Still Bobbi: Bobbi Brown on Reinvention, Midlife Entrepreneurship & Finding Purpose After 60

Mary Claire discovered this after studying osteoporosis literature and seeking women-specific solutions, not the tactical 'bro' approach. She compiled several studies showing bone benefits. She decided to add it to her existing walking routine as a low-risk addition. She emphasizes that while hormone therapy helps, not everyone can take it, so loading the skeleton with weight is a powerful alternative or complement. The biggest mistake she made was attempting a 7-mile seawall walk with 12 lbs on day one, which led to extreme fatigue and taught her the importance of progressive adaptation.

Mary Claire turned to bioidentical hormones after reading Suzanne Somers' book in her late 40s, finding a doctor in New York. She experienced dramatic improvement. Then, due to breast cancer fear, she stopped and felt 'awful' again, prompting her to resume. She now believes in lifelong use, joking that only a plastic estrogen patch will remain in her casket. She has assembled a medical team combining a functional nutritionist and an MD to optimize her regimen, highlighting the difficulty of getting coordinated care. Her approach is that the protective effects on bones and possibly heart outweigh the risks for her, but she acknowledges the need for individualized assessment.

Mary Claire acknowledges that feeling stuck can happen after a sushi dinner with extra sake or simple dehydration. Rather than wallowing, she combats it with immediate action: water and dance. She follows specific Instagram accounts for hip-hop routines, making it fun and accessible. This habit has become a reliable 'unsticking' tool, reflecting her broader philosophy of not letting stuckness linger. She believes that movement literally shifts her state, enabling her to tackle the day.

She built a home gym and uses it as her primary workspace, integrating movement into her workday seamlessly. She acknowledges that others think she's 'nuts' but it doesn't bother her because it serves her health goals. This practice allows her to combine the demands of a founder with the need for physical activity, breaking up otherwise sedentary hours. She considers it a simple but effective productivity hack.

Mary Claire reflects on her own history of step aerobics and Jane Fonda workouts, calling it a waste of time in retrospect. She urges younger women to avoid that path and instead focus on weights. The shift in messaging emphasizes functional strength over aesthetics, aligning with a broader movement to prepare women for healthier aging. She notes that feeling strong beats feeling 'burned' from cardio, and this perspective is one she wishes she had adopted decades earlier.

Haver describes reading the first line of Bobbi Brown's memoir and laughing because it echoed her own words from decades earlier. Now at 57, she runs a clinic, writes books, hosts a podcast, and feels more driven than ever. This reframe came gradually as she witnessed her own capability and those of women like Brown who continue to innovate and lead. The insight flies in the face of a youth-obsessed culture that equates aging with decline.

Haver explains that while being a physician involved long hours, the founder role added a different layer of pressure: the weight of the entire company's success resting on her performance. She felt alone in this experience until she read Bobbi Brown's memoir, where Brown described similar exhaustion from constant travel, performance demands, and the feeling that 'if I don't perform, the company will suffer.' The recognition that another successful woman endured the same gave her comfort and a sense of solidarity.

Haver frames this as a hard-won insight, especially important for younger women who might repeat the same mistakes. She ties it to visible and invisible benefits: looking better, feeling better, and building strong bones, which are essential as estrogen declines. The shift in messaging emphasizes functional strength over aesthetics, preparing women for healthier aging rather than chasing a thin ideal. She explicitly regrets the time spent on aerobics and wants others to prioritize weights early.