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 “Anytime they let you burn
rubber and don’t kick
you out is a good day.”
—RYAN GOSLING, PAGE 66

ON THE COVER: Ryan Gosling and David Leitch photographed exclusively for Men’s Health by Emily Shur. Prop styling by Kendall Faeth. Fashion direction by Ted
Stafford. Styling for Gosling by Mark Avery. Styling for Leitch by Tiffani Moreno. Styling assistance by Natasha Fomina. Tailoring by Neli Abrahamyan. Aging and
dyeing by Drew Talbot. Grooming for Gosling by Lucy Halperin for Tracey Mattingly. Grooming for Leitch by Michelle deMilt for Tomlinson Management Group.
Special-effects makeup by Gary Tunnicliffe and Hanny Eisen. Production by Zachary Crawford for Crawford & Co. Productions. On Gosling: T-shirt and belt by Avery
Ranch; jeans by Levi’s; watch by TAG Heuer. On Leitch: T-shirt by Abercrombie & Fitch; jeans by Buck Mason. THIS PAGE: On Gosling: T-shirt by Avery Ranch;
jeans by Levi’s; boots by Red Wing; watch by TAG Heuer; sunglasses by Jacques Marie Mage. On Leitch: Jacket and jeans by Frame; T-shirt by Abercrombie &
Fitch; boots by Allen Edmonds; sunglasses by American Optical.

66 ACTION MEN THE POWER OF FOOD: SPECIAL ISSUE

FE AT U R E S

David Leitch and

Ryan Gosling, the 74 FLAVOR, 82 FAT & HAPPY 92 CONFES- 94 ARE CARBS
director and star FUEL, FUN Don’t demonize the SIONS OF A ACTUALLY
of The Fall Guy, Eating well for life nutrient. Instead, CEREAL KILLER AWESOME?
means simplifying. embrace its glory. Jerry Seinfeld Confusion about
talk risk, action, BY PAUL KITA
and fearlessness. makes the best their benefits and
76 GUY FIERI’S meal of the day drawbacks has
BY BEN COURT
NEW RECIPE 86 BREAKFAST extra satisfying. messed with our
How the Mayor of BUILT BETTER BY NOJAN
minds and waist-
Flavortown got fit. 30 game-changing AMINOSHAREI
lines. We set the
BY MICHAEL EASTER day starters. record straight.
BY JULISSA ROBERTS BY FRANKIE HUANG

PHOTOGRAPH BY EMILY SHUR MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 3

 CONTENTS
dispatches from MH’s
Strength in Diversity
summit, and the
Ultimate Men’s Health
Guy turns ten.
4 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
MAKE THE LEAP
Build next-level
athleticism with
explosive moves.
(See page 15.)
BODY 24 Injury-proofing
your body and building
15 Strength, speed, foundational fitness?
mobility—unlock It’s all in the hips.
the many powers of
plyometrics. 26 How an artist manages
his psoriasis with
18 Fast and strong: massage, moisturizers,
This seven-move and a little sunshine.
workout pulls double
duty on fitness gains. 28 The blood-sugar-
monitoring, gut-
20 Miles Chamley-Watson regulating power of
powers his Olympic your pancreas and how
quest for a fencing gold to optimize it.
medal with deadlifts,
lunges, and box jumps. 30 Testicular cancer
strikes men young. Here’s
22 TikTok loves one survivor’s saga.
L-theanine supplements.
Here’s what real-life 32 Gear Lab: The best
scientists think. adjustable dumbbells—
tested and categorized!
PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN STEELE
LIFE
35 The Men’s Health
Grooming Awards:
38 incredible
shavers, cleaners,
and washes—
starring your host,
Mikey Day.
42 Carb-loving chef
JJ Johnson feasts on
shrimp and rice after
a hard workout.
44 Defend your
financial security—
and your peace of
mind—from digital
scam artists.
46 The future of
watches—smarter,
sleeker, stronger.
50 Three tough dads
share what it takes to
raise resilient kids.
55 Surf, ride, hike,
and karaoke your way
through Savannah,
this month’s ultimate
guy trip.
MIND
57 It’s totally okay to
be just okay. Mental
health experts show
you how.
Styling: Ted Stafford. Styling assistance: Imani Granger. Location: Aneva, N.Y.
64 Our columnist
Common says you
don’t need a mat or
an app to meditate.
It’s all in the music.
+
100 Six Pack: Chef
Marcus Samuelsson
on the stuff he
can’t live without.
 OFFICE
TEAM PA RT Y
Editorial Advertising THE MH TEAM
Richard Dorment INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
REVEAL THEIR . . .
Patricia Haegele Food,

FAVORITE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Pharma, Liquor, CPG & Pet
Jamie Prokell Creative Director Haley Bachmann Fashion & Luxury
Abigail Greene Executive Managing Editor
EDITORIAL
Elizabeth Webbe Lunny
Beauty, Wellness & Mass Retail
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CARB
Ben Court, Jordyn Taylor Executive Editors
Ebenezer Samuel Fitness Director Chris Peel Travel, Tech, Finance & Outdoor
A GOOD BAKED
Nojan Aminosharei Entertainment Director CATEGORY LEADERS POTATO IS EASY
Rachel Epstein, Paul Kita Deputy Editors Corianne Carroll, Karen Deutsch, TO PREPARE AND
Marty Munson Health Director Dan Fuchs, Christine L. Hall, INSTANTLY MAKES AN
Keith Nelson Jr., Brett Williams Senior Editors ENJOYABLE COMFORT-
David Hamilton, RW Horton, FOOD MEAL.
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MEN’S HEALTH POTATO CHIPS.
ART
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ME FEEL GREAT.
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CIRCULATION A MEAL AT A
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 BEHIND THE SCENES
WITH THE EXPERTS,
ADVISORS, AND
READERS WHO BRING
MEN’S HEALTH TO LIFE.

TH AT ’ S H O W Y O U

WHAT’S YOUR
GO-TO FIRST MEAL?
I am an omni-
vore. Whatever is
cookable is up for
grabs. It’s about
filling the belly.
@alhamilton686
Oatmeal and
bananas all
day long.
Alvic Lim

Anything I
don’t have to
make myself. Chorizo, 2 eggs,
@connormcc13 and a little pork
& pepper sauce.
Charles K Raney

Whole-wheat
toast with
chunky PB and Zero % plain Greek
half a grapefruit. yogurt, All-Bran Buds
@mikecohen61 and organic hemp
Eggs and bacon or hearts washed down
biscuits and gravy. with black coffee.
Rick Ponce Evan Genung
Gallery Stock

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 9

 WORLD ASK THE E.I.C.
ASK THE E.I.C.
Are SEED OILS really
BAD FOR YOU?
that
—@SEAN020588
JEEZ, SEAN. WOULDN’T you rather
talk about something less polarizing, like
politics or AI? You’re probably asking
because some folks on Instagram and
TikTok swear that cooking oils made
from seeds (canola, corn, soybean, etc.)
can cause disease-stoking inflammation,
bloat your waistline, pockmark your face
with acne, and basically murder you in
your sleep. Some in this anti-seed-oil
camp also allege vast government and cor-
porate conspiracies—capitalism, man—
but we’ll leave that in its rabbit hole.
Now, I hate a food fight—nobody
comes out clean, and the waste!—but
since you’re asking: There is no solid
scientific evidence that connects seed
oils, per se, to any specific health issue.
I’m italicizing those words because
(1) Latin and (2) seed oils are often found
in ultra-processed foods (snack cakes,
fried foods, all-purpose edible garbage),
and a diet high in UPFs can lead to weight
gain, chronic inflammation, and health
woes. Clearly no bueno.
But is cooking with or consuming
seed oil inherently dangerous if you
10 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
10 YEARS OF
ULTIMATE
It’s been a decade since we
launched our first search for the
avoid UPFs and aren’t deep-frying all guys who epitomized strength
your food in it? Not according to the and success. We checked in
kind of research that we rely on at Men’s on our three previous winners
to see how they’re doing.
Health—which entails peer-reviewed,
randomized, controlled trials—versus
the “This guy on Facebook says” kind of
research. I get the appeal of the latter.
It’s right there in your social feed! It’s
so simple! But that’s the thing with
dietary black-and-white-ism: It’s rarely
as simple as saying X is good for you
or bad for you. It’s about how you con-
sume X, and in what amounts and how
often, and what else you’re consuming NOAH GALLOWAY was named the
along with it. first Ultimate Men’s Health Guy in
The thing that is simple is what the 2014. The former soldier went on
to be a Dancing with the Stars
rest of this issue is about: how to eat real phenom and is now a father of four
food in pursuit of flavor, fuel, and fun. and an F45 trainer.
I know that sounds basic, but in this
food-fight-crazed world, maybe basic
isn’t so bad. For years I’ve spent so much
time, too much time, counting macros
and feeling guilty-ish for eating refined
sugar or white flour or whatever the hell
is in Cheez-Its, and it’s exhausting. I just
want to eat delicious food that makes
me feel good, and I don’t want to feel bad
about it, ever. I’m guessing you might feel
In 2016, JEDIDIAH BALLARD,
the same. Which is why, starting on page D.O., took the title. He’s still
74, Men’s Health deputy editor Paul Kita ripped and working as an ER
has assembled an amazing collection of physician, and he’s a current
member of our Advisory Board.
articles showing us how. From the glories
of cooking with fat (in moderation!) to
the joys of eating carbs to an entire uni-
verse of protein-packed breakfasts, Paul
and his writers remind us that eating
well is one of the great pleasures of life
and that the best diet is a full diet, one
you’ll actually enjoy.
Simple, right?
LEO MOORE, M.D., won the most
recent contest and used his platform
to further push for the destigmatiza-
tion of HIV. He also launched Fit150,
an online fitness community.
If you (or someone you know) has the
drive to join the ranks of Ultimate Guy
Richard Dorment, Editor-in-Chief winners, look for upcoming ways to
enter the contest.
SHOP MH-APPROVED
Allie Holloway (Dorment)
STUFF!
+ Have a question for Rich? Tweet us at
Our favorite protein powder, dumbbells,
and recovery gear could be yours, too.
@MensHealthMag with the hashtag Head to shop.menshealth.com.
#AskMHRich and ask away.
 WORLD GOALS

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INFLUENCE ON!
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And use a trusted critic to filter
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—ROBIN ARZÓN, PELOTON’S VP OF FITNESS
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Whatever field you’re in, study
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There’s a process, there’s a sac-
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THE NEW PLYO
How modern takes on an old
fitness favorite can calibrate
your training for an insta-boost
of athleticism and strength.
BY ANDREW HEFFERNAN, C.S.C.S.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN STEELE
VITALITY STARTS HERE
SCROLL FITNESS INSTAGRAM and
TikTok and you’ll see @jtm_fit doing fly-
ing pushups off (or onto!) a stack of dumb-
bells, @JustFlySports bounding across
20 meters of turf on just . . . one . . . leg, and
@BrotherFaris doing insane hurdle hops.
It’s a frenetic feed of jumps and leaps
and explosive moves that might make
you wonder if your own workout needs
Shot on location at ANEVA Premier
Training Facility
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 15
 BODY JUMP START!
revving up. And the truth is, this time the
fitfluencers are actually onto something.
All those viral posts have reintroduced
a classic kind of movement called plyo-
metrics, a specialized training modality
that pushes your body to essentially
jump, land, and then immediately jump
again. These high-speed training moves
are usually reserved for pro athletes,
because the exercises can be very techni-
cal (and when performed incorrectly can
increase your risk of injury) and sports
scientists have long felt there were only
marginal benefits for civilians.
But new research reveals that injecting
a few plyometric drills into your regular
routine can enhance your overall athlet-
icism. “Whether you’re hoping to play
pickup hoops or chase your kids around
long into midlife, plyometrics makes you
more durable for those tasks,” says Paul
Fabritz, C.S.C.S., who trains top NBA
players like James Harden.
The first-ever plyo drill was originally
implemented in the 1960s by Russian
track coach Yuri Verkhoshansky, who
had athletes jump from a box onto the
ground, then jump again, and repeat.
Doing plyometrics helped his sprinters
find an extra gear in competition thanks
largely to improved power production,
and over the past few decades, trainers
have embraced similar ideas while work-
ing with elite athletes.
These same drills can benefit anyone.
Plyos teach your body to utilize “elastic
energy,” which is stored in your tendons.
Picture your ankles before an explosive
jump. You start by standing on your
tiptoes, Achilles tendons compressed.
Then your tendons stretch as you drive
your heels into the ground. This loads
them with that elastic energy, which then
propels you upward, when your ankles
rapidly drive off the ground and your
tendons “snap” back into place. “Your
muscles rev up the moment you hit the
floor,” says Fabritz. “And that’s where a
lot of the superpower is.”
Mastering plyometric drills sets you
up to run and jump with greater power.
And these drills indirectly help you build
plenty of muscle, too: Plyos recruit your
16 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
YOUR ULTIMATE
PLYO STARTER KIT
Begin with these 4 moves. First, work up to 5 sets of
mini-pogos daily. When you can comfortably do that,
add in the next 3 moves, aiming to do 3 to 5 sets of 3 to
5 reps of each once or twice a week.
1. MINI-POGO
WHY IT MATTERS: Consider this the
ultimate beginner plyo exercise.
The mini-pogo teaches you to exert
maximum force, almost entirely from
your ankles and calves.
HOW TO DO IT: Stand with your abs
and glutes tight. Jump straight off the
floor, aiming to bend your hips and
knees as little as possible. (Don’t expect
a massively high jump.) Flex your feet
hard in midair, then land on the balls of
your feet. Repeat this continuously for
30 seconds. Do 3 rounds.
2. PLYO BROAD JUMP
WHY IT MATTERS: This
move pushes you to explode
forward, building ankle
and hip power (and
challenging more lower-
body mobility than you
may think, too).
HOW TO DO IT: Start stand-
ing, then push your butt
back, bend your knees,
and leap forward as far as
you can. Land on 2 feet,
then immediately jump
forward again; repeat this
until you’ve done 4 jumps.
See how far you leaped.
Rest, then try to beat your
distance with your next
attempt. Do 3 sets.
biggest, strongest muscle fibers, priming train, then play sports. “When gym guys
them to help you push more weight-room go play basketball, their tendons aren’t
poundage. You’re also making your ten- used to that spring force,” Fabritz says.
dons more durable, says Fabritz, which “Injuries happen fast.”
doesn’t always happen in the weight None of this has to mean flying pushups
room. He points out that Achilles-tendon onto stacks of dumbbells for you. If you
ruptures often hit men who strength- haven’t included jumping or explosive
3. SEATED ROTATIONAL
MED-BALL THROW
WHY IT MATTERS: Yes, throws
can be plyos, too, as long as you
whip the ball with serious force,
then catch it and repeat. This
drill taps the power you use to
swing a trash bag or backpack
around your back.
HOW TO DO IT: Sit on a box with
an 8-pound med ball, right
shoulder 4 feet from a sturdy
wall. Rotate your torso away
from the wall, then fling the ball
into it as hard as possible. Catch
it, then repeat. Do 5 total reps.
Rest, then repeat on the other
side. Do 3 sets.
TANK BY UNDER ARMOUR; SHORTS BY TEN
THOUSAND; SNEAKERS BY REEBOK. PLYOMETRIC
D O S A N D D O N ’ TS

4. PLYO HANDS-
ELEVATED PUSHUP Don’t expect to feel
WHY IT MATTERS: You’ll Go max effort on
the burn. Plyos
develop horizontal push- every jump or
aren’t about pump.
ing power, which you use throw. You’re only
And they’re not
whenever you shut a car doing a few reps, so
about honing your
take full advantage.
door in front of you or lift cardio, either.
your body off the floor.
HOW TO DO IT: Get in Do 5 or fewer reps Max effort requires
pushup position, hands per set. When chas- more rest than
on a bench or sturdy ing performance, you think, so don’t
chair, abs and glutes you must think rest less than 90
tight. Bend at the elbows quality of each rep, seconds
and shoulders, lowering not quantity. between sets.
your chest toward the
bench. Press back up
so explosively that Hit your plyos early Don’t use heavy
your hands drive off the in each workout. weights or med balls.
bench. Immediately do Crushing squats Even a 10-pound
your next pushup. Do 3 and lunges before med ball can pre-
sets of 5 reps. plyos can keep you vent you from being
from going hard. your explosive best.

upper-body moves in your training for
several years (or ever), start slowly, says
Fabritz. Spend your first few weeks doing
low-intensity plyometric drills, high-rep
moves like jumping rope or mini-pogos
(see above). A few minutes of either or
both after your warmup (but before your
lifting sessions) will ready your connec-
tive tissues for higher-stress sessions.
“Jump rope for four sets of 30 seconds
each,” says Fabritz. “Every workout, add
one set until you get to ten sets.”
Crush ten minutes of extensive plyos
and you’ll be ready for “intensive plyo-
metrics,” which are similar to that 1960s
depth jump. You’ll do just a few reps of
each drill twice a week. Yes, says Fabritz,
that’s all you’ll need. “They don’t feel
like much,” he says. “You’re not feeling a
burning in your legs. But you are getting a
really high-level stimulus.”

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 17

 BODY SPEED AND STRENGTH!

THE MOVEMENT +
MUSCLE WORKOUT
Get stronger and faster with this two-part session that packs on
muscle—and primes you for light-speed runs, too.
BY LUKA HOCEVAR, C.S.C.S.

DIRECTIONS: This workout has two parts. When possible, do the field
portion to train speed first, then hit the gym for strength; do this 3 times a
week. You can also hit the field one day and train for strength on another.
Either way, do the moves in order, resting 90 seconds between sets.

(a)

10-YARD ACCELERATION

little bit faster each time. Do 3 sets.

(b)

WARMUP

SPIDERMAN LUNGE WITH

ROTATING REACH
Start in pushup position, abs and Start standing, feet
glutes tight, then step your right shoulder-width apart, abs
foot to just outside your right hand tight. Bend at the knees
(a). Squeeze your left glute. Now and hips, lowering into
lift your right hand off the ground; a squat until your thighs
reach it in front of you. Trace a large are nearly parallel to the

circle backward with your hand,
following it with your eyes as you do
(b). Reverse the moves to pushup
position and repeat on the other
side. Do reps for 40 seconds, then
rest for 20; do 3 sets.
TANK BY GYMSHARK; SHORTS BY ATHLETEGY;
SNEAKERS BY REEBOK.
2
ground. Swing your arms
behind you as you do this.
Now throw your arms
SKATER JUMP upward as you stand from
Start standing, then shift your left foot behind the squat and leap as high
your right, weight primarily on your right leg. Explo- as possible. Land with
sively leap to the left, landing on your left foot, knee your knees bent, ready to
bent. Swing your right foot behind your left, then begin another rep. That’s 1
leap to the right. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8. rep; do 3 sets of 8.

18 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHS BY PHILIP FRIEDMAN

 T R A I N E R S P O T L I G H T : L U K A H O C E VA R , C . S . C . S . , is a veteran
trainer and the owner of Vigor Ground Fitness and Perfor-
mance in Seattle. He specializes in athletic workouts and has
trained several MLB, NBA, and NFL athletes. Follow him on
Instagram at @lukahocevar.
M O V E M O D E L : T H A D D E U S “ T K ” K O R N E G AY is a Florida-
based obstacle-course-racing trainer and a member of
the MH/WH Strength in Diversity Initiative, which
aims to elevate trainers from marginalized communi-
ties. Follow him on Instagram at @thadisphat.

STRENGTH WORK

4a
HEEL-ELEVATED
GOBLET SQUAT
Hold a dumbbell at
your chest, heels on
a small weight plate
or platform, abs and
glutes tight. Bend at 4b
the knees and hips, DUMBBELL ROW
lowering your torso Start standing, left hand holding a bench or other object for support,
until your thighs are right hand holding a dumbbell hanging naturally. Your knees should be
parallel to the floor. bent, and your hips should be lower than your shoulders. Squeeze your
Stand and squeeze shoulder blades. This is the start. Now row the dumbbell to the right
your glutes. That’s 1
rep; do 8.

SINGLE-ARM BENCH PRESS

Lie on a bench, abs and glutes tight, a dumbbell
held in your right hand above your right shoulder.
Squeeze your shoulder blade, then bend at
the elbow and shoulder, lowering the dumbbell
to within an inch of your chest. Press back up.

5a
That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 10 per side.

DUMBBELL SPRINTER LUNGE TO STEP

Stand in front of a box or step, a dumbbell held in your right hand.
WANT MORE
Step your right foot back, keeping it straight, then shift your weight to MH WORKOUTS?
your left foot. Lean forward slightly. This is the start. Now explosively Scan to join Men’s Health MVP Pre-
step forward with your right foot so it lands on the step, knee bent. mium and access hundreds of video
Return to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8 per side. workouts from our best trainers.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 19

 BODY EN GARDE!

MILES CHAMLEY-WATSON grunts

through his eighth pullup rep, then
lowers his six-foot-four frame back to
the floor. Hands on his knees, he catches
his breath, then flips the bird and grins.
“F*** you guys.” Moments later, he’s
doing a Copenhagen plank, a devastating
side exercise that requires you to place
one leg on a bench while the other hovers
in midair. After 20 seconds, he collapses
to the floor. “I need a Guinness,” he says
half seriously.
It’s quintessential Chamley-Watson,
cracking jokes and making quips to hide
his quiet intensity. Truth is, the 34-year-
old is going hard during this three-round-
circuit strength workout in the Men’s
Health gym in Manhattan partly because
he knows exactly what’s at stake: In three
months, he’ll be part of America’s best
hope for a team fencing gold at the Paris
Olympics. But he needs to have fun, too.
“I’m zoned in,” the two-time fencing
world champ says after a set of dumbbell
bench presses. “But I always talk shit.”
His origin story is another example
of his class-clown energy masking his
drive. He wasn’t a star student growing
up and was troubled by ADHD. In fact, he
was kicked out of several schools before
the age of ten “for just being stupid,” he
says. At his next stop, the Dwight School
in New York City, he was placed in an
after-school program meant to help get
6 A.M. WITH... him on track. He was forced to pick a
sport and given three options: tennis,

THE badminton, or fencing. He picked fenc-

OLYMPIC FENCER
MILES CHAMLEY-WATSON’s workouts are filled
with jokes—and rapier-sharp intensity.
BY CORY RITCHEY, C.S.C.S.
ing. “Swords are fun,” Chamley-Watson
says. “But then I was like, ‘Wait, I can
stab people and not get in trouble? This is
awesome. This could be my purpose.’ ”
Chamley-Watson was a natural,
using his massive 80-inch wingspan
and lightning speed to strike opponents
from a distance. After just four weeks,
he won his first competition. Six years
later, he earned a full scholarship to
Penn State, where he’d capture two team
NCAA championship crowns. He says
fencing is his Ritalin, and he likens the
sport to a combination of boxing and

20 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTAAN FELBER

 Chamley-Watson
does circuits with
moves like bench
presses (above) and
plank variations
(right). On separate
days, he trains ath-
leticism with moves
like box jumps.

PLANK LIKE AN OLYMPIAN TRY THIS PLANK-HEAVY CORE CIRCUIT BUILT FROM
CHAMLEY-WATSON’S FAVORITE AB MOVES.

Do 8 to 12 reps of each move. Complete 3 rounds.

PLANK LEG LIFT: Set up SIDE-PLANK LEG RAISE: HANGING KNEE RAISE: Hang GO-TO POST-
in elbow-plank position. Set up in a side plank, from a pullup bar, legs straight. WORKOUT MEAL
Raise your foot off the right elbow on the floor. Keeping your legs glued to- “Korean barbecue.
floor, keeping your leg Keeping your leg gether, squeeze your abs and It’s so good for you. It’s
straight. Lower and re- straight, raise your left raise your right knee toward your beef, rice, and kimchi,
peat on the other side. leg as high as possible. left elbow. Lower and repeat on which is good for your
That’s 1 rep. Lower. That’s 1 rep. the other side. That’s 1 rep. digestive system.”

chess. By 2016, he was helping the U. S.
win Olympic team bronze in the foil (the
most common fencing style, with a light
sword and a small “attack” target area)
in Rio de Janeiro. He even has a fencing
move named after him: When you wrap
your arm around the back of your head
to strike an opponent on the side, you’re
doing the “Chamley-Watson.” A knee
injury prevented him from competing in
the Tokyo Olympics, so the medal pres-
sure will be high as he returns for what
may be his final Games.
After the bench press, he grabs a
70-pound dumbbell and explosively reps
out ten rows, then twists his face into
another grin. His success in fencing
has opened doors to modeling for Todd
HYPE ANTHEM
“ ‘Till I Collapse,’ by
Eminem. Hard to beat it.”
Snyder and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as
fashion design. “My life has gotten so BIGGEST TRAINING
much bigger than fencing,” he says. “I’m
CHALLENGE
“During the season, it’s
still learning to juggle all of that as well.” so hard to gauge whether
Chamley-Watson says his workouts you push yourself or not.
lend a consistency to each day and help I need to not go to the
him stay mentally positive and sharp. gym, but I can’t not go
to the gym.”
He trains five days a week, mixing in
circuit training, lifting, and plyometric DREAM WORKOUT
sessions. Nearly every week ends with a PARTNER
maintenance session on Friday. “Bruce Lee. I was gonna
say a girl, but I’m gonna
During this hour-long workout, he’s
upset some people.”
focused only on finishing his reps—and
cracking more jokes. “Working out gives
you clarity. Going to the gym is free thera-
py. I can’t start my day without going to the
gym,” he says. “Yeah, everyone gets miser-
able in the mornings—but just do it.”

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 21

 BODY SUPPLEMENT CHECK
L-THEANINE
GOT
ON THE BRAIN?
Supplement makers claim this
amino acid focuses the mind and calms
the nerves. We have questions.
BY CORI RITCHEY, C.S.C.S.
THE CLAIMS
Supplement companies say that
their L-theanine pills and powders
can help you focus, ease your stress,
boost your immunity, and deepen
your sleep. Plus, it’s an amino acid
found naturally in tea-producing
plants and some mushrooms. You
know, healthy things.
22 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
WHAT’S ACTUALLY TRUE
The amino acid helps your cells,
hormones, and metabolism
function. And science has shown
that L-theanine can pass the
blood-brain barrier, so it’s possi-
ble that taking it could improve
mental function and prevent
cognitive decline.
WHAT’S MAYBE
SORTA TRUE
There’s some science to sug-
gest brain benefits: People who
supplement with L-theanine
may sleep more soundly, stress
less, think better, and potentially
stave off mental decline. “But
the key word is suggest,” says
Perri Halperin, R.D., a clinical
nutrition coordinator at Mount
Sinai Health System in N. Y. C.
WHAT’S NOT TRUE
No supplement has yet been
proven to boost your immunity.
Yes, a 2023 study review did
find that L-theanine supple-
mentation can help the immune
system function—in livestock.
SHOULD YOU TAKE IT?
If you feel like you could use
more calm or focus, sure, but
only after talking to your health-
care provider. That’s because
L-theanine supplements could
interact with some antianxiety,
blood-pressure, and sleep meds.
Side effects include headaches,
dizziness, nausea, and jitteri-
ness. And look for a brand with
third-party certification (like
Adam Voorhes/Gallery Stock
Informed Choice or NSF)—these
certs ensure that what’s adver-
tised on the label is actually in
the product.
 ®

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 BODY GEEK TWEAKS

TH E NEW SCIENCE O F

Own the weight room, crush backyard football, and beat

back pain by strengthening and stretching your hips.
BY CORI RITCHEY, C.S.C.S.

YOU WANT BIGGER arms and a chiseled chest.

Oh, and don’t forget stronger legs—super important.
Oh, and a resilient core, too! So the last thing you want
to do is train your hips—we get it. But here’s the thing:
Your lack of hip TLC just may be holding you back.
Yes, really. Sure, there was a time when hip mobil-
ity mattered only if you were doing Jean-Claude Van
Damme splits on Volvo trucks. But these days, more
and more trainers are recognizing that tight hips can
stealthily wreck nearly every part of your life. New
hip stretches and exercises often flood FitTok, and
a Google search for “hip mobility” turns up about
1 million results.
“It’s good that it’s trending,” says veteran trainer
Lee Boyce. “Hip functionality dictates the efficiency
of many capabilities we have.”
So whether you’re trying to slash your half-
marathon time, crush a CrossFit WOD, or just keep up
with your kids on the playground, buttery-loose hips
can help. The best part is it doesn’t take much to train
your hips. All you need to do to start: understand the
answers to these five questions.

1. WHEN ARE MY TIGHT HIPS
HINDERING ME THE MOST?
Every single time you stand up after
a few hours of sitting. When you’re
sitting, whether you’re at your desk
for the whole morning, on a long road
trip in a car, or stuck on a ten-hour
flight to Europe, your hip flexors,
the muscles that help bring your
thigh to your chest, wind up trapped
in a shortened position, unable to
stretch out. Your glutes, meanwhile,
are in an ultra-relaxed, stretched
position. When you stand, you’re
often left with a nagging tightness
in the front of your hips.
2. WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT
THAT TIGHTNESS?
When your hip flexors are tight and your
glutes aren’t strong, you may struggle to
position your pelvis to support your spine.
Your pelvis shifts into something called
anterior pelvic tilt, the top of the pelvis
tipping forward just slightly, butt sticking
out a bit, Instagram-model style. This
causes your lower back to arch in places
it shouldn’t, and that can create serious
issues, compressing the discs in your
lower back, says Boyce. It also prevents
you from being powerful during exercises
like deadlifts and squats, as well as other
activities, like running and jumping.
3. HOW EXACTLY DO TIGHT HIPS
HURT MY RUNNING AND JUMPING?
Quick, stand up. Place your hands
on your hip bones. Now squeeze
your glutes as hard as possible. See
how your hips shift forward ever so
slightly? This position is called hip
extension, and this motion helps
propel you forward (if you’re running)
or upward (if you’re jumping). If your
hip flexors are tight, your glutes
can’t “contract the way that they’re
supposed to when they’re supposed
to,” says Boyce—and that limits your
speed and vertical leap.

24 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH


4. SO STRETCH MY HIP
FLEXORS? OKAY, I GET IT.
And strengthen them! Weak hip flexors
cause other problems. Try this: While
standing straight, lift your right knee as
high as you can. Can you get your knee
Allie Holloway (photo). Peter Sucheski (illustrations).
higher than your hip? If you can’t, you’re
hurting your running ability by limiting
the length of your stride. “The stronger
your hip flexors are, then the more
powerful and efficient your knee drive
is going to be,” says Faris Khan, C.S.C.S.,
the creator of the Men’s Health Summer
Strength Challenge. To compensate, you
may also round your back more than you
should need to during everyday tasks.
5. ANYTHING ELSE MY POOR
HIP MOBILITY IS HURTING?
Your ability to change direction.
Ideally, you’re able to turn your hips
one way and your shoulders another,
a key trait that defines agility. And
even if you’re not an NFL cornerback,
lacking that movement can cost you,
making it harder to move quickly if
you’re dodging somebody while rushing
to catch your train—and harder to run
down your daughter in a game of tag,
too. The bright side: Just a few simple
drills can ensure you’re preserving your
hip mobility—although we should all
leave the splits to Van Damme.
HOW TO STAY HIP!
Aim to do at least 1 of these 3 drills
in your workout warmups every day
to make sure you’re giving your hips
plenty of TLC. Do 2 or 3 sets.
HIP CIRCLE
Take your hips through their great-
est range of motion. Start on all fours,
knees beneath hips. Keeping your knee
bent, lift your right leg outward to the
right, then rotate it in a wide arc so that
your right foot points toward the ceil-
ing. Reverse the movement back to the
start. Repeat 6 to 8 times per side.
Build hip flexor strength. Sit on the
floor, chest up, legs straight, a kettle-
bell or another object just outside your
right ankle. Keeping your legs straight,
lift your right leg over the object and
touch your heel to the floor; return to
the start. Do 8 to 10 reps per side.
CRESCENT LUNGE
To loosen tight hip flexors, set up in
a half-kneeling stance, right knee on
the floor. Squeeze your right glute and
push both hips forward; as you do this,
reach your hands overhead. Hold for 2
to 3 seconds, then return to the start.
Do 3 to 5 reps per side.
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 25
 BODY T R A NSF OR-N AT ION!

HOW THIS GUY ACED

THE FINE POINTS OF DEALING
WITH PSORIASIS
BY CORI RITCHEY

DAQUANE CHERRY WAS still in elementary school when

he started finding dry, scaly patches on his scalp. It wasn’t
until middle school that the N. Y. C.-based artist discovered
his issue was much more than typical dandruff. He had pso-
riasis, an autoimmune condition that produces red, raised,
often itchy skin. It affects more than 8 million Americans.
Cherry tried several medications and lifestyle changes until
he landed on a strategy that worked. Here’s how the now-26-
year-old finally found comfort in his own skin.

GO SOLAR
CHERRY SEES SIGNIFICANT
improvement in the health of
his skin when he consistently
spends time outdoors. Sunlight
helps you produce vitamin D,
says Corey L. Hartman, M.D., a
dermatologist and MH advisor.
“Low vitamin D levels are cor-
related with severity of psoriasis
symptoms.” Dr. Hartman recom-
mends getting 10 to 15 minutes
of no-sunscreen sunlight a day
to help with symptoms.
CHANGE GUARDS
YOUR SYMPTOMS CAN change
with the seasons, so you need
to shift what you do about
them. Cherry says that the
moisturizers and cleansers that
work in one season don’t hold
up in the next. Dr. Hartman
advises using serums, lotions,
and light oils to stay more com-
fortable in the summer. In the
winter, you’ll want creams and
ointments to manage dryness.
TAKE CARE
EVEN WITH MEDICATION, Cherry
doesn’t feel his psoriasis will
ever be totally under control—
and adds that stress can trigger
worse flare-ups. “It’s just forever
a battle of trying to find a solution
of relaxation,” he says. His go-tos:
getting massages and having
his hair styled. Dr. Hartman says
the power of stress reduction is
real when paired with the right
medication.

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT PSORIASIS

13
Number of FDA-approved “biologic” drugs—those
that act on your immune system—that are available
Courtesy Cherry

to treat psoriasis so far. Yes, 13 is a lot, but a doc

can guide you on these and other treatments based
on your lifestyle and how your psoriasis manifests.

26 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

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© 2024 Abbott 202316817(2)/January 2024 LITHO IN USA
 BODY INSIDE STORY

THE SEMI-COMPLETE USER’S GUIDE TO...

For a small, blow-dryer-shaped organ deep in

the abdomen, the pancreas has a lot of power.
Here’s how to keep it happy so you stay healthy.
BY KEVIN DUPZYK

THE PANCREAS PRIMER

WHAT IT DOES WHAT IT LIKES WHAT IT DOESN’T LIKE
IT’S ALMOST like two ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIETS: For people SMOKING: Cigarettes are
organs wrapped in one. First, with risk factors for pancreatic issues (family harmful because they can cause
Shubhangi Ganeshrao Kene/Getty Images

it makes hormones that regu-
late blood sugar, preventing
diabetes and its complica-
tions, like fatigue and ED.
Second, it helps digest food.
When that goes wrong, you
may lose weight and have
bathroom issues.
history, alcohol overuse), an eating plan featuring
whole foods (like a Mediterranean-style diet)
is beneficial.
EXERCISE: Physical activity keeps body fat in
check, which helps out your pancreas by working
against diabetes. It aids your immune system and
may help it avert cancers like pancreatic cancer.
inflammation and cellular DNA
damage that affect the pancreas.
Cigars and weed probably are, too,
but there’s less data.
DRINKING: Alcohol is a toxin
to the pancreas and injures it
over time.

28 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 3 BIG PANCREAS PROBLEMS
1. DIABETES
DIABETES HAPPENS WHEN the key hormone the pancreas makes—
insulin, which regulates blood sugar—is out of whack. With type 2 diabe-
tes, your body doesn’t respond to insulin well. As a result, the beta cells
in the pancreas produce even more of that hormone, get overworked, and
can die. We don’t know how to grow more cells. According to Archana
Sadhu, M.D., an endocrinologist at Houston Methodist, the resulting
high blood sugar can cause major damage—from heart attacks, strokes,
and kidney failure to blindness and ED.

TREATMENT NOTE
Start with lifestyle changes, says Dr. There are two different
Sadhu. More exercise reduces the body’s blood tests. Fasting blood
resistance to insulin, and fewer ultra- glucose is a snapshot of your
processed and sugary foods helps reduce blood sugar (<100 is normal);
the need for insulin to keep your glucose A1c measures your average
normal. Ultimately, this better supports the blood sugar over three
beta cells that make insulin. months (<5.7 is normal).

HOW TO TELL IF
SOMETHING’S OFF
MANY SYMPTOMS OF pancreatic issues
are generic, but here are distinctive ones
to watch for, says Brett Sheppard, M.D.,
at Oregon Health & Science University.
Oily, light-colored, floating poop
Jaundice
Abdominal pain that seems to
emanate from the center of your body
Unexpected weight loss
2. PANCREATITIS
WHEN THE ENZYMES the pancreas
makes to help you digest food can’t
get to your small intestine, they
can start to digest the pancreas
itself. The main symptom is horrific
abdominal pain. Per Dr. Sheppard,
the most common causes are alco-
hol abuse, which impairs the organ’s
functioning, and gallstones, which
block the ducts the enzymes use.
TREATMENT
ACUTE PANCREATITIS is often
a one-off case, though it can lead
to relapsing pancreatitis, which
can turn chronic. Expect to be in
the hospital for up to a week get-
ting pain meds, IV fluids, and other
general support. If the root cause
is gallstones, you‘ll need treatment
for those, too.
CHRONIC PANCREATITIS
can lead to scar tissue that creates
even more blockages, so it may
require surgery as well as pre-
scription enzymes or hormones
that your pancreas can no longer
secrete on its own.
3. PANCREATIC
CANCER
THERE’S NO OTHER way to
say it: This is one of the scarier
cancers out there. The average
life expectancy after diagnosis
is one to three years. There’s no
preventive screening test, and
it’s very hard to catch early. But
according to Andrew Hendi-
far, M.D., medical director of
pancreatic cancer medicine at
Cedars-Sinai, there are reasons
for optimism.
TREATMENT
Depending on how advanced
a tumor is, it’s usually treated
with surgery and chemotherapy.
New therapies that target cells
that have a specific cancer-caus-
ing gene mutation are on the
horizon, says Dr. Hendifar. When
they get here, it’ll be a big deal:
Unlike most cancers, pancreatic
cancer tends to be similar across
patients—meaning new treat-
ments will help most people.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 29

 BODY CRACKING CANCER

AT FIRST I felt a twinge of pain, but

that’s a tricky thing because generally
if you press on your nuts, they hurt. So I
thought, Yeah, it’s probably nothing. But
I still wanted to get a physical and an STD
check. I go to the doctor, and he says, “This
is probably nothing, but go pee in a cup and
get an ultrasound and we’ll know for sure.”
It’s the Thursday before Labor Day
weekend in August of 2017. I was traveling
for work, and I came back and I was like,
“Oh, fuck, I should probably get that ul-
trasound done.” I go and get an STD panel
and the ultrasound and all the tests. The
doctor called me immediately and said,
“You got to come back.” I come back at
6:30 P.M. after work, and the only person
left was some schmuck doctor, because it
was the Thursday of a holiday weekend. He
was like, “Hey, so listen, you have cancer.
We don’t know for sure if you have cancer,
but you’re going to have to get your testicle
removed and then we’ll know for sure.”
Naturally, I went to Dewey Beach with
my friends that weekend because I was
like, “I’m not going to sit and be sad in
my apartment over Labor Day weekend.”
Then I came back, went to Memorial Sloan
Kettering, and got a bunch more tests
done. They said, “Yeah, you got to get this
out. We’ve got to schedule this quickly.” So
my family flew into New York from Chi-
cago, and we got it done right away. It was
a super-painful surgery, kinda like some-
body cuts a hole in your stomach and rips
one of your nuts out, because that’s what

CANCER
happened. Then they tested it, and they’re
like, “Yeah, we got it done quick enough.
You don’t need chemo right now, but we’re

WH E N COMES just going to keep an eye on it.”

FOR YOUR NUTS

I WAS FINE for a year. I would get check-
ups every six weeks, and they would do
blood tests for tumor markers and chest
X-rays and occasionally a CT scan. Typ-
ically, the nurse practitioner walks into
Getty Images (peanuts). Courtesy subject (remaining).

the office and says, “Yep, you’re all good

Testicular cancer rates are rising, and it’s
most common among young men ages 20 to 40.
Here, one guy describes his shocking diagnosis
when he was just 24—and the warning signs
that other guys should never ignore.
BY JESSE SOLOMON
to go.” This time, the doctor who did my
surgery showed up in the office, and I was
like, “Oh shit, it’s going down.” My blood
markers came back elevated. He was like,
“Yeah, you’re probably going to need either
another surgery or radiation or chemo or a
combination.”
I had stage II, where it spreads to the
lymph nodes near my stomach, which is
the natural next place that it would go.

30 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

They were like, “Listen,
you have a great prognosis.
If we do these two drugs
and chemo, the survival
rate’s pretty high. You’re
young and you’ll bounce
back.” I thought, Sloan
Kettering, they’re the best
in the country. Just trust
them. I didn’t know any-
thing about a ny thing.
Nobody in my family has From left: The author at the beginning of chemo in July 2018; dressed as Mr. Clean for
a history of cancer, so this Halloween three months into chemo; healthy and active five years later in August 2023.
was all new for me.
Starting in July 2018, I
did four rounds of five days in a row where was a little bit of tingling in my fingers and going. You should go and get blood work
I would wake up super early and Uber to toes, which is a common side effect. There every year.
the Upper East Side with a member of my were also spots in my vision and ringing I was pretty into working out before
family for my chemo treatments. During in my ears, but that’s all kind of gone away cancer, but it was mostly just to look
chemo, I was fully bald. By the end of it, now. I’ll definitely still get weird things good. Now I more so think about my in-
I was losing my eyebrows, but that part where in eating certain foods, I’ll taste sides than what I look like on the outside.
you’re prepared for. It sucks because I the chemo, or certain things that trigger I take into account nutrition way more. I
was self-conscious about being bald, but I memories. Going to the try to do things that are
ended up looking solid as a bald guy. You Upper East Side, I’ll be supposed to be good for
also feel sick all the time. I wasn’t throw- like, “Ooh, hate it here.” you, like intermittent
ing up or anything from the chemo, but Mentally, I don’t think “THE KEY TO fasting, sauna, and cold
getting pneumonia while you’re in chemo this is the best way to do BEATING CANCER IS plunge. I work out five,
is miserable. it, but I try not to think six days a week. I’ll mix
Going into the second round, I had a cold about it returning. It’s PREVENTION. YOU in some cardio depend-
and they had to delay my chemo. I got this a nerve-racking thing HAVE TO TOUCH YOUR ing on what my goals are
shot after every week of chemo to keep my that’s always looming at the time, but I pretty
white blood cells high enough to be able to in the back of your head, NUTS, AND IF YOU much lift weights and
go into chemo the following week. Then but you just have to be FEEL SOMETHING, YOU play sports.
I had a cold the third week, but my white confident. The first time
blood cells were still good enough, so I around, they said there
GOT TO GO TO THE I am very fortunate
and blessed. My parents
went into the chemo anyways and I got the was a 14 percent chance DOCTOR AND GET IT love each other, and we
flu. So there’s just all sorts of terrible shit of a recurrence before
all the time. I finished chemo in October the chemo, and then af-
CHECKED OUT.” have a great family. I’ve
been very privileged to
of 2018. It took four months to get through ter the chemo there’s a 3 go to a great college and
the four rounds, even though it was sup- to 5 percent chance. The nothing catastrophic
posed to be every third week. chemo really knocks it out. Every year out had ever happened in my life. You expect
Throughout the process, I was pretty that you make it, you get more and more se- that things will continue to go that way,
confident that I would be okay, because cure that it’s behind you. But of course, the but something that makes you realize that
the prognosis was good. You just gotta put fact that it did come back, you have PTSD this could all change in a heartbeat helps
on a smile and grit your teeth and bear it. of it coming back again. Leading up to my you appreciate all of the amazing things
There’s always that little voice in the back five-year mark [last August], I was defi- that you do have in your life. It shows you
of your head that’s like, What if you’re the nitely getting uneasy about it. who cares about you and the importance
1 percent or whatever the number is that’s The key to beating cancer is prevention. of family and which of your friends really
unlucky? You’re really hoping that you’re You have to touch your nuts, and if you feel love you and would do things for you.
not fucked. I often felt like I was trying to something, you got to go to the doctor and That gave me not just perspective on
console other people because I didn’t want get it checked out. I have friends all the my situation and how fortunate I was to
my family and friends to worry. time who say, “Yeah, I feel something. I’m have all these great people in my life, but
super nervous about it, so I’m just not go- how tough it is for other people who aren’t
ing to go to the doctor.” That’s obviously as fortunate. I hope that everybody else
I STARTED TO feel like myself again not what you’re supposed to do. Screen can find that gratitude and appreciation
by the end of March 2019. I don’t experi- yourself and get a physical every year. without having to go through something
ence any effects from the chemo today, but Once people are 18 and their mom doesn’t like this. I try to live every day like that.
I did for maybe a year or two after. There make them go to the doctor, they just stop —As told to Rachel Epstein

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 31

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32 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN STEELE

GET CRACKIN’ WITH PROTEIN POWER.
 AWARDS
Fifteen editors. Boxes upon boxes
of goops and gels and gear.
One MIKEY DAY. Here’s our guide on
how to look and feel better now.
BY GARRETT MUNCE &
THE EDITORS OF MEN’S HEALTH

BEST BODY TOOL

Manscaped
The Lawn Mower
5.0 Ultra
Cordless. Easy-to-
swap length guards.
Interchangeable
blade heads for
smooth finishes.
No joke. $110

Robe ($129) by
Dandy Del Mar.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOBBY DOHERT Y MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 35

 LIFE

SPF: HEAD TO TOE

FACE
Advanced sunscreen technology (real thing!) has pushed us
beyond the goopy, greasy, kinda-effective defense of the past.

BEST SPRAY
Pipette Mineral
Sunscreen SPF 30
It’s made to be safe for
BEST CLEANSER babies, so this ultra-gentle
Ilia Beauty The formula is suitable for the
Cleanse most sensitive skin. Plus,
Our tester said this the mineral offers supreme
foam went on light protection from damaging
but removed dirt UV rays. $16 white residue. $45
and oil with minimal
BEST LOTION BEST SERUM
Versed Total Package Kiehl’s Better Screen
Replenishing Body UV Serum
Lotion Mineral SPF 30 Its high-level SPF 50+
BEST ANTIOXIDANT SERUM This moisturizing, protection also contains
Paula’s Choice 25% skin-nourishing rub-on is a collagen peptide, which
Vitamin C + Glutathi- the smoothest sunscreen helps reduce signs of sun
one Clinical Serum we’ve found—ever. $20 damage over time. $42
This skin brightener has
two active ingredients,
yet it never feels intense
or irritates. $62
BEST ANTIAGING SERUM
SkinCeuticals Cell BEST ACNE MASK
Cycle Catalyst Murad Rapid Relief
This multi-acid complex Acne Sulfur Mask
boosts the speed at which Its sulfur, salicylic acid, and
your skin cells turn over, aiding peat work to reduce greasy
in exfoliation and reducing buildup, help prevent
fine lines and wrinkles. $115 blackheads, chill out red-
ness, and heal pimples—all

Prop styling: Andrea Bonin. Hair: Yu Nakata. Makeup: Evy Drew.

in just a few uses. $44

BEST EYE PATCHES

Peter Thomas Roth
Even Smoother Glycolic
Retinol Hydra-Gel
These patches depuff bags and
brighten dark circles, and their
glycolic acid and retinol smooth fine
lines and other signs of aging. $65

BEST WHITENING PRODUCT BEST TOOTHPASTE

TEETH

Go Smile BLU Hello Vitamin C

Professional Sonic Whitening
Pop in the mouthpiece, Instead of the usual
go do something else hydrogen peroxide, this
for two to five minutes, peppermint toothpaste
and pop it back into leverages vitamin C to
its charging station. whiten your teeth. $8
Hands-free! $119

36 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 BODY Unfortunately,
Is It Cake? soap
isn’t real. (Yet.)

BEST
ANTIPERSPIRANT

sico Stick

kept us bone dry

min E prevented
any irritation. $8

Robe ($119) by
Brooklinen.
BEST BODY WASH
Method Men
Glacier + Granite

PASS THE BAR

turizers to keep your The return of bar soap is officially here. The best depends on what you need.
skin soft and smooth
after cleansing. $8

BEST FOR BUDGETS BEST FOR A LATHER BEST FOR SMELLING AWESOME
BEST MOUTHWASH Dove Men+Care Plant Atwater Clean Impact Fulton & Roark Ltd Res
Powered Exfoliating AXD1 Body Scrub No. 18: Cloudland
Moon Charcoal
Charcoal + Clove Oil Our tester loved this bar’s This triple-milled bar soap
Mouth Rinse
Small in price, mighty exfoliating action and landed on the list thanks
This alcohol-free
on skin—a plant- generous lather, as to its smooth, lightly
rinse left our tes-
based cleanser with well as how it left their exfoliating lather alone,
ter’s mouth feeling
essential oils (olive, jojoba, skin feeling clean but but our tester also praised
clean and fresh
argan, coconut, not dry. $17 its “woodsy and musky”
without any burning
and sunflower). $7 scent. $20
or dryness. $17

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 37

 LIFE

R AGR A NC
Giorgio Gucci Guilty
Armani Acqua Elixir de Parfum
di Giò Parfum Pour Homme
This fresh, aquat- Leather and vanilla
ic cologne feels give this cologne
like a beach trip in a sweetness that’s
a bottle. $108 anchored in spices.
Wear it day or
night. $183

Paco
Rabanne 1
Million Eau de
Toilette
Warm and spicy,
Arquiste this cologne is
Parfumeur bold and unex-
L’Etrog pected. $119
Acqua
Citrus and
wood combine
for a luxury
scent you can
wear any- Ralph Lauren
where. $205 Ralph’s Club
Elixir Spray
It’s black tie in a
Brunello
bottle: lavandin,
Cucinelli Pour
sage, patchouli,
Homme
leather. Fancy.
Cypress and herbs
$140
make you feel like
you’re in Italy—for
far less than the
plane ticket to get
there. $210 Suit ($496), shirt ($128),
and tie ($60) by J.Crew.

FOR
Good Chemistry Huron Sea David Beckham
Unknown Legend Salt + Driftwood Classic Homme
Eucalyptus, violet, This lightweight Eau de Toilette
and charcoal give the aquatic scent is nos- This woodsy, spicy
fragrance an herbal, talgic yet modern at scent is strong—in a
desert vibe. $29 the same time. $60 very good way. $20

38 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 H A IR

American Crew 3-in-1

Every Man Jack Small
Batch Beard Oil
The trifecta of jojoba,
squalane, and avocado oils
helps this stuff stay light-
weight. The smoky, woodsy
scent is nice, too. $12
Chamomile + Pine
Shampoo, Condition-
The Shop Shave
er and Body Wash
Cream
This time-saving trio has
This surprisingly thin
a fresh yet soothing scent
formula poofs to a lather
that isn’t overpowering—
and provides an especial-
or too blah. $15
ly smooth shave no mat-
ter the razor type. $10

For 50 more award-winners, head to

menshealth.com/mens-health-2024-grooming-awards.

Jack Black

GLOW-UP
MIKEY DAY’S FIRST
experience with inappropriate
laughter was in third grade. It
was during a school play called
Stone Soup, he says. While the
details of the play are fuzzy
(come on, he was nine), he
remembers he had to drop a
stone into a metal bowl. So he
dropped it—hard. The rock
clanged; the class laughed,
even though they weren’t
supposed to. Now 44 and a
core cast member of Saturday
Night Live, Day says he never
forgot that feeling.
Day actually joined SNL
as a writer back in 2013. He
toiled on the show from behind
a desk, watching sketches he
wrote land and flop. And then
in 2016, David S. Pumpkins
was born. As Day tells it, he
came up with the idea of Tom
Hanks as Pumpkins, a bizarro-
world host of a haunted-eleva-
tor attraction, during a 4:00
A.M. writing session. The video
currently has 24.8 million
YouTube views.
Exfoliating Scalp
Scrub + Shampoo
RAPID Sub this in for your regular
shampoo once or twice a
FIRE week to let its exfoliator
clean and sweep away
GO-TO COLOGNE IN
buildup. $35
After Pumpkins blew up, HIGH SCHOOL?
“Drakkar Noir,
Day soon started appearing in
baby.”
front of the camera more often.
His approach to grooming MOST TRAUMATIC
didn’t change—and hasn’t MANSCAPING
EXPERIENCE?
since: shave against the grain, “Can’t comment.
like his dad taught him, and Mom might
wash your face. And though read this.” Virtue Damage
he’s a regular on the show, Day Reverse Serum
LONGEST YOU’VE
hasn’t stopped writing for it, on GONE WITHOUT Apply a few pumps of the
top of his side hustle as the host A SHOWER? keratin-packed serum
of Netflix’s Is It Cake?, now in “No comment. daily to repair, strengthen,
its third season. He says he’s Wife might and smooth damaged and
at the point in his life “where read this.” frizzed hair. $60
you just got to try something, ONE STYLE TREND
because you never know.” YOU WANT TO
Day’s plan is to put out what COME BACK?
he thinks is funny. Sometimes “Seth Green’s char-
it’s a sketch about road rage acter’s fashion in
Can’t Hardly Wait.”
based entirely on hand ges-
tures (“Traffic Altercation,” WHAT’S YOUR
season 48). Sometimes it’s SPLURGE-WORTHY Oars + Alps
a half-man, half-golden-re- GROOMING Conditioning +
PRODUCT?
triever soldier (“New Military Defining Cream
“Good shaving
Weapon,” season 47). Some- Our tester raved that
gel.”
times it’s David S. Pumpkins this cream made their
(season 42). But it’s always FAVORITE ITEM IN hair soft and provided a
YOUR CLOSET? natural hold. $16
about dropping the rock—and “Short Circuit
a little louder than you’re sup- T-shirt.”
posed to. —SEAN ABRAMS

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 39

 ADVERTISEMENT

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 LIFE W EIGHTS & PL ATES

Food styling: Simon Andrews. Prop styling: Paige Hicks. Courtesy subject (Johnson [3]).

SHRIMP.
RICE.
MUSCLE. Newly fit chef JJ JOHNSON is all about carbs.
This high-protein feast is his go-to
postworkout meal. BY PAUL KITA

42 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID MALOSH

Y
ou could try to argue that
carbohydrates w ill sab-
otage your fitness goals,
but then you’d have chef
JJ Johnson to answer to. Not only
does Johnson own the rice-centric
FieldTrip restaurants in N. Y. C., but
he’s also literally written the book
on it, The Simple Art of Rice. “Some perfectly
steamed rice—it’s so satisfying in a way that a
shake can never be,” he says. It’s not that he’s
anti-shake. It’s just that after a weight workout,
Pilates session, round of boxing, or Barry’s Boot-
camp class, Johnson says he needs something
JOHNSON’S
GO-TO
more. And as a guy who’s lost 30 pounds since
2020 and built muscles he’s never seen before,
he feels like he deserves the joy that real food MOVES
brings. His next goal: getting in more cardio 1
with weekly swims. COOKING
“A chef is an ath-
lete,” Johnson says.
“They’re on their
feet, they’re lifting,
they’re moving,
HERBED SHRIMP WITH they’re squatting—
except that nobody’s
CILANTRO-LIME RICE ever taught us
how to hinge and
This recipe, adapted from Johnson’s The Simple Art of Rice, is loaded
squat properly!”
with fresh herbs, juicy seafood, and oh-so-satisfying carbs.
2
W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D HOW TO MAKE IT BOXING
G R AT E D Z E S T A N D J U I C E O F 1. In a food processor, add the zest and juice of 5 limes, the “There’s something
6 L IM E S unchopped cilantro, parsley, chives, olive oil, and 1 tsp salt. about locking in and
2 B U N C H E S C IL A N T R O — Pulse to a coarse paste to form a marinade. hitting the heavy
1 BUNCH, TOUGH STEMS 2. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 tsp kosher salt, bag, where you have
R E M O V E D; 1 B U N C H , ½ tsp freshly ground pepper, and ¾ of the marinade. Cover to really tune out the
L E AV E S C H O P P E D and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Refrigerate the remain- rest of the world. And
1 B U N C H F L AT-L E A F PA R S L E Y, ing marinade for dipping. for me as a person,
S T E M S R E M OV E D 3. In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add I don’t always get a
1 BUNCH CHIVES the rice; saute until lightly colored, 4 minutes. Add 3½ cups chance to tune out
½ CUP OLIVE OIL, PLUS MORE of water and boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer till the rest of the world.”
FO R T H E G R IL L tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat for 10 min-
3
1 L B J U M B O S H R I M P, P E E L E D utes. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in 1 tsp salt, the chopped
cilantro leaves, and the remaining lime juice and zest. COMPOUND
A N D D E V E IN E D
4. Preheat a well-oiled grill or grill pan to high. Grill the SNATCH
2 T B S P U N S A LT E D B U T T E R “It’s a pretty
shrimp until cooked through, 2 minutes per side. Transfer
2 CUPS LONG-GRAIN WHITE to plates and serve with the rice and marinade. Feeds 4
impressive move,”
R I C E , R IN S E D Johnson says of a
NUTRITION PER SERVING: 509 calories, 29g protein, barbell-based lift.
78g carbs (4g fiber), 36g fat

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 43

 LIFE M E N ’ S W E A LT H O U R E X P E R T : C H R I S B R O W N I N G is a former financial analyst and
the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Popcorn Finance.

a fraudulent transaction. Follow that link

to a replica log-in screen for your bank or
credit card and they’ve got you.
And scammers are still cold-calling
people. “Caller-ID spoofing” is quickly
becoming one of the most annoying mod-
ern cons. Basically, attackers disguise
their phone number on your caller ID to
resemble a local number—a call you might
answer. If you pick up, the thieves will try
to smooth-talk you out of private info.
Paranoid? Great. Step 1 is complete.

STEP 2: DEFENSE!
SCAMMERS HATE TWO-FACTOR
authentication because it makes their
swindles more difficult. Many compa-
nies, including Venmo, Google, and your
bank, let you opt in to a secondary form
of ID beyond your username and pass-
word. But an even more secure option is
to use an authenticator app from Google
or Microsoft. Both apps employ a rolling
verification code that changes every 30
seconds, further complicating things for
fraudsters. For phone scams, don’t pick

FRAUD-PROOF
up any call with an unfamiliar number.

STEP 3: P@$$W[]RD$

YOUR FINANCES
YOU’VE HEARD THAT complex,
unique ones are critical—but who can
actually remember m#P52s@ap$V?
Well, a password manager can. The
Scams are everywhere, and money is one of the biggest software creates and then stores strong
sources of anxiety for American men. Protect your money passwords. All you’re responsible for is
remembering the “master” password.
(and peace of mind) with these moves. BY CHRIS BROWNING “One of the reasons I strongly recom-
mend a password manager is that people
STEP 1: WISE UP are creatures of habit,” says Robb Dune-
DATA SHOWS THAT modern fraud- wood, a tech expert and host of the Tech
sters love to phish, a scam that involves Jawn podcast. Dunewood likes 1Password
cial fraud is still on the rise. And it’s not communication dis- and Bitwarden for their
just happening to Grandma. g uised to dupe you. strong security.
The latest report from the FBI’s Inter-
net Crime Complaint Center featured
Scammers can pose as
your bank, credit-card
CALL BULL Yes, hackers target
password managers, too,
As a general rule, no estab-
some shocking numbers. The center company, friend, or rel- lished company or agency as we saw with LastPass
received more than 880,000 complaints in ative. They’ll contact will ever call, email, or text in 2022. But the soft-
2023, totaling over $12.5 billion in losses. you through email, text, you asking for personal ware does offer encryp-
Of those who reported their age, 24 percent or social-media message info. That includes : tion—another layer of
of the complaints were filed by people over and (often urgently) ask • THE IRS protection that’s a base
the age of 60 and about 21 percent came for your usernames, • THE CIA/FBI standard for any service
from millennials. (Credit $3.94 billion in passwords, and/or SSN. • YOUR STATE/LOCAL you choose.
cryptocurrency-based investment scams, For a dded ef fec t , GOVERNMENT You need only an hour
• WALMART
which target pretty much everybody.) sc a m mers m ay for- or t wo to make these
• APPLE
If all that raises your anxiety levels, mat their pleas to look • GOOGLE changes, so take the time,
you can make yourself a more elusive tar- familiar and implore • YOUR BANK like now. Then go and do
get with three simple steps. you to click a link to stop the same for Grandma.

44 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH ILLUSTRATION BY NANA RAUSCH

Win Big with Men’s Health!
M E N S H E A LT H . C O M / L E V E L U P
 LIFE WAT CH OU T

The
Is
From APP-ENABLED
INTERFACES to
TRAVEL features—these
TECH-FORWARD
watches do so much
more than tell time.

CONNECT
TAG Heuer
Connected
Calibre E4
Its face hides an app interface
for language translation, hands-
free payments, and a golf range
finder. It also tracks heart rate,
pace, and distance. $1,450

46 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 ENDURE
Durable, corrosion-
resistant titanium and
ceramic watches are
big right now. And
they’ll last.
Longines Spirit Flyback
A chronometer and a stopwatch
that resets and restarts with one
button are both armored within
a titanium case with a rock-solid
ceramic bezel. $4,850
CGI ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHNNY MARONEY
Victorinox Dive Pro
The tough titanium case and
sapphire-crystal display have the
coveted ISO 1413 shock-resistant
certification. Even the strap, rub-
ber or paracord, is strong. $1,500
Tudor Pelagos FXD
A titanium hood that’s
waterproof up to 200 me-
ters houses a self-winding
mechanism and a massive
70-hour power reserve.
(Forty is typical.) $4,150
Rolex Yacht-Master 42
This sleek Oyster Perpetual
Yacht-Master 42mm watch is
light on the wrist yet mighty,
courtesy of its high-strength
titanium. $14,050
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 47
RACE
Chronographs—
mini stopwatches
in the face—
aren’t new. But
these watches
boost the func-
tion with power
and readability.

Breitling
Avenger B01
Three stopwatch func-
tions. Rust- and water-
resistant. A 70-hour
power reserve. It’s one of
the most resilient chro-
nos out there. $10,500

Tissot PR516 Rado Captain Cook Movado Heritage

Courtesy brands (products)

This throwback style was This chronograph has sea

worn by Bond himself in 1973’s
Live and Let Die. The modern
reinterpretation has a 68-hour
power reserve backing up a trio
of chronograph dials. $1,850
legs. The titanium-and-bronze
case blocks corrosion from salt
water, and an antireflective,
scratch-resistant crystal face
helps with readability. $4,750
Series Calendoplan S
This sporty chrono’s right sub-
dial serves as a seconds count-
er, the bottom an hour counter
with a date window, and the
left a minute counter. $1,095

48 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 WAT CH OU T LIFE

GLOBE-HOP
These timepieces all feature
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT),
a function that tracks time zones
for travel (or, fine, Zoom calls).

Seiko 5 Sports SKX

This steel watch’s charcoal-gray
dial is framed by a bicolor bezel
and features a 24-hour GMT,
plus a “cyclops” magnified date
lens. Luminous markers and
hands make reading easy. $475

Norqain Neverest
This Swiss watch features
an ironclad, water-resistant,
stainless-steel construction. And
its “jumping” hour hand enables
you to quick-switch time zones
with a crown twist. $3,950

Bulova
Oceanographer Citizen Series 8
The face allows you to check GMT functionality paired with
the date and two time zones, a tough-as-nails stainless-steel
all while submerged up to case makes this watch ideal for
200 meters below sea level. the constantly moving business
(And on land, too.) $1,295 traveler. $1,695

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 49

 LIFE C O O L D A D : G R I T E DI T IO N !

WHAT MAKES A
FATHER TOUGH
Social-media wormholes,
political tensions, planetary
peril—who would WANT TO
RAISE A KID in this world,
anyway? Well, these guys.
Here’s what BEING A DAD has
TAUGHT EACH OF THEM about
HAVING GRIT right now.

GRIT IS . . .
ALL THE
FEELINGS
RESILIENCE IS AT the forefront of
my daily thoughts. I remember with
stunning clarity the conversations my
father had with me when I was younger
than my sons are now. He talked about
the thick skin I’d have to develop when
people judged me for the color of it.
That was a lot for a little kid with big
feelings to digest.
As a mixed-race Black father, I
know now, and maybe sensed then,
that my father had big feelings, too—
“sensed” because they were hidden
behind that gritty facade, a stoic exte-
rior nacre-hardened by surviving a
world that tried to kill him. The way
he showed his big feelings was to pass
as many pearls of wisdom as possible
to his son. And he did what he set out
to do. He protected me from the harms
he feared, at least as best he could. But
I’ll admit that some of that protection
came at the cost of closing my big feel-
ings up in a shell, shielding me from
some of the things those feelings
might have let me enjoy.
My sons have big feelings, too, and
come by them honestly, perhaps an
unwanted gift from their old man.
Sadly, I see flickers of the fear those
feelings generated in me as a boy their
age (and if I’m honest, as an adult)—
the worries, the anxieties, the voices
stoking stress and doubt. In spite of
myself, at least in the early goings of
fatherhood, I leaned on grit, on sto-
icism, on manning up, on being hard,
on protecting the soft center from
those who might make it past that
shell. I watched their faces as they
looked at me with confusion, smarter
than me in the ways our children
always are, wondering why I encour-
aged them not to feel their feelings.
And then I thought of oysters. When
a foreign body makes its way through
an oyster’s shield-like valves, the irri-
tant lodges itself within the soft body.
This sand, this plastic, this grit is an
injury, and the formation of a pearl
around this harm is its healing. It is
beautiful, precious scar tissue. It is a
symbol of survival.
I don’t want my boys to have grit.
Yes, I want them to be strong. I want
them to be brave. But I don’t want

50 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GLENN HARVEY

 GRIT IS . . .
TEAMWORK
WHEN MY SON Charlie was six months old, my wife, Jorden, and I took him to
the Penobscot Nation Reservation, where I grew up and was raised, to visit with
my aunt Linda and her husband, Uncle Mike. We ate pizza and did what Natives
do best, which is tell stories. But much of the time there was all about Charlie. We
sat at the table, all eyes on him as he sat on his mother’s lap and drooled.
“My God,” Aunt Linda said, “he looks just like your father.” I took comfort in
that. My father has been gone now for 12 years. When I look at Charlie, I see it too,
but only the resemblance of my father, of that man, the man my mother divorced
because of his addictions and gambling, the man my mother hated as much as she
loved, the man I never was able to emotionally connect with despite how much he
loved me. “I can’t get over it,” my aunt said. “If your mother was alive, she would
be so pissed he didn’t look like her.” Uncle Mike, a retired tribal police sergeant
who is so big and strong I’d place money on him in a fight against an Alaskan griz-
zly, just about fell off his chair cackling. Though she is gone, I know my mother’s
pissed. I can hear her: “The next one better look like me, dammit.”
My mother was also not so different from my father. She suffered from addiction
and died too early. As a child, I saw and experienced things no child should see or
experience. But my mother had such strength. And that strength is something
I’ve seen only once elsewhere: in my wife. Mom always called her Tiny Dancer,
although I don’t quite know why. As a father now, I understand what my own father
was never able to witness or learn. To be a father is to recognize the strength of
women—or anyone who may adopt the role of mom when it comes to parenting.
Tiny Dancer, Jorden, your intensity as a mother, your love for our son, is unlike
anything I’ve ever seen. (Sorry, other moms—even my own.) It makes me laugh
for some indescribable reason that might simply be that men, in my experience,
take their time in figuring things out. We’re slow learners. Or at least I am.
But I have to laugh. That laughter has been the pain pill for my swollen heart,
alleviating the grief and anger and jealousy and irritation of not having my par-
ents here right now or way, way back when they should have been.

MORGAN TALTY is a writer living in Maine. His books include Night of the Liv-
ing Rez and Fire Exit, which is out June 4.

them to be these things by closing off

the hearts that are three sizes too big
for their bodies. I want them to develop
the ability to face the challenges of
the world while still open to love and
develop the ability to absorb every-
thing that life might wield against
their soft centers and turn it into
something priceless, to return beauty
to anything that might see them done
harm. I want them to be like oysters.

JOHN VERCHER is a writer living

in Philadelphia. His books include
Three-Fifths, After the Lights Go
Out, and his latest, Devil Is Fine, out
June 18.
 LIFE C O O L D A D : G R I T E DI T IO N !

GRIT IS . . .
PRACTICE,
Yet rather than escape, I’m learning
to explore acceptance. As Siddhartha
Gautama—the Buddha—said, “What-

ALL THE TIME

ever has the nature of arising has the
nature of ceasing.” And I know this. I’ve
learned that emotions such as the feeling
of uselessness are transitory. Therefore I
I’VE NEVER hugged my kids. Ever. times there can be a sense of fear that I am can accept them, without attachment to
I learned that my wife, Michel, was not a good enough dad, that I am somehow how I think life should be. This wisdom is
pregnant a few weeks after I was diag- unworthy. The wanting and attachment simple to understand, but it ain’t easy to
nosed with ALS on January 5, 2011, to do something—to prove my value—has live. It’s the practice of a lifetime.
and ever since, the condition has pre- been a theme in my life, even before ALS.
vented me from enjoying some of the Social scientist Arthur Brooks, Ph.D., STEVE GLEASON is a former NFL safety
things that ordinary people might take calls this the “striver’s curse.” It’s almost and special-teams player who now
for granted. Like, say, hugging. But our universal that people think they have to devotes his (nonfamily) time to making
children, Gray and Rivers, motivate me accomplish more and more to gain the life easier and fun for others living with
to continue. Being an active and involved approval of others in order to be happy ALS. This essay was adapted from his
parent has been the most important and feel valued. This is a futile approach. new memoir, A Life Impossible, out now.
commitment in my life, but in addition to
providing enormous joy and inspiration,
it can be a deep source of pain. One of my
mantras is Be passionately committed
and completely unattached.
Whenever I try to interact with my
wife or our children, it can take so long
to communicate that the moment passes
before they are engaged. I type with my
eyes, letter by letter, using eye tracker
technology because I can no longer move,
talk, or breathe on my own. Multiple
times a day, I’ll be typing something to
say to one of them, but they’re out of the
room by the time I’m finished. I still say
what I typed up, just to release it.
The effort it takes for me to connect
with my people can be difficult and
exhausting—unimaginably fucking
exhausting. And so often the effort is
unsuccessful, or because there’s no
inf lection in my synthetic voice, it
completely backfires. Accepting these
moments and leaving them behind can
feel impossible. But it’s no one’s fault. At

ONE OF MY
MANTRAS IS TO BE
PASSIONATELY
COMMITTED
AND COMPLETELY
UNATTACHED.

52 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 y

trynad3.com

TIPSNTRENDS.COM

SMARTEN UP TO SHRINK YOUR GUT
Eating Right Can Help You Accelerate Your Progress
BEING A TRAINER, BODYBUILDER, and nutrition ex-
pert means that companies frequently send
me their products and ask for my stamp of
approval. Most of the time I dive into research,
test the product out, and send the company
honest feedback. Sometimes, however, I re-
fuse to give the product a try, because frankly,
the ingredients inside aren’t real food. And I’d
rather drink diesel fuel than torture my body
with a chemical concoction.
Like my father always said, “What you put in-
side your body always shows up on the outside.”
One protein shake that I received, that will
remain nameless, was touted as ‘the next big
shake’ but really had a list of gut destroying in-
gredients. Everywhere I read I saw harmful arti-
ficial ingredients, added sugars, synthetic dyes,
preservatives and cheap proteins; the kind of
proteins that keep you fat no matter how hard
you hit the gym, sap your energy and do nothing
for your muscles.
Disappointed after reviewing this “new”
shake, I hit the gym and bumped into my fa-
vorite bodybuilding coach. This guy is push-
ing 50, has the energy of a college kid, and is
ripped. So are his clients.
While I firmly believe that the gym is a no-
talk focus zone, I had to ask, “Hey Zee, what
protein shake are you recommending to your
clients these days?”
Zee looked at me, and shook his head. “Pro-
tein shakes are old news and loaded with junk.
ADVERTISEMENT
I don’t recommend protein shakes, I tell my
clients to drink INVIGOR8 Superfood Shake
because it’s the only all natural meal replace-
ment that works and has a taste so good that
it’s addicting.”
Being skeptical of what Zee told me, I decid-
ed to investigate this superfood shake called
INVIGOR8.
Turns out INVIGOR8 Superfood Shake has
a near 5-star rating on Amazon. The creators
are actual scientists and personal trainers who
set out to create a complete meal replacement
shake chocked full of superfoods that—get this—
actually accelerate how quickly and easily you
lose belly fat and builds even more lean, calorie
burning muscle.
We all know that the more muscle you build,
the more calories you burn. The more fat you
melt away the more definition you get in your
arms, pecs and abs.
The makers of INVIGOR8 were determined to
make the first complete, natural, non-GMO su-
perfood shake that helps you lose fat and build
lean muscle. The result is a shake that contains
100% grass-fed whey that has a superior nutri-
ent profile to the grain-fed whey found in most
shakes, metabolism boosting raw coconut oil,
hormone free colostrum to promote a healthy
immune system, Omega 3, 6, 9-rich chia and
flaxseeds, superfood greens like kale, spinach,
broccoli, alfalfa, and chlorella, and clinically test-
ed cognitive enhancers for improved mood and
brain function. The company even went a step
further by including a balance of pre and probi-
otics for regularity in optimal digestive health,
and digestive enzymes so your body absorbs the
high-caliber nutrition you get from INVIGOR8.
While there are over 3500 testimonials on
Amazon about how INVIGOR8 “gave me more
energy and stamina” and “melts away abdomi-
nal fat like butter on a hot sidewalk”, what really
impressed me was how many customers raved
about the taste. So I had to give it a try.
When it arrived I gave it the sniff test. Unlike
most meal replacement shakes it smelled like
whole food, not a chemical factory. So far so
good. Still INVIGOR8 had to pass the most im-
portant test, the taste test.
And INVIGOR8 was good. Better than good. I
could see what Zee meant when he said his cli-
ents found the taste addicting.
I also wanted to see if Invigor8 would help me
burn that body fat I’d tried to shave off for years
to achieve total definition.
Just a few weeks later I’m pleased to say, shav-
ing that last abdominal fat from my midsection
wasn’t just easy. It was delicious.
Considering all the shakes I’ve tried I can hon-
estly say that the results I’ve experienced from
INVIGOR8 are nothing short of astonishing.
A company spokesperson confirmed an
exclusive offer for Men’s Health readers: if you
order INVIGOR8 this month, you’ll receive $10
off your first order by using promo code “MEN”
at checkout. Plus, the company offers a 100%
No-Hassle, Money-Back Guarantee. If you’re in
a rush to burn fat, restore lean muscle and boost
your stamina and energy you can order INVIG-
OR8 today at DrinkInvigor8.com or by calling
1-800-958-3392.
 OUR EXPERT: RACHAEL FLORA is a cofounding editor of The Savannahian, U LT I M A T E G U Y T R I P LIFE
a digital alt-weekly covering Savannah culture.

A N
SAAHHVHHHH- 4

Waves, weirdness, and wild—

Savannah, Georgia, has
3. HIKE IT OFF
adventure all over its map. Skidaway Island State
1
Here’s your must-do list. Park has the Big Ferry
Trail, a three-miler that
3 BY RACHAEL FLORA winds beneath oaks,
crosses paths with deer
and egrets, and passes
Civil War–era historic
Getty Images (top left, 2). SV Images LLC (1). Shutterstock/Patrick Jennings (3). Alida Rooftop Bar (4). Courtesy Daufuskie Trail Rides (5).

sites. Tack on the Sand-

piper and Avian loops
for more mileage.

4. BAR HOP
Start with Moodright’s
duckpin bowling, Uber
to Savoy Society for
Spam sliders and then
to the Rail Pub for
karaoke, before ending
the night at the Lost
Square, the rooftop bar
at the Alida hotel.

1. BEACH X2 2. RIDE ROUGH 5. GIDDYUP

Head to Tybee Island’s Roughly 20 minutes Do Telecaster Charters
beaches in the A.M., from downtown, for trout and redfish
before crowds descend. Tom Triplett Park fishing or Bull River
Lunch on oysters and has 7.5 miles of Marina for eco tours. Or
Wagyu hot dogs at mountain-bike trails book a ferry to Daufuskie
Sea Wolf, then walk to that twist through Island for a sunset,
North Beach and grab a wooded terrain. viewed atop a steed via
board from Tybee Surf (The tightly wound Daufuskie Trail Rides.
Lessons for an after- Bone Pit loop is espe- (The one-hour ride
noon workout. cially gnarly.) doubles as core work.)

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 55

 But here’s how to be more
okay, more of the time.
J Studios/Getty Images

BY LYNYA FLOYD, MARTY MUNSON, AND GREGORY SCOTT BROWN, M.D.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 57

 MIND B E M O R E O K AY

ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS—

and probably half of the conversations you’ve had
in the past year—things are rough. Nearly one
in three U. S. adults say they had depression and
anxiety symptoms in 2023, according to Census
Bureau data. And there’s no sign of improvement.
It isn’t just us Americans, either, the World
Health Organization confirms. Which is actually
good news, because there’s a building global effort
to help us all feel more okay. The UK is pioneering
on-demand, seven-day-a-week therapy clinics
where it’s as easy to get help as it is a shave. Croatia is
piloting digital facial scans that read your anxiety
level and recommend a health checkup if it’s high.
Cutting-edge, yes, but what about low-tech,
low-effort ways to help you feel better right now?
Experts agree that there are ways to feel more >> If you have . . . 1 MINUTE
okay on your own. The first step is acknowledging
that you’re down or anxious or just off. “If you say TICKLE YOUR USE THIS
BRAIN 4-LETTER WORD
to yourself, ‘I’m having a hard time right now,’ it
has the effect of making you feel more in con-
trol,” says therapist and MH advisor Avi Klein, The Internet has made Whether it’s lunch or life,

PM Images/Getty Images (brain). Wong Yu Liang/Getty Images

L.C.S.W. Owning that you’re not totally fine ASMR—the autonomous making choices can make you
doesn’t mean you’re going to wallow in it. “It just sensory meridian response— anxious. Decision coach Nell
means that what you’re feeling is uncomfortable bigger than ever. Sounds like a Wulfhart says reframing the
and hard and you wish it weren’t happening. And person whispering about their situation can help. Instead of

(phone). Pixel Stories/Stocksy (notepad).

that can help you find the ground underneath day can give you a calming asking yourself, “What if?”
your feet,” he says. brain tingle. “Recent studies switch to the more confi-
Meditation retreats and quiet-quitting are suggest that ASMR can help dent, regret-free “Even if.”
options for feeling better. But with your mind, individuals relax and reduce So instead of “What if I take
sometimes you don’t have to go that big. How are their anxiety,” says Sunny a job at a start-up that fails?”
you feeling now? A little more okay? Great! Then Xun Liu, Ph.D., at the Stan- think, “Even if it fails, I’ll
onward to more simple steps to achieve glorious ford Social Media Lab. Try: learn things and my résumé is
okayness, no matter how much time you have. Gibi ASMR or ASMR Darling. updated for the next move.”

>> If you have . . . 5 MINUTES

OFF-LOAD
THE PROMPT JOURNALS flooding the TikTok shop are the rare social-media trend
that mental-wellness pros actually get behind. If the word journaling gives you hives,
these fill-in-the-blank routes ease the pain by prompting you. No staring down a blank
page and trying to figure out what to put there that’s not totally cringe.
Writing down what’s on your mind isn’t just a thing counselors and Tim Ferriss tell you
to do. Research has found it can help reduce mental distress and increase resilience in
those with anxiety. People often resist “journaling” of any sort because they think it has
to be deep, or you have to write a gratitude list, or even something that makes sense. Nope.
“It’s really just a way to process our thoughts,” says Kenly Brozman, a health and perfor-
mance coach at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts.
“We process things differently when they’re just in our heads than we do when we
say them out loud or write them down,” she says. Getting them out of your head helps
you . . . get them out of your head. If you don’t have a prompt journal, or the prompts aren’t
what you need, simply dump whatever you’re thinking about onto a piece of paper. Don’t
get precious about it. You don’t even have to be nice or fair or write legibly. Shred the page
when you’re done if you want. Just off-load and let yourself carry less weight.

58 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 >> If you have... 1 DAY
>> If you have . . . 1 HOUR
PLAN A HANG
WITH THE 2023 surgeon general’s
report tagging how loneliness is as
deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day,
start-ups, of course, are aiming to fill the
IMRAN AHMED
social void. Peoplehood, for instance,
and the forthcoming Belong Center ONLINE OUTRAGE CULTURE isn’t slowing down, so neither is
facilitate in-person sessions to help you Imran Ahmed, 45, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital
build relationships. Probably fine, but Hate, which exposes hate-mongers and pressures platforms
instead of forcing it with strangers (and to reform. Among its projects: uncovering the Disinformation
paying), try bringing people you know Dozen—the 12 people behind 65 percent of online vaccine mis-
into things you already do. Invite some- information. In aiming to counter hate, Ahmed gets a lot of it.
one to join you on your Friday lunch run.
Here’s how he manages:
Build or cook stuff with others. Check in

5:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M.

at a climbing gym, where you need to be
erated timelines on
belayed. If that’s not your style, reframe
social media that are
your thoughts about it. A 2020 Harvard TRIAGE TAKE A BREAK
designed to keep us
study found that people who reappraised Since we also op- Midafternoon energy
hooked is like drink-
alone time as “solitude” and not “loneli- erate in the UK and became a challenge
ing from a stream.
ness” stayed in a better mood. Europe, I’ve got to be when I turned 40. So
Sure, the water looks
100 percent when I I take mini breaks.
nice, but you don’t
wake up—there are If it’s been a really
always messages know who’s put what
in it. It can make you brutal day, I might
needing attention watch a few minutes
first thing. I identify really sick.
of something on Net-
items that need
action and address
urgent messages.
11:00 A.M. flix. I love dumb mov-
ies where the good
WORK OUT guy wins (Marvel,
After that, it’s coffee,
I carve out 30 Michael Bay explode-
showering, dressing,
minutes a day for a-thons). I think that’s
Illustration: Jason Raish.

and saying good

exercise. Some- because I love the
morning to my wife.
times it’s resistance idea of good defeat-
5:45 A.M. bands and body-
weight exercises
ing evil and light illu-
minating darkness.
DECISIONS, between meetings.
DECISIONS
Everything for me
2:00 P.M. 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
is oriented around LEAVE WORK
BEST PROMPT JOURNALS being able to make RESPOND, I switch off to spend
great decisions and DON’T REACT time with my wife.
communicate them When you do some- I’m lucky that
effectively. I like to thing impactful, my work doesn’t
take on decisions you have to expect linger in my mind
first thing, without a negative conse- in my spare time.
bringing the bag- quence alongside
gage of a day into
them, since decision
your positive one.
There will be people 10:00 P.M.
If You Prefer Routine: fatigue accrues who want to cheer GET SLEEP
THE FIVE MINUTE JOURNAL throughout the day. everything you do I am deeply anxious
This classic has the same and others who about what happens
prompts on each page, including
“What would make today great?”
7:00 A.M. want to end your life.
You’ve got to not let it
to the world, to our
democracy, and to
$29; intelligentchange.com. SKIP SCROLLING
I seek information affect you. I try not to our kids if we fail
If You Like Straightforward: that helps me make care when someone as an organization,
MINDJOURNAL decisions, and attacks me. I just care but I know I do
Smart and solid prompts—even a consume very little about whether I’m everything I can
checklist of emotions—in a hand- from the digital flow. using both my hands each day to counter
some book make you want to Consuming from to push the arc of his- the things I fear, so
engage. $48; mindjournals.com algorithmically gen- tory toward justice. I sleep peacefully.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 59

 B E M O R E O K AY
>> If you have . . .1 MONTH
CONSIDER MEDS
BY GREGORY SCOTT BROWN, M.D.
ANTIDEPRESSANTS HAVE
been around for about seven
decades. Right now we need them
more than ever. About 21 million
Americans every year have at least
one major depressive episode.
Pharma companies are always
trying to come up with newer meds
that work better. In some cases,
they’re succeeding. Lexapro, an
antidepressant developed in the
early 2000s, has fewer side effects
than clomipramine, developed in
the ’60s. Auvelity, which gained
FDA approval two years ago, takes
less time to act than some other
antidepressants. There’s even a
drug in development right now that
you may need to take for only two
weeks—and then you’re done. And
amid these advancements, studies
are offering glimmers of hope that
GLP-1 receptor agonists (Ozempic,
Wegovy, Mounjaro) might help
treat depression.
But what gets lost in the news is
that we have plenty of antidepres-
sants right now that work really
well. I wish more guys gave them
a chance. The newer meds aren’t
60 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
across-the-board better than older
ones—they’re just different. For
instance, I had a patient who felt
“wired and tired” for months. He
was always up late, replaying the
“mistakes” from his workday,
and was so overwhelmed he was
skipping meals. An older medica-
tion called mirtazapine was a good
option for him because it’s great for
sleep and can help improve appe-
tite. A newer one, like Auvelity, on
the other hand, can be stimulating
and might make someone like that
patient feel too amped up.
It’s true that finding the right
antidepressant might take a
minute. With SSRIs, it could take a
couple weeks for someone to notice
symptom relief. And if the first
med you choose isn’t right and you
try something else, it might take
a month for you to feel better. But
spending some time with your doc-
tor to get the right treatment gives
Levi Brown/Trunk Archive
you the best chance for long-term
success. Yes, waiting to feel better
can be a pain, but you shouldn’t
let that put you off. What’s a few
months to get your whole life back?

THE NEW CRAZE
L
ife really does fly by. Before I knew it, my
40s had arrived, and with them came some
new gifts from dear ol’ Mother Nature—fre-
quent knee pain, stress, low energy and sleepless-
ness. Now, I’m a realist about these things, I knew
I wasn’t going to be young and resilient forever.
But still, with “middle-age” nearly on my doorstep,
I couldn’t help but feel a little down. That is until I
heard about the new craze.
It began a few months back when I was com-
plaining about my aches and pains to my mara-
thon-running buddy, Ben, who is my same age.
He casually mentioned how he uses CBD oil to
help with his joint pain. He said that CBD has
given him more focus and clarity throughout
the day and that his lingering muscle and joint
discomfort no longer bothered him. He even felt
comfortable signing up for back-to-back mara-
thons two weekends in a row this year.
That made even this self-proclaimed skeptic
take notice.
But I still had some concerns. According to
one study in the Journal of the American Med-
ical Association, 70% of CBD products didn’t
contain the amount of CBD stated on their la-
bels. And, as a consumer, that’s terrifying!
If I was going to do this, I needed to trust the
source through and through. My two-fold re-
search process naturally led me to Zebra CBD.
First, I did a quick online poll—and by that,
I mean I posed the CBD question on my Face-
book page. Call me old fashioned but I wanted
to know if there were people whom I trusted
(more than anonymous testimonials) who’ve
had success using CBD besides my buddy. That
ADVERTISEMENT
is how I found out that Zebra CBD has a label ac-
curacy guarantee which assures customers like
me what is stated on the label is in the product.
Secondly, I wanted cold hard facts. Diving
deep into the world of CBD research and clin-
ical studies, I came across Emily Gray M.D., a
physician at the University of California at San
Diego (UCSD) Medical School and medical
advisor for Zebra CBD who is researching the
effects of CBD. Dr. Gray wrote “early results with
CBD have been promising and we have a lot
of research underway now. I’ve had several pa-
tients using CBD with good success. It’s import-
ant that you know your source of CBD and how
to use it properly.”
After hearing it from the doctor’s mouth, I re-
turned to my online poll and was amazed by the
number of close friends and family who were
already on the CBD train. Apparently, I was the
only one without a clue! And funny enough,
a couple of friends who commented were us-
ing the same brand as my buddy—Zebra CBD.
There was no consensus as to why they were
using CBD, but the top reasons given were for
muscle & joint discomfort, mood support, sleep
support, stress and headaches, as well as sup-
porting overall health & wellness.
Eventually, even the most skeptical of the
bunch can be won over. With a trusted CBD
source in mind, I decided to try it.
When I viewed Zebra CBD’s selection online,
I was impressed by its array of products, includ-
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tablets, mints and gummies. After reading on
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The first product I tried was the rub. Now
this stuff was strong. Immediately after rubbing
it on my knee, the soothing effects kicked in. It
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is, after two weeks of using it, my knee pain no
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me stay active.
The Zebra Gummies, on the other hand, had
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scribe exactly; it's definitely not a "high" feeling.
It's more like an overall sense of relaxation—but
well worth it. Needless to say, I will being using
these again.
While it hasn’t been a catch-all fix to every one
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quency of my aches. And it sure doesn’t seem
like a coincidence how much calmer and more
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All-in-all, CBD is one of those things that you
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 B E M O R E O K AY MIND

WHAT MADE ME
MORE OKAY
Learning a
Team Sport
Chris
Baker
52, ELEMENTARY-
SCHOOL TEACHER

I had done individual sports for most

of my life, but in 2021 I decided to try ice
hockey. I bought some used equipment and
showed up at an adult pickup game and
basically said, “Can I play?” It has brought
>> If you have . . .1 YEAR me more than I expected. I’ve learned to

SEEK TO UNDERSTAND
love the good and bad of being on a team.
Sometimes you feel you’ve let your team-
mates down, but you have camaraderie
when you make an assist. It’s given me a
new reason to keep up with myself.
ELECTION ANGST IS back. This time, stave off that frustration and maybe
even some infighting among friends and family with strategies from Monica
Guzman, a senior fellow at Braver Angels, an organization that helps people Caring
manage partisan animosity. for Plants
HOW DO YOU AVOID CLASHES? Nelson
ONE WAY IS to wait a little longer before jumping in with your opinion. For ZêPequéno
instance, in 2016 my mother voted for Trump and I voted for Clinton. I called 34, ARTIST AND FOUNDER
OF @BLACKMENWITH-
her the night of that election. I was worried at a deep level that something had GARDENS
broken in America.
I bought some succulents as a way to learn
And my mother, to her credit, listened for a very long time. I’m her daughter,
how to draw them. It was a low point in my life,
and I was in pain, so she listened. And then what she said wasn’t that I was wrong.
and one day I looked at them on the window-
She talked about growing up in Mexico knowing that every election was rigged.
Epoxydude/Getty Images (speech bubbles). Courtesy subject (Baker). Christopher Mortenson (ZêPequeño). Gentl and Hyers (Stein).

sill. Seeing something else that was alive in my

She told me what it felt like to be here for this election, when all she saw in the
apartment made me feel not so alone. I looked
media was the presupposition that Hillary Clinton would win. But she decided
online and found a low level of representation
to vote anyway. Because she knew that in this country, her vote would count. And
of people who look like me doing anything
her candidate won. So when I said my fear was that democracy had broken, she
with plants. So I took matters into my own
said to me, “Democracy works.” And because she had listened so long, I was able
hands and created a platform where people
to hear that, and it complicated my view.
like me can see, be seen, and be inspired.
WHY IS COMPLICATING YOUR VIEW GOOD?
A LOT OF TIMES when things are very simple in our minds, they’re also scarier.
Our imagination about the other side is fueled by fear. We exaggerate the extrem-
Creating
ity of their beliefs and tend to think that people hold them for nefarious reasons. Pop-ups
But when we actually hear their stories, we often discover the reasons aren’t Joshua
nefarious, and the world becomes less scary. That night after I talked with my David Stein
mom, I could no longer say with much certainty that things had broken in Ameri- 42, WRITER
ca. Instead, I was able to ask things like “What are all the dynamics that are going
on in our society?” rather than asserting an answer. Then it’s a lot easier to be
collaborative than being in a place where you feel that everyone who disagrees I started crafting restaurant-related
with you is crazy, stupid, or evil. pop-up cards—like pop-up books, but as
cards—in the pandemic. I felt I was re-cre-
BUT YOU STILL DON’T AGREE. ating those little joys and surprises I missed
EVEN THOUGH you’ll still disagree, you will be less afraid. And you’re going to when not going out. Then I made them for
be less consumed by, for example, the need to check your favorite media source pediatric hospice patients. They help me
to see what more affirmation they can give you about how awful people are on the create a small world of predictable cause and
other side. The more you talk with other people, the more likely you are to realize effect. Flip a flap, a face pops up. Open a fold,
that you don’t disagree on everything. We can’t see that if we keep judging one a flower unfurls. Pull a tab, tears roll down
another from a distance. my face. If only life were that cut-and-dry.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 63

 MIND COMMON KNOWLEDGE

THE
SOUNDTRACK
TO A
CALMER
YOU
How the ubiquitous superstar
learned to turn down
the chaos and noise by
turning up the right music.
BY COMMON

L
AST YEAR, I lost a friend of mine
who was close to me. I was going to
speak at his memorial, and I needed
to get into the space of what I would say.
I needed something to calm me, some-
thing to give me inspiration. I went to
Kamasi Washington. I went to John Col-
trane. I even went to some A Tribe Called
Quest. This music helped me get into
the mindset where I could say something
sincere and thoughtful and find peace in
what I was saying.
That’s a kind of meditation to me.
Meditation is a form of centering
myself, quieting my mind, listening to
the truest parts of me, and removing
anything I don’t need at that moment to
be centered. If thoughts come up, I just
move them out of the way and let them
pass by. Eventually I get into a centered
space where I’m feeling my truest self
and feel I’ve calmed my mind. I can
hear what I’m thinking and what I’m
feeling—and I listen.
It’s hard for me not to take in the
pain of the world. Of course I feel it. I’m
compassionate. I care. My way of dealing
with the tension of daily life and all the
problems in this world starts with me
and music. The songs I put on allow me
to remove whatever’s going on in the
world, and I can be at peace with that
music. I can be in tune with that music,
and it allows my thoughts to come up
for me to experience and feel. Some of
my creativity comes from when I’m in
a meditative space. That’s a centering
and a meditation in itself. There’s a lot of
music for you to meditate to.
I think André 3000’s album New Blue
Sun is brilliant and it’s peaceful. It’s in
my catalog of music that I could go to if I
need to feel that calm. Kamasi has a song
called “Askim” that makes me remem-
ber my higher self and calms me. John
Coltrane’s A Love Supreme affects me in
a certain way, where I feel like everything
is going to be okay. I could be driving,
still safe, but D’Angelo’s “Africa” can put
me in a meditative place. If a lot is going
on, I need that music.
Meditation has a divine nature to
it. It’s like you are connecting with
your higher self, and your higher self is
connected with the Most High. Music
is divine. It’s the Most High speaking
through us in so many ways. When they
say music can put you in a trance, that’s
meditative. Gospel music can put me
in that space as well. Artists like Tasha
Cobbs Leonard, William Murphy, Jona-
than McReynolds, and Travis Green put
me there. It’s all about discovering for
yourself what you need to be at your best.

64 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 O U R E X P E R T : C O M M O N, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn,
is a Grammy-, Emmy-, and Academy Award–winning
artist, actor, activist, and New York Times best-sell-
ing author. His new book, And Then We Rise: A Guide
to Loving and Taking Care of Self, is out now.
Over the years, I have also come to
understand that everything medita-
tive doesn’t have to calm. Meditation
doesn’t have to be only the flutes and
wind chimes. I’ve had times where I
feel like Nas’s “N. Y. State of Mind” is a
song I can meditate to before I go into
a meeting, and it gets me to where I
need to be. Meditation also has a focus.
When I’m playing Mobb Deep’s “Shook
Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images
Ones Pt. II,” I’m about to bring it!
Any kind of music can be meditative,
depending on what you need.
If you want to change your habits to
make music more meditative, it helps
to go back to some of the music you
used to listen to. If you’re in a new place
in your life compared to when you first
COMMON’S
GO-TO PLAYLISTS
PEACE, FLEXING HIS BRAIN, AND GETTING
A GOOD WORKOUT. VISIT MH’S SPOTIFY
PAGE TO ADD THEM TO YOUR LIFE.
GET CALM
“Acknowledgement”
John Coltrane
listened, it might give you a different
“Askim”
perspective. There’s music I’ve been
Kamasi Washington
listening to for 30 years that I’m still
hearing new things in. I was listen-
“Africa”
ing to George Benson lately. No I.D. D’Angelo
sampled his “The Changing World” for
my song “I Used to Love H.E.R.” But “Grateful”
to hear him now, in the context of this Hezekiah Walker
point in my life, was enlightening. Now
I’m at a point in my life when I actually “Electric Relaxation”
relate to it, and I hear it in a different A Tribe Called Quest
way. It’s beautiful how music lives and
breathes like that.
When I create music, I want people GET CREATIVE
to feel something. So many people “The World Is Yours
have told me, “I never used to check (Tip Remix)”
out your music like that. But now I’m Nas, Q-Tip
at this point in my life where I relate “Figaro”
to it, and I hear it differently.” I’ve had Madvillain
people come up to me and say, “Hey, I
put on your music while cleaning up “I Am I Be”
around my house, and it put me in such De La Soul
a meditative place.” I’ve had people say,
“Your music would help me while I was “In the Ghetto”
studying. I would be listening to it in Eric B. & Rakim
my college dorm, and it gave me peace.”
I’ve even had someone tell me they “Shook Ones Pt. II”
Mobb Deep
heard one of my songs in a yoga class! It
was “Come Close” they were playing.
“UMI Says”
Meditation sets me up to create my Mos Def
own happiness from the inside. There
may be a day when it’s raining and
storming, and I might wish it was a GET STRONG
sunny, warm, beautiful day, but I don’t
“Microphone Fiend”
control that. What I do control is my
Eric B. & Rakim
ability to realize that a rainy day is also
a beautiful day. You can’t determine
“The Choice Is Yours
what the weather will be, but you can (Revisited)”
work on your awareness, your accep- Black Sheep
tance, and your ability to receive and “Brooklyn Zoo”
transform. Even a rainy day is a great Ol’ Dirty Bastard
day when you’re in that space of open-
ness and acceptance. “Slow Down”
Change is always coming. Doing my Brand Nubian
meditation is a constant. The things
I meditate on might change. The goals “93 ’til Infinity”
change, the visions change, and the Souls of Mischief
dreams change. Me taking time to
myself at the beginning of the day to “Passin’ Me By”
The Pharcyde
commune with myself remains consis-
tent. Music is meditation.
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 65
66 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
 and director of The Fall Guy,
the romantic-action-comedy
blockbuster stunt-fest you’ll see at
least twice this summer.
But they’ve also built
a bond over stunt work,
pain, and purpose.
IT’S A BLUE-SKY MARCH DAY on the New York Street He jokes he’s had stunt doubles doing his
back lot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The acrid smoke hard work ever since. In The Fall Guy,
there’s an action-mov ie-w ithin-an-
of burning rubber wafts in the air around The Fall Guy director action-movie concept, and Gosling plays
David Leitch and star Ryan Gosling. The reported $125 million Colt Seavers, the stunt double to that mov-
movie dropped May 3 and is loosely inspired by the ’80s TV action ie’s star, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
To create Gosling’s larger-than-life Fall
series about stunt performers. The smoke comes from stunt driv- Guy character, Leitch says, it actually took
er Logan Holladay, who is behind the wheel of a 750-horsepower five stunt performers: driving whiz Holl-
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. He’s spinning doughnuts around aday, primary stunt double Ben Jenkin,
martial-arts expert Justin Eaton, and oth-
Gosling and Leitch for their Men’s Health cover shoot. The actor er specialists in jumping, falling, parkour,
and director seem genuinely close, having spent six months film- fist fighting, and sword dueling. Although
ing the movie in Australia. “Anytime they let you burn rubber and you may not recognize the 54-year-old
Leitch, you no doubt know his handiwork
don’t kick you out is a good day,” quips Gosling. as a stunt double for both Brad Pitt in
The 43-year-old Canadian still has the lating vibe—part chess grand master, Fight Club and Matt Damon in The Bourne
glow from another good day, when he per- part mime—with twinkling blue eyes and Ultimatum, as well as his fight and stunt
formed his epic rendition of “I’m Just Ken” smile-smirk-simmer variations for days. choreography as a director of John Wick,
at the Oscars a week earlier. The three- The Mouseketeers alum says his appre- Atomic Blonde, and Bullet Train. While
time Oscar nominee (Half Nelson, La La ciation of stunt performers dates back to his movies portray stylish violence, Leitch
Land, Barbie) gives off a pensive, perco- playing Young Hercules as a 17-year-old. himself oozes fun energy, is quick to laugh,

Pages 66–67: On Gosling:
Suit and shoes by Gucci.
On Leitch: Suit by J.Crew;
shoes by Tom Ford. This
page: On Gosling: T-shirt by
Outsiders House
Museum; jeans by Levi’s.
On Leitch: Shirt by Levi’s;
tank by Polo Ralph Lauren;
jeans by Buck Mason; hat
by 87 North Productions.
and has an empathetic, gentle demeanor.
The Fall Guy is the exploding-spinning-
fighting, slow-motion, split-screen sum of
Leitch’s movie experience, a visual mega
mix of car jumps, boat chases, helicopter
hijinks, and every known kind of fighting,
but throughout he focused on old-school
stunt craft and minimal CGI. We may be
hurtling toward a digitally created future,
but The Fall Guy reminds us of the human
grind that stunts demand and the phys-
ical and emotional cost of creating the
mind-blowing action scenes so many of us
love. MH sat down with Leitch and Gosling
to talk about what’s at stake.
Men’s Health: How did your role as
Brad Pitt’s stunt double in Fight Club
come about?
David Leitch: I’d done journeyman stuff,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Martial
Law, a lot of television. [Laughs.]
eight and a half times in The Fall Guy, shows off his motorbike skills.
Ryan Gosling: A lot of awesome television!
[Laughs.]
DL: Fight Club was interesting because
it didn’t actually have many stunts. Jeff
Imada, one of my martial-arts mentors,
was the fight coordinator, and he brought
me in to help train Brad to be a believable
fighter. They were looking for a stunt dou-
ble, and they just said, “How about this
guy here?” You know, preparation plus
opportunity led me to double Brad in four
movies. It was a really fun time in my life.
Bourne Ultimatum was one of the last
movies I performed stunts in. From fights
to roof jumps to getting blown backward
into a parked car—it was intense. Over
my career, I’ve had a few concussions and
have broken my wrist in three places, torn
meniscus in both knees. The usual.
MH: What was your first experience
working with stunt doubles, Ryan?
RG: I did a pilot called The Unbelievables
in the late ’90s. There’s a scene where I
find out I have superpowers and I fly across
the basketball court and I land inside the
hoop. Of course I didn’t do that. But it
was the first time where they brought in
a double and I realized that there was this
weird understanding that we would pre-
tend they were never there and that it was
you who was doing this thing. It’s a very
strange dynamic that I continued a lot
with Young Hercules.
DL: That’s always part of the deal. Stunt
performers don’t go into it for the recogni-
tion. But we are proud of the sequences we
create and how we contribute to the cine-
matic experience.
MH: Tell us why you two decided to
collaborate on The Fall Guy.
DL: I’m a big fan of Ryan’s work. He’s hys-
terical in The Nice Guys. Obviously there’s
Crazy, Stupid, Love; Drive; Only God For-
gives. So many more. I wasn’t thinking of
a particular character. I was wondering,
How do we hook Ryan Gosling to make a
movie? He has all these great traits. I was
like, “Can we get him in the boat early so we
can collaborate and make this character
together using his acting superpowers?”
RG: Everything David’s done was sort of
different, and there’s just such a range
there that I loved. In our conversations, I
felt he was coming from a place of authen-
ticity. Fall Guy was something that really,
in my mind, only he could make. The whole
idea of making an action movie within the
community of people who make action
movies seemed so perfect—and obvious.
Then, of course, David’s history as a stunt
performer and as a great filmmaker. I
think the bravery it takes to be a stunt per-
former, David brings into his filmmaking,
the risks that he takes stylistically and
thematically, and also being open—and
immediately able—to change. That often
happens with action, where you get to set
and something’s not working. You have
to rechoreograph high-stakes ideas with
both the action sequence and the story.
MH: Ryan, you did a 12-story fall—how
did that feel?
RG: I’m told that I did that, yeah—I think
I blacked out for at least nine of those sto-
ries. I have a fear of heights and I knew it
was coming. . . . The movie’s called The Fall
Guy. We worked into the story that I would
take a fall at the beginning. As we started
to block it, it just felt more and more excit-
ing to us that it be a part of this long one-
take where you start in the trailer with the
character, you follow him through set, up
an elevator, up 12 stories, get harnessed in,
and then dropped off the building. That
that would be the best way to have the audi-
ence experience what a moment in the life
of a stuntperson is like. It was also import-
ant for me to experience what a moment in
a stunt performer’s life might be like if I
was gonna play one.
DL: The idea that it was a one-er made it
all the more complex—for anybody. I don’t
think that there’s a stunt guy who could act
as cool before [laughs] doing a four-page
scene and going up an elevator and then
getting hooked to a rig and then stepping
off the ledge. Ryan did an incredible job!
RG: If you’ve ever seen Blazing Saddles, you
know, there’s that scene where Gene Wilder
says he’s totally calm [holds up a steady
hand]. And then he says, “But I shoot with
this hand” [holds up a shaky hand]. I had
to in that moment pretend to be the coolest
dude who’s fine and not afraid of what he’s
doing, but I was very afraid of it. So yeah,
that took a lot. I think I put sunglasses on
in the scene just to hide the fear. [Laughs.]
MH: In terms of physical prepared-
ness, Ryan, it seems like your Fall Guy
body was burlier than your Ken body for
Barbie. Is that fair?
RG: Yeah, that’s fair.
MH: Did you train differently?
RG: I ate more. [Laughs.] The food in
Australia is just too good. And also Colt,
the character, wasn’t concerned about
aesthetics. You know, this was a guy who
was a valet [before returning to stunt
work], and one of the big selling points
of his job was that he got all the burritos
he could eat, so it’s not like he shows up
camera ready. So yeah, it was different,
and it was more fun in a way because it
just felt healthier.
MH: Actors saying they do their own
stunts is a recurring motif in The Fall
Guy and in Hollywood. Can you unpack
what that means?
DL: You know, I don’t wanna get in trouble
with my friends who are actors, and I’ve
worked with such incredible people who
have given it up for the stunt community,
but once in a while you hear the person
may be trying to take all the credit or min-
imize the effect of what the stuntpeople
are doing. I get it that it’s all part of brand
management, whatever. But there’s a lit-
tle bit of that that we’re making a little
hyperbolic, because it’s more fun to have
an antagonist who really deserves it. I’ve
been lucky in my career where most of the
people that I’ve doubled have never been
anywhere near that.
RG: I can say from an actor’s perspec-
tive, it’s sort of a cool test when you do
press; you can tell that the press want
the narrative to be that you did all your
own stunts or that you did many of your
own stunts. That’s the cooler story, and
that’s the story most people want to tell.
It’s not to say that a lot of actors don’t do
their own stunts; they do. I did the fall at
the beginning because it was necessary
to understand Colt and then a fight stunt
on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where it
was important emotionally for the nar-
rative. But my feeling lately is unless I
can do it better, there’s no reason for me
to do it. The stunt performers are artists,
and the way that they do stunts is just so
much better than I ever could.
“ YOU KNOW YOU’RE GONNA
WRECK THIS CAR, AND YOU’RE
HOPING TO WRECK IT HARDER
AND FASTER AND IN A MORE
INSANE WAY THAN ANYONE HAS
EVER WRECKED BEFORE.”
—RYAN GOSLING
70 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
MH: Why did you need five stunt per-
formers to double Ryan?
DL: Because of the level of stunts we were
doing, it just made sense: Let’s just bring
in the best person and do something epic
that celebrates stunts, whether it’s driv-
ing a boat, jumping a car 225 feet, cannon-
rolling a car a world-record eight and a
half times, doing practical high falls into
airbags, using air ramps to do somersaults
without wires. In Fall Guy, we used more
stunt performers because we were trying
to elevate the level of practical stunts we
were doing as a celebration of our industry.
Some filmmakers are inclined to want to
lean toward visual effects, but my upbring-
ing has always been practical, practical,
practical—as much as possible.
MH: A scene that resonated with me for
its authenticity was when Colt is talking
to Jody, played by Emily Blunt, about the
pain he experiences when doing stunts.
DL: Yeah, it’s personal for me because it’s
something I could hear myself saying in a
sense that all that stuff really does hurt. As
a stuntman, you’re not allowed to say that
stuff. You really aren’t. This all stemmed
from conversations that Ryan and I had
building the script.
RG: Yeah, that’s lifted from what you
straight up said to me. We were talking
about how part of this story is that Colt
hasn’t been able to communicate his feel-
ings properly to Jody. It’s part of what he’s
struggling with. And I was saying to Dave,
“What is the truth? Like, what is it like to be
a stuntperson, really?” He was like, “Well,
it hurts, you know. It all hurts. It hurts to
get hit by a car. It hurts to go out a window. It
hurts to get set on fire.” And then we added,
you know, nothing’s ever hurt as much as
not being with Jody, because that’s really
what he was trying to say.
DL: You know, the whole idea of the
thumbs-up [a sign stunt performers make
Prop styling: Kendall Faeth. Fashion direction: Ted Stafford. Styling for Gosling: Mark Avery. Styling for Leitch: Tiffani Moreno. Styling assistance: Natasha Fomina. Tailoring: Neli Abrahamyan. Wardrobe distressing: Drew Talbot. Grooming for Gosling: Lucy Halperin/Tracey Mattingly. Grooming for Leitch:
to indicate they’re fine after a stunt] is
another thing that’s related to this. Of
course Colt’s not gonna tell anybody how
he really feels, because you’re not ever
supposed to tell how you really feel—ever.
It starts on set, but it really becomes your
whole life. You’re just like, “I’m good.
Everything’s good.”
RG: Yeah, that’s another thing that came
out of our conversations. You never really
see the thumbs-down on a set. It’s always
thumbs-up. It can’t always be thumbs-up,
but somehow it is. Suspicious.
DL: Yeah. It can’t always be thumbs-up.
RG: And yet it is.
DL: And yet it is.
MH: Did you set out to erode the strong-
silent masculine stereotype?
DL: I hope we’re shedding light on mental
health—being able to express yourself and
how you are really feeling is important for
everybody. Definitely within the stunt
community there are a lot of people that
have been conditioned to just say, “I’m
good.” I think it’s relatable to a lot of peo-
Michelle deMilt/Tomlinson Management Group. Special-effects makeup: Gary Tunnicliffe and Hanny Eisen. Production: Zachary Crawford/Crawford & Co. Productions.
ple, a lot of men. It’s that you have to suck
it up and be stoic when really communica-
tion would’ve been a better option.
RG: Also, from the outside, it seems
like it diminishes the real sacrifice and
achievement when you realize that it is
painful. It’s not like stunt performers
don’t feel anything. It just looks that way
to us. Knowing what’s really going on and
what they’re putting themselves through
for their art is valuable information,
and it deepens these achievements and
it complicates it and more honors what
you’re seeing.
MH: You’ve both talked about how there
should be Oscars for stunts. Why?
DL: There’s a group of us that are working
hard inside the Academy to build aware-
ness for an award. But to give clarity, we’re
approaching it a lot like casting [for which
there will be an Oscar in 2026]. There’s
been confusion in the past where it was
like, What are you going to award? Who’s
the stunt? It’s not like an actor, where
you’re going to award the performer.
That’s important because we have some
incredible performers that are doing
one-off stunts, but it’s like the making
of a movie—there’s an army of people in
every department. We want to celebrate
the department, and so the award will be
for stunt design.
T-shirt by
Avery
Ranch.
RG: Design is a key word. This action is
designed; it’s designed in the same way
that costumes are designed or a score is
designed or hair and makeup or anything
else. It’s not just something that just
unfolds, you know, in this kind of chaotic
way. So many of these sequences that are a
part of cinema history and sometimes what
people like most about a film or remember
most were designed not by the filmmakers
but by the stunt designers and the perform-
ers. It’s also impossible to separate the his-
tory of cinema with the history of action.
It’s a huge part of why people fell in love with
cinema in the first place. And somehow it’s
been separated from the success of it and
relegated to a lesser position.

MH: Do you have a favorite st unt

sequence from The Fall Guy?
DL: I don’t want to name favorite stunts;
that’s like naming your favorite kids.
RG: Logan’s cannon roll, where he breaks
the world record [by doing eight and a half
rolls on a beach], is a day I’ll never forget.
I’d gotten to know Logan, and I was trying
to get my head in his headspace of what
he might be going through, because I was
going to have to get out of that car. As Logan
explains it, you know you’re going to wreck.
It’s not like with the car jump, where you’re
hoping you don’t wreck if you’ve planned it
right. You know you’re gonna wreck this car,
and not only do you know it, you’re hoping
to wreck it harder and faster and in a more
insane way than anyone has ever wrecked
before. That’s your goal. I love that scene as
well because Logan also plays the guy that
puts me in the car for a stunt he’s about to
do. He breaks the record and then he pulls
me out of the car and pats me on the back for
the stunt he just achieved! [Laughs.] Jacket and jeans by
Levi’s; T-shirt by Save
DL: It’s the best cameo in the history of Khaki United; boots by
film. [Laughs.] Frye; hat by 87 North
Productions.
RG: [Laughs.] Logan has done so much
and acted like he’s done so little. Right
there is the crux, exactly why we needed
to make this movie. We can talk about it
and give him full credit for what he did— “ IF YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH
THINGS, YOU HAVE TO BE FEAR-
and the movie and scene can still be great.
I think it’s easy to turn off from a lot of
action and just assume that it’s either CGI
or it wasn’t dangerous. I think once you
know the reality of it, suddenly there are
LESS AND KNOW THAT YOU’RE
genuine stakes.
GOING TO GET KNOCKED DOWN
AND YOU HAVE TO GET BACK UP.”
MH: Although there are many wild stunts
in The Fall Guy, the scene where Colt is
fighting in the dumpster so he can get to
his date with Jody, who is singing kara-
oke, hits really hard.
—DAVID LEITCH
 RAPID FIRE
DUELING ROUND
RYAN GOSLING DAVID LEITCH
FAVORITE ACTION MOVIE?
“I love Duel. It’s insane that it “Jackie Chan’s Police Story.”
was Spielberg’s first film.”
GO-TO KARAOKE SONG?
“I don’t have one!” “ ‘Wanted Dead or Alive,’
by Bon Jovi.”
LAST BOOK, TV SERIES, OR PODCAST YOU RECOMMENDED TO A FRIEND?
“The last season of Love Is Blind. “Shōgun. Hiroyuki Sanada
I heard the new season is even is amazing.”
better—but I’ve been busy.”
DREAM PARTNER TO TRAIN WITH IN THE GYM?
“Bruce Lee. One of my favorite “You can’t take Bruce Lee—
movies is No Retreat, No Surrender. he was my choice! Next would
Bruce appears to this kid in his be Mike Tyson.”
mirror and trains him and teaches
him how to deal with bullies.”
FRENEMY EXERCISE?
“Stretching. I never take time “Burpees crush everything.
to stretch. That’s probably the Burpees are hard, but willing
thing I need to do most.” yourself to do them is even
harder than the actual burpees.”
MEAL YOU COOK FOR YOUR PARTNER OR FAMILY?
“I make a Moroccan chicken “Simple protein, veg, and carb:
bastilla I’m not mad at.” grilled salmon, broccoli, and rice.”
PARTY FUEL?
“Coffee.” “Spicy margaritas!”
HEROES?
“Well, Eva, obviously. And my uncle “My creative partner and wife, Kelly.
Bill. When I was in school, he said, We make all these movies together.
‘I’m gonna put all your achieve- I’m the director and she’s the
ments in a scrapbook.’ I didn’t want producer, and the optics are I’m
the scrapbook to stay empty. Uncle out front. But without her none of
Bill believed in me at a time when I the movies would be possible cre-
didn’t really believe in myself.” atively, technically, or logistically.”
DL: Memorable stunts don’t performers are in some way perceived as
always come from the biggest disposable. And so to put Colt in the actual
spectacle. They come from great trash and to have him sort of fighting his
characters that you’re rooting for way out of the trash was maybe a little on
and putting them in situations the nose. [Laughs.]
where they have to overcome DL: [Laughs.] On the nose, but in a
something. With that sequence, fun way!
it was a metaphor for their love
story really as a whole. Colt’s MH: Are you worried about the future of
physically trying to get back to her—and old-school stunt movies?
he’s been trying to get back to her emotion- DL: I think that there’s something about
ally the whole film. We’re coming up with seeing the real stunt, like Ryan brought
some fun gags that work with the music up, when you feel the real stakes, when it’s
and the lyrics [Jody is singing “Against practical. Maybe there’ll be a point where
All Odds,” by Phil Collins], but ultimately digital and reality are indecipherable, but
you’re going to remember this sequence there’s something about a practical stunt
because you’re rooting for Colt and Jody. onscreen that just delivers. At least for
RG: And for it to tie in from a character me, and for action fans, I don’t see it going
perspective, too, part of the theme of the away anytime soon.
film is that stunt performers are treated as RG: I feel the same way. What he said!
though they’re disposable. This producer DL: And there are some stunts in my
thought she could just dispose of Colt in head I want to do for the Fall Guy sequel—
order to save the movie star because stunt hopefully.
MH: Zooming out, is there a motto or
north star you use to help guide you?
DL: Yes, in Atomic Blonde I wanted a
cool graphic in the back of the bar, and
our production designer found a quote
that we made into a blue neon sign and it
just stuck with me: “Everything you want
is on the other side of fear.” The choices
that you make, it’s kind of a way to live
your life, you know? I think if you want to
accomplish things, you have to be fearless
and know that you’re going to get knocked
down and you have to get back up. It’s like
a stunt guy. Fall down, get back up, fall
down, get back up. You have to take these
risks in your life and in your relationships
to go the places you want to go.
It’s a way to put it through that prism: Is
fear stopping me from doing this? Is that
good fear or is that bad fear? [Laughs.]
There’s certain kinds of fear where this
quote doesn’t apply, but I think a lot of
times it does. What you want is on the
other side of fear if you’re brave enough to
make the decision to go for it. That’s my
philosophy for this afternoon, gentlemen.
RG: [Laughs.] Yeah, I don’t think I have
a motto. I just tend to go deathbed with
everything. I often think about what’s
going to matter to me on my deathbed,
that I did and that I didn’t do. It puts
things into perspective. It always comes
back to family first. I don’t think I’ll
regret anything professionally, but I do
think when it comes to Eva [Mendes] and
the girls, they come first. I don’t know, it’s
probably not a good thing that I go death-
bed, but it’s helpful for me. Anytime I’m
struggling, I just think about whether it’s
going to matter to me then because, yeah,
this whole thing can be distorting.
DL: That’s so right, Ryan; the film busi-
ness can really be all-consuming.
RG: Yeah.
DL: Obviously it’s exciting. We get to
create art for our lives. But it’s also just
exhausting, and at some point you do have
to step back and go, Am I living the quality
of life that I want to live? And again, we get
to do amazing things and we’re blessed,
but sometimes at some point you’re like,
It’s still a job. [Laughs.] That makes total
sense to me. Yeah, go deathbed on it.
RG: Go deathbed on it. Yeah, are you
going to care about this thing, whether
you did it or not, whatever the thing is?
It’s extreme, but it’s helpful.
BEN COURT is the executive editor of Men’s
Health, and his favorite scene in The Fall
Guy is the karaoke date/dumpster fight.
 you only want to feel healthy for 12 months.)

say so, looks pretty damn delicious.

74 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 ON THE MENU
This issue’s
specials include
a visit to
FLAVORTOWN,
plates of PROTEIN,
and an ode to
CARBS.*

STARTERS
GUY FIERI HAS MASTERED
MODERATION ................ PAGE 76

MAIN COURSES

........................ PAGE 82

......... PAGE 92

...................PAGE 94

Food styling: Simon Andrews. Prop styling: Maeve Sheridan.

 D R O P P E D M O R E T H A N 3 0 P O U N D S.

76 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH


G U Y F I E R I IS
PREPARING A SENSIBLE SALAD.
It’s nearing lunchtime at Fieri’s 42-acre
compound in California’s wine country, a
stretch of rolling Steinbeckian earth that
is the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue of Flavor-
town, U. S. A. Fieri is dressed in a black tee
and dripping silver bling as he commands
the outdoor kitchen in his backyard. Wood
in a Santa Maria grill is kicking up flames.
A bulbous brick oven is at full tilt. And
Fieri, knife in hand, is hot on this salad.
He slivers fennel into white toothpicks. He
chops herbs, slices a Fresno chile thin, and
cubes Medjool dates.
78 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
“All the colors! All the flavors! All the
textures!” he says in the same near-yell
you’ve heard if you’ve watched TV in the
past two decades. Next, he rough-cuts
grapefruit and orange slices. “And pis-
tachios for crunch,” he adds, dumping
everything into a big silver mixing bowl.
“A quick vinaigrette of Dijon, vinegar,
olive oil, fresh pepper, and salt” goes in,
too. “You don’t need that much dressing.
Flavor comes from the pink grapefruit and
orange.” He uses tongs to claw and spin the
mix together clockwise.
The resulting dish is a five-inch-tall
rainbow-psychedelic pile of flavor heaped
atop an ocean-blue platter. A salad with
all the hallmarks of health: plant forward,
nutrient dense, low calorie.
The side dish isn’t just damage con-
trol. Fieri serves it alongside a lean tur-
key Bolognese with shredded spaghetti
squash. “How can something that’s so
good for you taste so great?” says Fieri,
taking a big bite. “The bit of cinnamon in
that Bolognese,” he continues, mouth half
full, “takes this to the next level.”
If you’ve watched his signature Food
Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins and
Dives, you’re already familiar with this
scene: Fieri eating delicious food as he
drops his famous catchphrases. But the
major difference in the script isn’t just the
food—it’s also the man devouring it.
Since 2020, he has lost more than 30
pounds. His five-foot-ten frame sports
broader shoulders and tapers to a trimmer
waist. Leather button-up shirts, which he
often wears open, have replaced those
bowling shirts he wore circa the first sea-
son of Triple D, in 2007. Fieri, 56, consum-
er of all things, is, amazingly, fit.
What’s powered his transformation is
not unlike the ingredients in that salad:
a little bit of everything. Fieri rucks the
hills of his estate a few times a week. He
hammers out group HIIT workouts with
a trainer at least twice a week. He’s in the
sauna and cold plunge daily. He’s a fan of
intermittent fasting. And he talks—at
length—about vegetables.
Weirdest of all: He says none of it feels
like change. And in truth, his life hasn’t
changed that much. Fieri just wrapped his
48th season of DDD, is soon headed into
production on another round of Guy’s Gro-
cery Games, and is gearing up for season
6 of Tournament of Champions. He’s still
involved in menu creation at his 85 restau-
rants across the world. But that’s just work.
He’s been married to his wife, Lori, since
1995, and his sons, Hunter and Ryder, are
now adults. Fieri has a robust social life,
too, and is often spotted at everything
from the Super Bowl to the NBA All-Star
Game. The man keeps living the way Guy
Fieri should—well. Just healthier.
In a world where health prescriptions
usually come from waiflike organic-well-
ness types, carb-phobic gym bros, and
health gurus with 27-hour podcasts cover-
ing 28-step morning protocols, Fieri might
just be the voice of reason we all need. He’s
not even advocating for anything you prob-

ably don’t already know: “I think modera-
tion is a real thing,” he says without snark.
Maybe, with a little help from Guy Fieri, you
can find moderation—and, more critically,
the motivation for moderation, too.
A F T E R D E V O U R I N G T H E salad,
we ruck. Fieri throws a black weight vest
over his sleeveless gray hoodie and we hike
from his home to the beginning of a fire
road on his property. It’s entirely uphill.
Fier i say s he’s ne ver b e en th at
unhealthy—FFS, his parents were hip-
pies who raised him on a macrobiotic diet
(picture lots of steamed fish and seaweed).
“But unfortunately, in the DDD world, peo-
ple like to go, ‘Oh, you’re the chef that eats
the deep-fried pizza burgers with the ice
cream toppings and all those huge, fried
everythings.’ My response is ‘I don’t want
to say that you don’t know what you’re
talking about. But you don’t know what
you’re talking about.’ ”
Okay, DDD grounds itself in greasy
spoons across the country: classic Ital-
ian in Carlsbad, bomb barbecue joints
Top right: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.
outside Biloxi, kickin’ chicken shacks in
Charleston. But if you’re more than a casu-
al observer of the show, you’ll know Fieri
regularly hits up Thai and Greek and Paki-
stani and vegan spots. “I’m just looking for
as much authenticity in the food as I can
get,” he says. Still, regardless of the style of
restaurants, the calories can pile up.
Fieri says he used to mitigate what he ate
with healthy habits he learned growing up:
juicing, moderate exercise, portion con-
trol. And that worked until he turned 50
in 2018. Around that time, Fieri, an avid
hunter, started taking his sons with him to
track deer and elk. There’s nothing worse
than approaching one of those animals
and being exhausted, he says. For a man as
energetic as Fieri, that exhaustion stung.
HOW A GUY EATS
In this fennel and citrus salad, Fieri skips played-out
spring mix for a riot of crunchy-juicy produce and then
ratchets up the flavor with an easy dressing.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
2 FENNEL BULBS, SLICED
VERY THIN
¼ CUP CHAMPAGNE VINEGAR
1 TSP DIJON MUSTARD
6 TBSP E X TR A-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
½ CUP CHOPPED DATES
1 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH BASIL
1 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH
CIL ANTRO
1 TBSP CHOPPED FRESH MINT
1 MEDIUM RED CHILE (SUCH AS
A FRESNO OR CAY ENNE),
THINLY SLICED
SEGMENTS FROM 2 OR ANGES
SEGMENTS FROM 1 GR APEFRUIT
2 TBSP CHOPPED PISTACHIOS
Fieri slinging burgers at the
April 2014 opening of his
Vegas Kitchen & Bar at what
is now the LINQ. (There are
three salads on its menu.)
Two years later, he used his
newly acquired time in lock-
down to fight that looming
sense of slowing down. He
hired a local trainer, Scott But-
ler, to work with him and—ever the team
player—his entire family and crew. Butler
led them all through timed, station-cen-
tric workouts that incorporated squats,
overhead presses, med-ball slams, battle
ropes, and burpees. Fieri slowly began los-
ing weight and regaining energy. Then he
found himself asking, What’s next?
“That’s when we started talking about
intermittent fasting,” he says. “Once I
started getting more serious about that,
the quantity of food I was eating, and exer-
cise, it really changed the whole thing.” A
dietitian told him that the green juices he
was downing stacked on empty calories. So
he dropped the juice—and breakfast alto-
gether—eating only from noon to eight. “It
wasn’t as gnarly as you might think,” Fieri
HOW TO MAKE IT
1. In a bowl of ice water, soak
the sliced fennel till crisp,
about 5 minutes. Strain, dry
well, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl,
whisk the vinegar, mustard,
and some salt and pepper.
Whisk in the olive oil to make
dressing. Add the dates, basil,
cilantro, mint, chile, citrus seg-
ments, and fennel. Toss well,
then divide the salad among
4 serving plates. Garnish with
the pistachios. Feeds 4
MORE FOOD!
For Fieri’s turkey-
Bolognese-over-
spaghetti-squash recipe,
head to MensHealth.com.
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 79
says. “I’m not a big breakfast fan.”
None of this is radical: Scientific studies
suggest that all weight loss “works” when
you eat fewer calories than you burn. While
most diets constrict what you eat, fasting
constricts when you eat. It’s not magic for
weight loss, the catch being that if you eat
too many calories during your window, you
won’t lose weight. You could even gain it.
Fieri understands this caveat to inter-
mittent fasting: “I still eat what I want to
eat. But I just don’t eat as much of it.” And
he’s found a way to make IF work on the job.
Fieri’s crew shoots at three DDD locations
per day. On those days, Fieri says, he takes
a couple bites of each dish on camera—
which usually adds up to a day’s worth of
calories—and then skips dinner.
He’s also learned to get pickier. “I’ll
80 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
“IF I CAN JUST MAKE IT A COMMITMENT TO
GET THROUGH THE DOOR AND DO THE FIRST
30 SECONDS, THEN I’M OFF AND RUNNING.”
use pizza as an example,” Fieri tells me as
we reach the top of the hill. “Pizza is one
of those things when it’s good, it’s really
good. And when it’s bad, people still eat
it. I’m now more inclined to not eat some-
thing that’s not that great than to eat it.”
These changes to his diet, coupled with
his commitment to regular and intense
exercise, have caused even his crew to
notice a difference in Fieri’s lifestyle.
Since 2014,DDD has visited 22 vegan
restaurants, and half of those visits were
in the past two years.
As we start our hike’s descent, Fieri
explains that his transformation has
been more than physical—and that it’s
affected more than just his own life. When
Covid lockdowns began decimating local
restaurants, he tracked down the personal
phone numbers of executives at many of
the country’s largest corporations, like
PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Company. He
sent those execs personalized video mes-
sages asking them to support the restau-
rant industry. That effort raised about
$25 million, he says, which the National
Restaurant Association distributed to
44,000 workers.
While Fieri’s dedication to charity work
isn’t new, the pandemic—and his regained
sense of energy from a better diet and exer-
cise—amplified his drive. He wanted to do
more good, in part because he felt so good.
PO S T-HIK E , FIER I needs a ward-
robe change. In the course of an after-
noon, he’s orchestrated a lunchtime feast,
toughed out an hour-long HIIT workout,
and rucked roughly three miles. So it’s off
with the weight vest and into the house.
He reemerges in a black Versace robe
that features faint gold threads woven
throughout. Now he’s ready for his recov-
ery routine.
Fieri started getting into saunas and
cold plunges thanks to Antonia Lofaso,
another Food Network star. He spends
roughly 15 minutes a day in his large
wooden-barrel sauna, followed by at least
three minutes in the cold plunge. “It’s a
daily reset that keeps me going,” he says.
Using a sauna seems like a smart move
for men. Finnish scientists have found
that men who used one more frequently
were less likely to die of cardiovascular
disease.
Grooming: Ariel Ramirez. Styling: Jessica Vohs.
Fully cooked, Fieri emerges from the
hot box, a lather of sweat coating him.
Then he cranks up Guns N’ Roses’ “Wel-
come to the Jungle” before sinking into
Fieri’s HIIT circuit includes heavy-bag
work, kettlebell exercises, calisthen-
ics moves, and battle ropes.

the cold plunge. His tub comes to him
via Renu Therapy (base models start at a
cool $9,700), but he didn’t always own the
Camaro of cold-plunge tanks.
His first was a tub-style food freezer,
the type you’d buy at Home Depot, that
he caulked and jury-rigged by watching a
YouTube video. The contraption brought
the temperature down to 40 degrees.
He would, of course, unplug the unit in
order to avoid electrocution. “Frigid-
aire does not give you a UL rating to put a
human in it.”
Fieri says he feels awesome after his
polar reset—and he even takes a porta-
ble plunge tank from Renu on the road.
His face, which usually conveys frenetic
enthusiasm, is entirely Zen and silent as
the water envelops him—for a moment, at
least—and then he’s back to talking.
“The thing about cold plunges is that
you gotta get through the first 30 seconds.
When I started, I hated waiting on the tim-
er to go off. But now I breathe and get into
the right mind space. The energy it gives
you. It gets me fired up. I do it every day.”
It’s kind of a metaphor for getting
healthy, he says. “It’s crazy how life sends
us these analogies to live or die by. It’s the
same thing with my workout class. I know
that class is going to start at 7:30 A.M. And
if I can just make it a commitment to get
through the door and do the first 30 sec-
onds, then I’m off and running.”
AS WE CLOSE out the day, Fieri invites
me to his living room for strawberries. I’m
expecting (and, honestly, craving) some-
thing chocolate coated, peanut butter
drizzled, and sprinkled. We sit on leather
Fieri exits his sauna and then
hits his cold-plunge tub
(see page 77), but not before
cranking up the GN’R.
chairs in front of a massive stone fireplace.
It’s like a scene out of Yellowstone—except
for those berries.
“My wife got me a freeze dryer,” he tells
me. His interest in the process, he says,
started when he was looking for healthy
foods to bring on hunts. “I sure as hell don’t
want to go out for the day with a bunch of
[candy] and other junk. So I’d take jerky.”
Then he looked at dried fruit but said that
it had too much added sugar.
As a result, Fieri picked up a new culi-
nary skill—something that if he can do in
his 50s, anyone can. And learning kitchen
skills may improve your health. A study
in Nutrients found that people with min-
imal cooking abilities were more likely
to be overweight or obese. The scientists
suggested that teaching people to cook
might help them maintain or lose weight
by improving the nutritional quality of
their meals and giving them greater cal-
orie control.
“Like today,” Fieri says. “I would have
loved to have had that Bolognese with
bucatini. But if I have spaghetti squash
instead, I know that’s 500 calories I’m not
consuming. And it’s still delicious.”
I think about this as Fieri pulls a freeze-
dried strawberry from the bag. Here’s a
man who has tasted almost everything the
world has to offer—from Kenosha garbage
plates to Baltimore pit-beef sandwiches—
and he’s talking about the power and joy
of simple, real food. I ponder something
Stephan Guyenet, Ph.D., author of The
Hungry Brain, told me: “I think there’s
some evidence that we adapt to tastes like
saltiness and sweetness. When we reduce
them for a while, our taste becomes more
sensitive again.”
Fieri passes me the bag. I take a few of
the crinkled, slightly crystallized straw-
berries and pop them in my mouth. They’re
deeply sweet—as if the dehydration has
intensified the fruit sugars. They melt into
an almost creamy texture, hyping all my
taste buds. My synapses fire: more.
“Aren’t they good?” Fieri asks me.
The strawberries taste like candy—
taken to the next level.
MICHAEL EASTER is the author of The
Comfort Crisis and Scarcity Brain.
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 81
 GG YOLKS WILL cause your cho-
lesterol to skyrocket! Butter hurts
your heart! Seed oils give you all
the diseases! We’ve all heard about the
supposed dangers of fat. But a new genera-
tion of so-called experts is resurrecting old
myths and even creating some new ones.
Except recent research has shown that
fat is far from evil. One study review found
that moderate egg consumption won’t raise
82 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
cholesterol in healthy people. Studies have
also shown that eating fat helps your body
absorb vital nutrients. Fat makes you feel
fuller between meals, too. And this proba-
bly goes without saying, but eating fat tastes
delicious. So yes, it’s time to accept fat in
all its incredible forms. Because what’s at
stake is enjoying what you cook and eat even
more. Allow three top chefs to show you how
to love fats that get a lot of hate.
BONE MARROWED
CORN ON THE COB
Spritz “butters” of the ’90s guilt-tripped cooking fats for being
high in calories—when cooking fats typically have only 100 to
120 calories per tablespoon. So why spray margarine on corn
when you can flame-melt deeply beefy bone marrow over the
kernels? Technique from Phillip Frankland Lee, chef of Sushi by
Scratch Restaurants

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D HOW TO MAKE IT
4 COBS OF CORN, 1. Preheat your grill to high, indirect heat.
H U S KS O N Place the corn cobs over indirect heat,
1 MARROW BONE, close the grill lid, and roast till the kernels
SPLIT LENGTHWISE, are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the
BROUGHT TO cobs, carefully peel back the husks, and
ROOM TEMP grill over direct heat, turning occasionally,
till grill marks appear all over, about 5
minutes total. Transfer to a serving platter.
2. Using a kitchen blowtorch, melt the bone
marrow over the corn, turning each cob
to coat evenly. Season with salt, or not,
and eat immediately. Feeds 4
THE BEST
BLOWTORCH
“Crème brûlée”
torches lack fire-
power. The Iwatani
torch ($38) perches
atop a butane canister
and singes sliced
fish, s’mores, and so
much more.
People once avoided eating shellfish because they worried that its dietary cholesterol would cause their blood
cholesterol to swell. Science shows that’s not really true, especially when you consider that shellfish, like lobster,
contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Recipe adapted by Mitch Emge, executive chef at Superfrico Las Vegas

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D
4 LO B S T E R TA IL S
2 S T I C KS B U T T E R ,
S O F T E N E D AT R O O M T E M P
¼ C U P C A L A B R I A N C H IL I
PA S T E O R C H O P P E D
C A L A B R I A N C H IL IE S
ZEST AND JUICE FROM
1 LEMON
1 ROUNDED TBSP ALEPPO
PEPPER
¾ T S P S M O K E D PA P R I K A
8 C L O V E S G A R L I C, M I N C E D
¼ C U P PAC K E D PA R S L E Y,
MINCED
HOW TO MAKE IT
1. In a bowl, using a fork, mash the butter,
chilies, lemon zest and juice, Aleppo pep-
per, paprika, garlic, and parsley.
2. Preheat your oven to 350°, placing a
large, high-walled baking dish half filled
with hot water on the lower-third rack. With
a wooden skewer, lance each lobster tail
lengthwise to prevent curling while cook-
ing. Transfer the lobster tails to a wire rack
and place in the oven on the upper-third
rack, directly above the baking dish. Steam
until the shells are red, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Carefully remove the lobster tails,
remove their skewers, cut each tail in half
lengthwise, gently remove the meat from
the tail with a fork, and place it back in.
(This makes them easier to eat.) Set aside.
4. Remove the baking dish and wire rack
from the oven, set the oven to broil, trans-
fer the lobster halves to a baking sheet, and
top each with a tablespoon of the butter
mixture. Slide the baking sheet under the
broiler and broil until the butter melts and
the meat is cooked through, about 2 min-
utes. Carefully remove the tails from the
oven and serve with bucatini or fettuccine
in a tomato-based sauce. Feeds 4, with but-
ter left over

84 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 MUSHROOMS
WITH CURED
EGG YOLK
In 2021, a study review
assessed the heart-disease
risks of whole eggs and
concluded that they’re an
“indispensable source of var-
ious nutrients, in particular
dietary protein, for healthy
living, under healthy diets.”
So enjoy. Recipe by Eric
Brach, executive chef at Miles,
the Prince, in White Plains,
New York

W H AT YO U ’ L L N E E D
1 D R I E D S H I I TA K E M U S H R O O M
1 EG G YO L K
1 TBSP OLIVE OIL
1 TBSP GRAPESEED OIL
8 OZ M I X E D M U S H R O O M S
(B E EC H , R OYA L T R U M P E T,
C H A N T E R E L L E , E T C .),
TRIMMED AND CUT INTO
B I T E-S I Z E P I EC E S, I F N E E D E D
1 L E E K , T R I M M E D, W H I T E PA R T
S L I C E D I N T O T H I N R O U N D S,
G E N T LY R I N S E D
1 S C A L L I O N , T R I M M E D, H A LV E D
LENGTHWISE

HOW TO MAKE IT
1. In a blender or food proces-
sor, pulverize the dried shiitake
with ¼ cup kosher salt. Trans-
fer ⅔ of this mixture to a small
bowl. Carefully crack in the
yolk. Cover with the remaining
mixture. Cure, refrigerated, till
orange and slightly firm, about
2 ½ hours. Carefully remove the
yolk, rinse well, and set aside.
2. In a large pan over medium
high, add both oils and swirl
to coat. Add the mixed mush-
rooms, season with salt and
pepper, and saute till crispy,
about 5 minutes. Push the
Food styling: Rebecca Jurkevich. Courtesy vendor (torch).

mushrooms to the side of the

pan; add the leek, adding more
oil if needed; and cook till cara-
melized, about 2 minutes. Push
the leek to another side of the
pan, add the scallion, and cook
till blistered, 1 minute.
3. In a bowl, add the mushrooms
and leek. Top with the scallion
pieces and the yolk. Feeds 1
 Your muscles, hormones,
cells, and immune system
all work best when you’re
eating enough PROTEIN.
Your day works best when
you start with a healthy and
delicious breakfast. The
30 recipes on the following
pages, each of which contains
AT LEAST 30 GRAMS
of protein, have you covered.
Here’s how to start your day
right, no matter what kind of
protein you like.

BY JULISSA ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHS BY MIKE GARTEN

 FULL(ISH) ENGLISH BREAKFAST
In a large pan, fry 2 slices bacon till mostly crisp and 2 sausage links
till cooked through. Remove, then add 1 cup sliced button mush-
rooms and 1 small halved tomato, cut sides down. Cook until the
mushrooms brown, 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the meat;
keep warm. Add 2 eggs to the pan, plus oil if needed. Cut 1 slice
bread on the diagonal and toast both sides in the pan. Transfer every-
thing to the plate. In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat ½ cup canned
beans in tomato sauce. Season everything with salt and pepper. Spread 2 Tbsp mayo across an
oval of high-protein flatbread.
In the center third, layer 2 oz deli
turkey breast, 2 thin slices toma-
BACON & BRIE EGG BITES CHORIZO POTATO OMELET to, and 1 slice American cheese.
In a large oiled pan over medium, Fold the left third of the flatbread
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Liberally
add ½ cup roughly chopped over the center. Top with 2 oz deli
spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil. In a onions and 2 oz sliced Spanish ham, 2 slices crisp bacon, and
blender, put 8 eggs, ⅔ cup cottage chorizo. Saute until the onion is lettuce. Fold again to close.
cheese, and ½ tsp each salt and translucent. Stir in 1 cup leftover
pepper. Blend 20 seconds. Divide roasted cubed red potatoes and
among the cups (about ⅔ full). Divide 4 eggs whisked with ½ tsp each GREEN EGGS & HAM
salt and pepper. When the edges In a blender, mix 1 cup baby
6 slices crumbled cooked bacon firm, reduce the heat to medium low spinach, 3 eggs, 1 Tbsp grated
into each cup. Cube an 8 oz brie and cook, 5 minutes. Run a spatula Parmesan, and ½ tsp each salt and
wheel into 12 pieces and nestle around the edge and wiggle the pepper. Blend till smooth. Heat a
a cube into each cup. Bake until pan to loosen. Place a plate over the large oiled pan over medium. Add
top and quickly invert the pan. the egg mixture, cover, and cook
the center sets, about 20 minutes.
Slide the mix back into the pan and until mostly set, about 3 minutes.
Cool, run a knife around the edges, cook 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Layer 2 oz prosciutto over half the
and lift out. Makes 4 servings Makes 2 servings omelet and fold over.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 87

 LEGUMES
BEANS &
HUEVOS
RANCHEROS
In a medium skillet over
medium high, heat
1 Tbsp oil. Add 2 corn
tortillas and cook each
side crisp. Transfer to a
plate and top each with
2 Tbsp refried beans,
a fried egg, and ½ cup
warmed salsa. Serve
with ½ sliced avocado,
¼ cup queso fresco,
and hot sauce.

SALCHICHAS
CON GALLO PINTO
In a small pot, heat 1 Tbsp olive
oil and 3 Tbsp store-bought
sofrito. Add ¾ cup drained black
beans and ½ cup water. Boil BLACK BEAN
5 minutes. Stir in ⅔ cup cooked AVOCADO “TOAST”
white rice and 2 tsp Lizano salsa WITH POACHED EGGS
sauce (or 1 tsp each Worcester- Heat ¼ cup water in a
shire sauce and ketchup). microwave-safe mug,
Saute 5 oz turkey kielbasa 1 minute. Crack an egg
in 1 tsp oil. Transfer it all to a into the mug, gently pierce
plate and serve with warm the egg yolk with a fork
white-corn tortillas. or a toothpick, cover the
mug with a small plate, and
return to the microwave,
CHICKPEA TOFU BOWL 35 seconds. Using a spoon,
In an oiled medium pan over gently lift out the egg
medium, saute ½ small sliced and place on a paper-
onion, ½ sliced red bell pepper, towel-lined plate. Repeat
and 1 minced garlic clove, about with a second egg. Micro-
5 minutes. Stir in ½ tsp each salt wave 2 frozen black-bean
and ground cumin and ¼ tsp burgers per package
red-pepper flakes. Add ¾ cup directions. Before the last
drained and rinsed chickpeas, 10 seconds of cooking,
Food styling: Simon Andrews. Prop styling: Maeve Sheridan.

½ cup fire-roasted tomatoes, sprinkle 2 Tbsp shredded

and ¼ cup water. Reduce the heat
to low and simmer, 5 minutes.
Slice 4 oz extra-firm tofu and
pan-sear both sides. Remove the
chickpea mixture from the
heat, stir in 4 oz plain Greek
yogurt, and transfer to a
bowl. Top with the tofu and eat
with warm crusty bread.
PB&B BAGEL
Split and lightly toast a bagel;
spread each half with 2 Tbsp peanut
butter. (Pick your favorite kind.) Slice
up a small banana and lay over both
halves. Sprinkle with 1 oz coarsely
chopped salted peanuts.
cheddar on each burger
to melt. Top each burger
with 2 Tbsp mashed
avocado, 1 poached egg,
a sprinkling of salt
and pepper, and salsa or
hot sauce.

88 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH

 PROTEIN
POWDER
CHOCOLATE CINNAMON
PROTEIN PUDDING
In a bowl, stir ¾ cup vanilla skyr, ½ cup
high-protein chocolate milk, ¼ cup
chia seeds, 1 Tbsp unsweetened
cocoa powder, and ¼ tsp ground cin-
namon. Cover and refrigerate, at least
1 hour or overnight. Stir and top with
¼ cup high-protein granola.

PROTEIN PORRIDGE
In a microwavable jar, add ⅔ cup
rolled oats, ½ cup milk, and 1 scoop
protein powder. Seal the lid; shake
well. Remove the lid; microwave for
90 seconds. Top with 1 Tbsp PB, fresh
berries, and a drizzle of honey.

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE

PROTEIN SMOOTHIE
In a blender, combine 6 oz plain or
vanilla yogurt, ½ cup milk, 1 scoop
chocolate protein powder, 2 Tbsp
peanut butter, and 1 frozen banana
or 1 cup ice. Blend till smooth.
BANANA PANCAKES
In a blender or food processor,
grind ⅔ cup rolled oats. Add
this to a bowl with ¼ cup vanilla
protein powder, 1 tsp baking
powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and
⅛ tsp salt. In a second bowl, mix
½ mashed small banana, 1 egg,
and ¼ cup milk. Add this to the
first bowl and stir well. Heat a
large nonstick pan over medium
low until very hot, about 4 min-
utes. Add 2 Tbsp butter, allow
to melt, and cook 4 pancakes.
Top with what you like.
in a pan over medium, flipping halfway (8 minutes total for
medium). Add an egg to the pan and cook sunny side up.
Toast a split multigrain English muffin with ½ slice cheese
on each half. Stack the egg on the burger, add to the
muffin, and top with ketchup, sriracha, or chile crisp.
SUNDAY QUICHE LOCO MOCO
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Roll out a store- Combine 4 oz ground
bought pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish. Add beef with ¼ tsp each
1 cup diced ham, ½ cup chopped onions, ½ cup garlic powder, salt, and
shredded sharp cheddar, and ½ cup shredded pepper. Cook this patty
mozzarella. In a bowl, whisk 4 egg whites, in a pan over medium,
3 whole eggs, ½ cup half-and-half, ½ tsp each flipping halfway (about
salt and pepper, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and a 10 minutes for medium
pinch of nutmeg. Slowly pour into the pie shell well). Fry an egg and put it
and bake till puffed, about 40 minutes. Cool on the patty. In a measur-
slightly, slice, and serve. Makes 3 servings ing cup, whisk ⅓ cup beef
broth, 1 tsp cornstarch,
1 tsp soy sauce, 3 dashes
TRES GOLPES OVER MANGÚ Worcestershire sauce,
In a small pot, add 1 small green peeled and and ½ tsp ketchup. Add a
chopped plantain. Cover with water, add a big drizzle of oil to the pan with
pinch of salt, and boil till soft, about 20 min- ¼ cup sliced mushrooms
utes. Transfer to a plate and mash with a fork. and cook, 3 minutes. Add
Mix in 1 Tbsp butter and add cooking water to the broth mixture and cook,
loosen slightly. Season with salt and pepper. stirring, until thickened,
Heat a large oiled pan over medium high. In about 5 minutes. Atop
1 half, cook ½ cup sliced red onion till soft; 1 cup cooked rice on a
in the other, fry 2 eggs. Put the onions on the plate, add the egg-topped
plantain and the eggs on the plate. Serve with beef patty and cover with
2 seared ¼-inch-thick slices frying cheese the mushroom gravy.
and 3 oz thinly sliced Dominican salami. Top with sliced scallions.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 89


3 Tbsp olive oil,
1 tsp Dijon, and ½ tsp each salt and pepper. Add
⅓ cup diced red onion, ¼ cup finely chopped
parsley, and 1 minced garlic clove. Flake in 5 oz
tuna and mix. Divide the tuna between muffin
kipper snacks.
lined baking sheet and broil till
lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes.
Toast 2 slices high-protein
bread and spread with butter.
KEDGEREE WITH SMOKED SALMON
In a medium pot over medium, cook 2 Tbsp
butter, ¼ cup diced onion, 1 Tbsp minced
jalapeño, 1 minced garlic clove, and ½ tsp
salt, 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp curry powder,
½ cup rinsed jasmine rice, and 1½ cups chick-
en broth. Boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer,
then cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup drained
and rinsed canned lentils. Flake in 4 oz
smoked salmon and cover to warm, 5 minutes.
Transfer to a plate and top with lemon juice.

½ cup cottage cheese with
Season
salt and pepper. On each
lightly toasted bagel,
2 thin slices deli ham, ½ the
and every-
CHICKEN &
VEGETABLE BOWL
In a bowl, mix ½ cup sliced
cucumber, ¼ cup thinly
sliced red onion, ¼ cup
diced orange bell pep-
per, 1 cup halved cherry
tomatoes, 2 Tbsp olive
oil, 1 Tbsp red-wine vin-
egar, and a hefty pinch
each of salt and pepper.
Toss well. In another bowl,
combine ⅔ cup cottage
cheese with 1 minced
garlic clove, 1 Tbsp
chopped fresh dill, and
a pinch of salt. Pour the
vegetables over the cot-
tage cheese; top with 3 oz
chopped grilled chicken.
Eat with toasted pita.
CHICKEN
EGG & SAUSAGE
SOLDIERS
In a small pot, bring 1 inch
of water to a boil. Gently
add 2 eggs, cover, and
cook, 6 minutes. Transfer
the eggs to a bowl of ice
water until cooled. Heat
4 chicken breakfast-sau-
sage links. Peel and halve
the eggs; sprinkle with
salt and pepper. Dunk
sausages into the yolks.

CHICKEN &
EGG CONGEE
Bring 3 cups chicken
broth to a boil with
4 thin slices ginger and
1 smashed garlic clove.
Stir in ⅓ cup rinsed
jasmine rice. Lower the
heat to medium, partially
cover, cook 20 minutes.
Whisk, add 1 cup shred-
ded chicken, make a well
in the center, and crack an
egg into it. Cover and turn
off the heat so that the egg
cooks for 5 minutes. Pour
everything into a bowl,
guiding the egg on top.
Top with sesame oil and
sliced scallions.
CHICKEN-APPLE
SAUSAGE CREPE
Cut two 3 oz chicken-
apple sausages length-
wise and cook in an air
fryer, 5 minutes at 400°F.
Lay 2 halves of the sau-
sage, staggered, on
1 store-bought crepe
and roll. Repeat. Place
seam side down in the air
fryer and cover with
½ cup shredded Gruyère.
Melt the cheese in the
air fryer, 2 minutes at
400°F. Sprinkle with
thinly sliced chives.
CHICKEN CHILAQUILES
Heat ¾ cup enchilada sauce in a large pan
over medium. Add 1 oz tortilla chips and 3 oz
shredded rotisserie chicken. Simmer until
high. Add a halved small
warmed, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
onion, cut side down, and
Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and fry sear, about 2 minutes.
1 egg. Transfer to the plate. Top with 1 oz Add 4 thin slices ginger,
crumbled cotija (or feta) cheese, chopped 2 smashed garlic cloves,
1 Tbsp soy sauce, ½ cin-
onions, jalapeño, and cilantro.
namon stick, 1 star anise,
¼ tsp fennel seeds, and
¼ tsp crushed red-pep-
per flakes. Stir until
fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add 3 cups chicken
broth, boil, then simmer
for 20 minutes. Add 2 oz
cooked rice noodles and
4 oz cubed extra-firm
tofu to a wide shallow
bowl. Strain the broth
into the bowl. Top with
thinly sliced carrots,
jalapeño, basil, cilantro,
and fennel. Serve with
lime wedges.

MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 91

 COLD P O P - T A R T S ? A L M O N D M I L K ? P R O T E I N C E R E A L ? W H AT ’ S
W I T H T H AT ? W E A S K E D L I F E L O N G B R E A K F A S T L O V E R J E R R Y S E I N F E L D .
BY NOJAN AMINOSHAREI

A
NY SEINFELD OBSESSIVE knows Jerry’s “usual” at Monk’s: a bowl of pivotal part of my childhood. It was late at
Cheerios. Jerry Seinfeld has sprinkled his enduring appreciation for night and I went to an all-night super-
cereal—and other processed breakfast foods—throughout his work. market. I bought Pop-Tarts, I toasted
He even made a whole movie about Pop-Tarts, the Netflix comedy them, I had them with a cold glass of
Unfrosted, out now. Don’t get us wrong, we stand by the high-protein milk, and I thought, I’m going to write
breakfasts in the pages that precede these. But when you want to recapture the greatest stand-up routine about Pop-
the childhood joy of sneaking into the kitchen after bedtime to tear into Tarts ever. And there are some other good
some Froot Loops, Seinfeld is here to tell you how to do it right. ones already out there. But I decided I was
going to take this subject and explore it
MEN’S HEALTH: You’re famously a lover of of a lift, you might go with Honey Nut Chee- deeper than anyone else ever has.
breakfast foods. How did it start? rios. If you want to pretend that you’re not MH: What flavor of Pop-Tarts were you
JERRY SEINFELD: You just cannot believe eating cereal, you can have Raisin Bran. eating during this revelation?
what I ate as a child. I would have cereal in But I’m in favor of having cereal anytime JS: It’s always brown sugar cinnamon.
the morning, Pop-Tarts in the afternoon. you want it. I have a line: “You’re eating MH: And always toasted? Or do you eat
Then I’d eat a little bit of lunch, but I and drinking at the same time, with one them cold, too?
hated it. And I would never eat dinner. hand, without looking.” That’s just going JS: No, that’s barbaric.
My mother would make dinner, I’d have a to change your whole day. MH: What kind of milk do you wash it
couple of bites, and then I’d push it away. MH: What are your thoughts on the new down with?
But before bed, I’d make another gigantic wave of high-protein cereals? JS: Almond milk. It’s a lactose thing.
bowl of cereal. I was eating a lot of Enten- JS: Absolutely sickening. If you want pro- MH: Are you aware of the drama sur-
mann’s, which was on top of the refriger- tein, make some eggs. rounding almond milk?
ator. I mean, just nothing but junk. MH: Do your kids share your love of JS: No, but I like any drama that has to do
MH: How do you eat now? cereal? with milk.
JS: I can’t eat now like I used to when I was JS: Oh, for sure. Late-night cereal with my MH: Turns out growing almonds uses up
a kid—or even when I was doing Seinfeld, kids, which I still do, is one of the greatest a lot of water. Personally, I agree with

when I was in my 30s and early 40s. I would
still eat absolutely anything, anytime
I wanted. So I really had an incredible
free ride. I never learned anything about
[healthy] eating until I was in my 50s.
Then I decided it was time to find out what
you’re supposed to eat.
MH: Did you lose the joy of eating break-
fast foods once you had to eat healthier?
JS: No, I totally kept it. I use it for mood
management now.
MH: I’m in need of a little mood manage-
ment. What cereal do you prescribe?
JS: Well, it depends on how depressed you
are. If you’re in real trouble, Frosted Flakes
is the way to go. If you just need a little bit
Jerry enjoys some Corn Flakes on Seinfeld (left). Pop-Tarts take the spotlight in Unfrosted (right).
joys of parenting. You get them into the
kitchen at like 11:00 o’clock, you’re having
cereal together, and that’s when you really
find out what’s going on with them.
MH: It’s a shame companies no longer put
toy prizes in the boxes.
JS: And they’ll never do it again. Their law-
yers will never let them. We have a scene
in [Unfrosted] where somebody eats a frog-
man [toy], and the reaction from Kellogg’s
corporate is: “They’re frogmen; they’ll
find their way out.”
MH: When did you become a Pop-Tarts
obsessive?
JS: It was sometime in the 2000s when
[I realized that they] might have been a
Andrew Hetherington/Redux (Seinfeld). RedBarnStudio/Getty Images (cereal). NBC (Seinfeld show). Netflix (Unfrosted).
Lewis Black’s old bit about how milk
needs to come from a teat.
JS: I have a bit about almond milk, too.
“How did they find a stool small enough
to slide under the almond?” I just appre-
ciate that at some point somebody’s boss
must have slammed a can of almonds
down on their desk and said, “And figure
out how to get some milk out of these
goddamn things!”
MH: What’s your parting advice on the
Most Important Meal of the Day?
JS: First of all, nothing’s important.
That’s just something somebody said in a
meeting. “It’s the most important meal of
the day!” Then somebody else said, “Hey,
that’s a good line. Let’s use that.” But
it’s nonsense. Anything you want to be
important is important.

NOJAN AMINOSHAREI is the entertainment

director at Men’s Health. He thinks this
interview is “gold, Jerry. Gold!”
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 93
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 95
WHEN MEN COME TO
KATHERINE METZELAAR
FOR HELP, THEY SEEM TO
HAVE ONE THING
ON THEIR MIND.
Metzelaar is a Seattle-based dietitian
specializing in nutritional therapy. With
patient eyes and a warm, easy smile, she’s
the kind of expert who helps her clients
untangle their attitudes and beliefs about
food. In her nine years of clinical practice,
she says that 100 percent of her male cli-
ents have shared one fear: carbohydrates.
“Guilt is a very common emotion associ-
ated with eating carbohydrates,” Met-
zelaar says. “And then if you restrict those
foods, you’re going to feel out of control.”
Fear—of carbs.
Except that when you look back at the
millennia-spanning history of carbohy-
drates, their stigma makes total sense.
More than fat, more than artificial
ingredients, more than GMOs—carbs
have long been a scapegoat for ancient
philosophers, class warriors, and
creators of money-raking fad diets
alike. Carbs will shorten your life, as the
drumbeat goes. Carbs are blood-sugar-
spiking empty calories. Carbs will make
you fat, sick, and unhappy.
Over the past few decades, however,
scientists have built a more evolved view
of carbohydrates. This class of nutrients
has been unfairly blamed for obesity,
diabetes, and other health terrors. New
research is showing that carbs are a
driver for a long, healthy, and active life.
And as it turns out, avoiding carbs can be
bad for you, too. A few recent studies have
linked low-carb/high-fat diets with an
increased risk of cardiovascular events
and shortened life spans in men.
But still: the collective and ongoing
96 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
freak-out about carbs. So if you’re con-
fused, skeptical, and/or fearful about
carbs, Metzelaar gets that. As she tells
her clients, your anxiety toward carbohy-
drates likely goes way back.
So let’s go way, way back.
THE DAWN OF THE CARB
UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN living under a
mastodon for the past 2.5 million years,
you’ve likely heard of the Paleo diet. The
modern protein-centric, starch-averse
diet instructs its followers to avoid grains,
legumes, added sugars, and carb-dense
vegetables such as corn, jicama, peas,
and white potatoes. Our fitter, stronger,
healthier ancestors didn’t eat these foods
during the Paleolithic period, proponents
of the diet argue, so neither should you.
But the diet isn’t based in prehistoric
fact. A groundbreaking 2021 study in the
journal PNAS found that our Paleolithic
ancestors—and their close Neanderthal
cousins—ate so many starchy foods.
Their glucose-rich diet of grasses,
tubers, and cooked barley fueled their
brains’ rapid expansion. And mounting
archaeological evidence shows that
calorically dense starchy foods were
foundational to almost every culture,
ever. Yes, carb-loading helped you evolve
into the man you are today.
But there are early instances of
carbohydrate avoidance, too. Ancient
texts detail a practice known as “bigu,”
which directed Chinese Taoist priests to
abstain from grain, in what
was arguably history’s first
low-carb diet. The goal wasn’t
weight loss but ascension to
immortality. (Didn’t work.)
Halfway across the world,
in another century, a different
foundational carbohydrate
faced condemnation. The
potato, an easily cultivated
tuber from the Americas,
was panned as “tasteless and
starchy” by the influential
18th-century French phi-
losopher Denis Diderot. To
twist the paring knife deeper,
he described the potato as
a “reasonably healthy food
for men who want nothing
but sustenance.”
Diderot wasn’t the only
upper-class European to
devalue the spud. Despite the fact that
the potato eventually became a staple
and effectively doubled Europe’s food
supply, the English disparaged the tuber
because the Irish people they colonized
ate so much of it. “Even though the
Irish were healthy and tall, the English
insisted that potatoes were unhealthy
and uncivilized,” says Kimberley
Connor, Ph.D., a culinary historian at
Stanford University.
An 1846 editorial in The Times of
London even suggested that the Irish
were lazy and responsible for their own
starvation during the famine. “When
the Irish cease to eat just potatoes they
must become meat eaters. With the taste
of meat will grow an appetite for more
meat; with this appetite comes a read-
iness to earn the money to pay for the
meat.” (Never mind that meat was more
expensive and the poor Irish didn’t really
have a choice.) In the aristocracy of food,
protein has long reigned as king.
Grain and white potatoes—the under-
lying demonization of carbs was simmer-
ing before the word carbohydrates even
existed. That classification happened
in 1844, when German chemist Carl
Schmidt used the term to describe the
structure of a class of chemical com-
pounds. From a chemistry standpoint, a
carbohydrate is made up of carbon (the
“carb” part), hydrogen (the “hydrate”
part), and oxygen.
That’s important, because the term
carbohydrate encompasses a massive
variety of sub-nutrients. There are
 simple sugars, such as glucose and fruc-
tose, which are found in fruit. Midsize
molecules, such as stachyose, are found
in legumes like chickpeas. Very large
molecules make up starch (the main
component of wheat flour) and pectin (an
indigestible soluble fiber found in fruit
like apples and lemons). This overarching
classification was handy for chemists but
also opened carbs up to overgeneraliza-
tion—and, eventually, structured trendy
diets that banned them outright.
Although there were earlier low-carb
diets from around the same time period,
the Banting-Harvey plan of 1863 was
the first true low-carb craze. William
Banting, a well-to-do Victorian retired
undertaker, had tried and failed with
numerous weight-loss methods. When
his regular physician was unavailable,
Banting met William Harvey, an ear
surgeon with an enthusiasm for exper-
imental medicine. Harvey put Banting
on what amounted to a low-carb, high-
protein diet, and Banting lost weight—
fast. Inspired by his own miraculous
transformation, Banting penned a short
pamphlet called “Letter on Corpulence”
that went on to be a runaway best seller.
“My impression is that any starchy or
saccharine matter tends to the dis-
ease of corpulence in advanced life,”
he wrote. The medical establishment
of the time labeled him a dangerous
unscientific “quack.” But this criticism
didn’t dampen the passion of the diet’s
devotees, one of whom was so commit-
ted that he reportedly followed the
CARBS: A TIMELINE!
Getty Images (caveman, bread, wheat, rice). Alamy Stock Photo (rice farmer, priest).
10,000 B.C.
Humans begin to grow
wheat in and around the
Fertile Crescent.
. avoidance of grain
Paleolithic early humans’
consumption of starchy foods
rapidly expands their brains.
Banting-Harvey plan to his death.
To call Banting’s followers zealots
wouldn’t be far off. The diet owes its
success to the way Banting connected
Christian moral overtones with disci-
pline, restraint, and peak health—as
defined by thinness, wrote researcher
Jaime M. Miller, Ph.D.
If all that sounds eerily similar to
many modern fad diets, you’re not
wrong. The Banting-Harvey plan walked
so that the most popular low-carb diet
plan ever could run.
ENTER DR. ATKINS
LONG BEFORE Robert Atkins, M.D.,
created the now legendary Atkins diet,
he had his own private cardiology prac-
tice in New York City. His early clinical
work focused on finding an alternative
to what he saw other doctors doing:
treating overweight patients by pre-
scribing them amphetamines. And like
Banting before him, Dr. Atkins himself
tried a low-carb diet, lost weight, and
became an advocate.
In 1972, he published Dr. Atkins’ Diet
Revolution, which told readers to not
count calories, to eat as much steak and
butter as they wanted, and that carbs
are “poison—don’t forget it.” While Dr.
Atkins insisted his diet was based on
“careful clinical observation of 10,000
obese subjects studied for nine years,” he
did not actually publish any measurable
clinical data to support his claims. What
5,000 B.C.
Humans in Asia start
cultivating rice, a crop that
goes on to become the
staple carbohydrate for half
he lacked in scientific rigor, however, he
made up for with his gift for drama. He
dedicated Diet Revolution to “all of the
diet revolutionaries who are not content
merely to follow their own diet, but who
are dedicated to carrying the message
of the diet revolution to the world which
needs it.” Atkins was more than a diet;
it was a mindset of bold, antiestablish-
ment individualism. Dr. Atkins’s advice
sounded in open defiance of the nutri-
tional hard line of the time, that diets
high in saturated fat were the cause of an
unprecedented spike in heart disease. In
an echo of the Banting era, the medical
establishment condemned Dr. Atkins’s
recommendation as “unscientific, unbal-
anced,” and “potentially dangerous.”
Although Dr. Atkins’s diet found
modest success in the ’70s, events in the
’90s enhanced its popularity and powered
a low-carb revolution. The World Health
Organization declared obesity an epidem-
ic in 1997, and the CDC was calling diabe-
tes an epidemic by 2001. In response, the
U. S. ramped up public-health messaging
in what critics described as a “war on
[dietary] fat.” But between 1971 and 2011,
the percentage of overweight Americans
increased from 42 to 66 percent. Diabetes
rates climbed. Fat wasn’t making us gain
weight, so maybe carbs were—a sentiment
that only emboldened Dr. Atkins.
In the 2002 edition of his New Diet
Revolution book, Dr. Atkins gloated that
“widespread dissemination of misinfor-
mation about what constitutes a healthy
diet had caused . . . twin epidemics [of]
NO
THANKS
168 B.C.
Taoist priests in
China practice the
to help them
achieve immortality.
MEN’S HEALTH | MAY • JUNE 2024 97
obesity and diabetes, clearly the result of
the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet that
was preached to the public as gospel.”
The message for confused consumers
eager to lose weight—and reintroduce
delicious fat into their bland, boring
diets—was now refreshingly simple (and
Dr. Atkins approved!): carbs bad.
LOW-CARB
EVERYTHING
AS THE PUBLIC’S resistance to carbs
proliferated and intensified in the
’90s, confusion grew, too. “When people
think of carbs, the mental image they
have is probably cakes and cookies with
sugar frosting,” says nutrition and
obesity researcher Adam Drewnowski,
Ph.D., who heads the Center for Public
Health Nutrition at the University of
Washington. “But there is a hierarchy of
carbohydrate qualities. On the lower end
you have added sugar, and on the higher
end you will have whole grains—it’s a
huge continuum.”
The most well-known early attempt to
untangle this hierarchy was the glycemic
index (GI), a diabetes-management tool
first developed by Canadian nutrition sci-
entist David Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., in the
1980s. To construct the GI, which is essen-
tially a food scorecard, Dr. Jenkins and his
team fed study participants various foods
in controlled quantities and settings and
then measured their blood-glucose level.
Foods that resulted in slight blood-
1921
Wonder Bread—
white, sugary,
and enriched—
Jean-Baptiste Dumas
coins the term glucose for
the sugar obtained from
honey, grapes, and starch.
98 MAY • JUNE 2024 | MEN’S HEALTH
glucose changes (avocados, peanuts) car-
ried a low GI value, and foods that caused
blood glucose to soar (beer, cookies)
received a high GI value. Those exam-
ples make sense, but then there were the
head-scratchers. Cooked carrots have a
GI value of 85, which is ten higher than
doughnuts. White rice scores a 70, while
fettuccine has a 32. A white baked potato,
ever the punching bag, was branded with
a 95, just five points shy of white sugar.
This all formed a platform for Atkins-
like low-carb proponents to reinforce
their stance in the early 2000s. They
took GI values and began labeling foods
“good” or “bad” for diabetes and extrapo-
lated those judgments to weight loss.
This overgeneralization left out three
crucial details: GI scores change when
different foods are consumed in combi-
nation, in different quantities, and with
different cooking preparations. In other
words, for average people living normal
lives and eating normal meals, it was
impossible to calculate GI scores with
any sort of precision. Dr. Jenkins himself
even stated in 2004 that people should
skip counting carbs and just eat more
vegetables for better health. (We also now
know that blood-glucose level alone has
42 factors that affect it.)
GI confusion only magnified low-carb
fever in the new millennium, as other
diets entered the arena. The ketogenic
diet, which allots a measly 5 to 10 percent
of your daily calories for carbs, surged
in popularity around 1999. Nutrition
researcher Loren Cordain, Ph.D., pub-
1928
Otto Frederick
Rohwedder invents
a bread-slicing
machine, the best
invention since . . . ?
1972
Dr. Robert Atkins
publishes Dr. Atkins’
Diet Revolution.
lished The Paleo Diet in 2002. Rodale (the
former parent company of Men’s Health)
released The South Beach Diet, which
targeted “bad carbs,” in 2003. Whole30,
a diet known for banning added sugars
entirely, emerged in 2009.
Low-carb evangelists even went so far
as to help promote research backing their
stance. In 2012, author Gary Taubes raised
about $40 million to fund the Nutrition
Science Initiative (NuSI). Taubes has
stated that sugar’s effect on insulin sig-
naling, not net calories consumed, causes
obesity and diabetes. NuSI’s mission:
to determine that eating carbs leads
to weight gain. But the research never
revealed a link. In 2021, NuSI shut down.
In reality, scientific findings on low-
carb diets and weight loss tend to be far
more restrained. Weight loss may happen
on a low-carb diet because without suf-
ficient carbs, the body is forced to burn
Getty Images (Dumas, bread, Atkins, Diet Coke). Alamy Stock Photo (Rohwedder).
fat for energy, says Anjali Prasertong, a
Denver-based registered dietitian. But
low-carb diets can be difficult to sustain
in the long-term because our bodies are
hardwired to prefer the easy energy we
get from eating carbohydrates, she says.
And while it’s true that Americans ate
more carbs between 1970 and 2013, they
were also eating more of everything, from
cheese to kale to cooking oil. Coupled
with increasingly sedentary lives, we
don’t often use all the calories we con-
sume—and that can lead to weight gain
and the increased risk of the health issues
that being overweight carries.
Drewnowski says that lower-income
1982
Diet Coke
debuts with zero
calories and sugar
 people gravitate toward ultra-processed,
calorie-dense foods (that also happen
to be high in carbs) because that’s what
they can afford. “Calories are cheap, and
nutrients are expensive,” he says. “Years
ago, when there was no money for food,
people didn’t eat. Now sugar, vegetable oil,
and refined grains are so cheap that [even]
if you can’t afford the meat, the cheese,
the fish, what’s left? Refined [foods].”
Just like the poor potato-eating Irish of
the 1800s, some people can’t simply start
eating lean meats and omega-3-rich fish.
The real health benefits, nutrition
Getty Images (pyramid, sugar, coronavirus, popcorn, pasta). The Voorhes (keto diet). Courtesy Victory Belt Publishing (book).
experts are now saying, don’t come from
giving up carbs. They come from giving
up the idea of giving up carbs.
A WHOLE
NEW UNDERSTANDING
THERE’S EVIDENCE of a subtle public
shifting toward carbohydrates. Yes, carb
confusion remains rampant. Muscle-
strapped celebs publicly blame carbs for
their bloating. Dave Asprey, an early keto
proponent, now says carb-cutting has
gone too far even as he decries oatmeal
as “peasant food.” TikTokers rave about
eating cold pasta because of the supposed
weight-loss benefits of resistant starch.
Yet despite the noise, there’s hope for
clarity around carbs.
Nutrition researcher Layne Norton,
Ph.D., says accepting carbs as part of
a solid diet comes down to basic health
literacy. “We have people out there saying
1994
Interest in the low-carb
ketogenic diet begins to
grow as a weight-loss plan,
after a Dateline episode
on the topic.
1992
The first USDA
Food Pyramid
recommends six
to 11 servings of
grains a day.
(Some critics say
this approach leads
to weight gain.)
vegetables are unhealthy [because they
contain sugar]. . . . Is it that? Or is it the
fact that the average American takes
in 3,500 calories a day? And less than
20 minutes of physical activities per
day?” Norton says. “I’m not even pro-
carbohydrates. I’m just anti-bullshit.”
In just the past five years, academic
studies have connected low-carb/high-
fat diets with heart troubles and early
death. Norton responds to these find-
ings by cautioning against nutritional
extremism: Isolating carbohydrates
oversimplifies not only nutrition but also
general health. Low-carb diets work the
way that many other restrictive diets do:
By reducing the intake of carbs, or fats, or
specific foods, people inadvertently lower
their total caloric intake, which may lead
to weight loss and better health.
Being healthy includes, but is not
limited to, your history of smoking,
exercise, genes, environment, sleep
habits, relationship quality, and mental
health. In short, health is too complex
for one food—or even one food group—to
be demonized or granted sainthood.
Instead of looking at which foods to take
away for our health, we should be looking
at what they add, Norton says.
In 2021, with this thinking in mind, a
team of researchers (including Drewn-
owski) created a tool for rating the health-
iness of carbohydrate-rich foods—a more
functional model than the glycemic index.
Rather than focusing on the body’s
insulin response to carbs and how
that may affect weight gain, the Car-
2019
Dr. Shawn
Baker publishes
The Carnivore
Diet, a no-carb
on meat.
The FDA defines “added
sugars,” versus natural sugars.
(Both are carbs.)
bohydrate Food Quality Score (CFQS)
classified carbohydrate foods according
to their nutritional quality. They spe-
cifically looked at potassium, sodium,
sugar, and fiber content.
Legumes, vegetables, fruits, and
whole-grain foods came out as top CFQS
scorers for their positive effects on
overall health. Ultra-processed cakes,
candy, and chips scored low. The general
finding: When eaten in moderation,
many carbohydrate-rich foods are really
good for you. Carb critics have pointed
out that the study has disclosed conflicts
of interest. (Some of the researchers
sit on or have accepted funding from
grain and potato boards.)Yet even the
American Diabetes Association, which
recommends carb counting or meal plan-
ning with carbs in mind for blood-glucose
management, states, “Opt for whole
foods that are unprocessed and in their
natural state, such as vegetables, fruits,
whole grains, and lean proteins.”
Brown rice and white rice, chickpea
flour and wheat flour, peanuts and, yes,
even peanut-butter cookies—the best
diets include all forms of carbohydrates.
That’s because each carb brings its own
nutrients to your health, not to mention
the joy that comes from a sustainable
diet that doesn’t shame you for eating
what you “shouldn’t.”
Oh, and that includes potatoes, too.
FRANKIE HUANG is a freelance writer
who has contributed to The Atlantic,
The New York Times, and Grub Street.
2020
During Covid
lockdowns, a study
in Frontiers in Public
Health warns of the
immunity-damaging
effects of too much
carbohydrate 2023
The
“resistant-starch”
trend takes over
TikTok, and we’re
now all eating
cold spaghetti,
apparently.
| MAY • JUNE 2024 99
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