Innholdsfortegnelse for Jan/Feb 2020 i Men's Health

BRAIN HEALTH: P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D. David Perlmutter, M.D. CARDIOLOGY: John Elefteriades, M.D. David Wolinsky, M.D. DERMATOLOGY: Brian Capell, M.D., Ph.D. Adnan Nasir, M.D., Ph.D. EMERGENCY MEDICINE: Jedidiah Ballard, D.O. Robert Glatter, M.D. Travis Stork, M.D. ENDOCRINOLOGY: Sandeep Dhindsa, M.D. EXERCISE SCIENCE: Martin Gibala, Ph.D. Mark Peterson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S.*D Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., C.S.C.S. GASTROENTEROLOGY: Felice Schnoll-Sussman, M.D. INTEGRATIVE HEALTH: Brenda Powell, M.D. INTERNAL MEDICINE: Keith Roach, M.D. MENTAL HEALTH: Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. Avi Klein, L.C.S.W. Drew Ramsey, M.D. NUTRITION: Chris Mohr, Ph.D., R.D. Mike Roussell, Ph.D. Brian St. Pierre, R.D., C.S.C.S. PAIN MEDICINE: Paul Christo, M.D., M.B.A. SEX & RELATIONSHIPS: Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., M.P.H. Justin Lehmiller, Ph.D. SLEEP MEDICINE: Mary Carskadon, M.D. W. Christopher Winter, M.D. SPORTS MEDICINE: Michael Fredericson, M.D. Dan Giordano, D.P.T., C.S.C.S. Bill Hartman, P.T. TRAINING: Mike…

Q. What does “plant-based diet” mean, anyway? And should I be on one? —EDDIE, Sioux City, IA A. Depends who you ask! Some use it interchangeably with “vegan diet”—plants only, no animal products. Others mean “plant-forward diet,” which includes some meat. “Plant-based” is a pretty mild term. However, it’s being weaponized in the diet wars, with some trying to frame plant-based diets as anti-meat diets. You don’t need to eat meat to be healthy, strong, or fit. But you also don’t need to give up meat. Want to improve your diet? Begin by eating more whole, minimally processed foods. Focus on getting more protein and vegetables. —BRIAN ST. PIERRE, R.D., C.S.C.S, DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE NUTRITION AT PRECISION NUTRITION For more on eating well in the new year, check out page…

THIS IS SUPPOSED to be your moment. January, start of the new year and the new, fitter you. The only problem: It’s harder to find 30 minutes to get your sweat on than you thought. The solution: Learn to “snack” on your fitness. Instead of devouring a full workout, squeeze in five minutes here and there for short segments of exercise—say, a few sets of 20 pushups or a circuit of five squats, five lunges, and a 30-second plank. These tiny doses of fitness—let’s trademark them as “fitness snacks”—help your overall health more than you’d expect, burning fat and building muscle over your entire body. Heck, they may even recalibrate how you view the term workout. CrossFit, group classes, and eight Rocky films’ worth of montages may have left you…

JEFF DENGATE, Runner’s World top dog, shares two winter rules: 1. No cotton. You don’t want to be wet and cold. Merino wool is a good base layer. 2. As it gets colder, wear gloves, shorts, and a tee. When it hits the 40s, add a longsleeved tee. The 30s, add tights. Below freezing, add a jacket. FINISHING TOUCHES Garmin Venu An ultrabright display lets you quickly check heart rate, distance, and more anytime. $400; garmin.com Lululemon Escape and Explore Socks Thermoregulating merino wool keeps feet warm. $24; shop.lululemon.com AO x Tracksmith Charles Blue polarized lenses reduce icy glare. The frames are nonslip. $255; tracksmith.com…

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, while I was doing final sweeps through a book I’d just written, I began to notice that my eyes were having a hard time speeding through the manuscript. That didn’t really bother me, because the protagonist, a big-wave surfer named Greg Long, had such bad eyesight that he had trouble spotting giant waves on the horizon, and my situation wasn’t anywhere near that. Still, this was problematic. I’d always been a speedy reader who didn’t sweat small fonts, and I’d never needed glasses for navigating tricky terrain while mountain biking, surfing, or skateboarding. Yet one night, there I was, barely into my 50s, highlighting typos with a pair of 1.5x readers draped across my nose. I wondered, Is this my future? What was happening to me—and will…

THE FIRST TIME I remember hearing about the concept of not drinking in January, it was with my basketball buddies after a rec game in the East Village in New York City. This was a winter night more than a decade ago, over a table of chicken sandwiches. One guy, who worked in commodities, was explaining to a group of us how, after the excesses of the December holiday season, he liked to take the month off from drinking. To detox. To refresh. To healthify. It felt like a strange secret from a better, more progressive place—particularly coming out in this postgame huddle. That night, the sweaty dude was just full of rarefied wisdom. Nowadays the concept of a sober January doesn’t feel so exotic. In fact, as known by…

PLANNING A sexathon on an anniversary or a birthday may seem cliché—“Dick in a Box” came out, what, more than a decade ago? But that just means you have to be more creative, because a memorable sex session makes for one of the best gifts of all. (Hold the wrapping paper, please.) “Especially in longtime relationships, things can get really monotonous, and having sex around special occasions spices things up,” says sex therapist Kristie Overstreet, Ph.D. “And there can be a really big payoff.” As in, stronger orgasms (for you both!) and increased bonding. But amping up your game for a special occasion can also add pressure. How far do you have to go—in terms of both adventurousness and budget—to give her an unforgettable experience? Relax. You don’t need to…

Start the new year off right by ditching winter fat and shredding yourself like a Winter Soldier with Sebastian Stan’s favorite ab workout. Designed by Don Saladino (@donsaladino on Instagram and the creator of Men’s Health’s Superhero Shred workout video), it’ll help you chisel out your own six-pack. HANGING LEG RAISE Hang from a pullup bar. Keeping your legs straight, squeeze your abs and raise your legs until they’re parallel to the floor. Lower slowly. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 10. BEAR-CRAWL SERIES Get on your hands and knees. Raise your knees off the floor, and take 10 steps forward with each hand. Take 10 steps backward. That’s 1 set; do 3. LANDMINE ROTATIONS Set a barbell in a landmine (or in a towel in a corner). Rotate the…

No matter your challenge—obesity, addiction, debt—you can change your life. It all starts with taking a first step. These 14 comeback kings (and queen!) show you how. ON OCCASION, Tim Mosley will pour a glass of merlot, step through the sliding glass doors of his spacious white Miami home onto a patio perched over Biscayne Bay, and, as evening softens the subtropical heat, gaze out over the waves at the horizon. Known to the world as Timbaland, Mosley has earned this vista. For more than two decades, he has helped propel many of this era’s most successful musicians, including Missy Elliott, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Drake, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake. In his run as a producer, performer, and label owner, he has thrived in the mercurial world of popular music. Yet he…

BEFORE DUSTIN WORTH decided to make a change, he couldn’t remember a time in his life when he was healthy. “As a kid, I was more into playing the saxophone than playing sports, and I didn’t know anything about proper nutrition,” he says. He snacked on too many empty calories. He avoided the scale. Denial persisted. “I was like a person who swipes their credit card but doesn’t look at their statement. I tried to avoid being in photos because I didn’t want to be confronted with the fact that I was overweight.” Worth reached a breaking point in early 2018 when he hit 270 pounds. From the outside, his life looked great. He was married and a father of four, with a good job at Apple, and his photography—a…

WHEN I STARTED transitioning, I thought that I’d start taking testosterone and, boom, I’d stack on muscle and look amazing. But when my appearance began to change, I thought I looked awful. Even though I believe that if you’re happy and healthy you can be content with however you look, that’s not how I felt about myself. At the time, I didn’t have a lot of support in my life, and so I turned inward and more negative. Then I remember thinking, Man, if I’m going to be in this much mental pain, maybe going to the gym and putting myself through physical pain will distract me. I figured if nothing else, the endorphins might make me feel better. I found a trainer who asked me about my goals. I…

EVERYONE EXPERIMENTS when they’re young, Carlos Hernandez thought. That’s what he saw his friends doing. Bad grades and a tough home life led him to drop out of middle school, and soon he filled his free time with partying. Even though, in his 20s, he was married and had two kids, the specter of addiction lurked. A few years later, Hernandez was homeless and nearly hopeless. In January 2019, he went to the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Dallas, where he found treatment. FIRST STEP: Hernandez noticed that one of his roommates at the Salvation Army was looking fitter. “I started asking him a ton of questions.” That’s how he learned that his roommate trained with Back on My Feet, a nonprofit that helps the homeless through running. NEXT:…

ANY DOCTOR will tell you that every guy needs a primary-care provider—a trusted physician who knows you, knows that your dad had a heart attack at age 40, helps you figure out how to tweak your life according to your health history… and heck, knows your name without looking at your chart first. Except that for most of us, that’s not how it goes. First, the doctor never sees us, because the yearly visit has been called off. “There’s no reason for healthy men under 40, or anyone for that matter, to get annual checkups,” says Eric Topol, M.D., a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, echoing the view of the Society of General Internal Medicine. Having an annual exam does not reduce your risk…

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE EXPERTS, ADVISORS, AND READERS WHO BRING MEN’S HEALTH TO LIFE. Keto—lost 100 pounds, and finally working in law enforcement, fulfilling a lifelong dream.Tom Costigan, Washington I came out of the closet at 27.Zach Bruno, New York I quit my desk job and opened up a gym!Andy Fernandez (@andyplankd) I got married at 63!Jay Dzik (@blindeye3.0) 1) Deciding not to care what other people think about me. Freedom at its finest! 2) Getting back on the mat at the age of 43 (after quite a few years away)! I’m training 6 times a week for a kickboxing tournament in March. Anybody who tells you you are too old, well, just don’t listen to them!Chris Dinsdale (@chris.dinsdale.7) I stopped smoking and completed a full Ironman.Troy Mamangun, California No big…

Mandy Moore, @mandymooremm (This Is Us costar) Dang, SKB. Catherine Bell, @therealcatherinebell (Army Wives costar) Oh @sterlingkbrown I remember the day on set you let me fondle that 12 pack! damnnnnn!!! Congrats my friend!! So well deserved!!!! Chrissy Metz, @chrissymetz (This Is Us costar) Okaaaaay then!!!! Dwyane Wade, @dwyanewade (NBA legend) What you know about hooping tho haa Reply @sterlingkbrown @dwyanewade if your ankles are solid, I can show you… sterlingkbrown Honored to be on the cover of @menshealthmag. Like I told Andrew, when it comes to acting, I want to inspire, make the world a better place and help people better themselves… and hopefully I can do that all the way to 100! Full story in bio… now back to my pull-ups. #ThisIsUs #Waves #Frozen2…

Sharper Brain Function A quick bout of mild exercise, like slow stationary-bike pedaling, can improve memory. Rosier Mood A 15-minute daily session of higher-intensity exercise, like running, can reduce depression risk by 26 percent. Faster Fat Burning Shorter-interval workouts lead to greater fat loss than long, low-intensity sweat sessions. Zippier Metabolism Three 20-second all-out intervals can boost insulin sensitivity for a whopping 72 hours.…

The 5-Minute Warmup Spend 5 minutes warming up your lower body for the mayhem to come. Do 30 seconds of bodyweight squats, followed by 30 seconds of walking lunges and 30 seconds of planks. Repeat 3 times without stopping, then rest for 30 seconds. The 15-Minute Bike Primer Get on your bike and start pedaling at a relaxed pace; make sure it’s relaxed enough that you can have a conversation. Do this for 10 minutes. Then, for the final 5 minutes, alternate between 30-second intervals of hard pedaling (you shouldn’t be able to talk) and relaxed-pace pedaling. The 35-Minute Ladder Alternate vigorous efforts with 2-minute recovery sequences. Battle through the program below. The Cooldown Pedal lightly for 10 minutes.…

PREBIOTICS WHAT THEY ARE They’re soluble fibers, so they attract water during digestion. They also contain oligosaccharides, sugars eaten by gut bacteria, says Bethany Doer-fler, R.D., a clinical research dietitian at Northwestern University. After your gut bacteria feast upon these oligosaccharides, they release short-chain fatty acids, which may relieve discomfort in people who have inflammatory-bowel disorders or conditions like IBS. WHY TAKE THEM If you’re not hitting the recommended 38 grams of fiber daily, you’re at risk of constipation (at best) and heart disease (at worst). Prebiotic supplements help with fiber intake, but Doerfler says she likes to see the $30 to $40 per month that people might spend on a dietary supplement go toward buying healthy foods that are rich in prebiotics. IF YOU BUY THEM Go with a…

IF ALCOHOL HELPS YOU DECOMPRESS AFTER WORK, do another activity that helps you relax. It could be a short workout, like a fitness snack (see page 13), or committing to a daily stroll. Or something more explicitly stress-busting like meditating or writing down whatever is on your mind, says psychiatrist Drew Ramsey, M.D. IF YOU ENJOY THE RITUALS OF DRINKING, plan your alcohol-free stand-ins at home and out. Think about what you like most about your go-to drink and give yourself alcohol-free options, whether it’s a non-alcoholic beer or mocktail or seltzer or kombucha, advises Jenna Hollenstein, nutritional therapist and author of Drinking to Distraction. IF ALCOHOL IS YOUR SOCIAL LUBRICANT, you may need professional treatment. Talk therapy is a proven way to deal with social anxiety, says Dr. Ramsey.…

1. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout By piling more hops into its brewing, Guinness reinforces its classic with a pleasant bitterness. At 7.5% ABV, “this is your wind-down-by-the-fire beer,” says Jon Streep, co-owner of Alidoro in N. Y. C. 2. Ayinger Celebrator This 6.7% ABV dop-pelbock pours the color of a log cabin and tastes like a stack of homemade pancakes: doughy, slightly sweet, and with just a touch of vanilla. Up to you if you want to drink it at breakfast. 3. Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout Nitro Natural lactose sugar softens this 6% ABV beer, made even smoother with nitrogen, which creates smaller carbonization bubbles and results in a more luscious pour, says Streep. 4. Allagash White It’s an old-standby 5.2% ABV hazy wheat that produces a head like…

BOY SMELLS CANDLE Yup, women are into those musky scents. $34; boysmells.com OTHERLAND CANDLE Freshen up the room with something fruity or floral. $36; otherland.com SUSTAIN BODY OIL Touch her body for an hour—if she makes it that long. $15; sustainnatural.com THE DAME FIN This finger vibe creates tingly sensations. $85; dameproducts.com THE LELO TOR 2 This vibrating ring gives your power tool a boost during sex. $139; lelo.com WE-VIBE UNITE It’s clitoral and vaginal stimulation all in one toy. $99; we-vibe.com…

EVERY ELECTION SEASON, our merciless news cycle starts taking people hostage. I’ve been a therapist for about ten years, and many sessions that would normally revolve around my patients’ personal struggles suddenly acquire a political flavor—an argument with a racist uncle, nightmares about getting fired because of a rant posted on Twitter, excessive drinking after checking Nate Silver’s latest election analysis. My patients are not an anomaly. In a survey by the American Psychological Association after the 2016 election, 57 percent of respondents said that politics stressed them out. In another survey, from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, about a fifth of people reported doing or saying something they later regretted as a result of feelings related to politics. Another 20 percent said that politics had negatively affected their relationships with…

1 TURN OFF THE FIRE HOSE Jonathan Capehart, 52, is a Pulitzer Prize–winning editorial writer for The Washington Post, an MSNBC contributor and substitute anchor, and host of the podcast Cape Up. THE CHAOS: Capehart’s days are planned… until they’re not. “Ever since 2016, we’ve been on a roller coaster with no lap bar,” he says. So he expects interruptions in his preferred routine, which involves a 6:00 A.M. wakeup, a dose of Morning Joe and New Day, a scroll through Twitter and feeds from the likes of Politico and Axios, then a dive into the newspapers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. If he’s not writing, he’s nailing down his podcast or preparing for panels he’s on or moderating, speeches he’s giving, or appearances on news and…

SOMEONE, EVENTUALLY, is going to win this election—which means many other someones will lose. Perhaps even your chosen someone will be swept into the dustbin of history. If this happens, do not despair. Resist the urge to purchase a piñata in the shape of the winner. That won’t help. What will help is moving off the sidelines and into the game. Instead of channeling your hopes into someone else, start a little grassroots activism yourself. March. Organize. Protest. Boycott. Write an op-ed. Run for local office. You’re a citizen. Act like it. Also, take solace in the fact that losing candidates typically land on their feet. John McCain returned to the Senate, where in 2017 he cast the decisive health-care vote. Even John Edwards bounced back from fathering a secret…

I WAS IN A CYCLE of setting a goal to lose weight for an upcoming vacation or event, falling short, and then putting the weight back on. The medication I was on for my heart put me in a fog. When I was cleared of heart issues in 2013, I wasn’t happy with myself. So I made not a goal but a plan. FIRST STEP: I committed to working out seven days a week at the gym. Always. Sometimes that meant getting up at 4:30 A.M. to fit it in. Sometimes that meant a 9:00 P.M. workout. NEXT: I improved what I ate. One week I started packing salads for work. Another week I dialed back how many times I’d eat fast food. Then I’d pick something else I could…

AT SIX-FOOT-FIVE, Anthony Brown had always been a “big guy,” he says, and a steady diet of fast food didn’t help. But when his sister was diagnosed with diabetes in 2010—and he was wearing 4XL T-shirts—“I knew something had to change if I wanted to save my own life.” FIRST STEP: He researched healthy diets. After realizing that he couldn’t picture himself eating chicken breast, oatmeal, rice, and broccoli for the rest of his life, Brown focused instead on creating a calorie deficit. If his 375-pound body needed 4,100 calories a day, he figured he’d give it 2,400, in whatever form those calories took. “My only rules were: Stay in a calorie deficit, and if you can’t count it, don’t eat it,” he says. NEXT: Within six months, he was…

IF YOU’VE EVER been to the doctor and been told either that you’re prediabetic or that you have buildup in your arteries, you know what that feels like. You feel some embarrassment, maybe. There’s a certain sense of helplessness. And then there’s the impending doom of being faced with your own mortality. Now imagine that you are a heart doctor being told not just one of those things but both. Hearing that my blood-sugar levels and cholesterol numbers were off—and dangerously so—jolted me awake. I monitored my food intake with a calorie tracker and reduced my carbohydrates to less than 20 grams a day. That’s extreme, but I made sure to eat plenty of lean proteins and healthy fats for balance. Soon I found that my mood swings lifted and…

MH: WAS THERE EVER A POINT IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU REALIZED THAT YOU WERE NOT PRACTICING WHAT YOU PREACHED? OLIVER: When I wrote my Everyday Super Food book [in 2015], it was because I’d gotten to a point where I was physically and mentally exhausted. I was only getting a few hours’ sleep and wasn’t taking enough care of myself. Writing that book, I really focused in on creating nutritious recipes that delivered big flavors but were also good for you, and I also started to study nutrition around that time. I now have a Royal Society for Public Health Level 4 Nutrition Award. It got me back on track, and I’ve carried all those principles forward. I’m really in tune with my nutrition team now. Don’t get me…

SEE A DOC BY PHONE YOU GET to talk to or videoconference with a real doctor without making an appointment or even leaving your living room/car/office/campsite. Some big insurance companies have partnered with big telehealth start-ups, including Teladoc, Doctor On Demand, and American Well, so these options may be part of your plan. In 2018, an estimated 7 million people visited a doc this way. You can find and use a telehealth site or app yourself, but you’ll have to do some homework on your choices before dialing. THE PROS: Speed. Ease. Since you’re calling or video chatting about a specific problem, such as a sore throat, you’ll likely be spared the “you need to lose weight” speech. And research has shown that people may be more honest in revealing…

IF YOU’RE OPTING for convenience over a PCP, you still need some regular screenings. These can spot trouble and help you keep things from getting too serious, just as you get much more out of your car for less money with regular maintenance. You should see a doc for the following, and we’ve trimmed this list down to the bare minimum of screenings you can get away with. Really, these are pretty painless. You’ve done a lot harder things in life. IN YOUR 20s CHOLESTEROL If you have a family history of heart disease, get a baseline around age 20. Then check it: Every four to six years—high numbers put you at risk of heart disease and stroke. BLOOD PRESSURE Avoid the hundreds of blood-pressure apps—unless they come with an…

THE STARTER SNACK 6 MINUTES Fitness snacks are great for gym vets—and even better for those who don’t exercise at all. If you’re going from a sedentary lifestyle to fitness snacking, expect to see major changes. Rip through this 3-move workout with no rest 3 times a day. PLANK PUSHUP Get in a plank, elbows below shoulders. Put your right palm on the floor below your right shoulder; straighten that arm. Do the same with your left arm; you should be in pushup position. Return to plank position. That’s 1 rep; do 20. WALKING SQUAT Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder width. Step your right foot 6 inches forward. Bend at the knees and hips until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Press back up. Step your…

THE WARMUP Start with 30 seconds of jumping jacks, then do 30 seconds of high knees, running in place while driving your knees upward. Then do 1 Spider-Man T-spine stretch (see below) on each side. Rest 30 seconds. Repeat twice. Spider-Man T-Spine Stretch Start in pushup position (a). Step your left foot to your left hand. Keep your right leg straight; squeeze your right glute hard (b). Press your left arm into your left leg. Reach your right arm toward the ceiling (c), feeling the stretch in your back and abs. Step your left foot back to pushup position. That’s 1 rep. THE WORKOUT Do this workout as a circuit, resting 30 seconds between exercises. Rest 2 minutes between rounds. Do 4 rounds. Use dumbbells that you can handle comfortably.…

GREEN TEA THE CLAIM: Spider-Man-like focus THE TRUTH: Green tea contains caffeine and the amino acid L-theanine, which, when combined, improve performance in attention-switching tasks, according to a 2017 study review. A separate review found that the same combo could boost brain function. Aim for a 40 milligram dose. TURMERIC THE CLAIM: Tamps down disease-causing inflammation THE TRUTH: This bright orange-yellow root is indeed an antioxidant. Science doesn’t yet know how much of the spice you should consume to reap its anti-inflammatory benefit—but consuming it with black pepper can help with absorption. So find a drink that has both. GINGER THE CLAIM: So! Much! Energy! THE TRUTH: While the bite of ginger may wake up your taste buds, no science links it to energy. If a shot promises more pep,…

1 Crank the Heat Hot temps and good airflow create crispy chicken. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Set a wire rack inside each of two rimmed baking sheets. Pat 3 lb of chicken wings dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, toss the wings with 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, ½ Tbsp salt, and ½ tsp freshly ground pepper. Place the wings in a single layer on the prepared racks. Bake until cooked through, about 35 minutes, flipping once. 2 Sauce and Top While the wings roast, whisk the sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Then transfer the cooked wings to the bowl, toss to coat, and finish with the toppings. All this makes 4 servings. SRIRACHA BUFFALO Sauce: 3 Tbsp melted butter, 1 Tbsp cider vinegar, 2 tsp Sriracha…

1 The ultimate recycled jacket. WELLEN builds this cold-weather essential with recycled nylon, which doesn’t sound comfortable, but ohh, man. The pockets are flannel-lined, so they double as mittens, and the coat’s insulation defends against all elements. In other words, the jacket hits the trifecta: It looks cool, retains heat, and does a solid for the planet, too. Jacket ($188) by Wellen, available at huckberry.com; shirt ($125) by Tact & Stone; Wellthread jeans ($128) by Levi’s; sneakers ($100) by Veja; recycled cashmere hat ($69) by Patagonia. 2 Purpose-built, planet-friendly pants. If, like Somerhalder, you travel often or spend the day shuffling between meetings, this pair of travel pants from Paskho will help get you where you need to go. They’re made with environmentally conscious Swiss Tech fabric, which is nice.…

COLIN ALLRED AND VAN Taylor have a lot in common. They’re both freshman lawmakers in the U. S. House of Representatives. They’re both from Texas. They’re both used to being part of a team: Allred spent four seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans; Taylor was in the Marines for nine years. But there’s one major difference: Allred is a Democrat and Taylor a Republican, and at a time when our government (and seemingly every aspect of life) is intensely polarized, you’d have every reason to believe these two aren’t friends and don’t get along. But they are, and they do, and Men’s Health caught up with them during an early-morning workout to learn how they manage it. LOOKING OVER THE POLICY SECTIONS ON YOUR WEBSITES, WE DON’T SEE…

THE COFFEE-SHOP staff is having a silent meltdown. The peppermint tea I ordered was forgotten as soon as Sebastian Stan walked in. He orders a coffee, receives it instantly, and goes to put it down on a table. The lid isn’t fully on, and the coffee spills. It’s almost a “stars are just like us” moment, but then a barista suddenly materializes with a paper towel in his outstretched palm. “It’s wet,” he says eagerly. Stan, 37, is wearing black shorts, a black T-shirt, midcalf black socks, and a gray hoodie missing its drawstring. He looks very off-duty SoHo, which he is: He’s back home in New York City on furlough from preparations for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, an extravagant collaboration between Marvel and new-born streaming service Disney+.…

MIDWAY THROUGH last fall, I stepped into my yard to find eight kids brimming with excitement. One was swinging from a rope. Another hopped over a set of weight plates and declared himself “safe!” as he landed on each one. Two more kids were leaping from a tractor tire and challenging the rest to follow. These kids (only one of whom is mine) were not exactly working out. They were enthusiastically marking an unexpected turn in my youngest son’s tenth birthday party, as he and his classmates commandeered our open-air gym for play. A workout area that my older sons trained on for lifeguarding and military fitness testing had become an imaginary volcano or pirate ship. This scene fit our backyard’s evolution: A gym we planned as a repurposing of…

FIRST STEP: “We decided to commit to paying this off before we did anything else,” Paul says. “Once you know what your priorities are, it becomes pretty easy.” They created a budget—“You can’t stick to a budget if you don’t have a budget,” he says—then made a spreadsheet and used it to monitor their expenses. That forced them to make their spending more deliberate. The first thing to go: cable. NEXT: They asked about everything, “Is it worth it?” For big purchases like cars or even bookshelves, “we had a policy that anytime we wanted to buy anything, we could wait,” Paul says. “We’d overanalyze the crap out of it.” That was true even for spends as small as a $15 toaster. “We’d go without it for, say, a month…

IT WAS A “THAT’S ME?” photo that made Matt Ellengold realize, after years of promising himself he’d do it “tomorrow,” that he had to go to the gym. And not just go, but be held accountable for continuing to go. So he hired a trainer, James Ellis-Ford, who he felt had his back. “He believed in me from the beginning, when I definitely didn’t believe in myself,” Ellengold says. They worked out four days a week, while Ellengold did cardio on his own. Ellis-Ford taught him how to keep track of his macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) in a log, where Ellengold also tracks his training progress. “I know I need to do at least the same thing the next time to keep moving forward,” he says. “I started doing barbell…

If there’s one thing that unites all diets, it’s can’t. Diets tell you what foods you can’t eat, how much food you can’t eat, and now, with the rise of intermittent fasting, even when you can’t eat. Yes, depriving yourself of food can lead to temporary weight loss. But eating well is less about what you’re losing and more about what you’re gaining. Eating well means you’re building muscle, defending against disease, and harnessing more energy. Eating well involves freeing yourself from batshit diet rules based on pseudoscience. Eating well makes your life easier, not more complicated. Experts and reams of research agree that the easiest way to lose weight and improve your overall health is to eat at least 30 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber at…

1. MEN’S HEALTH RECOMMENDS… REVELATOR COFFEE MISFIT HOUSE BLEND Winter mornings call for something more fortifying than a burnt-tasting Starbucks medium roast. This potent dark roast carries the taste of almonds, toffee, allspice, and chocolate, and the limitless possibilities of a well-caffeinated morning. Revelator is based in Birmingham but ships nationwide. $15; revelatorcoffee.com 2. JOSH OWEN, PRESIDENT OF REVELATOR COFFEE, RECOMMENDS… KEEPCUP “I try to be cognizant of how much trash I’m contributing to the world, so switching to a reusable cup has been great,” says Owen. This reusable cup features a tempered-glass tumbler encircled by cork and capped with a BPA-free lid. They even make a four-ounce cup for espresso. $26; us.keepcup.com 3. ABIGAIL FORSYTH, COFOUNDER OF KEEPCUP, RECOMMENDS… AEROPRESS GO “It’s perfect for brewing the perfect cup anywhere,”…