Morning, Greg here!

Welcome to Midlife Male, the fastest-growing, #1 newsletter and lifestyle brand for men 40+. In this issue, my How I See It goes behind-the-scenes on how the New York Times cherry picked our interview to fit their agenda, Jon’s Manologue shares his recipe for the crowd-pleasing, mouth-watering, greatest Super Bowl dish of all time, and we share our curated list of recommendations in the 6Fs. If a fellow MLM reader shared this with you, subscribe here:

I got a call from the New York Times.

And I was excited.

Not because I need the validation, but because it felt like a moment.

My article on empty nesting had gone viral and crossed 260,000 reads. That told me something important; this conversation we’ve been having together about midlife, parenting, marriage, raising and releasing our kids and what comes next? It matters. It’s resonating.

So when the Times said they wanted to talk about midlife and empty nesting and family and marriage, I thought, great… Maybe this is the moment a mainstream outlet finally tells the story the way it actually is.

Not the joke and woke version.

Not the crisis version.

Not the sad-dad version.

The real version.

But no. That didn’t happen because The New York Times wasn’t interested in the real version. They had their agenda and they stuck to it, ignoring 99% of what I said that was almost all positive and aspirational to fit their opposite narrative. 

There’s no sugarcoating this piece and most I come across from “mainstream” media on the topic:

The article paints midlife terribly for men because the people who cover the topic, mostly miserable women who clearly dislike men, paint us in the worst light imaginable and bait and switch their interview subjects. 

They didn’t want the truth, my truth, our truth, from the beginning… But you’ve got to read it to understand the bias men are up against in mainstream media. Particularly midlife men. This one is an eye-opener.

Read the full How I See It and why the New York Times misunderstands midlife men HERE:

Gentlemen, I invented and have been making the most crowd-pleasing, satisfying, exceptional Super Bowl Dish for over twenty years. Every Super Bowl Sunday, my social media feed is flooded with pics of dudes who made it, reaped the rewards and compliments of family and friends, and then posted to thank me.

I now share this recipe with you, our loyal Manologue readers, so that this Sunday, you can crush all culinary competition and win every “Best Super Bowl Dish Discussion” outright. 

It is time you learn about my world famous invention: The Meat Bomb.

First, a little backstory on the thinking and mindset behind how and why I invented The Meat Bomb…

You know what’s great about pizza?

Cheese.

You know what’s great about pizza toppings?

Meat.

You know what one problem is?

Pizza slices are too small and the tensile strength of the bread is such that over a certain size the integrity fails and the bread collapses.

That’s not good.

Now, do you know what’s awesome about nachos?

Cheese.

You know what else is a tremendous nacho topping?

Meat.

You know what limits the amount of meat and cheese toppings you can get in your mouth?

That’s right. Tensile strength again.

Nachos are too small. The structure of the nacho collapses under an excessive amount of meat and cheese.

This quandary used to bother me.

I’d toss and turn at night.

Then, one day, like Archimedes sitting in his bathtub, a solution hit me clear as day and I shouted “Meat!”

If the only thing holding me back from enjoying copious amounts of melted cheese and meat was the tortilla chips and bread… Then, like Jack in the movie Speed, I had to remove them from the equation! What follows is nothing short of culinary wizardry!

This is my gift to you, men. Read it. Make it. Share Super Bowl photos and tag us. Then reap the accolades!

Read my Manologue and get the complete recipe for the show-stopping, crowd-pleasing, greatest Super Bowl dip/dish of all time HERE:

With two sons at two different colleges in two different states and us at home, getting the four of us together is a challenge. So when Harper mentioned he was going to visit his brother in Boulder for the weekend, Kate and I had serious FOMO.

On one hand, we love that they want to spend time together and coordinate it themselves. On the other hand, we desperately want to be invited. So we invited ourselves.

Over dinner the other night, I mentioned to Kate how much I missed them and that we should just go. Even if it’s only to take them to dinner and then let the boys be boys. Naturally, she agreed.

There are only so many of these moments left with graduation just a few months away, so we booked it right then and there at the dinner table. Bonvoy points for the room. United miles for the flights.

That’s what they’re for. Experiences. Moments like this.

Midlife Male motto: Never miss a chance to make a memory.

The “ideal” body fat range for men in their 40s and 50s is often cited as 10–15%. Says who? Interestingly, a woman. Dr. Jess Swanson.

These recommendations bounce around, but in Midlife Male’s experience, if you want to have that shredded look, around 10% has consistently been the sweet spot for peak performance or if you’re training for something. After age 40, body fat becomes a lever on hormones, brain function, recovery, and long-term output.

Too low and testosterone gets suppressed, the nervous system takes a hit, and recovery is traded for appearance. Too high and insulin resistance, inflammation, and estrogen conversion quietly compound.

The problem is that traditional healthcare calls a wide range “normal.” Performance doesn’t. For men in their 40s and 50s, the optimal range is narrow for a reason. That’s where strength, focus, metabolic health, and longevity intersect. This isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about operating capacity.

Most men didn’t lose their edge overnight. They drifted outside the optimal range and never recalibrated. Just remember: it’s never too late to get back what matters most. Get our Midlife Male Strength training program HERE.

Graham Ambrose is a banker who lifts. And we love shining a light on men who are actually living by their 6Fs.

Graham first came on the radar a couple of years ago through a Business Insider article titled Why Everyone in Finance Is Getting Ripped. He’s the co-host of the Lift for Life podcast in addition to his full-time role at a major financial institution.

This was a great example of how to combine a packed work schedule, constant travel, and fitness without turning any of it into an excuse. Real life. Real balance. See his post here.

Keep crushing it, G-Dog.

In the category of “tell me something I don’t know”, a study came out revealing that AG1 (formerly known as Athletic Greens) may not help your gut like it says it does.

It’s been one of the biggest marketing unicorns in history for years with people paying $79 a month for essentially the placebo effect of feeling like they’re getting their daily vitamins and nutrition from a packet of green powder.  

“Longevity entrepreneur” Bryan Johnson, who despite living a biohacked life that isn’t something I'd want to experience for a day, much less implement to try and live to 100, came out swinging and it’s one of the few times where I've actually agreed with him. Want to improve your gut biome? Eat healthier, better foods for your gut.

The Dice Lo sneaker from Arigato combines vintage and modern design details for a timeless, easy-to-style look. It’s mature, yet contemporary. Cool, but not like you’re trying too hard. Each pair is handcrafted from premium leather, suede and recycled polyester, it has paneled uppers finished with perforations and a gold logo. We particularly love that the surface of the vintage effect leather will wear off and expose the natural base leather for a worn effect. Worn works, go with it.

Midlife Lately is the behind-the-scenes YouTube show for the Midlife Male newsletter. Each week, Founder Greg Scheinman and Editor-in-Chief Jon Finkel pull back the curtain on a recent, most popular column or topic, sharing where the idea came from, the comments that have poured in and what they may have written differently. It’s like sitting next to them at a bar or coffee shop, only you have to bring your own drink. Enjoy!

MLM Founder: Greg Scheinman / Follow Greg on Instagram & LinkedIn

Love Greg’s How I See It column? Visit the full How I See It Archive HERE where he shares his personal insights, experiences and perspectives on everything affecting midlife.

Buy My Book Here / Book Coaching/Speaking Here

MLM Editor-in-Chief: Jon Finkel / Follow Jon on Twitter/X and Instagram

Love Jon’s Manologue column? Check out the full Manologue Archive HERE where he writes about pop culture, parenthood, sports, nostalgia & everything in between.