There are dozens of popular diets these days, promising everything from weight loss to improved health. While nearly all fad diets are designed, at least in part, to help you lose weight, each diet distinguishes itself by the foods you can or cannot eat en route to achieve weight loss or better health.
The keto diet essentially eliminates carbohydrates. The Whole30 diet eliminates all processed foods, sugars, alcohol, dairy, legumes, and more. The vegan diet excludes all animal-derived products. The DASH diet limits sodium. The list goes on and on.
The GOLO Diet is an increasingly popular diet. Its less about what you cant eat, and more like the Mediterranean diet, in that the GOLO Diet attempts to establish healthier long-term eating habits.
But, theres much more to the GOLO Diet than just making healthier choices at each meal.
This article is an approach to the GOLO Diet explained and assessed. We will cover answers to questions such as, is the GOLO Diet a healthy weight loss option? What do GOLO Diet reviews reveal? What does the GOLO Diet cost?
Whether youve seen the viral posts on social media of people touting their weight loss success stories on the GOLO Diet or want to lose weight quickly (we caution you against that) and want to learn more about the GOLO Diet, keep reading for our guide to the GOLO Diet, including what the diet entails and whether the GOLO Diet is safe and effective.
In this guide, we will cover:
- What is the GOLO Diet?
- What Is the Principle Behind the GOLO Diet?
- The GOLO Diet Supplement
- Foods to Eat On the GOLO Diet
- Foods to Avoid On the GOLO Diet
- What Does the GOLO Diet Cost?
- GOLO Reviews
Lets dive in!
What is the GOLO Diet?
The GOLO Diet, also known as the GOLO For Life, is reported to be designed by a team of doctors, researchers, and pharmacists back in 2009. However, the names and titles of the specific medical professionals behind the creation of the diet are not available on their website.
The GOLO Diet is said to support rapid yet sustainable weight loss through calorie restriction, healthy food choices, and managing the levels of insulin and other hormones regulating metabolism.
According to the GOLO Diet website, the goals of this diet are to lose weight while maintaining lean muscle mass, reduce the risk of disease, and look and feel better in your body.
The GOLO Diet has guidelines for how much you can eat (generally 1,300-1,800 calories per day) as well as what foods you can and cant eat.
There is also a specific GOLO Diet branded supplement, called Release, that you take, and youre encouraged to be physically active.
What Is the Principle Behind the GOLO Diet?
The primary means of achieving weight loss is by consuming fewer calories than you expend such that youre in a caloric deficit.
Essentially, this can be thought of as a matter of how much you eat, from a caloric standpoint at least.
However, theres also evidence to suggest that what you eat matters as well. In other words, not all calories are necessarily created equally because they have different effects on the body from a hormonal perspective.
For example, 500 calories of broccoli with lentils and quinoa will affect your blood sugar, insulin, and other metabolic hormones differently than 500 calories of Twizzlers, Skittles, or gummy sour candies.
The GOLO Diet not only aims to lead to weight loss through modest calorie restriction, but also by managing insulin levels by consuming nutrient-dense, low-glycemic foods.
When you eat simple carbohydrates or high glycemic foods, blood sugar levels rise rapidly because high-glycemic foods are digested quickly. This releases the simple sugars into your bloodstream all at once and rather quickly after eating.
As a result, the pancreas secretes insulin because insulin signals your cells to take up glucose and use it or store it as glycogen for later.
While this is a normal response, chronic high levels of insulin can make you less sensitive to the insulin in your bloodstream. This is known as insulin resistance and is one of the factors that can lead to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Your body can store more fat when you become insulin resistant, and some of the excessive sugars can get converted to triglycerides and stored as body fat.
In contrast, low-glycemic foods provide a more stable and gradual increase in blood sugar because they take longer to break down and digest.
Low-glycemic foods, such as lentils and legumes, sweet potatoes, and barley, have more fiber and complex carbohydrates.
The slow release of glucose allows for a much more attenuated insulin response. Therefore, the risk of becoming insulin resistant, storing excessive sugars as triglycerides, and gaining weight, decreases.
Indeed, studies have shown that following a low-glycemic diet can help support weight management, a healthy metabolic rate, and fat loss.
Because the focus of the GOLO Diet is consuming nutrient-dense, healthy foods that support your metabolism, the creators claim that adherents to the GOLO Diet can eat 2030% more food than on most other weight loss diets.
The GOLO Diet Supplement
The GOLO Diet supplement, called GOLO Release, is also an integral part of the diet.
GOLO Release is described as an all-natural, plant-based nutraceutical supplement that claims to support metabolic efficiency, suppress appetite, increase energy, balance blood sugar levels, reduce oxidative stress, decreasing inflammation, and improving cellular function and communication.
The GOLO Release supplement contains a proprietary blend of three minerals (magnesium, zinc, and chromium) and seven plant-based ingredients (Rhodiola, inositol, berberine, gardenia, Banaba leaf, Salarein, and apple extract).
This supplement is designed to be taken in conjunction with the GOLO For Life Plan to maximize your results.
Although the creators of the GOLO Diet purport this to be a very safe and effective supplement, in general, when evaluating the efficacy and safety of any diet plan, be wary of those that require or heavily promote a supplement.
Many supplements that contain herbal ingredients are poorly regulated or are not fully transparent in their labeling, such that you dont know exactly how much of the herbal extract youre getting.
Furthermore, even when dosages are given, theres often little scientific evidence or guidelines to compare the concentrations to in order to verify the supplements safety.
All this is to say that the supplement component of the GOLO for Life diet is a bit of a red flag. There is limited evidence that a few of the ingredients may facilitate blood sugar regulation and weight.
For example, banaba leaf extract may potentially reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, and theres limited evidence suggesting Rhodiola rosea extract may affect fat cells in the abdomen.
However, more research is needed surrounding the efficacy, safety, and potential adverse interactions of the herbal extracts in this supplement.
Foods to Eat On the GOLO Diet
One of the strongest pros for the GOLO Diet is its focus on food quality and eating natural, whole, nutrient-dense foods over processed foods.
The GOLO Diet uses something called the GOLO Metabolic Fuel Matrix, which divides all foods into four fuel groups : proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables, and fats.
For each meal, you can choose foods from each of these fuel groups according to the following suggested ratios:
- Breakfast: 1 fat, 2 proteins, 2 carbohydrates, 1 vegetable
- Lunch: 1 fat, 2 proteins, 1 carbohydrate, 2 vegetables
- Dinner: 1 fat, 1 protein, 1 carbohydrate, 2 vegetables
The numbers refer to the number of servings you are allotted.
These three meals constitute the entire diet, unless you exercise. Physical activity earns you fit points that allow you to earn snacks or additional fuel group portions at meals.
Foods you can eat on the GOLO Diet according to the fuel groups include the following:
- Protein: Eggs, meat (beef, pork), poultry (chicken, turkey, quail, etc.), seafood (shrimp, fish, scallops, mussels, crab, etc.), nuts (walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans, etc.), dairy products (whole milk, butter, low-fat milk, Greek yogurt).
- Carbohydrates: Tubers (sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, turnips), butternut squash, legumes (beans, peas, peanuts), whole grains (oats, teff, arameth, quinoa, wheat, rye, barley, etc.) fruit (apples, berries, pears, citrus, melon, etc.).
- Vegetables: Lettuce, spinach, carrots, kale, onions, parsnips, arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.
- Fats: Olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avocado, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseeds, GOLO salad dressing
Foods to Avoid On the GOLO Diet
There are short-term, jump start versions of the GOLO Diet that are highly restrictive, but the GOLO for Life diet program mostly limits processed foods, sugary foods, and artificial sweeteners.
Examples of foods to avoid on the GOLO Diet include the following:
- Snacks: Breaded snacks, pork rinds, combos, potato chips, Jiffy pop, tater tots, packaged cookies, toaster pastries, candy, white chocolate, milk chocolate, anything with icing or frosting, pepperoni, cheese dip, etc.
- Processed Meats: Lunch meats and cold cuts, sausage, bacon, hot dogs, etc.
- Frozen Dinners: Frozen pizza, frozen entrees, frozen prepared lasagna, frozen Chinese foods dishes, frozen pot pies, etc.
- Certain Bread Products: Canned and prepared biscuits and croissants, pies, donuts, muffins, snack cakes, cakes, cookies, prepared granolas with oils, danishes, tortillas, sweetened cereals, etc.
- Sauces and Condiments: Mayo, creamy salad dressings, any salad dressing with hydrogenated oils, gravy, sweetened jellies and jams, chocolate syrup, pancake syrup, etc.
- Beverages: Fruit juices, sugar-sweetened beverages, soda, etc.
- Sugary Foods and artificial sweeteners
Related: Ideal Body Weight Range Calculator
Is the GOLO Diet a Good Option for Healthy Weight Loss?
Overall, the GOLO Diet has a lot of great things going for it in terms of being a healthy and sustainable diet for weight-loss.
It focuses on consuming healthy, natural foods, eating balanced meals, stabilizing blood sugar by focusing on low glycemic foods, and eliminating processed foods, sugars, and artificial sweeteners.
Exercise is encouraged, with a minimum guideline to achieve 15 minutes per day. High-intensity workouts are preferred. This is one of the strengths of the GOLO Diet over other conventional weight loss diets, which often exclude an exercise component.
People with diabetes or insulin resistance, or who are pregnant or take other medications and supplements should definitely consult their physician before starting GOLO for Life because of the potential interaction of the supplement.
There is some scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of the GOLO Diet. The studies have been relatively small and most seem to be carried out by GOLO.
With that said, these studies have indeed demonstrated that the GOLO Diet can lead to significant weight loss.
How Much Does the GOLO Diet Cost?
The GOLO Diet cost is relatively low. The GOLO for Life plan itself is free, but in order to access the eating plan, you have to purchase the Release supplement.
One bottle of 90 GOLO Release capsules costs $59.95.
You are supposed to take one capsule per meal, so one bottle lasts 30 days.
GOLO says one bottle is good for those looking to lose 10-20 pounds, while two bottles ($99.90) is encouraged for those wanting to lose 21-40 pounds, and those wanting to lose 41-60 pounds are advised to purchase three bottles ($119.85 total).
GOLO Reviews
One thing seems pretty undeniable: the GOLO Diet reviews are overwhelmingly positive.
GOLO reports that they have over 2,000,000 happy customers and a 98% customer satisfaction rating with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.
There are nearly 22,000 published GOLO Diet reviews, roughly 18,000 of which are five-star reviews. This speaks to the effectiveness of the GOLO Diet.
Therefore, while there may be little independent scientific research on the diet, there are plenty of testimonials and happy customers.
If you are looking for other popular diet options, check out our nutritional guides here.
