Midlife Male Issue No. 4

This is Issue No. 4 of Midlife Male, a lifestyle digital magazine and podcast for midlife men. Browse past issues here, and for additional midlife perspectives during the week, follow us on Instagram, YouTube, and Threads.

How I See It with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon is a board-certified family physician trained in geriatric nutritional sciences, focusing on skeletal muscle to support longevity for high-performers. She has registered the term “muscle-centric medicine,” which she describes as shifting focus away from reactively quantifying and treating disease to proactively quantifying and optimizing your health by focusing on the biggest organ in your body: skeletal muscle. In addition to hosting her own hit podcast (you can watch MLM founder Greg Scheinman’s episode here), she has appeared on Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast among many others.

Here is this week’s How I See It with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon:

MLM: When it comes to the state of the modern Midlife Male, you’ve uncovered some startling figures. Would you mind sharing those?

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon: Yes, I wanted to share some statistics. Suicide rates among older adults are rising, and the most at risk are men. Marriages are hurting. In 1990, 8.7% of all divorces in the United States occurred among adults 50 and over. By 2019 the percentage had grown to 36%.

There is also a growing longevity gap between men and women in the United States. Life expectancy in 2021 was 79 years old for women, and for men, it’s 73.1 years of age. There is a 5.9 year difference, and this is actually the largest gap that we’ve seen in a quarter of a century.

MLM: These are some scary numbers that reflect the state of midlife men’s happiness and health. And health drives many of these statistics, as you know. If you’re not healthy or you’re overweight you’re more likely to be depressed, drink, use drugs and on and on… What’s the biggest misconception you see when you talk to midlife men?

Dr. Lyon: They think, “Okay, I'm 51 now it's too late. Or the people that are young and listening or watching this will say, You know what? I'm 32, I don't really care about my health. I'm so stressed about other things.” What you are doing at MLM is showing everybody that it doesn't matter how old you are, it's possible you can actually get better with age. 

And we're not talking about high amounts of testosterone. We're not talking about additional anabolics. We are not talking about crazy nutrition, health and wellness strategies. In most cases we’re talking about getting back to basic health principles.

MLM: You mentioned testosterone. For some men, that’s a huge buzzword. Some guys think it’s illegal or shady. Others are all in. Most fall in the middle. What’s the bottom line here?

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How to Avoid Advice Overload and Talking Strong Medicine with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

Middle age is a pivotal time for many men. It's when the weight of responsibilities—from career to family—can begin to feel overwhelming, and the quest for optimization often leads to burnout rather than fulfillment. The statistics are sobering: studies show that nearly 50% of men in their 40s and 50s report experiencing some form of midlife burnout, and nearly 70% express regret over not having lived life more on their terms. 

I was one of them.

On the flip side, research also shows that happiness and life satisfaction increase significantly when we simplify our lives and focus on what truly matters. I buy into this one as well.  

So how do we navigate this complex period without getting lost in the noise of conflicting advice? That’s where my relationship with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon has been invaluable…

Millions of stories are posted online every day and 99.9% are noise. We sifted through the nonsense to share standouts with actionable takeaways you can use to maximize your life in each of our 6Fs: Fitness. Family. Finance. Food. Fashion. Fun. Let’s go.

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FAMILY: My Favorite Definition of Family

FITNESS: The Last Pair of Adjustable Dumbbells You’ll Ever Need

FINANCE: Feeling Broke on a $665k Salary!

FOOD: Get a Lifetime of Meat!

FASHION: The Gold Standard Shirt That Answers the ‘Not Too Casual’ Call

FUN: Why You Need a Bucket List Journal

Last week’s poll results

We’ve got some early risers up in here… Pre-6:00am gym time won out in a fairly close race.

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