IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR to lose weight and get fit, you should GOLO?
The GOLO Diet (a mnemonic for the plan's mantra: "Lose weight, look great, love life") claims to be a cure-all for weight loss. Experts aren't so sure.
"Don't be fooled by those TV commercials: GOLO is a dietary supplement that masquerades as a healthy lifestyle program. The 'diet' involves taking their patented supplement (Release) with one or more meals daily," says Kim Yawitz RD The GOLO website promotes the Release supplement as a supplement that increases your energy, reduces fatigue, supports healthier immune function, reduces hunger, and much more.
As for the nutrition plan included with each purchase, as Yawitz points out, it's "essentially just a portion-controlled, whole-foods diet."
We spoke to experts to answer the biggest questions about GOLO: Does it work? Is it safe? Should I try it?
What is the GOLO Diet?
The GOLO Diet suggests that spikes in insulin levels are the cause of slow metabolism which in turn is responsible for weight gain.
To take this one step further, GOLO claims that if you can keep your insulin levels under control, you won't store excess insulin sugar in your blood which your body then stores as fat. Regulated insulin levels lead to regulated weight.
The company bases this claim on a team of doctors and pharmacists although GOLO does not disclose the names and affiliations of these experts.
The GOLO Diet should be recognized as a diet that, unlike Whole30 or keto does not severely prohibit or restrict you from eating entire food groups, such as carbohydrates (or sugar, a type of carbohydrate).
Instead, the GOLO Diet focuses on consuming whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods. Specifically, at mealtimes, a GOLO dieter would select one to two servings from each category: protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, and fats.
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A GOLO Diet follower eats three meals a day, with breakfast and lunch being larger than dinner. The diet allows for snacks if there are more than four to five hours between meals or if you exercise.
While these types of eating plans can work, this is where the GOLO Diet goes wrong.
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What is GOLO Release supplement?
One of the core components of the GOLO Diet is a supplement called Edition The company claims that Release boosts your body's insulin regulation, increases your metabolism, and burns more fat.
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In addition to weight loss, GOLO reports that Release offers "multi-dimensional therapeutic benefits," including increased energy, reduced fatigue, improved immune function, reduced cravings, balanced blood sugar and insulin, and lower voltage and fear.
But then there's the price of Release.
One bottle costs $59.95. Two bottles cost $99.90, and three costs $119.85. You can only purchase the supplement through the company. Each order comes with the GOLO for Life Plan, which the website says offers strategies to help you "focus on what your body needs instead of depriving yourself."
With Purchasing Release you also get access to online resources and tools, such as meal plans and recipes.
What is the main ingredient of GOLO Release pills?
GOLO is marketing the release as "plant based" (whatever that means) resources). And it says the supplement contains seven herbal ingredients and three minerals.
According to the company, the following is included in the Release: magnesium* (15 milligrams in 1 capsule), zinc* (10 mg), chromium* (70 micrograms), rhodiola root extract, inositol, berberine extract, gardenia, banaba extract, salacia extract, apple extract, vegetable cellulose, rice fibre, stearate and silica.
*These three ingredients are the only ones whose amounts are listed on the label. However, the amounts of other ingredients are not disclosed because the formula is patented.Zinc, magnesium and chromium are minerals associated with energy release, but that doesn't mean they boost your metabolism, says Nyree Dardarian, Ed.D., RDNassistant clinical professor at the Drexel University Department of Nutritional Sciences.
"That's a huge leap that a lot of supplement companies are making, and they have the freedom to make these false claims because they're not regulated by the FDA," she says. "There are other plant-based nutrients in the supplement, but none of them have any supporting evidence that they lead to weight loss."
Supplements, such as Release, do not need to be approved by the FDA.
While the three minerals in Release (zinc, chromium and magnesium) offer health benefits, Pike says it's better to get these nutrients from food sources.
And before you take any supplement, she adds that it's best to talk to your healthcare provider, especially if you're taking other medications. You should be aware of any potential interactions or other concerns.
What is the GOLO Diet Meal Plan?
The GOLO Diet suggests eating protein, carbohydrates, and fats, and provides a guide to the acceptable whole foods that fall into each category. Lean proteins, such as fish, seafood, and poultry, healthy fats like olive oil, and healthy carbohydrates include fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
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Processed foods with added sugars should be limited. GOLO diets can be modified to include options for vegan vegetarian, gluten free and other diets.
Here's an example of what a daily GOLO meal plan might look like, according to Dardarian:
- Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs with one slice of whole wheat bread
- Lunch: 3 ounces chicken breast on 1/2 cup quinoa, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup mixed vegetables, olive oil and lemon juice
- Dinner: 113 grams of salmon, stir-fried vegetables and 1/2 cup of brown rice
Do the GOLO Diet and Release Help with Weight Loss?
Be careful, says Abby Langer, RD, founder of Abby Langer Nutrition.
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First, there's the idea that eating certain foods can dramatically improve your metabolic rate or overall "metabolic health," Langer says.
In fact, "There's nothing you can really eat to boost your metabolism to the point where you're going to have a significant change in weight," Langer says. "Your metabolism is determined by genetics and muscle mass and, of course, hormones. But there are so many factors that anything you eat is not going to radically change it."
Yes, there are theories that increased insulin and weight gain but scientists are still not sure which hormones regulate metabolism and weight.
"It's a theory for a reason. It hasn't been studied much in humans," Langer says. "We really don't know definitively whether insulin resistance is responsible for increased body mass."
And while it's true that the GOLO Diet focuses on whole foods and the recommendations don't require you to cut out food groups (which is a smart way to eat), you don't need the GOLO Diet to eat this way.
And you certainly don't need a supplement to eat this way, says Langer.
"Release is just a supplement. Even though it's not physically harmful, I don't recommend it," she says.
Release is not an FDA-approved weight loss supplement. (However, the FDA has approved it for prescription weight loss, the list is slim.)
Does GOLO help boost immunity?
It's not that simple.
Your immunity isn't even something you can "boost," and to say otherwise is an oversimplification of a complex system that depends on many things: exercise, sleep, stress, and even nutrition, but not only diet.
But what about GOLO's success stories and research?
GOLO Diet Followers Are Reportedly Losing Weight more than 100 pounds in just 12 months, and that can have an undeniable appeal to someone who wants to lose weight.
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But that weight loss may not be a result of GOLO's purported ability to regulate insulin, but rather from switching from processed foods to whole foods, Langer says.
While GOLO leans heavily on the theory that insulin resistance slows metabolism, Langer cautions that there is no simple or accurate way to definitively measure a person's metabolism. As a result, there is no way to measure the success of the GOLO diet.
"This is the hallmark of a fad diet," says Langer. "You're giving followers an outcome that they can't measure."
And what research does the company cite?
"The research studies "The studies done to support GOLO's claims were small," she says. "The studies were done by the company. None of their material has been published in peer-reviewed journals."
Rather than following one of these one-size-fits-all diets, Langer says the best path to an effective diet is to talk to a registered dietitian and create a plan that fits your life, your goals, and your eating habits.
And consider this, because it applies to all diets: if there was one diet that would make everyone lose weight and keep it off forever, wouldn't everyone be on that diet already?
Should You Follow the GOLO Diet?
It is better to save your money.
"It's a free pass for this certified dietician," says Alyssa Pike, RD., senior manager food communications for the International Food Information Council. "The GOLO Diet is essentially a calorie-restricted diet that requires an expensive supplement."
The GOLO Diet may have healthy components, such as focusing on whole food groups and avoiding too much added sugar, she says. But there's no research on the supplementation required to back up the claims. "It's been very understudied, and paid consultants have done the only two studies that exist," Yawitz says.
Yawitz calls GOLO "a fad diet, pure and simple." Most men could lose weight by simply mostly whole foods in moderate portions -no supplements required.
