Look Better Without Lifting a Finger

Look and Feel Better

By Myatt Murphy

Who said looking your best has to be such an effort? You can improve your appearance without lifting a finger. All it takes is lifting the right foods out of your fridge and placing them on your plate. "There are certain key nutrients that make a huge difference in not just how healthy you feel on the inside, but how healthy you look on the outside," says Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, team dietician for the Orlando Magic and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association Spokesperson. If you want to turn back time and look-and feel-younger, these key ingredients are all you need.

Omega-3's

These fatty acids commonly found in cold water fish may be important for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer and other health issues that concern men. But this polyunsaturated fat also strengthens the immune system, keeps your skin, hair and nails healthy and even reduces inflammation (so all your joints stay young and flexible instead of old and stiff.)

The perfect amount: Although there isn't an established RDA for Omega-3's, getting 1,000 milligrams daily is recommended by most experts. Eating 3 to 4 ounces of a cold-water fish (such as salmon, mackerel, tuna or sardines) 3 to 4 times per week is ideal. If fish isn't your thing, having a handful of walnuts, hazelnut or pecans or one teaspoon of flaxseed oil will also do the trick.

Green Tea

Instead of drinking coffee-which raises your body's production of cortisol, a hormone that can negatively affect your skin, decalcifies your bones and suppresses your immune system-switch to green tea instead. Not only does it lower cortisol, but it's packed with catechin and polyphenols-two vital antioxidants that have a huge effect on protecting your body (especially your skin) from the effects of premature aging due to free radical damage.

The perfect amount: Although it's fine to have green tea throughout the day as often as you like, preparing loose tea instead of using pre-packaged bags is the better option. Ground-up tea leaves tend to lose not just flavor, but many of their nutrients as well. Steeping loose tea may take more time, but it's far richer in catechin and polyphenols.

Potassium

Not getting enough potassium not only causes fatigue, but it can also make your muscles feel weaker and cramp up more often. The combination of the two can leave you looking less energized and more tired all the time. It also aids in regulating how much water gets placed in your cells-specifically your muscle cells. Meaning, if you're deficient in this important electrolyte, your muscles won't just be weaker, they'll also appear flatter and less full.

The perfect amount: The RDA is 3,500 milligrams daily, which is an easy number to hit if you stick with potassium-rich foods. Some terrific choices to try include lima beans, bananas, squash, yams, peaches, spinach, grapefruit, cantaloupes or honeydew melons, oranges, tomato juice and potatoes.

Fiber

Eating plenty of fiber may leave some guys feeling more bloated in their bellies, but getting enough in your diet can actually have the opposite effect. "Eating some form of fiber with every meal leaves you feeling full faster, and, for a longer amount of time, so you end up eating less calories at every meal and throughout the day," says Gidus. It also speeds up how quickly food passes through your system. The faster food can pass through your body, the less it sits around being absorbed as additional calories and fat that can end up around your waistline.
The perfect amount: Most dieticians recommend eating 25-35 grams daily (unfortunately, the average guy eats roughly half that amount). Try adding at least one large serving (4 to 6 ounces) of any high-bulk, low calorie vegetable to each meal, such as broccoli, zucchini, spinach or cucumbers. Switching to higher-fiber fruits like strawberries, apples and bananas, or, choosing whole-grain breads, pasta and rice over the white varieties is another way to get your daily dose. One fool-proof tip: sprinkle some beans (black, kidney, red or any legume you like) into your meals for flavor-just a cup contains around 3-4 grams of fiber!

Water

Drinking plenty of aqua flushes out toxins and transports oxygen to your cells, which can help your skin appear clearer and less wrinkled. But this essential nutrient is also what decides how big your muscles look all day long, and, how strong they are when you need to use them. In fact, losing as little as 4-5% of your bodyweight in water can lead to a 20-30% drop in muscle strength. Forgetting to drink enough could make your body seem weaker than it really is when you desperately need it to look good-on the playing field, in the gym or just helping that attractive blonde move in next door.

The perfect amount: As soon as you feel thirsty, you're technically dehydrated. To stay saturated, the minimum amount to drink is 64 ounces daily. However, the Institute of Medicine Guidelines suggest having 120 ounces of 'total fluid' daily. If that seems like a lot, remember that any liquid that hydrates you also counts towards that total amount-juice, soda, milk, etc.

Protein

To preserve muscle tissue, men need to have a sufficient amount of protein daily-especially if they're looking to build extra muscle using a weight-training program. That's usually not a problem with most guys, since most love the taste of a good steak and plenty of other types of protein-rich meats. The problem is that some guys tend to eat it all in one sitting-usually for dinner. "The body can only break down 20-30 grams of protein at a time," says Gidus, "Any extra protein left over isn't used for maintaining muscle, but is treated as excess calories that the body may store as fat."

The perfect amount: You need to eat 0.6 to 0.82 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily to build muscle when using a strength-training program (If you're not exercising, then only eat half that amount to maintain what muscle you have.) Once you know how many grams you need to eat each day, try splitting that total up so you're only having 20-30 grams with each meal (or snack) throughout the day.

Calcium

A lot of men assume that getting enough calcium is a women's issue, but men have bones they need to worry about too, especially thinner or shorter men. "Being lighter places less stress on your bones-stress that helps build them up and keep them strong," says Gidus. From a stature standpoint, less calcium can lead to weaker bones-weaker bones that can cause men to hunch more and appear more frail. It can even shave off an inch or two off your height.

The perfect amount: Shoot for getting 1,000 milligrams daily. That breaks down to roughly three servings of dairy (such as cheese, milk, ice cream and yogurt), green leafy vegetables or a calcium-enriched food, such as fortified orange juice or cereal.