The Diet and Fitness Trends *Everyone* Was Googling This Year
Trends in the diet and weight loss industry change almost as quickly as fashion trends, and this year has been no different, with the workout and diet stars of 2015 quickly being discarded in favor of the latest and greatest - and sometimes weirdest - ways people try to shed pounds. To find out exactly what people are into these days when it comes to fitness and nutrition, Google mined their search-engine data and came up with the most-searched-for terms of the year.
The Top 10 Diet Trends
1. GOLO The GOLO Diettakes the top honors for most-searched diet trend of 2016, yet it seems to have flown mostly under the radar with little media coverage. This diet focuses on managing your levels of insulin, the hormone your body uses to turn sugars from your food into fuel for your body. GOLO promised to do that with meals designed around the "metabolic fuel matrix" to be low in in processed foods and sugars. The diet also suggests you buy their proprietary supplements.
2. Taco Diet. Tuesday, heck, taco everyday - sounds like a dream, right?. Similar to the pizza diet (#8), the Taco Cleanse promises weight loss from eating one of your favorite foods exclusively. They feature passover tacos, dessert tacos and even tacos designed to grow your beard… at which point you'll realize the whole book is satire, poking fun of the diet industry and its nonsensical quick-fixes. It's heartening, frankly, to see a (hilarious) joke about our cultural dieting obsession take the number-two spot on the most-searched list of ways to lose weight.
3. Military Diet substitutions. Also known as the "3-day diet," the Military Diet requires followers to eat a very low-calorie diet for three days followed by four days of normal healthy eating. Meals during the three days are strictly controlled with small portions of simple, unprocessed foods like toast, bananas and a hard-boiled egg. Proponents say you can lose up to ten pounds in a week - if you can stick with it. Ironically, the fact that the Google search result included "substitutes" may indicate that people are perhaps getting sick of eating the same few foods over and over again.
4. Atkins 40. The latest incarnation of Atkins, the diet that first popularized the low-carb lifestyle, the Atkins 40 diet is based on one rule: Eat 40 grams of net carbs per day. Net carbs are the total grams of carbohydrates in your food, minus grams of fiber and sugar alcohols (calorie-free sugar substitutes). Bring on the bacon, cheese… and oodles of Atkins-branded food products. Kim Kardashian swears by it.
5. Ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet focuses on eating primarily fats with moderate protein and very little (if any) carbohydrates. It was first developed as a way to help epileptics manage their symptoms, but quickly became a popular diet for people without epilepsy thanks to the speedy weight loss associated with it. The restriction of carbs puts the body into "ketosis," a state where the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbs. Proponents swear it helps them not just lose weight, but gain energy and even cure other illnesses. Experts caution against it, however, saying the extreme diet can cause numerous health problems.
6. Dissociated diet. No this isn't a meal plan for people who like to mentally check out (although that could be fun, too). The Dissociated Diet was invented way back in 1911 but has recently become popular again for it's food combining "science." It emphasizes eating certain foods while avoiding others to make thing easier on your digestive system and maximize health effects, including weight loss. The biggest rule is to never eat acidic foods (like meat and cheese) with alkaline foods (like bread and pasta) - so you can kiss your steak and potato dinners good-bye. They also recommend spacing out every meal by at least four hours. Confusing? Yes. But it's been around for over 100 years, so it certainly has some staying power.
7. The Wild Diet. Critics are going wild for this diet plan, which focuses on ditching all processed foods for grub (and grubs) the way nature made it. Adherents eat foods like wild salmon, fresh vegetables, local eggs, and even chocolate. Abel James, creator of the Wild Diet, promises that as long as you avoid anything artificial, you'll be able to "feast all day yet stay lean and healthy."
8. The pizza diet. In a strange variation of the mono diet trend, people are now eating just pizza (which is one food but technically made up of a dozen other foods) to lose weight. As you might expect when eating nothing but a single dish, it has shown some positive results, with both men and women reporting pounds dropping off. But before you decide this is your dream diet, don't mistake weight loss for health. There is no research on the long-term health effects nor data on how long people keep the weight off after they start eating other things.
9. The Dukan Diet. Think of the Dukan diet as the father of low-carb diets. Similar to other low-carb plans, Dukan emphasizes eating high-protein, high-fat meals while restricting carbs. To do this, you move through four progressively less restrictive phases, eating from a list of 100 permitted foods.
10. The mono diet. 2016 was the year the banana went big, thanks to Freelee "the banana girl" and other proponents of subsisting entirely on one single food. So-called "mono diets" - the practice of eating just one food or one type of food (usually a fruit or vegetable) - have existed for centuries but gained recent popularity thanks to their promises of super fast weight loss and the simplicity of having to remember only one diet rule. And it's not just bananas. Illusionist Penn Jillette credited eating nothing but potatoes for his 100-pound weight loss and Matt Damon confessed he ate only chicken breasts to drop weight for a role. But while this may be popular among dieters it definitely isn't among health experts.
The Top 10 Workout Trends
1. CIZE. The CIZE diet and workout is the latest offering from fitness giant Beach Body and ironically bills itself as "the end of exercize" (get it??). Headed by the charismatic Shaun T (previously of Insanity fame), it's a dance workout and accompanying diet plan that promises big results and big fun. It features three levels of dance workouts that are so legit, they tout Chili from the singing group TLC as a superfan. Is this markedly different from other dance cardio workouts? Perhaps not. But it certainly looks as fun!
2. Rotator cuff exercise. Injuries to the rotator cuff - the part of your body that allows your shoulders full movement - are very common. So it makes sense that people would want to know how to strengthen that very important, very fragile body part. Curious how to strengthen yours? One exercise that really works is the deep swimmer's press.
3. 8-minute back workout. Your back is made up of five major muscles, so doing one exercise isn't going to hit them all. But it doesn't take long to work your entire back - just eight minutes, in fact, according to numerous workouts.
4. Steve Reeves workout. Never heard of Steve Reeves? Even if his name doesn't ring a bell, chances are you've seen him. He was an actor and professional bodybuilder in the 1950s and '60s, and he starred in a number of films and was named Mr. Universe in 1950. His training methods have recently gotten new interest as people are becoming tired of the supplement - and training - heavy modern bodybuilding workouts and looking for more "classic" ways to train. Reeves had a very sensible three-day-a-week weight lifting schedule that hit all body parts.
5. Triceps workout. Oprah first made us all aware (or at least put a name to) "arm flags" - the part of the arm that hangs down and, if you're really lucky, "keeps waving even after you stop." To combat this, you need to tone your triceps muscle, the muscle that runs down the back of your arm and controls any extra flapping. There ain't no shame in your arm flag game, but if you're interested in tightening up try these 7 Simple Workout Moves for Sexy, Toned Arms.
6. Leg exercises. Legs are amazing. They jump, run, walk, squat, dance, leap, and kick, all while looking gorgeous in jeans, skirts and even pajamas. So of course people are interested in taking the best possible care of them, which means leg workouts are some of the most popular ones around. Fortunately, there are lots of good ones to choose from. A favorite? These 5 moves will get you kickass legs in just 15 minutes.
7. Shoulder exercises. Want to rock your sleeveless party dress this New Year's? (Or rock the climbing wall?) Best strengthen your shoulders. Start with this super quick shoulder workout you can do at home.
8. Ab workouts. A flat stomach is the holy grail for many women when it comes to fitness, so of course ab workouts made the list. But a strong core is good for so much more than looking good in a bikini! Your abdominal muscles protect your back, help you carry your kids, balance in yoga, load groceries into your car, and can even make your sex life hotter. Thank your abs for all they do for you with this six-move ab routine.
9. Ectomorph workout. An ectomorph is a person whose natural build is long, lean, and thin - think Olympic marathoners and runway models. This may sound ideal, but the genes that make them fast and able to lose weight easily also make it difficult to put on muscle.
10. Forearm exercises. Be honest: Who doesn't want a crushing handshake? Nothing says "I own this room" like a confident smile and a strong grip. One way to increase hand and arm strength is by working your forearms, a tiny body part most women forget about.
Follow Redbook on Facebook.
You Might Also Like
