Experts › Women 40+ › Mary Claire Haver

Women 40+Women 40+Evidence: strong

Mary Claire Haver

Physician (MD), board-certified OB-GYN · Menopause Society Certified Practitioner · author of The Galveston Diet, The New Menopause and The New Perimenopause

Menopause is a medical transition that deserves active care: eat plenty of protein and fibre, lift weights, and talk to a doctor about whether hormone therapy is right for you.

In short

  • Fibre at least 25 g a day, building up
  • Strength training at least 2 × a week, plus walking
  • Hormone therapy discussed with a doctor
Build my plan in Haver’s style
Words explained (8)
Zone 2
Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
Loaded carry
Walking while holding something heavy, like shopping bags or dumbbells.
Creatine
A well-studied supplement that supports strength and muscle.
Omega-3 (EPA, DHA)
Healthy fats found mostly in oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines.
Fibre
The part of plant foods you don't digest. It feeds healthy gut bacteria and keeps you full.
Time-restricted eating
Eating all your meals within a set window of the day, for example 8am to 6pm.
Perimenopause
The years of changing hormones before periods stop for good.
Hormone therapy (HRT, MHT)
Medicine that replaces hormones that fall at menopause. Only a doctor can prescribe it.

At a glance

Strength 55%Easy cardio 40%Intervals 0%Mobility & stability 5%

Training focus: our estimate from what they recommend.

Fibre 25 g+ a day
Signature habit
80–120 g a day
Protein
Women 40+
Training style
Strong
Overall evidence

Background

Mary Claire Haver earned her medical degree at Louisiana State University Medical Center and trained in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, finishing her residency in 2002. She is board-certified in obstetrics and gynaecology, a certified culinary medicine specialist, and a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner.

She worked for years in private practice and academic medicine, including at UTMB, where she is an adjunct associate professor. In 2017 she developed a nutrition programme for midlife women that became known as the Galveston Diet, first sold as an online course and later published as a book in 2023.

In 2021 she shifted her focus to menopause care and opened a menopause clinic in the Galveston area, The 'Pause Wellness (now also listed as Mary Claire Wellness). She built a large following on TikTok, Instagram and other platforms by explaining menopause symptoms and hormone therapy.

Her book The New Menopause (2024) became a number one New York Times bestseller, followed by The New Perimenopause in April 2026. She runs The 'Pause Life, a website, community and supplement line, and hosts the podcast unPAUSED. In 2025 she was named to TIME's list of 100 most influential creators.

Known for

  • Making menopause and hormone therapy a mainstream topic on social media
  • The Galveston Diet, later renamed the 'Pause Life approach
  • The bestselling book The New Menopause
  • High-protein, high-fibre eating for midlife women
  1. 2002Completed OB-GYN residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
  2. 2016–17Developed the Galveston Diet nutrition programme
  3. 2021Founded a menopause-focused clinic, The 'Pause Wellness
  4. 2023Published The Galveston Diet (January); launched ThePauseLife.com
  5. 2024Published The New Menopause (30 April), a #1 New York Times bestseller
  6. 2025Named to the TIME100 Creators list; launched the unPAUSED podcast
  7. 2026Published The New Perimenopause (7 April)

Core ideas

  1. Menopause affects the whole body, from bones and heart to brain and skin, and should be managed medically rather than simply endured.
  2. The risks of hormone therapy were overstated after 2002; for many women who start it near menopause the benefits can outweigh the risks, and each woman should decide with her doctor.
  3. Midlife women eat too little protein and fibre; raising both helps muscle, gut and heart health.
  4. Strength training is essential to slow the loss of muscle and bone after oestrogen falls.
  5. An anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean-style diet with many different plants supports health in the menopause transition.
  6. Women should come to midlife health visits prepared, with questions, and advocate for themselves.

How Haver lives

Haver has described her own routine in interviews and on her podcast: she lifts weights several times a week with a trainer, eats a Galveston-style diet built around protein and fibre, and takes several supplements.

3–4
strength sessions a week (her own routine)
80–120 g
protein a day she says most women likely need
25 g+
daily fibre target
30
different plants a week she aims for in her challenge
  1. MorningHas said she usually fasts in the morning and does not eat straight after waking.
  2. MorningReads research and overnight social media comments; often films her videos at home.
  3. Training daysResistance training 3–4 days a week on a progressive programme from a trainer, with much less cardio than she used to do.
  4. DailyTakes supplements she has listed publicly, including omega-3, vitamin D, creatine, fibre and magnesium.

The protocol

Training

  • Full-body weight training at least 2 days a week (she does 3–4), progressing gradually, ideally with a trainerStrong evidence
  • Walk at least 3 days a week; beginners start with 5–10 minutes a dayStrong evidence
  • To progress: add a weighted vest to walks, more steps, or a third lifting dayPersonal habit
  • No exercise types need to be avoided in menopause; strength, cardio, stretching and mind-body work all matterNote

Go deeper: Strength (Brad Schoenfeld) · Heart & fitness (Benjamin Levine, Martin Gibala) · Mobility & balance (Mike Fitch, Jules Mitchell)

Eating

  • Protein about 1.5 g per kg of healthy body weight a day, with about 1.8 g/kg as a stretch goalSome evidence
  • Fibre at least 25 g a day, building slowly towards 30–45 gStrong evidence
  • Eat about 30 different plant foods a week (vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, grains, herbal teas)Some evidence
  • Anti-inflammatory, Mediterranean-style eating: limit added sugar and processed carbohydrate, add leafy greens, olive oil, berries, nuts and fermented foodsStrong evidence
  • Spread protein across meals and snacks, each paired with a healthy fat and a healthy carbohydratePersonal habit
  • She originally promoted 16:8 intermittent fasting but has pulled back, saying it can make enough protein hard to reachNote

Go deeper: Eating (Tim Spector, Chris van Tulleken)

Supplements

  • Omega-3, vitamin D and vitamin K among the supplements she takes; she does not give general dosesPersonal habit
  • Fibre supplement if diet alone falls short of the daily targetPersonal habit
  • Check with your doctor before starting any new supplementNote
  • She sells her own supplement line ('Pause), so weigh her product recommendations with that in mindNote

Sleep & recovery

  • Menopausal hormone therapy, chosen with a doctor; she calls it the most effective treatment for hot flushes and night sweatsDoctor only
  • Prefers non-oral (patch, gel, spray) oestrogen, which carries a lower clot risk than tablets; progesterone for women with a uterusDoctor only
  • Magnesium (L-threonate) and a sleep supplement in her own routinePersonal habit

Go deeper: Sleep (Matthew Walker, Colleen Carney)

Stress & mind

  • Journal for a few minutes every dayPersonal habit
  • Add meditation, using an app or free guided sessionsSome evidence
  • Prepare questions before midlife health check-ups and push for proper care of symptomsPersonal habit

Go deeper: Stress & connection (Elissa Epel, Robert Waldinger)

Brain health

  • Points to observational data linking longer lifetime oestrogen exposure, including hormone therapy, with better cognition; not a licensed reason to start hormonesDoctor only
  • Creatine for possible memory and mood benefits; most of this evidence is from small or non-menopausal studiesSome evidence
  • Strength training, protein and fibre as part of reducing long-term risks such as dementia, heart disease and diabetesSome evidence

Go deeper: Brain health (Miia Kivipelto, Wendy Suzuki)

Strong evidence = trials or large studies · Some evidence = smaller or observational studies · Personal habit = their own choice, little evidence · Doctor only = prescription or blood-test dosing, never in your plan.

Where Haver changed course

Her Galveston Diet originally built in 16:8 intermittent fasting, but she has since pulled back, saying a long fast makes it harder to eat enough protein. She has also said she would not use the word 'diet' if starting again, and the programme was rebranded as the 'Pause Life approach.

Haver’s style in your plan

Choose “Follow one expert” and we keep this balance of training and the methods above, then fit them to your age, your available time and your health screen.

What we adapt

Session length and number to your week. Loads start from your self-tests, never a one-rep max. Hard sessions never on back-to-back days.

Never in your plan

Anything marked “Doctor only”: prescriptions, and doses set by blood tests. We show these as their choice, not as advice.

You can mix

Prefer someone else’s eating or sleep advice? Pick one expert per area and set your own strength-cardio balance.

Build my plan in Haver’s styleCompare with other experts

The research behind it

Hormone therapy and long-term mortality

In 18 years of follow-up of the Women's Health Initiative trials, hormone therapy did not raise overall death rates; women who started in their 50s showed a trend toward lower mortality.

Manson et al., JAMA, 2017

Fibre and health

People eating about 25–29 g fibre a day had lower rates of death, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer than those eating little fibre.

Reynolds et al., The Lancet, 2019

Creatine and bone after menopause

In a 12-month trial, postmenopausal women who lifted weights and took creatine lost less hip bone density than those on placebo.

Chilibeck et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2015

Honest about weak spots

  • Several menopause specialists, quoted in a 2024 New York Times report, said she promotes hormone use beyond official guidelines; one said patients now ask for hormones to prevent heart disease or dementia, or testosterone for general wellbeing.
  • Commercial ties, stated neutrally: she owns The 'Pause Life (a multimillion-dollar business selling supplements, programmes and online courses) and a cash-pay menopause clinic. The Menopause Society discourages doctors from selling their own products, and the advertising watchdog Truth in Advertising flagged some product claims; according to the New York Times, she then hired a consultant to review the claims on her website.
  • An independent review by ConsumerLab found some of her supplements costly for what they contain, with creatine claims that overstate the evidence and a vitamin D dose at the upper safe limit.
  • Some brain-health and longevity claims rest on observational studies, which cannot show cause and effect.

Where experts disagree

  • Fasting: Haver's original Galveston Diet used 16:8 intermittent fasting (she has since softened this); Stacy Sims advises active women not to train fasted or use long fasting windows.
  • Cardio: Haver recommends walking at least 3 days a week alongside lifting; Sims plays down moderate and zone 2 cardio for midlife women in favour of very short sprints.
  • Protein: Haver sets about 1.3–1.8 g/kg of healthy body weight; Sims aims higher, around 2.2 g/kg for active women in menopause.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us at hello@lifelongmethod.com and we’ll correct it.

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