The Galveston Diet: The Doctor-Developed, Patient-Proven Plan to Burn Fat and Tame Your Hormonal Symptoms

Finally a book written by a woman (and doctor) who gets it! Mainstream medical has always been to eat less and move more. Dr Mary Claire has experienced these same struggles and brings personal experiences along with knowledge to help us to understand what to do and how to do it…to get our lives back and not let menopause take over.Cheers to you Dr Mary Claire, best book I’ve read pertaining to menopause and how to adapt and live with it

I began following Doctor Mary Claire Haver on TikTok when I found that I could relate to the information that she was sharing about weight gain, difficulty losing said weight and all of the side effects that come from menopause. What I really appreciated was that this book came from the author's personal experience with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and perimenopause, her own inability to get a doctor to listen to her and offer solutions, AND that she's a gynecologist herself.I don't think that I've ever purchased a book that I'm reviewing for my own personal copy. Most of these books are in a digitally-protected format that causes them to disappear from my e-book library after a certain period of time. But, I purchased this one before I had finished the first chapter because I feel like I've finally found something that offers solutions to the issues that I've been dealing with.Doctors worldwide continue to feed women a lie: calories in - calories out. This is not a valid, nor a scientifically-backed statement. Science proves that it's imbalances in our hormones that cause women to be unable to lose weight and to suffer from a long list of complaints that were previously blamed on menopause and with no solutions because "that's just the life of a menopausal woman".The Galveston Diet is not just a fly-by-night diet book. Mary Claire used her three step approach of intermittent fasting, anti-inflammatory nutrition, and fuel refocus on herself and many other women with a great deal of success before she decided to share her knowledge with the rest of us. She uses scholarly evidence to support her use of intermittent fasting, which is something that I didn't really understand before I read this book. I found it shocking at how the food industry has been using manufactured foods and chemical additives that increase the inflammation in our bodies and how that inflammation has been causing generations of fat, diabetic, unhealthy and sick people. Even more shocking is that the government allows this!I found The Galveston Diet to be a very easy book to read and to understand. Mary Claire lays out everything the reader needs to know, step-by-step, leaving very few questions on how to begin and how to succeed with this new eating pattern. She specifically explains each type of food or nutritional item, like vitamins and minerals, and how they are important or not helpful to a women's body. She gives list of foods that help women overcome inflammation and will support their healing.There are four weeks of menus (with included recipes) and shopping lists and two weeks of vegetarian menus and shopping lists as well as a maintenance plan and seven maintenance recipes that focus on anti-inflammatory nutrition with the right balance of macronutrients and micronutrients along with intermittent fasting to help reduce inflammation, increase weight loss, and ultimately improve health.Mary Claire included an extensive bibliography listing where she got her research as well as numerous resources for further information on how to help the reader move forward toward self-improvement.As a postmenopausal women with over 13 years post-hysterectomy, reading the first chapter of this book grabbed me and made me eager to get started in this lifestyle change and for the first time feel as if I can actually succeed in that change. So, yes, I highly recommend reading The Galveston Diet and I suggest you get a hard copy of the book instead of an e-book so you have it at hand to write in and highlight.

I have been following Dr. Haver on social media for some time. Last year after many trials and errors doing keto, paleo, calorie counting, I couldn’t understand why I could no longer lose weight/fat they way I used to when I was younger. My doctor kept naysaying and “mansplaining” so much that I finally went to see a female ob. Same thing, more nonsense, less validation.And then I started to pay attention to Dr. Haver’s messages, went on her website- got the program and changed everything! I lost 23 lbs in less than 3 months and have kept it off while at the same time building lean muscle and rebuilding my body. I found the program so easy to follow and the way Dr. Haver explains it in plain non-Dr English makes so much sense. Every single page, every anecdote I was like “omg, me too!!”This book and all the research Dr. Haver has done is a real gift to women worldwide. I feel so much comfort knowing that future generations won’t have to suffer with peri-and menopause in silence.It is truly disappointing the way that the majority of physicians are so clueless when it comes to this highly troublesome time in a woman’s life. The fact that reproductive health gets so much attention and menopause gets so little is unsettling. Think about it: Some women will go on to have children but ALL women will experience menopause. This should be mandatory REQUIRED reading for ALL medical students.Thank you Dr. Haver!!

I'm not much of a cook so complicated recipes would frustrate me. I can't attest to the effectiveness of the plan just yet, but I CAN say the recipes are fantastic. The first grocery bill was a lot, but I'll use several of the ingredients for multiple meals, so it should balance out. I spent a week pushing off breakfast by half hour a day and it hasn't been too bad. My body is still adjusting so I spend a good deal of time fighting off the habit of snacking all day long, but I don't actually feel hungry. It's more of a mental, habit-breaking thing. Eating to live is very different from living to eat! I am still trying to find my eating window sweat spot because I lift weights in the morning but don't eat until 11:00 so I think I'll need to adjust that, but overall I feel lots of energy, a lot less bloating and I'm hopeful the 15 pounds I gained last year when menopause hit full-swing, will start to melt away. I'll try to follow up in a few months with an update. Very well written book. She makes nutrition and cooking super easy!

The principals outlined in this book seem pretty solid and I learned a lot. I was most looking forward to the meal plans and shopping lists to help me kick off this lifestyle adjustment. Having everything in one place and perfectly balanced is exactly what my busy life needs. In theory this section is perfect; in practice it’s complete trash.First of all none of the menus are particularly office friendly- not easily reheatable and many are not make-ahead ready. Which means you need to come up with your own tweaks to make this work if you are anywhere other than near an oven and stove top.Secondly, some of the recipes may be tricky or overly complicated for beginner cooks. Not a huge deal, but notable- these are often not 30 minute meals.Last of all, it’s very clear the recipes weren’t tested. The avocado crisps need a higher temp oven and longer cooking time - by at least three times. I could not separate them from the parchment paper and they had to be trashed. The almond butter apple bites are more of a pudding (see pic). I suspected with equal parts almond butter and coconut oil + oven these would be a puddle. What did they think would happen???I’m at the very beginning of week two so I don’t know if the meal plan makes a turnaround later in the process but for now, I’m extremely disappointed in this section and would definitely NOT recommend the book. You can understand the principals and theory behind the diet by watching Dr Haver on TikTok or perusing the blog on her website. The value, at least in my opinion, is in the meal plan included and that is a complete wash.