The Galveston Diet by Mary Claire Haver, MD
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.
Check out my review of Dr. Haver's second book, The New Menopause HERE.
I received this book from Rodale Books for free in exchange for an honest review. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.