From ‘it fit fits’ eating to mindful exercise, experts reveal the healthy trends to look out for 2017
In the fitness world, strong is the new skinny. The focus now isn’t on losing inches, it’s on gaining strength, power, and performance. Here are the healthy trends to look out for in the year ahead toleave you feeling empowered.
If It Fits Your Macro
Called IIFYM for short, this diet plan allows you to eat any foods you want as long as they fit into your day’s macro-nutrient (or ‘macro’) allowance – that’s the amount of fats, carbs, and proteins a person should consume daily in order to reach their desired physique.
Nutritionist Marissa Liana Beaulne says: “This approach shifts away from the previous ‘eat clean’ diet plans that only allow ‘clean foods’ and minimal ‘cheats’. People are still encouraged to get the majority of their calories from whole, nutrient dense, and unprocessed foods – so it helps you develop positive habits with food, while enjoying what you eat.”
Next level trackers
Wearable tracker tech was 2016’s top fitness trend, and it’s set to become more advanced in 2017. The focus now is on heart rate variability (HRV), which is the measurement of the time interval between heartbeats — the small fluctuations of the heart, not just beats per minute.
The fluctuations can be affected by many things which could be age, body position, the time of day and health status and are also signs of one’s overall health. Mental, physical and emotional experiences can impact on HRV.
Let’s go outside
Fitness guru Bradley Simmonds predicts a rise in outdoor workouts. “Being outside not only boosts our ‘feel good’ hormone, but also increases our exposure to vitamin D, which can improve energy levels and decrease stress.
“Keep it simple by going for a run and include your own circuits with burpees, star jumps and squats. You may even stumble across outdoor gyms, with more and more UK parks now equipped with fitness machines.”
Mindful movements
Virgin Active global yoga ambassador Patrick Beach says: “2017 is going to be the year when people become truly aware of the power of mindful exercise – the positive effect of exercise on mental as well as physical wellbeing.
“We’ll see people gaining a deeper understanding of the connection between their mind and their body, and appreciate the importance of taking care of both.”
