“Can I curb my appetite and lose weight without ever using the GLP-1 jabs — Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro? And if I am using one, can I keep the weight off when I stop, or will it all come back?” These are two of the questions I hear most often at the moment. Let's be honest from the start: no food replicates the effect of a drug. But you can genuinely support your own GLP-1 — your body's natural fullness system — through the way you eat and live.
What GLP-1 actually is
GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a fullness hormone your body makes itself, released mainly from the L-cells in the last part of your small intestine and in your large intestine. In short, it signals fullness, slows how quickly your stomach empties and helps steady your blood sugar after a meal. Here's the lovely part: one of the strongest triggers for those cells is the short-chain fatty acids your gut bacteria produce when they ferment fibre. So the hormone really begins in your gut — and in how you feed it.
The drug's effect, or your own hormone?
This distinction matters. The medicines deliver a very high, pharmacological dose of GLP-1 from outside the body, which is why they can switch appetite off almost completely. But that borrowed effect ends when the drug stops. When you support your own production through food, the effect is far gentler — I'm not claiming it matches an injection — but it belongs to your own system and it lasts. One reminder: these are prescription-only medicines, and the decision to start, stop or adjust one belongs entirely to your doctor.
A plate that supports your own GLP-1
We focus on three things: protein, fibre and healthy fats.
- Protein is the most satiating macronutrient and one of the strongest natural supporters of appetite regulation. Aiming for roughly 20–30g at each main meal is a good start — think eggs, yoghurt, kefir, fish, lentils and chickpeas.
- Fibre is the real fuel for your gut bacteria. Aim for around 30g a day; legumes, wholegrains, oats, plenty of vegetables and fruit, chia and flaxseed make that very doable.
- Healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado and a handful of raw nuts, plus oily fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies) two or three times a week. In return, keep ultra-processed foods, refined sugar and artificial sweeteners to a minimum — they don't do your gut diversity any favours.
Order can help as much as content: vegetables first, then protein, and carbohydrates last. Small studies suggest this sequence can meaningfully blunt the rise in blood sugar after a meal. Popular add-ons like apple cider vinegar have only limited, mixed evidence, so don't feel you need them.
A GLP-1-friendly day
For breakfast, two or three eggs over some greens or grilled vegetables, with half an avocado or a slice of wholemeal bread. At lunch, a bowl of lentil soup or a chickpea-and-quinoa salad with a side of yoghurt or kefir. If you need a snack, an apple and a few walnuts. In the evening, salad first, then protein, then a healthy carbohydrate. The formula is simple: protein at every meal, fibre every day, healthy fats regularly.
Will the weight come back if you stop?
For most people some of the weight does tend to return — and that is biology, not a failure of willpower. When the drug stops, appetite returns and the body works to reclaim what it lost. In the extension of the STEP 1 trial, a year after stopping weekly semaglutide participants had regained about two-thirds of the weight they had lost. That's exactly why coming off should never be unplanned: a gradual, doctor-supervised transition, a protein- and fibre-forward pattern that supports your own GLP-1, enough sleep and regular movement all make the change more sustainable. For protecting muscle, hair and nutrition on the drugs, managing side effects, and the emotional side of eating, do see my other notes.
In short, strengthening your own GLP-1 won't stand in for an injection — but it means doing small, daily kindnesses for the system that regulates your appetite, whether you never plan to start a drug or hope to come off one someday.
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I've also covered this topic on my YouTube channel — press play if you'd rather watch than read.
This article is for general information and isn't a substitute for individualised advice from your own doctor or dietitian.
Merve Tığlı, Dietitian
Sources: Wilding et al. — STEP 1 trial extension, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (2022); NHS — How to get more fibre into your diet; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition — review on protein in weight loss and maintenance (2023); Tolhurst et al. — short-chain fatty acids and GLP-1, Diabetes (2012).