Research

Hormonal

A 12-week low-glycemic index (LGI) diet produces significantly greater reductions in waist circumference, LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and leptin, along with greater increases in GLP-1, compared to a matched low-energy diet (LED) in women with excess body weight, without causing a decline in resting metabolic rate.

To improve your metabolic health and reduce belly fat, switch to a low-glycemic index diet for 12 weeks. Focus on eating foods with a GI of 55 or less freely, limit moderate-GI foods to two servings a day, and avoid high-GI foods. You do not need to strictly count calories; eat until you are satisfied. This approach has been shown to lower bad cholesterol, reduce belly fat more effectively than standard dieting, and improve hormonal markers like GLP-1 without slowing down your metabolism.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Both diets had a beneficial effect on monitored parameters; however, the LGI diet was shown to be superior in reducing waist circumference, LDL, non-HDL cholesterol, leptin, and HbA1c, and in increasing GLP-1 levels without decline in RMR.
Ewa Lange et al. · Nutrients · 2025

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with 46 participants, clear statistical significance for key outcomes, but short duration (12 weeks).

Source

The Effect of a Low-Energy and Low-Glycemic Diet on Adipose Tissue Metabolism and Energy Expenditure in Women with Excess Body Weight

Ewa Lange et al. · Nutrients · 2025

DOI 10.3390/nu17233789

rct · n=46
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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