Eat your fill

• The big diet headline of 2005 may be the beginning of the end of a trend. If 2004 was the Year of the Carb-Busters ? with even McDonald?s trying to cash in on the high-protein, low-carbohydrate craze ? many diet experts predict that 2005 will be the Year of the Crash for low-carb mania. ?The plus side of the low-fat to low-carb pendulum is that consumers will finally become clued in to the underlying flaws in the ?good food, bad food? approach to eating?, says Sanghamitra Chakravarti, chief dietician of B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre, Calcutta. The trick, they know now, lies in not eliminating entire groups of food anymore. Hence, weight loss will get back to basics.

• So what will be the new diet buzzword of 2005? What diet tomes will replace books on Atkins? Nutritionists predict the rise of the ?new satiety diet?. The satiety diet involves eating more of the foods that make you feel full but don?t make you fat. Nutritionists in the US are calling it ?volumetrics?. Basically, you feel fuller on fewer calories. Diet experts think it?s an idea whose time has finally come.

Strong to the core

• Exercise will be viewed quite differently.Working on muscle groups in isolation will be on its way out in 2005 as functional fitness will become even more important. It will focus on exercising and strengthening several muscles and joints together to help people perform their daily activities with less pain and discomfort. Time-starved people will continue to seek out effective, yet time-efficient workouts pushing health clubs and trainers to offer express circuits and abbreviated routines.

• There will be a rise in outdoor training and sports. Big gyms will still be popular but smaller studios will make a comeback. Swimming, biking, and running triathlons will explode as popular means to fitness. Yoga and Pilates will always have a place. It is still at a peak, but it won?t be as feverish in 2005 as it was for the last couple of years.

• Core-conditioning is the fitness buzzword. This trend ? all about strengthening and stabilising the muscles of your midsection ? began bubbling up a few years ago. It was introduced to the fitness world by physical therapists, but it took fun equipment and classes to make it the hottest thing in the health club. And core conditioning isn?t just about sports: A stronger midsection helps with more everyday tasks, such as carrying the groceries or toting a recalcitrant two-year-old.

Foam rollers and whatsits

• Expect to see more creative gadgets to strengthen your core in the coming year. We are not talking only about the big, bright stability balls but about a whole lot of other must-haves that should hit our fitness clubs this year. Foam rollers, one fairly new toy that?s already on the way up takes the current craze, the BOSU ball one step further. The BOSU ball is a device that you stand on, while with the foam rollers, you put one under each foot. Beginners can start with foam rollers (which look a lot like pool noodles) sliced in half, to give them a flatter base to balance on at first. And guess what?s back? The hula hoop! And it?s not just for kids anymore. This time it?s weighted to add challenge. It adds an element of play and fun to core stability work.

Get a life

• Lifestyle changes in 2005 will include an increase in family participation in outdoor fitness activities. More families will look for diverse and creative ways to be active together such as outdoor adventure activities such as cycling as parents realise that it is important to show children that being active can be a fun and regular part of daily life.

• Participation in physical activities for socialisation and motivation will become more popular. Not everyone participates to compete. Joining a training group just to finish a marathon, triathlon or adventure race is a great way to meet people or include family and friends in a fit and active lifestyle.

• Exercise will become a larger part of preventive care for older adults to help fight osteoporosis, reduce the risk of everyday injury, and maintain independence. Senior-friendly workout choices ? like walk a mile at your own pace, sit-to-be-fit exercises, stretch-and-relax, aqua-calisthenics and the like will be on the rise.