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, spices, and fruits) in cooking. They also recognise the significance of superfoods like nuts, dry fruits, and seeds.
As people were compelled to cook at home and not depend on outside food during the lockdown, they have now made home-cooked meals a part of their daily life. Even busy people and working professionals try to take out time for cooking at home.
Along with home-cooked food, people have also started adding certain ingredients to their meal plans. They have started consuming herbs that are recommended in many cultures for boosting immunity and improving overall health.
The temporary closure of the gymnasium, swimming pools, yoga classes, and other fitness centres forced the people to invest in equipment that they can use at their homes. As soon as online shopping resumed, people started to buy home gym equipment.
Adjustable dumbbells, elliptical, treadmill, stationary bicycle, kettlebell, bench press, and exercise ball are some of the equipment that people buy for keeping at their home. They also buy other items like jump rope and a resistance band. Another category of products that people got interested in during the pandemic is smart wearables.
Smartwatch that has features, such as calculating steps while the person is walking is an example of wearable technology products in healthcare. Another example is a wearable fitness tracker that monitors heart rate.
While some people might label the trends listed above as ‘quarantine fitness trends’, they are definitely going to become evergreen trends. The reason behind this is that these are not health and fitness myths or fads. They have become a part of the life of many people all over the world.
Working out from the comfort of their home by using live online classes, recorded sessions, and other content saves people a lot of time and hassle. They don’t need to spend time commuting to and from health centres. By taking care of your health, you can live a long and happy life.
Conclusion
It cannot be stressed enough that people now have a newfound love for their health. This year, i.e., the year 2022 will witness many more drastic changes in terms of health, wellness, diet, and more. We can say that because experts are constantly striving to improve the physical, psychological, and emotional health of people. Thus, the definitions of overall well-being and holistic life will get more and more refined throughout the year.
We created this blog post with a lot of enthusiasm. Hope you feel the same level of enthusiasm while reading it. If you are interested in sharing any other piece of information related to this topic, please feel free to use the comment section below.
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Priya Bhagtani is a passionate content writer with an experience of more than five years in this field.
