Probably at some point, you have seen the infomercials and web advertisements: People that appear healthy claim to have dropped a lot of weight while following the GOLO diet. One commercial claims “No subscriptions, just real results that last,” while before and after images flash on the screen.
The eating strategy promises to help you “get your health and vitality back” and “leave dieting behind you.” You’re going to feel fantastic, one GOLO user predicted. Your life is about to change. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Now tell me what the GOLO diet is and how it functions. A programme called GOLO makes the promise that it can help you lose weight in a healthy way by balancing your unbalanced hormones, particularly insulin.
Even if you’re doing everything right—eating healthy foods and getting regular exercise—GOLO contends that you’ll struggle to lose weight if your insulin levels aren’t where they should be. By adhering to their suggested eating plan, which may cost up to $100, and buying their supplements on a monthly basis, GOLO guarantees to maintain the balance of your hormones, allowing you to lose weight and keep it off.
But does science back up these assertions? Here, nutritionists outline important considerations before committing fully to GOLO.
Rewind: Please elaborate on the GOLO diet.
Once more, GOLO is predicated on the idea that insulin, a hormone that aids in blood sugar regulation, may hinder weight loss. According to the GOLO website, developing insulin resistance, which occurs when cells in your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond properly to insulin and are unable to utilise glucose for energy, can make your body accumulate fat and reduce your metabolism.
This is when GOLO comes into play. By “balancing” the hormones that affect weight, “managing glucose” (also known as blood sugar), “maintaining healthy insulin levels,” and “eliminating conventional starvation dieting,” they assert that their programme would aid users in losing weight.
The actual diet is rather straightforward: Nothing is forbidden, and you’re urged to consume items that have “nutritionally packed calories,” such as fish, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and cheese.
What exactly does the GOLO meal plan look like?
It’s crucial to remember that without buying GOLO’s booklets, The GOLO for Life Plan and Overcoming Diet Obstacles, which range in price from $49.95 to $99.90, it’s unclear exactly how or what you would consume in a typical day or what the recommended calorie intake looks like.
What, I hear you need to take supplements?
Yes, GOLO also encourages fans to use the weight loss tablets called Release, which may cost up to $100 for a 90-day supply. The supplement includes citric acid, plant extracts, a thickener, and the minerals zinc, chromium, and magnesium. They are free of wheat, soy, gluten, dairy, eggs, fish, or any other seafood, tree nuts, peanuts, or dairy products.
According to GOLO’s website, Release “can benefit anyone looking for stable and sustainable weight loss,” and the company cites “many studies” to support this claim. GOLO doesn’t explain how the chemicals in their supplement support its claims, such as controlling metabolism, slowing digestion, and lowering stress, despite the fact that the highlights of this research are provided.
In general, GOLO advises taking one supplement three times a day with meals. The dose can be increased or decreased depending on a number of variables, such as if you’re having a stressful day or have excess belly fat, which is difficult to define.
They also make the bold assertion that their supplement is safe to take with drugs, which is something you should always speak with your doctor about no matter what medication you intend to take.
The GOLO diet raises some issues for nutritionists.
The supplements and even the rationale for starting the diet are major topics of discussion. According to Gina Keatley, C.D.N., co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, “the reason they give to go on this diet is that you have a slow metabolism—which is most likely true as compared to 16-year-old you, but research has shown that metabolism does not slow noticeably from about ages 25 to 65.”
Although the body’s capacity for handling sugar and insulin plays a role in metabolism, she claims that it only accounts for less than 20% of the total. The suggested daily calorie intake of 1,200 to 1,500 calories worries Keatley. “It’s pretty low for most people over 130 pounds,” she asserts.
According to Jessica Cording, R.D., C.D.N., a dietitian, health coach, and author of The Little Book of Game-Changers, the supplement component is troubling. Since supplement-based diets are not subject to the same regulations as pharmaceuticals, she advises caution.
I wouldn’t feel confident suggesting this to anyone, especially if they weren’t being treated by a doctor who could keep an eye on them.
Supplements “perpetuate a cycle of dieting,” according to Cording. “Run in the other direction,” she continues, “if someone is promising tremendous things with pills.”
So, the GOLO diet aid in weight loss?
The business has a tonne of customer testimonials on its website, and they cite internet studies as evidence that the diet can aid in weight loss. The studies were funded by GOLO, but—and this is a huge but—they are not listed in peer-reviewed databases, according to Julie Upton, M.S., R.D., co-founder of the nutrition website Appetite for Health.
According to GOLO, the trials were “preliminary” and lacked a placebo control, so they couldn’t compare the outcomes of those on the GOLO diet to those of those who weren’t. It’s difficult to predict whether or not the plan will be successful for you because, in the words of Keri Gans, M.S., R.D.N., author of The Small Change Diet, “there is absolutely no conclusive scientific evidence to back any of these claims.”
One potential benefit, according to Gans, is that the diet promotes fruits and vegetables and doesn’t have a big list of foods to avoid.
You might lose some weight because it appears to follow a typical weight reduction strategy. According to Scott Keatley, R.D., of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, “decreasing calories and consuming more whole foods like lean protein, fresh fruit, and veggies is a terrific method to reduce weight, which makes you more insulin sensitive.”
According to Gans, it’s not quite that straightforward to attribute many people’s inability to lose weight to insulin resistance. Bottom line: Your body will retain extra refined carbs as fat if you consume more than it needs for energy. Therefore, the insulin isn’t entirely to blame. To prevent blood sugar spikes, a person must better plan and regulate their meals.
Additionally, as if it weren’t clear enough, none of the qualified dietitians we spoke with were supporters of the supplements. According to Keatley, “I always steer clear of medications that include ingredients that have not been thoroughly researched.”
In conclusion, experts claim that the GOLO diet is not cost-effective.
This is the TB12 of diet strategies, claims Keatley. There is enough science to give this the appearance of being a good idea, but it is actually pseudo-science in every way.
Upton also takes issue with the concept that you must pay for this at all. “Run—don’t walk—away from any programme that demands you to buy their proprietary food or supplements,” she exhorts.
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