IT feels like everyone is talking about – or taking – weight loss medications like Wegovy or Mounjaro.
The jabs have completely upended how we think about about weight loss, but they’re not the only effective way to .
It’s not possible for alone to directly replicate the effects of weight loss jabs.
But research suggests that – and paying attention to the time of day and order you eat them – may naturally stimulate production of the same hormone responsible for the effects of these blockbuster .
“For those preferring a drug-free approach to weight loss, research shows that certain nutrients and dietary strategies can naturally mimic the effects of ,”;; Mary Scourboutakos, adjunct lecturer in family and community at the University of Toronto, said.
Though Ozempic is often used as a catch-all term for weight loss medications, the drug – whose active ingredient is semaglutide – is actually prescribed to treat type 2 and has the added benefit of making users lose weight.
Its manufacturer Novo Nordisk later released a higher dose of semaglutide under the brand name Wegovy to treat .
Wegovy and Ozempic are in a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA).
They work by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone produced naturally by your gut when you eat food, which signals to the brain that you’re full and prevents you from overeating.
“These drugs also simultaneously decrease levels of an enzyme called DPP-4, which inactivates GLP-1,”;; Dr Scourboutakos wrote in The Conversation.
“As a result, this ‘stop eating’ hormone that naturally survives for only a few minutes can survive for an entire week.
“This enables a semi-permanent, just-eaten sensation of fullness that consequently leads to decreased food intake and, ultimately, weight loss.”;;
According to the expert, “medications aren’t the only way to raise GLP-1 levels”;;.
She outlined diet changes that could have that effect – though she noted that diet won’t trigger weight loss as fast or as powerfully as medication.
1. Fibre at every meal
“ is the most notable nutrient that can significantly increase GLP-1,”;; Dr Scourboutakos said.
“When fibre is fermented by the trillions of that live in our intestines, the resultant byproduct, called short chain fatty acids, stimulates the production of GLP-1.”;;
This may explained why eating more fibre has been shown to trigger weight loss “even in the absence of calorie restriction”;;, the expert said.
Foods like beans, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds are rich in the nutrient.
You should be aiming to add at least one fibre-rich food to every meal, Dr Scourboutakos noted.
Reema Pillai, dietitian at Dietitian Fit, previously shared – from overnight oats to egg muffins.
2. Add in healthy fats
Another nutrient that can naturally raise levels of GLP-1 in you are monounsaturated , which are found in olive oil and avocado oil.
“One study showed that GLP-1 levels were higher following the consumption of bread and olive oil compared to bread and butter,”;; Dr Scourboutakos said.
“Another study showed that having an avocado alongside your breakfast bagel also increases GLP-1 more so than eating the bagel on its own.”;;
3. Snack smart
Another way to get a dose of healthy fats is through snacking on .
“Nuts that are high in both fibre and monounsaturated fats, like pistachios, have also been shown to raise GLP-1 levels,”;; Dr Scourboutakos said.
4. Order matters
When it comes to stimulating GLP-1 hormones in your gut, it’s not just about what you’re eating – how you’re eating also matters.
If you’ve got protein like fish or meat on your plate, as well as carbohydrates like rice, you should go for the protein source first, Dr Scourboutakos advised.
This will help release more of the fullness hormone, according to studies.
“Eating vegetables before carbohydrates has a similar effect,”;; the expert added.
4. Most important meal of the day
You should be making your breakfast the largest meal of your day, according to Dr Scourboutakos.
“Time of day also matters, because like all hormones, GLP-1 follows a circadian rhythm,”;; the expert went on.
“A meal eaten at 8am stimulates a more pronounced release of GLP-1 compared to the same meal at 5pm.
“This may partly explain why the old saying “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper”;; is backed by evidence that demonstrates greater weight loss when breakfast is the largest meal of the day and dinner is the smallest.”;;
5. Slow it down
Finally, pay attention to the pace of your eating.
If you’re wolfing down your meals, it makes sense that you might eat more than you need.
But according to Dr Scourboutakos, eating slower can result in higher GLP-1 levels.
“Eating ice cream over 30 minutes has been shown to produce a significantly higher GLP-1 level compared to eating ice cream over five minutes,”;; she said.
“Even chewing matters. One study showed that eating shredded cabbage raised GLP-1 more than drinking pureed cabbage.”;;
