Top 10 Weight Loss Trends of 2018

Ian Clark, Founder of Activation Products on January 2, 2018

Welcome to Community Voices! With these special blog posts, we’re very excited to welcome a handful of health enthusiasts from the Activation Family to share their experiences and some of the discoveries they’ve made on their own personal journeys to better health. We hope you’ll be able to connect, relate and grow alongside our community writers.

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m back to tell you about the latest trends in health, fitness, and weight loss for 2018. You may have read my post from last year, where I went through some of the top trends for 2017.

I pride myself on keeping ahead of all the trends, and sniffing out the latest and greatest things to keep fit and trim. For me, weight loss is only a healthy thing when it’s done by supporting your body with good food and hearty exercise. No fads that are going to give you quick results but hurt you in the long term, please!

So I came up with a list of what I think 2018 is going to be all about. I’m really excited to try all these out and see what helps me achieve my goals!

Eating flowers

I love flowers, especially in the winter time. They’re so important to bring some color and freshness into my house, and to amp up my decor. I make sure to keep them coming all throughout the winter months.

So I was very excited to see Whole Foods announce flowers in food as one of their top trends for 2018. I love this idea because it makes food delicious and beautiful. Adding whole flowers and petals to recipes infuses a subtle botanical flavor into your food, and florals like lavender lattes and bright pink hibiscus teas will make your Instagram feed pop.

Eating flowers contributes to our overall wellness by increasing the plant content of our food. I’m a big fan of Michael Pollan, the author of several New York Times-bestselling books about the intersection of nature and culture. His advice: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” I agree.

I’ve been a plan of elderflower for the last few months, and suggest adding it to waters, teas, and cocktails to up the plant content in your diet.

Middle Eastern food

Of course we’ve all had falafel and things on pitas, but this year is going to be all about really diving into countries like Israel, Morocco, Syria, and Lebanon. I think being aware of other cultures is a critical part of being a modern world citizen, so I’m all about this trend!

Have you ever tried shakshuka, grilled halloumi, za’atar or harissa? If not, this is the year to try them. Other ingredients we’ll see a lot this year include pomegranate, eggplant, tahini, and tomato jam.

This is a great trend for encouraging weight loss because Middle Eastern food uses a wide variety of spices. AP wrote a whole blog post about the weight loss properties of herbs and spices. I use spices as a replacement for salt whenever possible at home, and the health benefits are huge.

Superfood powders

I make sure my body is always getting the most concentrated goodness it can. Multivitamins might be useful, but high potency serums are better.

2017 was all about matcha and turmeric lattes, and the Specialty Food Association’s Trendspotter Panel is adding maca root and cacao to the foods to watch for 2018.

For those who don’t know, maca root is a highly nutritious Peruvian plant that can gain muscle, increase strength, boost energy and improve exercise performance. Cacao is the bean that chocolate is made from. It offers the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits of chocolate with none of the sugar or fat.

The SFA also notes that activated charcoal “is gaining superfood status for its reported detoxifying attributes and is being used as a surprising twist in everything from pizza crust to lemonade to ice cream.” Activated charcoal is made from coconut shells, and is a very effective way to flush toxins out of your system, which I am all for. It’s out with the unicorn foods, and in with the goth!

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Being efficient with workouts is so important when you’re a busy person who wants to keep fit. HIIT workouts are short, usually about 30 minutes long, and have you alternate between bursts of high intensity activity and short rest periods. Think 20 seconds of jumping jacks or burpees, then 10 seconds of rest.

HIIT is great for people who are intimidated by the idea of a long, complicated workout. It’s fast, fun, and burns calories quicker than anything else I’ve tried.

“A high-intensity workout increases the body’s need for oxygen during the effort and creates an oxygen shortage, causing your body to ask for more oxygen during recovery,” Eric Salvador, instructor at the Fhitting Room told the Daily Burn. “This afterburn effect is referred to as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption and is the reason why intense exercise will help burn more fat and calories than regular aerobic and steady-state workouts.”

Drinking less soda

Don’t get me wrong, soda is delicious. But it’s also right up there with fast food as a culprit for obesity. There is absolutely no nutritional value to soda.It’s all packed with sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine. It dehydrates us, causes plaque buildup on our teeth, and slows digestion and blocks nutrient absorption. No thank you.

Fortunately, The New York Times reported at the end of last year that soda sales were down. And here to take its place is a whole range of sparkling beverages that are much better for you.

Whole Foods put soda replacements on their list of top trends for 2018. They’re looking to sparkling waters flavored with plants, like maple and birch water, to be big this year. Also on the up: sparkling cold brew coffee. Delicious and so much more nutritious!

Sugar alternatives

Carbonated beverages aren’t the only thing getting a sugar slimdown in 2018. Sugar alternatives are going to continue to be a hot item this year. I talked last year about jackfruit, the versatile fruit being used as a sweetener. It’s super nutritious and tastes fabulous, so I’m still cooking with it regularly. But the Specialty Food Association Trendspotter panel sees this year showing us even more options besides granulated sugar or artificial sweeteners. On their list: syrups made from dates, sorghum, and even yacon and sun root. All these plants have a lower Glycemic index, which means they’ll be better at helping you control sugar and cholesterol levels. You may also be better at controlling your appetite, and less likely to develop heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

All that goodness, and they’re still so sweet!

Drinking vinegars

I’m very loyal to kombucha, which helps keep all my gut bacteria in balance. But there’s a drink popping up near the kombucha at my local health food store that’s intriguing me: drinking vinegars.

That’s right. You heard. Drinking vinegars. Vinegar is actually fantastic for our overall health. Researchers have found to reduce the rise in blood sugars after eating carbohydrates, which can reduce cravings for carbs in the future.

Plus, Jen McDaniel, registered dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics told Prevention, “When vinegar is combined with carbohydrate-rich foods, the vinegar appears to inhibit the complete digestion of starch. These starches then act as prebiotics, which become food for good bacteria in the gut, supporting overall immunity and digestion.”

Kinda makes you want to try drinking vinegar, doesn’t it? Well this is their year. The vinegars can be very simple, just vinegar, water, and some natural fruit juices. But others offer probiotics and flavors like blueberry lemon and peach ginger. I’m in!

Baby quinoa

Quinoa has been a staple of my cupboard for years, now, but there’s a new kid in town threatening to sweep it away: baby quinoa.

“We’re always looking for something new in the nutrition and culinary world,” Lisa Dierks, RDN, LD, a wellness dietitian at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program told Prevention. “Baby quinoa is that next new and exciting thing.”

I’m really excited to try baby quinoa and see the differences for myself. Baby quinoa has more protein than regular quinoa, which means it helps keep you fuller longer. They also may offer slightly different antioxidants, to help keep those free radicals away.

Fitness for older adults

Getting older doesn’t mean you need to stop taking care of your body. But it does mean that it can get harder to find fitness programs that work for you and your physical needs and abilities.

So it’s great to see that the American College of Sports Medicine has named fitness programs for older adults as one of their top fitness trends for 2018. They surveyed over 4,000 fitness professionals to get these results, so you know it’s an issue that’s on trainers’ minds.

Interested in the new fitness options for more mature folks? Lifeline put together an easy list of exercises to get you started!

Functional mushrooms

You may have tried button mushrooms, cremini, or portobello in cooking already, but what about reishi, chaga, and cordyceps?

These are called functional mushrooms, and they’re traditionally used to support wellness as dietary supplements. They can be high in antioxidants, assist your DNA’s regeneration, and support cognition and memory.

And now these mushrooms are being added to all kinds of things, like teas, coffee, and smoothies. They bring a rich and creamy flavor to the beverages, while bringing health benefits to your body!

So there you have it. My top 10 predictions for weight loss trends in 2018. I’m a big believer in supporting my body with the best whole foods, natural supplements, and efficient exercise to keep it working in top shape. And I think these trends will help with all that! What do you think of these predictions? Have you tried anything trendy so far this year?

And of course I have to mention my perennial favorite product for weight loss and maintenance: black cumin seed oil. I tossed out my garcinia cambogia and forskolin vitamins, because science proves the better option is black cumin seed oil. The Internet Journal of Pharmacology says that this ‘mystery’ seed oil can help to reduce abdominal fat, maintain healthy blood pressure balance, support healthy cholesterol levels and promote blood sugar stability.

And when it comes to choosing a brand, I always go for Activation Products. Their Perfect Press® seed oils deliver the benefits of this amazing seed better than anything else I’ve tried.

This post got the Activation Products team thinking about what might be in store for us in 2018 and they made a video with their predictions. Check it out below (just enter your email to watch)!

Guest Blogger: Veronica Taylor.

Veronica is a 39-year-old entrepreneur living in New York City. Veronica has a passion for staying fit and healthy despite her busy schedule. She loves to share her quick tips and tricks when it comes to natural beauty, health trends and fitness. Veronica lives by the motto that no matter how busy you are, there’s always time to take care of yourself. Her favorite Activation Products include Amaranth Oil, Black Cumin Oil and EASE Deep Soak.

BONUS VIDEO:

We’ve made some predictions about what 2018 will bring in terms of health, fitness and nutrition trends. Watch it, free — click here!

DOWNLOAD

Comments

comments

Please note that the views expressed in comments on our blog do not necessarily reflect the views of Activation Products and are exclusively the opinions of individual commenters. Any experiences described by individual commenters cannot be said to be typical and may not be experienced by all users.

To report abuse, please email [email protected].

<< older post newer post >>