Why is the scale moving in the wrong direction even though I haven’t changed my diet or exercise habits? Time and again, this is the question Dr. Mary Claire Haver’s patients asked. At first, a practicing OB/GYN, she’d dutifully advise what she’d been taught in medical school: eat less and work out more. But that standard advice didn’t solve the problems caused by perimenopause and menopause because back then she—and so many other doctors—hadn’t taken into account the physiological factors affecting women. They tend to store fat, they can have a hard time accessing that stored fat as active fuel, and their hormonal fluctuations in midlife exacerbate the situation.

Then, Dr. Haver found herself in this exact predicament with the added issues of low energy, hot flashes, and brain fog. So she set out to develop a nutrition program that would meet her own and her patients’ needs once and for all. Now, more than 100,000 women have found success in Dr. Haver’s unique plan for losing dangerous belly fat and reducing menopausal symptoms by following her three interconnected strategies:

• Fuel Refocus: Starting in their thirties, women need a specific ratio of healthy fats, lean protein, and quality carbohydrates to optimize their overall health and efficiently burn fat as fuel.
• Intermittent Fasting: 16 hours of fasting with a flexible 8-hour eating window coaxes the body to draw energy from stored fat and decreases inflammation.
• Anti-inflammatory Nutrition: Limit added sugars, processed carbs, chemical additives and preservatives and layer in anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, olive oil, berries, nuts, and tomatoes.