20 Fittest Foods

8) Almonds
82 calories per 1/2-oz serving
Eat 3 servings per week
High in protein, fiber, and vitamin E, almonds are great for your heart, digestive system, and skin. Although they're also loaded with healthy unsaturated fats, some guys avoid them because they're so calorie-dense. But that's a mistake. Gary Fraser, Ph.D., a professor of medicine at Loma Linda University in California, studied folks who added two ounces of almonds to their diet on a regular basis. Turns out they had no significant weight change. "Since nuts are such a hard food, it appears that a significant amount of their calories are never absorbed into the body," he says.

To work more almonds into your diet, try keeping a bag of dry-roasted or lightly seasoned almonds in your desk drawer at work-and snack on a handful rather than hitting the vending machine. You can also blend almond butter into smoothies, or use it in place of peanut butter to make an, uh, AB&J sandwich.

7) Yogurt
154 calories per cup
Get 3 servings of dairy per day
Yogurt has all the benefits of milk, plus active cultures that boost the number of germ-fighting bacteria along your intestinal walls, says Mueller. Why does that matter? It helps keep you from getting sick. Studies show that people who eat yogurt most often are less likely to catch a cold than people who rarely eat the stuff. Like milk, yogurt contains calcium that not only boosts fat-burning but also helps you feel satiated, making it an ideal food for weight loss. "Try to buy yogurt that is less than a week old to ensure you're getting the most benefit from the active cultures," she says. (The later the product's expiration date, the newer it is.) One word of caution: Most yogurt is packed with added sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. To see our favorite lower-carb brands, flip to page 26.