When we were kids, Mom was always looking out for our health. Chew your food. Eat your vegetables. And always eat breakfast because it’s the most important meal of the day.

As busy grown-ups, a good breakfast often falls victim to the time crunch. Who has time to cook and eat a breakfast of champions? It’s so much faster and more convenient to just grab a coffee and a bran muffin.

Of course, deep down we know it’s not right. Not only would Mom disapprove, that pudgy physique in the mirror deserves better, too.

So what’s a guy to do?  Get up earlier and make it happen, right?  Perhaps not.

Lately, some really fit guys–men with muscles, visible veins, and abs so sharp you can grate carrots on them–are doing something a whole lot different. They’re not eating breakfast.  Healthy or otherwise. In fact, they’re not eating at all for extended stretches. And they’re getting leaner, more muscular, even healthier.

This practice is called Intermittent Fasting–IF for short–and it’s challenging everything nutritionists, dieticians, and your Mom ever told you about healthy eating.

Going Against the Grain

Typical dietician dogma involves eating small meals spread two to four hours apart, starting with a nutritious breakfast. This, we’re told, stimulates the metabolism, so we burn more calories throughout the day.  It’s also supposed to make us less likely to binge on cookies and ice cream at night.

It’s sound advice that’s been field-tested by thousands of fit, healthy, hard-bodied people.

Proponents of IF, on the other hand, eschew the idea of small, frequent meals. They claim to have achieved quicker fat loss and better health by deliberately skipping breakfast.  Some even go entire days without eating.

The experts are skeptical. They call IF extreme, impractical, even harebrained–and yet no one can dispute their results. Or that the number of IF converts is growing.

I was also a skeptic. I built my reputation on recommending small, healthy, frequent meals, starting with breakfast. And that strategy has definitely worked well for most of my clients.

But the track record of certain Intermittent Fasting protocols, both in scientific publications and in real-world practice, seems pretty impressive too.  That’s why I decided to put some of these protocols to the test.  I wanted to answer the following questions: “Is IF just another fad diet?  Or is it something health and body conscious people should consider?”

My Fasting Experiments

To this end, I spent the last 9 months testing the most popular Intermittent Fasting protocols on myself. In the end, I tried 8 different fasting protocols.

At times I was consuming nothing but calorie-free beverages for a full 24-36 hours.  (Mercifully that was only once per week.)  Other methods had me fasting for much shorter periods, yet more frequently.

While each method was basically a spin on not eating a thing, the varying effects were fascinating. Some methods made me feel energized, strong, and focused.  Others simply left me lethargic, weak, and very, very hungry.

Of the 8 different protocols I tried, there are three main variations:

The trial fast: This is where I recommend you start if you’re interested in this approach.  Just try going 24 hours without food. I did my first trial fast on a Sunday. I set it up by having a small meal on Saturday night at 10pm, and then didn’t eat again until another small meal on Sunday night at 10pm. (I did drink green tea and water throughout the day.)

The periodic fast: If you survived the trial fast without breaking down and cleaning out the refrigerator, then you can try this. Simply do the trial fast above once in a while.  It could be once per month.  It could be once per week.  (More frequently than once a week, however, is a mistake.  I tried to do it twice a week and it was a disaster. More isn’t better.)

The daily fast: This is a more advanced way of doing things. Here we cut the fast from 24 hours to 16-20 hours (say 8pm to noon to 4pm the following day) but we do it every day. Ideally, most days there’s a workout at the end of the fast, followed by some pretty large meals during the 4-8 hour feeding window.  (As complicated as this system sounds, I found myself actually gaining muscle and losing fat at an alarming rate.)

So what’s the conclusion?  What did I learn?

Well, for body transformation, Intermittent Fasting works. Over the course of my experiments, I dropped twenty pounds of weight, from 190 pounds to 170 pounds, and I was pretty lean to start with. I also reduced my body fat from 10% to 4% (measured via a well-validated ultrasound protocol) while maintaining most of my lean mass. And I kept it off.  In addition, I saw some interesting improvements in my health profile.

Beyond vanity, the reported health effects of an intelligently designed Intermittent Fasting program read like a laundry list of live longer, live better benefits including: reduced blood lipids,blood pressure, markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and cancer.  Increased cell turnover and repair, fat burning, growth hormone release, and metabolic rate. And improved appetite control, blood sugar control, cardiovascular function, and neuronal plasticity.

Wow is right!  At this point, if your wheels are turning, that’s a good thing.  But be careful.  This article isn’t designed to persuade you to try Intermittent Fasting right away.  Rather, it’s designed to simply get you thinking about your own eating plan.  And, if it needs improvement, how you can think about starting.

Fasting Best Practices

If you’re a busy guy, work 50 plus hours a week, and spend most of your free time shuttling kids around and working the honey-do list, working out daily and eating 6 meals a day may be challenging.  So skipping a few meals and looking like the Men’s Health cover model may sound pretty appealing.

But not so fast. You can’t just skip meals willy-nilly and get awesome results.

Remember, some of these fasts follow very specific protocols.  Just eating haphazardly and then not eating is what gets many people overweight in the first place. But if you’re keen on giving IF a try, here are 9 things that you must first consider.

1. Food choices matter. Just because you’re not eating often doesn’t mean the basic rules of good nutrition don’t apply. Fasting for 20 hours and then spending 4 hours eating pizza, Twinkies, and half your kid’s Halloween loot won’t get you lean. You need to focus on good sources of protein, healthy fats, high quality carbohydrates, and lots of fruits and veggies.  (Your mom was right about that one.)

2. Be patient. If you’re a big fan of breakfast, fasting is going to be a major test of willpower–especially for the first few weeks. In my case, the early stages left me suffering from massive stomach rumblings, hunger cravings, and big-time morning moodiness. I did my best to stave off the breakfast cravings with a few cups of green tea or coffee, but I still felt really bad. Luckily, I told my friends and family what was going on, and they’re a pretty understanding bunch. But here’s the good part. It gets better–much better–after 14 days or so. Stick it out. You’re not dying –you’re just hungry.

3. Exercise helps. The best fasting protocols had me hitting the gym as hard as ever, empty stomach be damned. There’s a reason for that –exercise drives the fat loss bus.

4. Timing is everything, but not the only thing. I experienced the best results when I fasted for around 16-hours per day, followed by an 8 hour eating window.  I usually ended my 16-hour fasts with a workout.  Then I ate my largest meal of the day.  However, other less stringent protocols also delivered results. Experimentation is the key.

5. Progress slowly. It’s important to start with the trial fast and allow yourself to get “good at it” before graduating to more frequent or complicated fasting protocols. Many find going just a few hours without eating unbearable. It takes practice and willpower, so be patient. Dominate the easy steps before moving further up the fasting ladder.

6. Don’t overdo it. In my case, after achieving great results with a weekly fast, I tried doubling the frequency to twice a week to see if I’d get twice the results. It didn’t happen. More isn’t necessarily better.

7. Eat meat. I ate upwards of three pounds of meat a day to get my calorie and protein requirements.  Now, I’ve always been an omnivore, but during extended fasts, where meals are so infrequent, eating meat is even more important. Of course, you can still do this if you’re following a vegetarian diet.  It’s just more difficult to meet your calorie needs for the day.

8. It’s still a lifestyle. There are no diets, only lifestyles. And any diet that you couldn’t theoretically follow for the rest of your life is doomed to failure. During my first few fasts I was convinced that there was no way I could eat like this for life. But after a few weeks, I was loving it, and it was a breeze.

9. Some shouldn’t do it. I think anyone and everyone should attempt the trial fast. Trust me, you learn a lot about yourself when you go without food for a full day. However, for the more regular or more extreme forms of fasting, I’ve found they’re more successful when:

• You have a history of monitoring calorie/food intake (i.e. you’ve “dieted” before).
• You’re an experienced exerciser.
• You’re single or you don’t have children.
• Your partner (if you have one) is extremely supportive.
• Your job allows you to have periods of low performance while you adapt to a new plan.

Granted, these are just observations. There are folks who have kids, busy careers, and tons of responsibility who love IF. And again, the real rough period usually ends after two weeks or so. However, if it’s not for you, it’s not for you.  Again, there are other ways to eat and exercise to develop a lean, strong, healthy body.

Remember the Basics

One more thing.  It’s important to remember that there’s no magic pill (or magic eating plan), and when all’s said and done, mastering the basics is still your best approach. What are the basics?

• Eating good quality food. Fresh, unprocessed, nutrient-dense food is a must, regardless of eating style.  So make food awareness a priority and make the best choices you can afford.
• Eating slowly. Rushing through meals impairs digestion and confuses satiety centers in the brain.  So slow down.  It helps control intake and improve your enjoyment of eating.
• Eating reasonable portions. When calories are controlled, progress is made.  Overeating is still possible with IF, just as it is with every other eating style.  So pay attention to food amount.
• Eating when you’re hungry, and not eating when you’re not. Learning to tune into your appetite and listen to your true hunger is important.  Using mindfulness during meals is a best practice for healthy eating.
• Regular exercise. Of course, exercise and healthy eating are two sides of the same coin.  They both help promote health and a lean body but in different ways.  So use both.

Interestingly, these things are enough for most people to get in the best shape of their lives. No Intermittent Fasting required.  I know that because I’ve been in this business for 20 years and have helped a lot of clients achieve success in fat loss and improving health.  Very few of them did any more than the trial fast, but all of them are taught those essentials.  So, if you’re a beginner, please start with these.

However, if you’re a little further down the fitness path, I will say this. For a very specific demographic–people with fitness and exercise experience who also consider breakfast 15 minutes they’ll never get back–IF could be a very effective approach. Maybe even the best approach.

In one of the old men’s magazines I have in my collection, I spotted an ad for a book called How to Get Along with Girls. Curious on what sort of dating advice was dispensed in 1944 when the book was published, I wanted to get my hands on it.  The ad said all I needed to do was send in .98 cents and the secrets of getting along with girls would be mine. What a deal! Unfortunately, after further research, I found that the publisher no longer exists, so I had no place to send my pocket change. Drat!

Undeterred, I went to eBay to see if any of the original copies still existed. Lucky for me I found one for just $5.00. It arrived in the mail a few days ago, and I’ve enjoyed thumbing through it, chuckling at some of the advice that clearly needs to stay in 1944. But, overall, How to Get Along with Girls offers some pretty solid and timeless dating advice for men.

So I thought it would be fun (and perhaps useful) to share some of the book’s advice with you all from time to time.  The first excerpt comes from a chapter called “How to Pick Your Right Girl.” It’s reminiscent of the post we published back in 2008 called How Do You Know When She’s the One? and is all about figuring out whether you’re in a relationship with the right gal. Enjoy.

How to Pick Your Right Girl

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage; half closed afterwards.”

Sooner or later, if you are “stuck” on a girl, you arrive at the crucial indecision, “Is she the right girl for me? Shall I marry her?”

Yours is an unbelievable lot, brother. You are required to decide for the rest of your life, at a time when you are bereft of reason. You are required to be impartial about the object of your love, when love prejudices you in her favor. Unfortunately, such is the cockeyed nature of things that every marrying man gets into this predicament.

What you seek in a wife is strictly your business. To rephrase the old proverb: one man’s wife is another man’s poison. But it is only fair to warn you that what you desire may not coincide with what you require. You may have no idea of what is good for you. Perhaps you need a woman to bolster your ego, but are masochist enough to “go” for a girl who slaps you down every time. Haven’t you seen that happen? Or you may need a girl to slap you down, but egoist that you are, you “go” only for “fluff” that flatters your vanity.

Before you make the momentous decision, you would do well to ponder the questions in this chapter. Obviously, you will not be objective; but it is of the utmost importance that you make the effort. To compensate for your prejudice, be extra hard in judging her.

• She is attractive, of course, but is that her chief asset? (Try to imagine her ten years from today.)

• Do you want her because she is popular–because other men have wanted her? (Don’t be a copy-cat!)

• Could you spend seven consecutive evenings in her company without being bored? (If the answer is affirmative, it is a good sign.)

• Do you have similar tastes in most things?

• Is she a good sport?

• Is she reasonably healthy?

• Is she a flirt? Does she make you jealous? (Decide whether you can stand the strain; your jealously will persist until you grow indifferent.)

• Are you constantly irritated by some small mannerism of hers? (You can’t be terribly in love.)

• Does she tell lies? Do you mind?

• Is she a nag?

• Is she quarrelsome? (The Bible warns, “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house.”)

• Is she hard on other people? (Don’t judge by her behavior to you.)

• Is she trying to reform you? How do you feel about being reformed?

• Has she tried to boss you? (Maybe you need a boss.)

• Would she put up with all your faults if she knew them?

• When you quarrel, who capitulates first? (A combination of two stubborn mules is bad.)

• Do you agree on children, or a career, or both? (Better settle this beforehand.)

• Does she expect you to support her in a definite style? Could you count on her cooperation in hard times? Would she go to work if necessary?

• Will she help you get ahead? Or will she pull you away from your work?

• Can she handle money?

• If you marry her, will you also be marrying her family?

• Does she let you get around to see your old pals? (If you have been too infatuated to notice, make it a point of finding out.)

• Are you proud to present her to your friends? (If not, reconsider.)

• Do you hope to reform her? (Give up the idea. People change, but not according to plan.)

• Do you know her faults? Are you willing to live with them?

• Do you still think her perfect? (You’re wrong, of course, but marry!)

So, you borrowed your father-in-law’s boat for your weekend at the cabin, or you bought a RV to take the family camping for this year’s vacation. You got to where you were going and realized you now had to back up to get that trailer where you needed it. Maybe you hadn’t anticipated this (but really, how did you expect to get that boat in the water?), or maybe you didn’t think it would be a problem. How hard could it be? It’s not like you need a special license to do it, and you’ve seen other guys at the boat launch do it, and they look like lesser men than your manly self. Right?

A few years ago, during a break between years at university, I got my truck license and went to work driving a big rig. What man hasn’t wanted to get behind the wheel of one of those machines? They’re big, they’re noisy, you can see over everyone else, they can haul just about anything, and they have a horn to rival a locomotive. The part of the job I didn’t count on when I started was the fact that I would be spending a large amount of my time in reverse while going around corners. I was not exactly what you’d call a natural at backing up. In fact, I almost lost that first job because I had such a hard time. With some coaching, and a lot of nervous practice, I eventually became quite good at it, and now I can back a trailer around corners and into little garage doors on the first shot.

Reading this article is not going to substitute for practice, but it should prepare you to start. The principles are the same whether you have a 53’ tractor/trailer rig or a rented 8’ U-Haul.

A Solid Approach

Backing a trailer into a specific spot at a specific angle is mostly in the set-up. Like most things, preparation is key.

First things first: roll down your windows. Driver’s side and passenger’s, and it doesn’t matter if it is raining. If you have a passenger, it is best to kick them out before you even approach the actual boat launch, driveway, or campsite. You are probably going to want a spotter anyway, and they will either distract you or block your view if they stay in.

Forget about your rear view mirror, and don’t turn around and try to look out the back window. Chances are, you can’t see much over your trailer, and who cares what the front of that trailer is doing? You want to make sure your side mirrors are adjusted properly, because they are going to show you where the sides of your trailer are, allowing you to deduce what the back is doing. It may be more showy to do the big turn around and hug the back of the seat thing, but how much cooler to pull up and back that baby in without turning around? Appearances aside, it really is the proper way to do it. Proper mirror adjustment means when your rig is straight, your trailer is visible in about the inside third of your mirror. It is good to be able to see your trailer tires. This gives you a good view of where you are going and how you are doing.

Now you are almost ready to approach. For the sake of a consistent example, let’s say you are backing a camper into a campsite. It is coming up on your right-hand side. Stop short and get out of your truck. Go check for obvious obstacles that you will have to avoid. Don’t forget to look up. Even if you have a straight shot to the back of the site, will you clear all the tree branches? This sounds like retentive health and safety advice, but backing over a stray chunk of firewood or someone’s leftover wire roasting stick is going to be a rough start to your weekend. Try to make a mental map of where the picnic table is in relation to the fire pit and the back of the site. Pace off distances if you need to (you do know how wide your camper is, don’t you?). Have your passenger(s) stand near major obstacles so they can shout if you are too close. You may not always be able to see them, but your windows are already rolled down, right?

The Right Set-up

The moment of truth is at hand. If you do this next part wrong, it doesn’t matter much what you do after. Get it right, and you will look like a pro. It is the S-turn. You are in a forward gear with your campsite coming up on the right. Get that vehicle over to the right as far as you can without hitting something or rolling into the ditch and pull up alongside the entrance. How far along you go really depends on how long your rig is and what kind of hitch you have, but probably somewhere around when your truck bumper is coming up on the far end of the entrance, you want to swing out left. Don’t go all the way. Before you drive into the left side ditch, crank it back to the right. This will make the smaller angle between the truck and trailer be on the right-hand side. Stop with your truck somewhere around midway between road shoulders. Congratulations, your trailer is ready and begging to be backed into the sweet spot.

The Moment of Truth

The next part is where everyone gets nervous. People will offer “helpful” advice here, about how the steering wheel works in reverse now, but I’ve seen people start thinking everything in their vehicle works backwards and forget which pedal does what. So, take a deep breath and imagine you are a kid playing with toy trucks. You will probably need to make your turn angle a bit sharper, especially if you have a narrow entrance or a longer trailer. To accomplish this, turn your wheels as though you were going to steer to the left if you were going forward. Don’t turn it all the way. Put the truck in reverse, and let off the brake. Stay really calm at this point and constantly ask yourself “Is the right thing happening at this instant?” If the answer is yes, don’t change anything. As soon as the answer is “No,” stop. You aren’t going fast (I hope), and hopefully you didn’t choose a busy spot for your first attempts.

So, you are in reverse, with your wheels pointed left, causing your trailer to turn sharper. You won’t be able to keep that up for long before you fold your rig like a jack knife. It only takes a little distance to do what you need here. It is kind of like putting a crease in a piece of paper, where you only need that instant of pressure to kink it over. After that, you can lighten up and it will stay. So, after a couple feet (literally), start turning the wheel to the right. Think of following the trailer with the truck. My trainer always told me once I had the kink to “follow the trailer around.” Turning your wheel to the right will begin to straighten out the whole rig. I always think of it as “unsteering.” How soon you do this, and how sharply you turn depends on the relative sizes of everything. One of the biggest mistakes people make in reverse is over-correction. If the trailer starts going one way or the other, don’t crank the wheel all the way over. Unless you are in a really technical spot, needing to crank the wheel more than 180 degrees probably means you need to pull ahead and try again. Never shout when a whisper will do.

Words of Warning

Throughout this exercise, keep an eye on what the front of your truck is doing. Watch for ditches and obstacles. I once blew a steer tire on a set of stairs because I was too focused on the back end. This is another reason to back up like a man, using your mirrors, not wrapped around your seat trying to see out the back window.

Don’t be afraid of taking multiple runs to get into your spot. Obviously it is better to take a few runs and get it right than to hit something first shot. Some spots require multiple runs no matter how good you are. Also, don’t be afraid to put it in park, get out, and walk around to see what the back end is doing and how close you are to that fire pit. I did this constantly, even once I had some skill and confidence.

A word is necessary here about having someone “guide” you into a spot. Don’t. Having people to help is great, but give them specific jobs. Just like you have a limited perspective from the driver’s seat, they will have a limited perspective on what the far side of the trailer is doing. Tell your helper something like, “Stand so you can see my face in the side mirror of the truck and let me know if it looks like I’m going to hit the fire pit.” If they can’t see you, you can’t see them. Give them a specific signal that is verbal (your windows are still rolled down, right?) and visual. Inexperienced guides will usually run eagerly to the back of the trailer and start waving incomprehensibly while standing somewhere you can’t see and then yell after you’ve run over the picnic table.

Please practice this before you get to the boat launch with your new boat. Get your wife or your kids to come out and practice spotting you while you back up. How great will it be to pull up and have everyone know what to do? Don’t be that guy with the shiny new boat weaving and winding your way down the boat launch stressing everyone else out.

This isn’t comprehensive, but it’ll get you started. Comment if you’ve got a good tip.

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak

By Joshua Linam

Have you noticed that people react to you differently based on what you wear? Do certain outfits lend you special treatment and others yield the silent treatment? Has a sharp suit won you a seat upgrade on a plane? Have sweatpants made you feel like a leper at the grocery store? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve experienced the social dynamics of clothing.

Judging someone solely on attire may seem unfair. Really, I’m the same person whether I’m sporting Prada or Payless. I still drink milk out of a wine glass and prefer my sandwiches cut in triangles, no matter what I’m wearing. But there’s no avoiding it: Looks matter, and there’s no reason why we can’t use that to our advantage.

Why Looks Matter

So you might be thinking, “Duh. I kind of already knew that.” Homeless-guy fashion does not lend itself well to social gatherings, and socks on ears are generally frowned upon (excluding a few very fashion-forward designers). I agree with you. And that’s why I’d like to scratch the socio-apparel surface a bit deeper.

My goal is to offer you research-based facts that may prompt you to rethink the garb you grab when standing before your closet in the morning. I aim to show you that picking the right apparel can prove very valuable. Moreover, clothes can, in part, determine your success with women, how much money you make and the way people treat you in general. I’ll also include fashion tips to help you conquer each domain. There are some mighty big claims here — let’s see if there’s any truth to them.

Clothes Affect Your Success With Women

In one university study, women rated the attractiveness of one man dressed in several different getups. Outfits ranged from a designer suit and tricked-out watch all the way down to a lowly fast-food uniform. As you can imagine, ladies preferred the power suit to the burger-flipping one. But it’s why they chose the businessman that’s important.

The study notes that girls actively sought signs of “status” when judging the man’s clothes, and they liked that look better because it suggested a good provider. In other words, women do care what you wear, and this is why looks matter. Girls favor a put-together guy because it’s likelier he can put food on the table. Does this makeall women gold diggers? Not exactly. Though like the humble homing pigeon, which can detect subtle signs to lead it home, women’s brains are awesomely adept at spotting signs on men that point to prosperity. (Note: Women do not have the brains of pigeons. Don’t pin that on me.)

So, clothes can be a tool to boost your standing with the opposite sex, but what kind of style should you be channeling? Fortunately, you don’t have to be a billionaire to win a lady’s hand. More realistically, you just have to nail the right details.

The goods you need to command a girl’s attention: A quality timepiece, a fitted (though not necessarily designer) suit, a well-polished pair of oxfords or boots, and a crisp button-down shirt. Equipped with these style essentials, you can scientifically increase your chances with women. (Note: Unless you respond to the name Jay-Z, never “over-bling” yourself. The risk of looking like a Christmas ornament stands too great.

Clothes Affect How Much Money You Make

A nationwide poll dubbed the “Well-Dressed Men Survey” was conducted this year by a well-known men’s retailer, and several gems were unearthed. For instance, 75% of Americans believe well-dressed men earn higher wages than the less-polished. Also, 22% of male participants confessed they’d probably make more money if they dressed better. Amazingly, Americans already seem to know the sway clothes can hold over career. And just by mastering a few style secrets, three out of four people agree you’ll be reaping more dollars at your job.

Another Michigan State University study found that “good-looking” people earn up to 8% more than the “average-looking,” who, in turn, make 5% to 10% more than the “plain-looking.” Of course, apparel plays a big part in this. We men are labeled as handsome or ho-hum based on our looks, and this directly affects how much coin we amass in our lifetime — you might say it pays to dress well. It should be noted that donning a top hat and cane doesn’t mean strangers will start handing you $100 bills on the street. Instead, your immediate reward is commanding a certain degree of respect at the workplace. Then your long-term prize is living a heightened sense of stylish self, which will ultimately earn you more cash in your career. To achieve the look we’re talking about, think dapper.

The gear you need to make more money: Business attire, which includes a collection of high-quality suits (gray, navy, black, and khaki, for starters), an assortment of top-notch ties, Italian leather shoes and suede loafers, and accessories such as classic cuff links, pocket squares and a premium pen. These items demand more respect from coworkers and they tend to instill more charm in the boardroom.

Clothes Affect How People Treat You

When you first meet someone, they instantly assess everything about you. They can sense if you’re sad, nervous, threatening, or possibly even gassy (possibly). If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, you may know what I’m getting at. Across history, humans have had to gauge meaning quickly. Does that dinosaur want to eat me? Does this girl want to have sex? Is that a banana in that caveman’s pocket, or does he plan to club me atop the head with a concealed bone? Over time, people have grown really good at judging situations fast. Interestingly, the same holds true with clothes. People judge your outfit in a fraction of a second. You walk through the door and — bam — they’ve already formed an opinion of your attire and of you.

You don’t need me to tell you this, though; you’ve likely noticed these snap judgments yourself. Take, for example, a time you proudly wore your best outfit for a night on the town. Your confidence was soaring as you entered the evening’s establishment, and like a glorious bolt of lightening, you were struck with a few quick yet unmistakable glances from women. Alternatively, remember the time you woke up late for work and slapped on the nearest shirt and pants within snatching distance? It was dark, unfortunately, and you couldn’t have guessed you’d end up looking like a Muppet who raided a thrift store. You despised that outfit the entire day. Worse still, you met a beautiful girl for the first time, and there was no way to explain your fashion faux pas.

These examples reveal that looks do matter and that clothes can take on a bigger meaning with people we meet. In a way, we’re not just talking about clothes here. We’re talking about an external extension of ourselves that breeds either confidence or shame, and commands either respect or disinterest (hopefully not pity). The question is, what kind of clothes set you up for success with new people you meet?

Style tips to win respect from strangers: The most important rule here is to always wear outfits that are you. If you don’t believe in your attire, no one else will. This is not to say that you aren’t a complex and multilayered person who experiences different moods on different days. If your temperament calls for a dangerous night, opt for a black leather jacket. If you’re feeling debonair and can’t shake Sinatra from your head, reach for a suit and tie. Always trust your gut and wear what you feel, because people can sense when your getup has you glum — and we want you owning the night.

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/fashion/fashiontip_600/693b_why-looks-matter.html#ixzz1tGLQgq3V

You get only a handful of vacation days—so you want to make each one count. (After all, this isn’t France.) So when you take a long-anticipated getaway, you don’t want to waste a precious day recovering from jet lag.

Now there might be an easier way to orient yourself to changing time zones, finds a study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. When mice exercised for 2 hours at the same time every day for 4 weeks, they shifted their internal clocks. (Turns out, jet lag doesn’t just make you drowsy and irritable—it can also make you stupid.)

“All of your body’s cells have 24-hour clocks that link up to your brain’s master clock,” explains study author Karyn Esser, Director of the Center of Muscle Biology and a professor at the University of Kentucky. “Jet lag occurs when your internal clocks get misaligned.”

Let’s say you fly from New York to Paris. When you get off the plane, you’re now 6 hours ahead in time. Your body’s clocks, on the other hand, are still set to East Coast time. Jet lag is what happens while you wait for these little timepieces to adapt to the unfamiliar time zone. (Want to take a vacation, but not sure where to go? Check out our Travel Center for ideas.)

“Past research has shown that your molecular clocks are set by different time cues, such as sunshine and meal times,” says Esser. “But we’ve also learned that your brain’s clock—which is linked to light cues—isn’t always dominant. Eating at specific times can also trick your organs into thinking it’s a specific time. Essentially, you can override the system.”

And that’s exactly what happened when Esser had mice adhere to a regulated workout routine. The mice shifted the circadian clock in their skeletal muscle and lung tissues.

She believes the same will happen in humans. Start exercising at a specific time every day before your trip, Esser advises. Then, when you arrive at your destination, workout at the same time you normally do. For example, if you usually hit the gym at 11:30 a.m. in New York, get a sweat session in at 11:30 a.m. in Paris. “Take on the lifestyle of the time you arrive,” she says.

Even better: Sightsee and fight jet lag. Accelerate the realignment of your clocks by getting all of your time cues—light, feeding, and exercise—at once, says Esser. When you land, throw on your sneakers and head outside for a walk or jog in the sunshine. Then grab lunch at a local restaurant. Your body will be running like clockwork in no time.

How do women want to be treated?

Once upon a time, it seemed like every guy knew the rules of chivalry. Chivalry was gospel, a time-tested code of conduct for men passed down from generation to generation. From the time we were boys, we knew it was polite to open doors for our dates and offer up our seats to women on a crowded bus. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, we forgot how to be chivalrous. We forgot the rules and the procedures for treating women properly. As a result, there’s little courtesy left in courtship anymore.

Luckily, there are at least a few guys out there who remember what it means to be a gentleman, and each of these guys can teach us something about impressing women. So take a moment and review these chivalry lessons from modern gentlemen.

Be attentive

You might be surprised that we’d include Ashton Kutcher on our list of modern gentlemen. You probably still think of him as the numskull from That ’70s Show. But credit where credit’s due: Kutcher is dating arguably the hottest cougar on the planet, Demi Moore. And how Kutcher keeps Demi happy is instructive. He can often be seen holding her hand, helping her into a car, and doing all the things that a chivalrous guy does. You don’t score a woman like Demi by being inconsiderate. Chivalry means paying attention to details. Open doors. Pull out her chair. Make your date feel like a lady and show her that you’re a man or, more specifically, a gentleman.

Manners

Chivalry is all about treating others with respect, especially women. That’s why practicing good manners is such an important component of chivalry. Think about it: When a guy chews with his mouth full or forgets to say “please” and “thank you” he not only looks like a Neanderthal, but he’s also telling people that he doesn’t care about anybody but himself. It’s fundamentally disrespectful.

Something as simple as being polite shows a woman that you care what she thinks; you’ll be attentive to her needs and her desires. That’s a turn-on for women. It’s also likely one of the reasons Matthew McConaughey was named People magazine’s sexiest man alive in 2005. McConaughey makes good manners sexy. The man exudes Southern charm and women love him for it.

Romantic gestures

David Beckham provides us with the third of our chivalry lessons from legendary gentlemen. In case you haven’t heard, Beckham has become the poster boy for extravagant romantic gestures. He once purchased a ruby and diamond pendant for his wife Victoria Beckham worth an estimated $2.4 million

For his wife’s 33rd birthday, Beckham bought Posh a $340,000 painting, and flew her to Paris in a private jet where they spent the night at the Paris Ritz at an estimated $12,000 a night. But fear not, you don’t need to “spend it like Beckham” in order to show your girl you care. Writing “I love you” on a post-it note or calling her unexpectedly in the middle of the day qualifies as a romantic gesture too.

Defend her honor

Part of being chivalrous is communicating to your partner that you can protect her, that you’ll stand up for her and her interests. Now, this does not mean you have to punch strangers in the street. However, it does mean that you take her side in arguments (even if you don’t always agree with her). It also means that you treat her with respect in public. Through your words and actions you demonstrate to her, and to others, how you expect her to be treated. Above all, you want to project an aura of calmness and confidence. You want to be the guy that women feel safe around. As an illustrative example, think of a guy like Clive Owen. There’s something about the way Owen carries himself that instills confidence. You know just looking at him that he’s not a guy to be trifled with.

Be a good sport

The chivalrous guy knows how to give and take a joke. He can and will compete — he’ll give his all — but he won’t be a poor sport when he loses and he won’t gloat when he wins. This chivalry lesson is perhaps best embodied by gentleman and tennis star, Roger Federer.

Federer is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time. The Swiss star has won 16 Grand Slam titles. And not only has he won the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Player of the Year Award five times, but he’s also won the ATP Sportsmanship Award six years running. Women don’t want to date a whiner or a braggart. They want to know you’re going to be gracious in victory or defeat.

a class in class

None of the items on our list of chivalry lessons from legendary gentlemen can be considered rocket science. There’s nothing groundbreaking here. Just some sensible tips that guys too often forget. Remembering them will definitely set you apart from the masses.

Whether you’re working out to build muscle, get definition, train for a marathon, lose weight, or because you’re just health conscious, you should be well aware of what you’re putting into your body on a daily basis and just how important that first meal of the day is. If, however, you’re like a lot of men and don’t really think about it (perhaps because you never seem to put on weight or believe that a little bit of this here and there won’t make a difference), then your breakfast food choices may not be so considered. If so, they can do a lot more than affect your overall fitness, having far-reaching effects on things such as your cholesterol, heart health, sex drive, and attention span. We’ve chosen five of the worst breakfast foods you can eat.

Cereal

It might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people (grown-ups included) reach for a sugary cereal box every morning. It’s convenient, quick, and if you opt for one of the ones that aren’t coated in sugar, you probably think they’re pretty good for you, right? Wrong. It might  seem a controversial choice on this list of worst breakfast foods, but plenty of regular cereals are actually packed with sugar and, thus, warrant a place here for the simple fact that you’re getting a dose of something you aren’t fully aware of.

The sugar will make weight loss very difficult and will drain your energy. By the time you get to your desk at the office, you’ll have crashed hard and will be reaching for a snack to push you through. If you do opt for a cereal, check the ingredients list. Most of the time you’ll see sugar as the second ingredient. Choose a high-fiber one that is low in sugar.

The fry-up

Known in the UK as the ”builder’s breakfast,” this is a greasy, fatty mess. The go-to hangover cure of choice for most of us, it’s ridiculously high in calories (and eating pretty much anything when you’re hung over will make you feel better). Loaded with fat-packed sausages, nitrite-rich fatty bacon, butter-fried eggs, hash browns or fries, the cooked breakfast was traditionally conceived for the working class who actually worked (i.e. hard, physical labor). They ate a 3,000-calorie breakfast and burned it off by lunchtime.

Whether you’re sitting at your desk answering phone calls or working retail, your calorie burn will be massively lower than this, which equals one thing: obesity. Approximately 1 in 18 men will get bowel cancer, and starting your day with a fried breakfast raises your chances of getting this type of cancer by 63% according to the World Cancer Research Fund. As an alternative, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms on toast are delicious and healthy, and both are packed with antioxidants and a host of other goodies.

Bagels and cream cheese

There’s no getting away from the fact that a bagel is a glorious thing, but for breakfast foods, you could do a lot better. A bagel alone isn’t a terrible choice (not compared to, say, the fry-up), but it does often contain sugar and is a fast-digesting carb that will cause your insulin to spike — and then crash. Once you load it up with fatty cream cheese, you up the saturated fat levels and the calorie count to get somewhere into the realms of the two-doughnut mark. And you wouldn’t start your day off with two doughnuts. Choose wheat bagels — and double check they are whole wheat. The mixed-grain ones won’t cut it. Check the label to make sure they are made with whole grains (and stick with a low-fat topping). Instead of cream cheese, opt a nut butter that is made from nuts only, as this will boost your energy levels.

Pancakes

There is no healthy option when it comes to pancakes — even the buckwheat galettes from Brittany, France are fried in butter. A pancake is typically a mixture of flour, eggs, milk, and butter. It’ll be almost always a whole (full fat) milk too. The flour is a simple carb, broken down quickly (as with bagels), causing insulin spikes and crashes. And that’s not even mentioning the toppings (take your pick — they’re virtually all killer, unless you go for fresh fruit and fresh fruit alone). Once you get into the realms of maple syrups, (powdered) sugar and bacon, the calories skyrocket. If you have to get your pancake fix, though, avoid the boxed stuff and try making them with whey powder, along with cottage cheese, and sweeten them up with some vanilla. But, in general, this is a breakfast choice food best left off the menu.

Muffins

Muffins are the on-the-go breakfast of choice. They’re something that you grab from the deli, sandwich shop or coffee spot when you’ve run out the door late for work. You’re basically jump-starting your system with a large dose of sugar that will cause energy spikes followed by a crash. Because they’re relatively cheap to produce, they are normally much bigger than those you might make at home (or the wife might) and, thus, pack a high-calorie punch. Muffins are also made with high fat quantities, a decent portion of which is saturated. Forget the low-fat versions, too; they still contain a similar quantity of sugar to the regular versions. Don’t be fooled by the bran or muesli muffins that contain fruit because they contain too little goodness to negate the sugars and fats. Scrap this entirely, and if you do really want muffins, make them at home. Or get someone who loves you to.

Beards: Ladies hate them, guys fear them. In the same study from Northumbria University that saw women rate men’s bushy beards as less attractive than light stubble, researchers also discovered that dudes who rock facial hair are seen as more aggressive than their clean-shaven counterparts.

Researchers recruited 10 men with 6 weeks’ worth of beard growth and photographed them with neutral, smiling, and angry expressions, with and without beards. When participants were asked about the men’s age, attractiveness, and aggressiveness, bearded men with angry faces were thought to be older, of a higher social status, more audacious, and more assertive. The most surprising finding? It was guys who were the most impressed with their fellow men’s manes.

Beards make you more intimidating to rivals, says study coauthor Paul Vasey, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Lethbridge in Canada. That’s great news for businessmen: Vasey says that beards might benefit men in professions requiring a more assertive personality, like sales.

So put down your razor and start growing—but don’t ditch your shaving tools for good. We collected tips from beard aficionado Allan Peterkin, author of One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair, on the right way to wear (and benefit from) your beard.

Keep It Simple
This should go without saying, but don’t get fancy with your fuzz. That means no braiding, no beads, no elastic bands, no dyes that don’t match your natural color, and no wild, scraggly Galafianakis beards, Peterkin says. A clean, well-maintained beard is the most attractive option.

Fit Your Face
If you have an oval face, keep the hair on your chin shorter than the hair on the sides of your face to soften the shape, advises Peterkin. For a round face, try an angular style to give some definition to your jawbone. And if your face is square—we’re looking at you, Mr. Pitt—a fuller beard will make your face look less angular. Everyone can skip the carved-up, pencil-thin, architectural styles, as most of them require too much upkeep and look unnatural, Peterkin says.

Use the Right Tools
Like every project, a good beard requires the right tools. Every man’s shaving kit should include a multi-blade razor, slated/pointed tweezers for errant hairs, facial hair scissors, an electric trimmer with various lengths, a comb, and nose/ear hair scissors. And the most important weapon in your arsenal might be an alum block—a mineral stone that stops nicks from bleeding and prevents infections.

Keep Your Neckline Natural
When you start trimming your beard, make sure you don’t abruptly cut off everything at the chin, Peterkin says. The beard line should about halfway between your Adam’s apple and your chin. Too sharp of a delineation can make your face look weird, he says, so gradually ease from your beard, to stubble, to clean skin.

The book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold over 15 million copies since it was first published in 1989, teaching people all over the world how to live a happier, more successful and more satisfying life. One of the prevailing themes of the book is the fact that to change your life you need to change your attitude because no one else is responsible for what happens to you but you, so you can either complain about the things you don’t like in your life or you can set about changing them. Not surprisingly, this directly relates to the state of your finances. This post is a parody to the concepts presented in the book.

If you are tired of living paycheck to paycheck, of having your phone regularly cut off or having to make excuses to skip dinners with your friends if the money has run out before the end of the month then you can use the seven habits of highly effective people to take control of your money situation and live a more frugal lifestyle, and a happier one.

No. 1 Be Proactive

The first habit of highly effective people is to take responsibility for their own lives; if they fail, they have no one to blame but themselves. Regardless of how you were raised or how you were treated at school you are able to choose your behavior now. Being proactive means understanding that you are in control of the direction your life takes and in control of your day-to-day interactions. Whereas a reactive person is often affected by their environment and will find external sources to blame for their behavior, for example if the weather is good they are in a good mood but if the weather is bad it affects their attitude and so the weather is to blame for their bad mood.

However, what most people forget is that between the stimulus and your response is your freedom to choose your response, and one of the most important things you choose are your words. The language you use is an effective indication of how you see yourself and if you use proactive language such as ‘I can’ or ‘I will’ you are starting with a more positive attitude than a reactive person who uses language like ‘I can’t’ or ‘I have to’ or ‘if only…’

How to be proactive for effective frugality:
Take the first step. You cannot take control of your finances until you make the commitment to do so because the more you ignore the situation the worse it will get. Instead, take a long hard look at your finances and your budget, your debts, income and expenses and understand where your money is going and where you can budget better. (To help you out, here are 25 ways to pay off your debt more easily.) 

Tell people. Using proactive language to vocalize your goal of being more frugal and more financially responsible not only helps you crystallize your goal but can also help you avoid the peer pressure which can make budgeting and frugality hard. If you explain to your friends and family how you are trying to live a more frugal lifestyle then they are less likely to pressure you into one more round of drinks at the pub or dinner out, again. 

Listen. Listen to yourself and listen to the reasons you give each time you make a purchase outside of your budget or decide not to put those spare funds into your savings account. Taking the time to stop and listen to the reasons you give yourself for spending more than you earn will give you the opportunity to hear just how shallow many of those reasons are, and can stop you from making purchases which can impede your goal of effective frugality.

No. 2 Begin with the End in Mind

Those who are effective in achieving their goals are able to envisage their end result despite the obstacles. Highly effective people adhere to this habit based on the principle that all things are created twice, there is the first mental creation and then the second physical creation, and the physical creation follows the mental creation in the same way as the building follows its blueprints. If you don’t visualize what you want out of life then you are at risk of other people and external circumstances influencing your life because you are not influencing it yourself. Instead, begin every day and every task with a clear vision of where you want to go and how you’re going to get there and make that vision a reality with your proactive skills from habit one.

How to visualize effective frugality:
Define your goal. There are many ways to live a frugal lifestyle and you need to decide on how frugal you want to be. Do you want to be debt free, do you want to build a savings account balance of a certain value or do you want to be able to live on one income in a two income household? 

Decide how you’re going to get there. This will again draw on your budget, but you also need to be aware of the obstacles which are standing in your way. These may be literal obstacles such as credit card debts, or they may be obstacles you have identified in your behavior; for example are you spending $10 every day on junk food on your way home from work because you’re starving when you could be packing a two dollar muesli bar or a low GI lunch to keep you going until dinner. Or do you find that when you go shopping with your sister she always helps you justify a frivolous purchase when you could leave your credit card at home?

No. 3 Put First Things First

Knowing why you are doing something is an effective motivator in helping you take the mental creation and transform that into an actual physical creation of your goal. Therefore ask yourself which are the things you find most valuable and worthy to you. When you put these things first you will be organizing and managing your time around your personal priorities to make them a reality.

However, for many people it is hard to say no but this is exactly the skill you have to learn to be able to keep your goals as your first priority. While we have all of these time-saving devices and we are told we can have it all if we just achieve that elusive work-life balance, in reality having it all is really about prioritizing which it is most important to you to have, and then doing that properly.

How to put effective frugality first:
Recognize the effects of your finances. You may not dedicate as much time as you should to managing your finances and practicing frugal principles because you feel there is always something more important to be doing, whether it is work, taking the kids to soccer practice or getting ready for dinner with the girls. However, if your finances are not under control and you are regularly spending more than you earn, then this is having a negative impact on every other aspect of your life from your work to your family to your friends. Therefore you need to recognize that being frugal is your first priority.

Just say no. It is easy to spend more than your budgeted amount each month when you are worried about missing out on a dinner with friends, feel as though you have to cater a birthday party for your son and 50 of his closest friends or you can’t possibly wear the same suit you wore last year to a work conference. However if you recognize that you don’t have to take on everything and that it is all right to say no then you will find you are more in control of your spending and your budget.

4. Think Win-Win

Most of us are taught to base our self-worth on comparisons to others and competition against our peers. We think we can only succeed if someone else has failed and if you win, then that must mean I lost. We are also taught that there is only so much pie to go around and if you get a big piece then I’m going to be missing out. When you think like this you are always going to feel like you’re missing out on something and nothing is ever fair. As a result many of us retaliate and take the pie before someone else can take it from us.

Thinking in a win-win mindset allows you to see mutual benefits from all of your interactions and as a result, you will see that when you share the pie it tastes even better. If you are able to approach conflicts and problems with a win-win attitude by showing integrity and standing up for your true feelings and values, it allows you to express your ideas and feelings with courage while having consideration for the feelings and ideas of others. When you focus on an abundance mentality, you are able to see that there is enough for everyone and you can see that balancing your confidence with empathy can help you achieve your goals while helping others achieve theirs.

How to create frugal win-win situations:
Recognize that you don’t always know the full story. As you aim to implement frugal principles and stick to a budget, you may often find yourself thinking ‘it’s not fair’. It’s not fair that they get to go out to dinner. It’s not fair that they get a new car, and it’s not fair that they get to go on holiday and I don’t. However, take the time to realize that you are only seeing a small part of the finances of your friends and family who seem to ‘have it all’. And even though your best friend is taking that dream European holiday of yours or your brother is buying a sports car before you are, you will get there too if you manage your finances frugally and there will still be plenty of holiday destinations and plenty of fast cars when you can afford the expense.

Understand the difference between possessions and net worth. While your friends and family may seem to have a fuller lifestyle because their house is bigger or their car is newer, you need to consider that it could just be a facade to cover their mountains of debt. True wealth is not measured in possessions but in assets and when the value of your assets is greater than the amount you owe in mortgages, car loans and credit card debts, then you have a strong net worth and are truly wealthy. And in aiming to live a more effectively frugal lifestyle you will be able to achieve true wealth rather than just a life full of stuff.

5. Communication

Communication is often the desire to be heard and understood and most people will listen with the intention to reply to what you’re saying rather than to understand what you have said. However, to effectively communicate you need to first understand and then be understood because if you communicate with the sole intention of being understood you can find that you ignore what others are saying and miss their meaning entirely.

How listening can help you be effectively frugal:
You are not the only person in your life. Chances are you are married, in a relationship, have children or all of the above. As a result, you are not the only person being affected by your decision to live a more frugal lifestyle. To be effective in your goal of frugality, you need to be able to listen to and understand the goals and behaviors of the other people in your life too. Consider how effective your frugality would be if you were taking packed lunches to work and avoiding the afternoon coffee run with your partner going on shopping sprees during their lunch break. Instead of living a more frugal lifestyle, you are really saving on one end and spending it on the other.

Understand the goals and needs of others. While it is important to explain your desire to live more frugal lifestyle, it is also important that you understand the goals and needs of your family so that you can find a way to be more frugal without them having to give up all of the things which are most important to them. You can’t know what those things are unless you listen.

6. Synergize

Interactions and teamwork are some of the most important ways you can learn new skills and more effective behaviors. To synergize is the habit of creative cooperation where you work as a team to find new solutions to existing problems. Synergy is not something which just happens but is a process where you need to bring all of your personal experiences and expertise to the table to enable more effective results than you would have been able to achieve individually — the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

When you have genuine interactions with people you are able to gain new insights and see new approaches to your problems which you would not have otherwise thought of.

How to synergize for effective frugality:
Look for new ways. In a society which has become so good at consumerism you have probably already realized that you need to find new ways of doing just about everything to be frugal. It is easy to buy your lunch every day but it is more frugal to take a packed lunch. It is easy to drive to work but it is more frugal to catch the train. It is easy to buy a new cocktail dress but it is more frugal to make one.

Surround yourself with other frugal people. To be successful surround yourself with people who are where you want to be and whether you join online forums on frugal living websites or strike up a friendship with the woman who runs the local shop you will be able to share ideas and learn from others to be successful.

No. 7 Sharpen the Saw

You are the greatest asset you have on your journey to achieving the lifestyle you want and so you need to look after yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. When you take time to renew yourself in all four areas of your life you are creating growth and change which allow you to continue with the previous six habits you have mastered, which still need to be maintained to achieve success.

How to frugally renew yourself:
Physically. By eating better you will feel better and if you start your own vegetable patch for example you will be able to save at the supermarket and will be eating better at the same time. Exercising keeps you fit and healthy and it doesn’t cost you anything to go for a walk or bike ride or even skip rope in the backyard. To rest your body you don’t need to go to a day spa you can simply slide into the tub at home and relax.

Emotionally. Interacting socially with others allows you to make meaningful connections and this can come back to a conversation with the woman at the op shop or even scheduling in coffee and a chat with your mum once a week.

Mentally. Exercising and expanding your mind through learning, reading, writing and teaching can be done frugally at your local library or even by volunteering at a school or retirement home to teach others a skill you may be taking for granted.

Spiritually. Spending time close to nature to expand your spiritual self through meditation, music, art or prayer can be done frugally by taking a quiet moment to center yourself and empty your mind before you go to bed or going for a bush walk and being grateful for the beauty of nature surrounding you.

Frugality does not mean having to give up all the luxuries and things which make you happy because if you go through developing habits 1 to 6 without spending the time to renew yourself this is how you burn out, and frugality is something you want to develop and maintain for the long-term and with these seven habits you can be a highly frugal person.

By Terence Lance Buckley

Mad Hair

Image provided by Metrosource Magazine

The guys of Mad Men (like John Slattery) keep their hair in check with the Eufora HERO for Men collection. According to celebrity stylist Sallie Nicole Ciganovich, who uses the products on the set, “[It] provides the strong hold we need to achieve the classic men’s hairstyles.” Ciganovich uses Eufora’s Defining Wax ($19) to deliver control and shine without a greasy look or feel. Plus, the wax includes Eufora’s ProAmino Peptide Complex to help keep hair and scalp healthy.
Though the Mad guys may be concerned with the hair on top of their heads, the guys from HBO’s True Blood are concerned with what’s growing elsewhere. “Our biggest request is for nose waxing — so there are no hairs hanging out during close-ups,” says Nora Charles, waxing specialist at Touch of Faith Aesthetics Skin Care and Waxing Spa, an LA hotspot frequented by both the vamps of Bon Temps and the docs of Grey’s Anatomy. “The other in-demand request is for brow cleanups based around trimming, not plucking, so the men look refined without appearing like they do ‘too much’ with their brows.”