Here’s what you need to know

As for the nutrition plan included with every purchase, as Yawitz points out, it’s basically just a completely portion-controlled 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 spiked insulin levels cause slow metabolismwhich, in turn, is responsible for weight gain.

To take this a step further, GOLO argues that you won’t store excess when you can control your insulin levels sugar in your bloodwhich your body then stores as fat. Controlled insulin levels lead to regulated weight.

The company makes this claim based on staff of doctors and pharmacistsalthough GOLO will not disclose the names and affiliations of these experts.

To believe, the diet is GOLO, unlike Whole30 or ketoit does not prevent or severely restrict you from eating whole food groups, such as carbohydrates (or sugar, a type of carb).

Instead, the GOLO diet focuses on eating whole, unprocessed and unrefined foods. Specifically, at mealtimes, a GOLO dieter would choose one or two servings from each category – proteins, carbs, vegetables and fats.

A GOLO dieter eats three meals a day, with breakfast and lunch larger than dinner. The diet allows for snacks if you go longer than four to five hours between meals or exercise.

While this type of eating plan can work, this is where the GOLO diet starts to look into questionable territory.

End of supplement.

What is a GOLO, Release supplement?

One of the central components of the GOLO diet is a supplement called Discharge. The company claims that Release will help jump-start your body’s ability to regulate insulin, increase your metabolism, and burn more fat.

In addition to weight loss, the GOLO reports that Release offers “multidimensional therapeutic benefits,” such as increased energy, reduced fatigue, better immune function, reduced cravings, balanced blood sugar and insulin, and lower stress and anxiety.

But then the price is not released.

One bottle costs $59.95. Two bottles run $99.90, and three bottles cost $119.85. You can only buy the supplement through the company. All orders come with the GOLO for Life Plan, which the website says provides strategies to help you “focus on what your body needs rather than depriving yourself”.

Purchase Issue also gives you access to online resources and tools, such as meal plans and recipes.

What is the main ingredient in GOLO release pills?

GOLO Markets Released as “plant-based” (whatever that is means). And, it says the supplement contains seven plant-based ingredients and three minerals.

Here’s what Release actually contains, according to the company: 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 fiber, stearate, and silica.

*These three ingredients are the only ones with amounts listed on the label. The amounts of the other ingredients are not disclosed, however, as the formulation is patented.

Zinc, magnesium, and chromium are minerals involved in energy release—but that doesn’t mean they increase your metabolism, says Nyree Dardarian, Ed.D., RDNassistant clinical professor at the Drexel University Department of Nutritional Sciences.

“That’s a big leap that a lot of supplement companies make, and they’re free to make these false claims because they’re not regulated by the FDA,” she says. “The supplement also contains other plant-based nutrients, all of which have no supporting evidence for weight loss.”

Supplements, like Release, do not need to be approved by the FDA.

All three minerals in Release (zinc, chromium, and magnesium) provide health benefits, but Pike says it’s best to consume these nutrients from food sources.

And, before taking any supplement, she says it’s best to talk to your healthcare provider, especially if you’re taking other medications. You need to know about any potential interactions or other issues.

What is the GOLO diet meal plan.

The GOLO diet recommends eating proteins, carbs, and fats, and provides guidance for acceptable whole foods that fall into each category. Lean protein, such as fish, seafood, and poultry, includes healthy fats such as olive oil, and healthy carbs such as fruit, vegetablesand whole grains.

Processed foods with added sugars should be limited. GOLO diets can be adapted to preferences for veganvegetarian, gluten-free, and other diets.

Here’s an example of what a daily GOLO meal plan would look like, according to Dardarian:

• Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs with one slice of whole grain toast
• Lunch: 3 ounces of chicken breast over 1/2 cup quinoa, 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup mixed vegetables, olive oil, and lemon juice
• Dinner: 4 ounces salmon, mixed vegetable stirfry, and 1/2 cup brown rice

Does the GOLO and Release diet help with weight loss?

Approach with caution, says Abby Langer, RD, founder of Abby Langer Nutrition.

First, the idea that eating certain foods can significantly improve your metabolic rate or overall “metabolic health,” says Langer.

In fact: “There’s really nothing you can eat to increase your metabolism until you’ve had a significant change in weight,” says Langer. “Your metabolism is subject to genetics and muscle mass and, of course, hormones. But there are so many factors that something you eat won’t really change it.”

Yes, there is a link between theories increased insulin and weight gainbut scientists are still not sure which hormones control metabolism and weight.

“It’s a theory of reason. It hasn’t been studied much in humans,” says Langer. “We 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 its recommendations don’t require you to eliminate food groups, which is a smart way to eat – you don’t have to eat the GOLO diet on the this way.

And you certainly don’t need a supplement to eat this way either, says Langer.

“The release is just a supplement. Although it might not be physically harmful, I don’t recommend it,” she says.

Issuance is not an FDA approved supplement for weight loss. (The FDA has given approval for weight loss prescriptions, however, the list it’s slim.)

Does GOLO help boost immunity?

It’s not that simple.

Your immunity is not even something you can “boost,” and to suggest otherwise oversimplifies a complex system that depends on many things: exercise, sleep, stress, and also diet, but not only diet.

But what about GOLO’s success stories and research?

GOLO dieters are said to have lost more than 100 pounds in just 12 months, and that could refuse someone who is looking to lose weight.

Except that weight loss may have come not from GOLO’s advertised ability to help regulate insulin, but instead from a switch from processed foods to whole foods, says Langer.

While GOLO strongly adheres to the theory that insulin resistance drives 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 give followers a result they can’t measure.”

And the research cited by the company?

“The research studies was made to support GOLO’s claims which were small,” she says. “The company did the studies. 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 way to have an effective diet is to talk to a registered dietitian and carve out a plan that fits your life, goals and your eating habits.

And consider this, as with all diets: If there was one diet that everyone could lose weight on and keep it off forever – wouldn’t everyone already be on that diet?

Should you do the GOLO diet?

You better save your money.

“It’s a passport for this registered dietitian,” he says Alyssa Pike, RD., senior nutrition communications manager for the International Council for Food Information. “The GOLO diet is basically 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, the research on the supplement is lacking to back up its claims. “It’s barely been studied at all, and the only two studies that have existed have been done by paid consultants,” says Yawitz.

Yawitz calls GOLO “a fad diet, plain and simple.” Most men could lose weight by eating mostly whole foods in moderate portions—no supplements are needed.