The Galveston Diet Book Summary - The Galveston Diet Book explained in key points

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The Galveston Diet summary

Name: The Galveston Diet
Rating: 4.3 (169 reviews)
Author: Mary Claire Haver, MD

Mary Claire Haver, MD

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

4.3 (169 ratings)

17 mins

Brief summary

The Galveston Diet by Mary Claire Haver, MD is a women's health book that introduces a life-changing eating plan for women over 40. It provides evidence-based strategies to target inflammation, balance hormones, and encourage healthy weight loss.

Topics

Weight Loss Body Optimization Diets Women's Health & Maternity

Table of Contents

The Galveston Diet
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Shed excess fat and combat midlife health issues.

You've hit the big 4-0, and you're ready to prove to the world that life really does begin at 40. Unfortunately, your body says otherwise. You suddenly start seeing wrinkles, the scale is inching up despite your usual diet, and you're getting hot flashes at the most inconvenient of times.

You can blame all that on perimenopause, the stage right before your period takes a permanent vacation. The good news is that it's a completely normal part of life. But the bad news is that the symptoms won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Enter the Galveston Diet. Formulated by Dr. Mary Claire Haver and named after the town she lives in, this diet is meant to get you over your midlife health crisis and prepare you to tackle the next phase of your life. In this Blink, we'll break down the three main components of the Galveston Diet and explain why this method is so effective.

If you're ready to start living your best life, let's dive right in.

Component #1: Adopt an intermittent fasting regimen.

If you've been following trends in the fitness world, chances are you've already heard a lot about intermittent fasting. And although it might just sound like another fad diet at first, it's actually a hot topic for a very good reason: it works.

At its core, intermittent fasting involves sticking to a specific schedule of eating and fasting. Incorporating it into your weight loss journey is a beneficial practice due to its numerous health benefits. This is particularly true for women experiencing hormonal changes during midlife.

A 2014 study showed that individuals who follow an intermittent fasting plan for three to 24 weeks can expect to see a three to eight percent reduction in weight and a four to seven percent decrease in waist circumference. Another study conducted in 2018 revealed that individuals with type 2 diabetes were able to stop taking their diabetes medication after practicing intermittent fasting for a year. In addition, intermittent fasting has been shown to have other beneficial effects, such as reducing inflammation, lowering the risk of cancer and dementia, and improving mood and cognitive function.

The Galveston Diet recommends incorporating the 16:8 intermittent fasting method. You'll fast for 16 hours straight and eat for the remaining eight hours. Typically, the eating window starts at noon when you have lunch and ends at 8 p.m. when you finish dinner.

This is the easiest schedule to maintain for two reasons. One, it closely resembles most people's regular eating schedules, so you won’t feel a dramatic change. And two, you'll be sleeping for a good chunk of your fasting period, preventing you from feeling hungry and grabbing an unhealthy snack.

If the noon to 8 p.m. eating window isn't your cup of tea, that’s completely okay. The Galveston Diet is all about finding what works for you. You can adjust your eating and fasting hours to suit your schedule, whether that means starting your eating window earlier in the morning or ending it later at night. If the 16:8 pattern feels too restrictive, you can always experiment with the 14:10 method or other variations until you find your sweet spot.

It's also important to ease into intermittent fasting, especially if you've never done it before. Instead of diving right into it and skipping breakfast entirely, try dipping your toes in first by gradually pushing back your eating time by half an hour. For instance, if you usually have breakfast at 8, start eating at 8:30. Slowly extend this until you reach your target start time.

Component #2: Consume more anti-inflammatory foods.

Have you ever felt like something just isn't right with your body, but you can't quite put your finger on what it is? Well, it turns out that there's a possibility you may be experiencing chronic inflammation, which can lead to serious health problems down the line. What’s more is that it contributes to some of the most common and life-threatening diseases in the United States, such as type 2 diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular problems, and Alzheimer's disease.

For women in their midlife, an increase in chronic inflammation is linked to a drop in estrogen levels. Such hormonal fluctuations can also lead to weight gain, which further worsens inflammation. When you combine these two factors with the typical American diet, which is high in pro-inflammatory foods, a range of health problems may be on the horizon.

Component #3: Watch the ratio of your macronutrients.

Let's take a moment to recap what we've covered so far. You've learned about the first two components of the Galveston Diet: intermittent fasting and incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your meals. Now, it's time to delve into the third and final component, which is macronutrient counting.

Macronutrients, or macros for short, refer to the three primary nutrients you need in your diet: healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates. You'll be tracking these macros instead of calories as you would normally do with other weight loss programs. This is an important step in the Galveston Diet because this is how you shift your body's energy usage from glucose to fat.

Implementing the Three Components Together.

Dr. Haver has designed a six-week meal plan that integrates all three components of the Galveston Diet. Essentially, it involves to two main meals and two snacks per day, all of which should be consumed during your eight-hour eating window. When combined, the daily meals come close to the recommended 70/20/10 macro ratio. Most of the ingredients used in the plan are also carefully selected for their anti-inflammatory properties and are rich in nutrients that help regulate your hormones.

One of the recipes in the meal plan is Mary Claire's Smoothie. You’ll need the following ingredients: full-fat Greek yogurt, sliced strawberries, blueberries, and chopped walnuts. Add to that ground flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp hearts, and unsweetened coconut flakes. And don’t forget ice cubes and water. To make it, mix everything in a blender and pour small amounts of water until you get to your consistency of choice.

What Comes Next?

You've made it through the six-week Galveston Diet meal plan. Congratulations! But now what? Do you go back to scoffing down burgers and fries every day? Or do you have to start the diet all over again and continue eating the same meals until you're tired of them? Let's face it, many diet programs leave you with such questions. They entice you with a tempting meal plan for a few weeks, only to abandon you once the program is over.

The Galveston Diet, however, is different. After the six-week meal plan, you’ll transition into the maintenance program called the Galveston Diet for Life, designed to keep you thriving long after the six weeks are up.

Final Summary

Just because you've reached the midlife mark doesn't mean you have to slow down and let chronic ailments and diseases dictate the rest of your life. With the Galveston Diet at your disposal, you’ll still have a lot of good things to look forward to.

By sticking to the diet, you can revitalize and transform your health long beyond its six-week duration. And the best part is it's not really a diet at all – it's a lifestyle overhaul that can have profound effects on your overall well-being. Try it and see what happens. You might be surprised at the changes it can make.

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What is The Galveston Diet about?

The Galveston Diet (2023) is a science-backed diet program for women experiencing perimenopause or menopause symptoms. With a focus on science-backed approaches, this diet program includes a special meal plan designed for six weeks and a variety of healthy, delicious recipes. It is designed to help women in midlife improve their overall health and wellness while managing the challenges that come with this stage of life.

Who should read The Galveston Diet?

Women in their mid-30s and up
People who want to shed some pounds
Fitness enthusiasts looking to maintain their weight

About the Author

Mary Claire Haver, MD, specializes in obstetrics and gynecology. She received her Culinary Medicine Specialist certification at Tulane University, and is the mind behind the Galveston Diet, a program which has helped more than 100,000 women achieve their health goals.

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