Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (2024)

The immense popularity of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro has completely changed how many people think of food and dieting today. But still, for the many people who struggle with losing weight, yet don't want to take daily injections, don't qualify for a prescription or simply can't afford the pricey treatment, there are plenty of trendy diets that promise they have the answer. One of these is the GOLO diet, which works off the idea that many people struggle to lose weight and keep it off due to their hormones — particularly insulin, which plays a key role in metabolic function.

The diet gained popularity pretty quickly, and was the most Googled diet in 2016 according to the program’s website. In the last few years, the GOLO glow has dimmed a bit, but according to one survey, it was still the sixth most popular diet in 2023 based on searches, after the weight-loss giants Weight Watchers, Keto, Mediterranean, Whole 30 and plant-based. But will the plan really work? And is it healthy? We talked to experts — both affiliated and not affiliated with the GOLO diet — to find out. Here’s what you need to know about the GOLO subscription diet and supplement service before diving in.

Editor's note: Weight loss, health and body image are complex subjects — before deciding to go on this diet, we invite you to gain a broader perspective by reading our exploration into the hazards of diet culture.

Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (1)

What is the GOLO diet?

Although it dates back to 2009, the program’s website doesn’t detail who came up with the diet except to say that it was "a team of doctors, pharmacists and researchers." There is a generic photo of a group of smiling people on the site listed under "GOLO developers," but no names or accompanying medical credits, which makes you go hmmm. (The two current team members listed are a businessperson/CEO and GOLO president Jennifer Brooks, a holistic nutritionist.)

What may be most appealing about the GOLO diet (which stands for Go Lose Weight) is that it does not rely on extreme calorie-counting or cutting out entire food groups. Instead, it is based on getting your insulin under control, which it claims is the key to a properly functioning metabolism. Once your metabolism is working optimally, you can lose weight and keep it off more easily, according to the company’s website. It explains that being caught in the trap of weight cycling (a.k.a. yo-yo dieting) can slow metabolism down and disrupt hormones involved in weight control.

The site says that some people with a slow metabolism have insulin resistance, which is when cells in muscle, fat, and the liver don’t respond well to insulin and can subsequently lead to weight gain. While there are several hormones that are thought to be involved in appetite, metabolism and weight management, GOLO focuses on insulin, which is supposed to regulate your blood sugar. Simply put, when your insulin isn’t doing its job of distributing energy to your cells, the sugar stays in your blood and your body stores the extra as fat. The idea behind GOLO is that it’ll get your insulin and blood sugar levels where they belong, thus helping you use energy efficiently. This is all based on good science, but does the diet really address these issues in a practical way?

How does the GOLO diet work?

The GOLO diet has two main components: First, you must follow the GOLO eating plan. Second, you are required to purchase and consume the program’s Release supplement. When you pay for a membership, you receive a welcome kit, which contains two booklets: Metabolic Plan and Overcoming Diet Obstacles. They explain the theory of the diet, how much you can eat, what foods you can choose from and what to do to stay on the plan when, for example, you have to grab lunch at a convenience store. It also gives advice on how to get started with an exercise routine. And, of course, it comes with the program's Release supplement. You can also sign up for an online myGOLO account, which offers access to online support, recipes, and more.

Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (2)

What's in the GOLO meal plan?

Here's the good news: The GOLO meal plan is an easy-to-follow, balanced diet that allows you to choose from a wide variety of whole foods (no powdery drinks or cardboard-tasting bars, yay!). A GOLO meal plan consists of mixing and matching permissible foods from the following categories: proteins, carbs, vegetables and fats. The GOLO booklet lists all the recommended whole foods in each category. The booklet also outlines guidelines of how much of each food GOLO dieters should have at each meal.

Brooks says that following the GOLO diet consists of picking one to two servings from each food category (again, that’s proteins, carbs, vegetables and fats) to create meals. This combo, she says, is designed to keep your blood sugar steady and stave off hunger. “We do have meal plans for people who want more structure, but this way people can eat the same foods as their families,” she says. You can also use "bonus" servings that are allotted based on how much you exercise, move around and your age and gender — that's where you can include the occasional treat or extra portion.

The GOLO diet includes three meals a day—you can add a snack if you go longer than four to five hours between meals or if you exercise. Interestingly, breakfast and lunch are bigger meals than dinner on this plan. A typical GOLO day might look like this:

    Nothing is off-limits, says Brooks, but ideally you’re eating whole — not processed — foods. “We know it’s a transition for a lot of people,” she says, many of whom are coming off of meal replacements and processed diet foods (such as those found on the Optavia diet), which the website says can “weaken” your metabolic health.

    The plan does recommend eating complex carbs rather than simple ones, for instance, suggesting brown rice over white, but you're going to GOLO jail if you occasionally veer from this rule. "If you eat white rice once in a while, it’s okay. We want people feeling great, not going back to their old habits," says Brooks. "It’s a balanced eating plan to teach people how to eat for healthy weight management."

    This sounds reasonable and doable, but what does an outside nutrition expert think of it? Caroline Apovian, M.D., a professor of medicine and an obesity expert at Boston University School of Medicine, says that eating a moderate amount of whole foods is sound advice, but the idea of managing insulin resistance for weight loss and better health is not exactly "stop the presses" news. “We’ve known for a long time that processed foods and too much sugar and simple carbs can make you store more fat and give you insulin resistance,” says Dr. Apovian. There are a number of weight loss plans that recommend portion control, whole foods and limiting foods that make your blood sugar spike.

    If you want to lose weight but your insulin levels are normal, says Dr. Apovian, "studies show that any diet can help you lose weight." Still, avoiding processed foods, sugar and saturated fat is a good call, even if you don't have an insulin issue: "Something in processed foods could actually be causing hyperinsulinemia [too much insulin in the blood] and eventually insulin resistance," she adds.

    GOLO Diet Foods List

    Here’s a list of what you can eat on the GOLO diet, broken down by the program’s food categories. It’s also important to note that some foods can fit into more than one category. For example, beans are both a protein and a carbohydrate.

    Proteins

    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Eggs
    • Seafood
    • Beans and legumes
    • Tofu
    • Tempeh
    • Bone broth
    • Dairy (including yogurt, cheese and milk)

    Carbohydrates

    • Whole grains (such as brown rice, oats, quinoa and barley)
    • Fruit
    • Beans and legumes

    Vegetables

    • All vegetables

    Fats

    • Butter
    • Olive oil or avocado oil
    • Avocado
    • Nuts and seeds

    The GOLO diet also advocates limiting the following foods:

    • Processed meats (like deli meat or hot dogs)
    • Processed meat substitute products
    • Refined carbohydrates (such as white bread or white rice)
    • Processed foods or drinks high in salt or sugar

    What's in the GOLO supplement?

    So far, so good — a well-balanced diet consisting of whole foods and complex carbs. But what makes GOLO different from many other, similar diets (including ones that cost you exactly zero dollars to try) is the inclusion of its proprietary-blend Release supplement, which dieters are expected to take every day. GOLO claims that Release "works quickly to reduce hunger and cravings, reduce stress and anxiety, control the triggers that cause emotional eating, increase energy and vitality, and start releasing stored fat." It contains a blend of plant-based ingredients and minerals that the company claims "help you regain metabolic balance and will not only help you lose weight but also supports overall well-being," among other claimed benefits related to energy, cognitive function, DNA synthesis and more.

      Here's what's in Release, according to the brand:

      • Magnesium
      • Zinc
      • Chromium
      • Rhodiola root extract
      • Inositol
      • Berberine extract
      • Gardenia extract
      • Banaba leaf extract
      • Salacia bark extract
      • Apple extract
      • Vegetable cellulose
      • Rice fiber
      • Magnesium stearate
      • Silica

      How important is it to knock back a Release capsule every day? According to Alissa Rumsey, M.S., R.D., C.S.C.S., a dietitian and owner of Alissa Rumsey Nutrition and Wellness, you actually don’t need it. "There is no convincing evidence that any supplement can promote long-term weight loss," she says. Dr. Apovian agrees, pointing out that a reliable study would be one that is randomized and placebo controlled; there is no research of that quality that has shown significant weight loss benefits from any herb.

      While the GOLO website does point to studies they conducted to show the efficacy of taking the supplement while following the meal plan, Rumsey says to take all that info with a grain of salt — just because a company posts research doesn’t necessarily mean that it's conclusive research. She adds that all of the studies were funded by the company and none are large-scale. "That makes it hard to know if we can extrapolate data to a larger group," she says, adding that the studies were also short-term, so they can’t serve as evidence to the long-term results the company touts. One study, for example, started with 49 people but at the end of 26 weeks, there were only 35 left.

      But that doesn’t mean that there's nothing in the Release supplement that will benefit your body. For example, Dr. Apovian says that zinc and magnesium, which are both in the supplement, are essential minerals the body needs. However, she says that there isn’t strong scientific evidence that they can help with weight loss.

      Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (3)

      Pros & Cons of the GOLO Diet

      As with most diets, the GOLO diet isn’t all good or bad. To review:

      Pros

        Cons

          What is the monthly cost of the GOLO diet?

          GOLO sells its supplements from its website, and with your first order you get all the specifics of the plan outlined above, including the GOLO for Life plan and access to myGOLO's online tools and resources. One bottle of 90 pills is $59.95, while three bottles comes to $119.85. GOLO offers a 60-day money back guarantee and free delivery.

          Is the GOLO diet a good choice?

          When you get down to it, GOLO is really just a supplement company that includes a diet plan (while the eating advice is good, it's nothing you can't find in a million other places, for free). And considering that there is limited scientific evidence that this supplement—or, for that matter, any other supplement—can help with dropping pounds, Dr. Apovian isn’t convinced that this diet will speed weight loss along. Rumsey takes it even further, arguing against signing up for any kind of structured diet at all. “It’s an externally based way of eating and doesn’t take into consideration your body or your history — it may work in the short term, but like all other diets, will not work long term for most people,” she says.

          Instead of a paying for a commercial diet, Dr. Apovian advocates eating healthy, portion-controlled whole foods. "Health is about your behavior around food, movement and stress — not about your weight," Rumsey adds.

          If you want to lose weight — or your doctor advises you to do so — losing even a small percentage of your body weight can reduce disease risk, according to the CDC. Rather than following a diet plan of any kind, Rumsey advises that you eat more intuitively: “Tune in to your body’s hunger and fullness signals and use these as a cue to begin and end eating. Tune into your internal signals around when (and why) you want to eat certain foods, in certain amounts, rather than listening to external signals — i.e. diets,” she says. Over time this will naturally help you to eat what your body needs. “By doing this you will eat enough to nourish your body and find your body's natural set point weight.”

          The bottom line: The GOLO diet program is a simple, portion-controlled diet plan that emphasizes eating readily available whole foods — but these are things you don't need to sign up with any website or program to do. Part of what you're paying for with the program is the supplement, for which outside experts say there is insufficient evidence to prove it will help you control your weight.

          Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (4)

          Emily Laurence

          Emily is a freelance writer and certified health coach who specializes in writing about mental health, fitness, healthy food, and social justice issues. Emily spent six years as an editor and writer at Well+Good, covering everything from food trends to serious issues like the opioid crisis in America and gun violence. She has also worked at Seventeen, Elle, and Twist magazines. She regularly writes for publications including Forbes, Parade, Shape, and The Huffington Post. Emily lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her cat Evie.

          Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (5)

          Stephanie Dolgoff

          Health Newsroom Director

          Stephanie (she/her) is the director of the Hearst Health Newsroom, where she writes, edits and oversees all health content for Good Housekeeping, Prevention and other Hearst titles. She has covered women's physical and emotional health, nutrition, sexuality and the multitudes of topics they contain for national publications for decades, and she is also a bestselling author, a mom of twins, a dog mom and an intuitive eater in progress.

          Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (6)

          Reviewed byStefani Sassos, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.N., NASM-CPT

          Nutrition Lab Director

          Stefani (she/her) is a registered dietitian, a NASM-certified personal trainer and the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab, where she handles all nutrition-related content, testing and evaluation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from NYU. She is also Good Housekeeping’s on-staff fitness and exercise expert. Stefani is dedicated to providing readers with evidence-based content to encourage informed food choices and healthy living. She is an avid CrossFitter and a passionate home cook who loves spending time with her big fit Greek family.

          Health Experts Share the Truth About the Trendy GOLO Diet (2024)

          References

          Top Articles
          Latest Posts
          Recommended Articles
          Article information

          Author: Aracelis Kilback

          Last Updated:

          Views: 5673

          Rating: 4.3 / 5 (64 voted)

          Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

          Author information

          Name: Aracelis Kilback

          Birthday: 1994-11-22

          Address: Apt. 895 30151 Green Plain, Lake Mariela, RI 98141

          Phone: +5992291857476

          Job: Legal Officer

          Hobby: LARPing, role-playing games, Slacklining, Reading, Inline skating, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Dance

          Introduction: My name is Aracelis Kilback, I am a nice, gentle, agreeable, joyous, attractive, combative, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.