Can't get Wegovy? The 'natural Wegovy' diet taking over social media

"If you can't get Wegovy, at least try the natural Wegovy."

A diet dubbed the "natural Wegovy" is spreading rapidly across social media. It is a weight-loss regimen designed to mimic the effects of obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro through food alone. However, experts caution against eating the same meal on repeat.

Wegovy mimics GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), a hormone the body naturally produces. Secreted in the intestines after meals, GLP-1 increases feelings of fullness and lowers blood sugar. Wegovy works by activating the receptor proteins on cell surfaces that receive this hormone's signals, prolonging both the sensation of fullness and the blood sugar regulation that follows a meal.

In South Korea, a four-week supply costs between the late 200,000 won ($131) range and the mid-400,000 won range. The most common side effects are gastrointestinal reactions, including nausea, diarrhea and abdominal discomfort.

The "natural Wegovy" diet gained attention precisely because it carries none of those side effects or costs. It went viral last month after Woo Chang-yun, an internal medicine specialist, introduced it on the medical YouTube channel "Doctor Friends."

Woo, who runs his own clinic, outlined the "natural Wegovy" morning formula as a combination of about 20 grams of protein, 10 to 15 grams of fat and soluble dietary fiber. His recommended menu: two fried eggs drizzled with olive oil, served with fruit on the side.

"Even at the same caloric intake, the amount of GLP-1 secreted varies considerably depending on which nutrients you eat," he said. "A protein-centered meal triggers GLP-1 secretion most powerfully and sustainably." He added that eating a protein- and fat-focused breakfast is particularly effective, and that it also produces a "secondary effect" of preventing a sharp blood sugar spike at the next meal.

The basic recipe calls for two to three eggs with olive oil or perilla oil, paired with fruits rich in soluble fiber such as apples, kiwi and blueberries. Greek yogurt or soy milk can be added for extra protein. Social media is filled with posts tagging the combination as an "appetite-killing combo" and a "fullness maximizer," alongside personal accounts such as "one month without injections — how I lost weight on the natural Wegovy diet."

Song, a Seoul office worker in her 30s, said she experienced the diet's effects firsthand. "I tried it for breakfast after watching the YouTube video, and I genuinely felt full," she said. "I had two eggs with olive oil, Greek yogurt and cucumber."

Research also supports the idea that high-protein, low-glycemic eating helps sustain weight loss. A study by a European research consortium, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2010, found that participants who ate high-protein, low-glycemic foods after losing weight either maintained their lower weight or lost more. By contrast, those in the low-protein, high-glycemic group frequently gave up midway due to hunger and regained the weight.

The "natural Wegovy" diet, however, has no clinical evidence proving it delivers the same efficacy as the Wegovy drug.

Chae Gyu-hui, director of the Fat Stem Cell Center at 365mc Nowon, said the diet "may help increase feelings of fullness to some degree," but added that it "cannot be seen as producing the same effects as actual Wegovy." She explained that Wegovy is a prescription drug that affects appetite regulation and gastric emptying, making it difficult to reproduce the same physiological effects through food alone. "It is more appropriate to understand the term as social media shorthand," she said.

While the meal is fine as an occasional option, eating it exclusively on repeat is hard to recommend. "Repeating a specific diet can lead to nutritional imbalance, which is unfavorable for maintaining muscle mass and can ultimately lower basal metabolic rate rather than reduce body fat," Chae said.

To offset nutritional imbalance, a variety of nutrients should be consumed alongside the diet, including adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and sweet potatoes. Olive oil and perilla oil are healthy unsaturated fats, but their high caloric density means they should be consumed in moderation.

"Weight loss and body management require improvements in overall eating habits, exercise and lifestyle — not just a single specific food — before results can be expected," Chae said.