Galveston Diet: Macros, Food Lists, & More
If you are a woman approaching mid-life, you’ve probably heard of the Galveston Diet. This eating plan was developed by Mary Claire Haver, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN and menopause specialist based in Texas. She devised the diet to help women navigate perimenopause and menopause, including the weight gain that almost always accompanies this stage of life. Her program is a a macro diet for menopause that is similar to the ketogenic diet.
Those who want to follow the Galveston Diet must buy the book or pay to join the online program. There are also recommended supplements to buy and a meal delivery service that you can sign up for. So, you’re looking at a financial investment if you want to do the official program. But before you open up your wallet, you might want to learn more about the program, including Galveston Diet macros, recommended food lists, timing recommendations, and more.
Galveston Diet Basics
While anyone can benefit from this food plan, the Galveston Diet is aimed at women who are in or approaching menopause. This is a stage of life when hormones shift, and weight gain often occurs along with other symptoms such as hot flashes, fatigue, and mood swings. Several studies, including a large 2024 research review published in the journal Nutrients, suggest that a healthy diet can play an important role in navigating menopause with fewer negative health effects.
The Galveston Diet may be a healthy option for you. There are three primary components to the program. They include:
Intermittent fasting. On the Galveston Diet, you’ll adhere to the popular 16:8 fasting schedule. That means you fast for 16 hours each day and fit all of your meals and snacks into an 8-hour window. One of the benefits of intermittent fasting is that the eating and fasting windows can be personalized to fit your schedule and lifestyle.
Anti-inflammation foods. You will build meals and snacks around foods that help reduce inflammation in the body. You’ll reduce or eliminate foods that are likely to increase inflammation, such as ultra-processed foods, foods with added sugars, and alcohol.
Tracking macros. On the Galveston Diet, you’ll track your macros to maintain a low-carb diet with a higher fat intake and moderate protein intake. On the diet, macro tracking is referred to as a “Fuel Refocus” because the focus is on macros rather than calories. Dr.Haver recommends the Cronometer app to help you track macros throughout the day. The app has specific settings and tools specifically for those on the Galveston Diet
You are encouraged to get your micros (vitamins and minerals) from whole food on this diet, but some supplements are suggested to ensure that you are getting all of the nutrients that you need. Recommended supplements may include creatine, fiber pills, omega-3, and vitamins D and K, among others.
The eating plan is designed to be a lifelong commitment rather than a quick fix. Therefore, you can expect to make adjustments to your eating plan as you reach certain weight goals or milestones.
Galveston Diet Macros
On the Galveston Diet, you’ll consume more fat than is generally recommended by nutrition organizations. However, fat quality is important, specifically in terms of the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. While the typical American diet reflects a ratio of closer to 20:1, in this macro diet for menopause, you are encouraged to get as close to a 1:1 ratio as possible.
You’ll also decrease your intake of carbs significantly and consume a moderate intake of protein each day.
When you start the Galveston diet, you’ll consume about 70% of your daily calories from healthy fat, 20% from lean protein, and about 10% from nutrient-rich carbs.
As a basis for comparison, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends getting 20-35% of your calories from fat, 45-65% of your calories from carbohydrates, and 10%-35% of your calories from protein.
With the higher fat intake, the Galveston Diet macro balance is similar to the ratio for a ketogenic diet. But the goal of the Galveston Diet is not to get into ketosis. The higher fat and lower carb intake is designed to help you cleanse your palate and get rid of cravings for sugary, processed foods while also prioritizing fat-burning in the body.
Macro tracking is important on this diet, but you don’t have to worry about getting your Galveston Diet macros perfect every day. In online videos, Dr. Haver explains that the daily diet menus don’t exactly reach the 70/20/10 breakdown. But, she explains that the suggested meal plan for the first five weeks (on the paid program) is within 5% of these targets.
Once you’ve been successful on the Galveston Diet, you’ll eventually introduce more carbs. For example, after about six weeks, you increase your carbs to 30% while decreasing fat intake to 50% and keeping protein at 20%. Eventually, you shift to a maintenance Galveston Diet macro breakdown.
During maintenance, Galveston Diet macros are closer to 40% fat, 20% protein, 40% carbs.
Keep in mind that when tracking macros on the Galveston Diet, you count “net” carbs rather than total carbs. To calculate net carbs, you take the total number of carbohydrate grams and subtract the number of fiber grams. The resulting number is your net carbs. If you choose fiber-rich foods, like fresh fruit and veggies, or foods made with whole grains, you’ll be able to consume a higher number of total carb grams because the amount of fiber will reduce your net carbs substantially.
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Galveston Diet foods
The Galveston Diet focuses on fighting inflammation. Therefore, you choose foods that minimize inflammation as much as possible. Also, since you will be choosing foods with fewer net carbs, you’ll want to include carbs that are full of fiber.
Galveston Diet meals may include foods such as:
Healthy fats, including olive oil, olives, avocado, avocado oil, nuts, seeds, flaxseed, and sesame oil.
High-quality proteins such as eggs, fatty fish, chicken, lean ground beef, shellfish, and some dairy such as cottage cheese.
Fiber-rich carbohydrates, including fresh berries, legumes, and vegetables (especially organic) like leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage or squash.
Foods that you avoid may include:
Processed meats, especially those with nitrates, such as hot dogs or deli meats.
Refined grains, such as enriched flour, or foods made with enriched flour, such as processed baked goods.
Foods with added sugar or artificial ingredients, such as fruit juices, soda, sugary coffee drinks, candy, and many condiments or sauces.
Processed oils, especially canola oil, and also oils that are high in omega-6 fatty acids (corn oils, sunflower oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil).
You may also be wondering if alcohol is allowed on this macro diet for menopause. While it is not encouraged, there can be a place for wine on this diet, as long as it is consumed in moderation. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, moderate drinking is defined as one drink per day or less for women and two drinks or less per day for men.
Macros for Galveston Diet Meals
If you like to cook and you are on the Galveston Diet, you’re in luck. The website offers a variety of recipes that you can use while on the program. Unfortunately, however, little or no nutritional information is listed for most of the recipes. So, it is hard to calculate Galveston Diet macros if you use those recipes.
So, I’ve chosen a few days’ worth of meals and calculated more complete nutritional information. If you’re interested in the recipes, check out the recipe page on the Galveston Diet website, where you will find each one.
Sample Galveston Diet Macros for Breakfast
Blueberry and Spinach Collagen Smoothie: 442 calories, 28g fat, 34g carbs (19g net carbs), 19g protein (57% fat, 30% carbs, 17% protein)
Greek Yogurt Bowl Or Smoothie: 499 calories, 30g fat, 38g carbs (20g net carbs), 27g protein (54% fat, 30% carbs, 21% protein)
Scrambled Eggs With Spinach And Tomato (1/2 recipe): 352 calories, 25g fat, 4g carbs (3g net carbs), 26g protein (63% fat, 4% carbs, 29% protein)
Sample Galveston Diet Macros for Lunch
Spaghetti Squash With Meat And Vegetable Marinara: 483 calories, 33g fat, 18g carbs (13.5 net carbs), 29g protein (61% fat, 15% carbs, 24% protein)
Chicken Romaine Salad With Avocado: 706 calories, 63g fat, 10g carbs (3g net carbs), 29g protein (80% fat, 5% carbs, 16% protein)
Power Greens With Chicken, Avocado, And Grilled Asparagus: 931 calories, 87g fat, 6g carbs (4g net carbs), 32g protein (84% fat, 2% carbs, 13% protein)
Sample Galveston Diet Macros for Dinner
Healthy Meatloaf: 555 calories, 37g fat, 10g carbs (4g net carbs), 49g protein (60% fat, 7% carbs, 35% protein)
Rosemary’s Shrimp Salad: 412 calories, 31g fat, 15g carbs (6g net carbs), 21g protein (67% fat, 14% carbs, 20% protein)
Steak Salad With Herb Vinaigrette: 742 calories, 65g fat, 9g carbs (4g net carbs), 32g protein (78% fat, 4% carbs, 17% protein)
A quick note about the Galveston diet macro calculations
You’ll notice that both total carbs and net carbs are listed above. The Galveston Diet macro calculations above are based on Nutritionix calculations and use total carbs not net carbs. As mentioned previously, on the Galveston Diet you are encouraged to count “net carbs” instead of total carbs. However, the concept of net carbs is controversial.
Researchers don't know how many calories fiber provides, but most nutrition scientists will tell you that the number is not zero and the type of fiber matters. Soluble fiber probably contributes about 2.3 calories per gram. Non-soluble fiber may contribute anywhere from one to zero calories, according to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. When you subtract fiber grams from total carb grams to get net carbs, you assume that all fiber contributes zero calories. But, as you can see, that isn’t necessarily true.
For these reasons, the FDA, the American Diabetes Association, and nutrition organizations and experts worldwide suggest counting total carbs, not net carbs. So, you’ll see the total carbs listed above in addition to net carbs.
The Bottom Line
Whether or not this macro diet for menopause is right for you depends on several factors, including your starting point. If you already include some of the anti-inflammatory foods in your diet and if you already avoid some of the contraindicated foods, then you might be able to ease into this plan and see results. However, for some people, it may be too aggressive of a dietary shift to maintain. Going on and off a diet is never a good idea and can mess with your metabolism.
If you think you might want to give this program a try and you aren’t sure if you want to invest the money into one of the paid plans, try reaching the Galveston Diet macros with the foods that you currently consume. If you are able to reach your macro targets, then try including more of the recommended foods and see if you can eliminate foods that are supposed to be avoided. You can also pick up a copy of Macro Diet for Dummies on Amazon or your local bookstore to learn more about macro tracking for weight loss.
The bottom line for any diet is sustainability. If you think you can adhere to this program and enjoy it, then you will likely see benefits from it. While research on this diet specifically is lacking, there is some evidence supporting low-carb diets and intermittent fasting for weight loss. But there is more evidence suggesting that the best diet for you is the one you can stick to. Again, easing into it slowly may be your best bet for long-term sustainability.
