Health Trends For 2021 — Make It Your Best Year Yet!

If you're like many others, you're hoping 2021 is WAY different than 2020. Why not make that hope a reality with some of the top health trends for 2021?

Don't worry! You don't have to starve yourself or spend hours every day working out.

If you're wondering what the top health trends for 2021 look like, they aren't as intimidating as you might think.

Health and fitness may seem a little different this year with COVID-19, the usual flu season, more lock-downs, and continued working from home.

But you can still get in the best shape of your life!

Learning about effective health trends for 2021 can help you and your family achieve optimal health this season! Ready to make this your best year yet?

Want some more sustainable ways to better your health? Try these New Year’s health goals you can actually achieve!

20 Health Trends for 2021

Immune Health

Having a strong immune system is more important than ever.

Your body has natural defenses, or immunity, that wards off illness and disease. If you do get sick, your immune system helps you recover quickly.

There are several things you can do to boost your body's immunity.

Examples include eating more fruits and vegetables, consuming a well-balanced diet, getting regular exercise, sleeping at least 7-9 hours each night, and taking immune-boosting dietary supplements (zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D, elderberry, echinacea, medicinal mushrooms, probiotics, etc.).

Fill half of each plate of food with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with fiber-rich starches (corn, peas, beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, whole grains, etc.) plus protein foods.

Add olive oil, other plant oils, avocados, nuts, seeds, or additional heart-healthy fats.

Home Workouts

Home workouts are important health trends for 2021 for numerous reasons.

Having at-home exercise options makes it easier to work out daily — especially if your favorite gym is closed, the weather gets rainy, snowy, or cold, or you're simply tight on time.

At-home workouts might be as simple as choosing treadmill running, stationary biking, elliptical machine workouts, free weight lifting, rope jumping, stair climbing, or any of the amazing workouts on the Fit Mother Project YouTube channel!

This video will help you create your own home workout plan for weight loss and toning!

Plant-Based Diets

Studies show that plant-based diets offer numerous health and wellness benefits.

Examples include weight loss, reductions in body fat, and a lower risk of inflammation, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

You don't have to follow a strict vegan meal plan to reap the many benefits associated with plant-based diets.

Simply cut back on or eliminate red and processed meats, or eat vegan meals certain days of the week.

Increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, nut butters, and other plant-based fats (olive oil, avocados, etc.).

Air Frying

If you love the flavor and texture of fried foods but want to eat cleaner to improve your health, consider getting an air-fryer!

It's similar to an oven. Air fryers contain a powerful fan and can roast or bake foods until crispy without batter or oil used in deep frying.

By choosing air fryers instead of deep fryers, you can reduce carbohydrates and total calories in your favorite foods!

Consider air frying homemade veggie chips, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, pumpkin seeds, or other nutritious foods you love!

Sleep

Sleep is NOT overrated, and now more than ever people realize how important a good night's rest really is.

In fact, sleep is one of the most popular health trends for 2021.

Getting enough sleep strengthens your immune system, keeps your appetite in check, improves cognitive function and mental focus, and reduces your risk of overweight, obesity, and chronic diseases.

Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night (more if need be).

Head to bed at the same time each night, sleep in a cool dark room, don't consume caffeine late at night, reduce stress, and don't go to bed hungry or too full.

Bodyweight Training

Believe it or not, you don't have to lift weights or spend hours in the gym to reap the many benefits associated with strength training.

Bodyweight training exercises are some of the most popular health trends for 2021!

Examples include pushups, sit-ups, leg raises, triceps dips (dip between two chairs), squats, lunges, squat jumps, alternating jumping lunges, step-ups, box jumps, calf raises, planks, plank jacks, and shoulder touch planks.

Combining aerobic exercise with bodyweight training is one of the best ways to increase muscle definition and strength without leaving the comfort of home!

These 10 bodyweight exercises are easy on your joints and require ZERO equipment!

Meditation

Meditation is a stress reliever you might consider trying as a popular 2021 health trend.

Studies show that meditation can reduce depression, anxiety, stress, and pain.

Consider a meditation app or simply relax on a comfortable chair, couch, or bed.

Close your eyes, breathe naturally, and allow your mind and body to relax, refresh, and re-boot.

Aim to meditate daily, or twice daily if it helps you better overcome stressful situations.

Wearable Technology

Wearable technology that tracks health and fitness progress, or keeps you motivated, is another top health trend for 2021.

Examples of fitness trackers and health apps to consider include the Garmin Forerunner, Apple Watch, Athlete Beast Sensor, Fitbit Charge, Oura Ring, or ASUS VivoWatch BP.

These and other types of wearable tech can track calories consumed and burned, miles, steps, blood pressure, heart rate, sleep, and much more!

Setting goals and tracking progress over time is an excellent way to stay motivated and healthy long-term.

Yoga

Yoga is another important health trend for 2021.

It's been popular for a while but never goes out of style for numerous reasons.

Studies show some of the many benefits associated with yoga include increased strength and flexibility, disease reduction, better blood sugar regulation, increased mental energy, mood improvements, and lower rates of depression and anxiety.

Medical-based yoga programs often pair strength and flexibility training with breathing, meditation, and mindfulness to optimize physical and mental health.

Consider in-person yoga classes, online yoga programs, or yoga apps to incorporate yoga into your everyday routine!

Virtual Fitness Training

Virtual fitness training (online workouts) is one of the top health trends for 2021.

One reason is because of COVID-19 and the other is related to convenience (and time savings) associated with at-home training.

You can alter virtual workouts daily from the comfort of home, without ever feeling bored!

Consider fat-burning virtual fitness training to tone up and get on the road toward better health today!

This full-body workout can be done at home with no equipment!

Wellness Coaching

Finding a highly trained wellness coach can help you make effective lifestyle changes you can maintain for a lifetime.

Studies show that wellness coaching increases self-accountability, goal-setting, and healthy behavior changes.

It helps you shed excess pounds (if weight loss is your goal).

The Fit Mother Project offers personalized meal plans, fat-burning workouts, and online health coaching support to increase your chance of meeting health and fitness goals in 2021!

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a trend that's been around for a while — and it's not going away anytime soon.

Research indicates that HIIT is highly effective for reducing body fat, even more so than moderate-intensity continuous aerobic training.

HIIT consists of bouts of high-intensity exercise paired with periods of lower-intensity activity.

Complete HIIT workouts by running/jogging, cycling, swimming, stair climbing, or using an elliptical or rowing machine.

After you warm-up, complete about 1 minute of high-intensity exercise followed by 1-2 minutes of lower-intensity bouts. Alternate between the two for at least 20 minutes.

This 15-minute HIIT workout for women can be done at home with no equipment!

Optimal Brain Health

As more and more people realize the importance of exceptional brain health, it's no surprise that this topic is one of the most popular health trends for 2021.

Optimizing brain health consists of proper nutrition, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, regular exercise, sleeping at least 7-9 hours each night, and taking dietary supplements as directed by your doctor.

They might recommend you try omega-3 fatty acids, multivitamins, probiotics, choline, herbal supplements, or other dietary supplements.

Avoid recreational drug use, prescription drug misuse, smoking, and excessive alcohol intake.

Improved brain health means better cognition and mental alertness, with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.

Outdoor Training

COVID-19 has made outdoor training more popular than ever, as it's one of the top health trends for 2021.

Get outdoors, regardless of the weather, to stay active and get your daily dose of vitamin D from sunlight.

If you live in a cold climate, consider snowboarding, cross country skiing, ice skating, hiking, sledding, or snowshoeing with loved ones.

Get proper cold-weather outerwear to ensure you feel comfortable outside during the winter months.

During warmer seasons, try cycling, jogging, kayaking, rollerblade skating, swimming, training for a race, or using an outdoor exercise app.

Recruit friends and family to join you!

Exercise Apps

Exercise apps are more popular than ever as they can structure your workouts, keep you motivated, and help you avoid the same exercises day after day.

Fitness apps allow you to set health goals and track progress over time.

Examples of popular exercise apps for 2021 include Peloton, Daily Burn, Nike Training Club, Beachbody, 8fit, Jetfit, Yoga Studio, and many others!

Find an app that matches your personalized workout needs, preferences, and lifestyle.

Hormone Therapy

Hormone replacement therapy is a good way to reduce unwelcome signs of aging — such as fatigue, unplanned weight gain, low metabolism, reduced muscle mass, diminished sex drive, depression, and thinning hair.

Your doctor can monitor hormone levels periodically to determine if they are within a normal, healthy range.

If not, hormone replacement therapy might be an option for you or your spouse to look better, feel better, gain energy, lose weight, and boost confidence.

Looking for signs you're a healthy woman? Try these 7 health tests you can do at home!

Free-Weight Strength Training

Free-weight strength training is another top health trend that's easy to back in 2021.

You can easily store free weights at home for much less money than gym memberships or expensive weight machines.

You can reap the same muscle-building, fat-burning results by using free weights instead!

Examples of free-weight exercises to consider include squats, lunges, calf raises, biceps curls, triceps extensions or kickbacks, bent-over rows, upright rows, bent-over reverse flys, front raises, lateral raises, plank rows, standing shoulder press, and weighted Russian twists.

Home-Grown Foods

Growing your own food is another top health trend for 2021.

This makes sense as gardening helps you burn extra calories, ensures the foods you grow and eat are organic, and saves you time and money despite rising food prices.

Consider indoor gardening during cold winter months and grow fruits and vegetables outdoors during warmer seasons.

Or, consider creating your own greenhouse!

Getting chickens that produce eggs is an excellent way to access free, organic, protein-rich eggs all year long.

Your kids will love helping you take care of your new “pets”!

Is fruit good for weight loss? Learn about the best fruits for dieting!

Health Outcome Measurements

Measuring health and fitness parameters is another top health trend for 2021.

Doing so makes it easier to set goals, track progress over time, get healthier, and achieve long-term success!

Health outcome measurements you can track include body weight, waist circumference, minutes of physical activity, type and quantity of food you eat (or calories consumed), blood pressure, and blood sugar.

Your doctor can help you track blood cholesterol, hormones, and nutrient levels.

Track your health parameters in a journal.

Aim to achieve blood pressure of less than 120/80, blood sugar of 140 mg/dL or lower, a waist measurement of fewer than 35 inches (for women), and total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL.

Your doctor might set different health goals based on your baseline levels and risk factors.

Set an ideal body weight goal. This might be your lowest adult weight or a healthy weight based on your height and general guidelines.

If you weigh more than you'd like to, aim to drop 1-2 pounds weekly until you reach your goal weight.

If you need assistance, consider the Fit Mother Project 30X (FM30X) weight loss program designed for busy moms of all ages! It's simple, yet highly effective.

Healthy Living Programs

Joining a healthy living program for women is one of the best ways to stay on track with health and fitness in 2021.

Doing so keeps you motivated and offers the structure needed to stay on track with healthy habits long term.

The Fit Mother Project has helped hundreds of thousands of people get fit, lose weight, and stay healthy for life.

Upon joining you receive fat-burning workouts, custom meal plans, online health coaching support, newsletters, recipes, and much more!

In addition to getting on board with the top health trends for 2021, sign up for a Fit Mother Project free meal plan and workout to continue on your journey toward exceptional health!

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on health trends for 2021.