Want to lose weight without lifting a finger? Prescription GLP-1 drugs might be the answer. Medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro promise to peel off the pounds by mimicking a hormone naturally made by your body to reduce hunger signals and food cravings, GLP-1.[1]
That said, GLP-1 medications aren’t cheap. In fact, a 2025 study published in JAMA cites steep list prices (over $1000 a month) and spotty insurance coverage as top reasons why most people seeking to lose weight quit taking meds like Ozempic or Vaxenda within a year.[2] Not to mention the potential unwanted side effects like nausea, constipation, bloating, and a concerningly low appetite make it hard to stick it out long-term.
This leaves many people who want to lose weight on the hunt for alternatives. As always, Tiktok is on it with food concoctions like “oatzempic” and supplements touted as “natural GLP-1s” or “nature’s Ozempic.” But can you really increase GLP-1 naturally?
What is GLP-1?
GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, is a hormone your gut naturally releases after you eat. It plays a role in regulating appetite, blood sugar levels, and digestion which helps with weight management in a few specific ways.[3] GLP-1 can:
- Slow how fast your stomach empties (gastric emptying), so you feel full longer.
- Increase insulin, which naturally lowers your blood sugar.
- Send signals to your brain to reduce hunger and appetite.
For most people, GLP-1 does its thing efficiently behind the scenes. However, conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes—and lifestyle choices like eating too many sweets or being sedentary—can cause insulin resistance or speed up gastric emptying.[4, 5] This can make weight loss more challenging.
Many prescriptions such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), tirzepatide (Mounjaro), and liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) are called GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) because they mimic high levels of GLP-1. This heightened effect slows down digestion and prompts you to stop eating, making it easier to stay in a caloric deficit for weight loss.
Can You Naturally Increase GLP-1?
Your GLP-1 levels naturally spike when you eat healthy foods, work out, and get enough sleep.[6, 7, 8] But the effect only lasts for a couple of minutes, as opposed to GLP-1 medications—which last for a week.
To be clear, studies suggest that GLP-1s generally lead to greater and faster weight loss results than relying solely on lifestyle changes like diet and exercise.[9, 10] If you’re looking for the fastest way to lose weight, research points to combined GLP-1s and lifestyle changes.
Even though weight loss from lifestyle changes is typically slower, it’s more sustainable. A healthy lifestyle can help get the underlying causes of weight gain or weight loss resistance—like metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance, food noise, body composition, etc.—in check. This can help you keep the weight off and improve your health long-term.
Natural Ways to Boost GLP-1
To give your GLP-1 levels a natural lift, make this your playbook.
Eat better
Eating food (in general) naturally increases GLP-1. But foods that fill you up and keep you satisfied—particularly, protein, fat, and fiber—trigger a greater release of GLP-1.[11] These foods slow down digestion, helping you feel full while consuming less.
Your goal: Aim to get at least one serving of protein, healthy fats, or fiber with each snack and meal to increase GLP-1 and boost satiety. (Spoiler: Keep reading for a full foods list.)
Exercise
Staying active can help reduce insulin resistance, allowing your body to respond better to its natural GLP-1 signals. Studies have found that moderate- to high-intensity cardio are best for increasing GLP-1, but regular exercise (even if it’s low intensity) helps.[7]
Your goal: Find exercise you enjoy and do that regularly, aiming for at least 150 minutes a week (pro tip: check out the SunnyFit app for ideas). Then, pick up the pace a few days a week for a GLP-1 boost.
Sleep
Snoozing in bed may seem counterintuitive to weight loss, but it turns out not getting enough sleep can wreak havoc on your GLP-1 levels.[12] One study found that those with an out-of-whack sleep schedule (due to factors like night shift work or insomnia) tend to have a low GLP-1 response and a high risk of insulin resistance and obesity.[13]
Your goal: Get seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night to improve GLP-1 levels.[8]
Reduce chronic stress
Chronic stress can cause an overproduction of the hormone cortisol. These prolonged periods of high cortisol levels put your body into a seemingly never-ending “fight or flight” response, which has been linked to weight gain and visceral fat storage, and decreases in GLP-1.[14, 15, 16]
Your goal: Find ways to squash stress. Meditate, pray, go on a walk, spend quality time with family and friends, journal, or make time for self-care.
Foods That Boost GLP-1
Quick refresher: The best foods for supporting GLP-1 production are fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts; protein-rich foods like eggs, meat, and tofu; and healthy fats like olive oil, avocados, and nuts and seeds. These foods boost satiety, slow digestion, and reduce blood sugar spikes.
Ideally, your plate should involve a mix of all three. But simply adding any of these foods to a meal or snack can help increase GLP-1:
Fiber-rich foods
- Whole grains (like oats, brown rice, quinoa, barley)
- Fruits (like berries, apples, and bananas)
- Vegetables (like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and spinach)
- Legumes (like beans, lentils, and chickpeas)
- Flaxseeds
- Chia seeds
Protein-rich foods
- Fish
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Lean beef
- Eggs
- Tofu and soybeans
- Cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
Healthy fats
Specifically monounsaturated fats and omega-3-rich fats found in:
- Fish (especially salmon, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies)
- Avocado and avocado oil
- Olives and olive oil
- Nuts and seeds (like almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds)
Can Supplements Boost GLP-1?
Supplements such as berberine, psyllium, bitter melon, green tea, ginger, and turmeric have been touted as easy ways to boost GLP-1. But research showing that these supplements actually work in humans is limited (most was done in a lab or on animals). Some of these supplements may exert more of an effect than others, but we need more research to say for sure.
What is clear: No supplement comes close to the effectiveness of GLP-1s. And unlike prescription medications, the FDA doesn’t require supplement companies to prove a supplement is safe or effective before it hits store shelves. If your doctor suggests trying a supplement, look for one that’s third-party certified, which ensures that the product is labeled accurately and free of contaminants.
The Bottom Line
GLP-1 agonist meds like Ozempic can speed up the weight loss process, but you can increase your GLP-1 levels naturally by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and reducing chronic stress. These practices can also improve body composition, metabolic health, and insulin sensitivity, which ultimately leads to more sustainable weight loss and better health in the long haul.
REFERENCES
1. Wilding, J. et al. (2021). Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33567185/.
2. Rodriguez, P. et al. (2025). Discontinuation and Reinitiation of Dual-Labeled GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Among US Adults With Overweight or Obesity. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2829779.
3. Nauck, M. et al. (2024). The Evolving Story of Incretins (GIP and GLP-1) in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease: A Pathophysiological Update. https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dom.14496.
4. National Institutes of Health (2018). Insulin Resistance & Prediabetes. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/prediabetes-insulin-resistance.
5. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America (2019). Stomach Emptying. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/stomach-emptying.
6. Bodnaruc, A. et al. (2016). Nutritional Modulation of Endogenous Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Secretion: A Review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5148911/.
7. Hamasaki, H. (2018). Exercise and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1: Does Exercise Potentiate the Effect of Treatment?. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6107470/.
8. Reutrakul, S. et al. (2017). The Relationship Between Sleep and Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 in Patients with Abnormal Glucose Tolerance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6107470/.
9. Jensterle, M. et al. (2022). Efficacy of GLP-1 RA Approved for Weight Management in Patients With or Without Diabetes: A Narrative Review. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9063254/.
10. Jensen, S. et al. (2024). Healthy Weight Loss Maintenance with Exercise, GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, or Both Combined Followed by One Year without Treatment: A Post-Treatment Analysis of a Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00054-3/.
11. Hira, T. et al. (2021). Improvement of Glucose Tolerance by Food Factors Having Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Releasing Activity. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8235588/.
12. Liu, C. et al. (2022). Circadian Secretion Rhythm of GLP-1 and Its Influencing Factors. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9755352/.
13. Schettini, M. et al. (2023). Shift Work and Metabolic Syndrome Updates: A Systematic Review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10325847/.
14. Hewagalamulage, S. et al. (2016). Stress, Cortisol, and Obesity: A Role for Cortisol Responsiveness in Identifying Individuals Prone to Obesity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27345309/.
15. Cleveland Clinic (2022). Visceral Fat. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24147-visceral-fat.
16. Scherntheiner-Reiter, M. et al. (2021). The Interaction of Insulin and Pituitary Hormone Syndromes. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8113952/.
