Let Your Body Do the Work: Activate Your Naturally Occurring GLP-1 Hormones for Healthy, Sustainable Weight Loss and Long-Term Health

by Anette Sams

A groundbreaking handbook for activating your body's naturally occurring weight-loss hormones without relying on medication, from the former director at Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company behind Wegovy and Ozempic

In 2022, the world changed drastically when GLP-1 medications became popular in the market. But with prices soaring and production restricted, the benefits of these drugs are not accessible to all. The good news is the major component in these drugs mimics the effect of one of the body's very own natural weight-loss hormones—so why not let your body do the work?

For more than twenty years, Dr. Anette Sams has worked as a pharmaceutical researcher—including six years at Novo Nordisk, where she specialized in and led research on blood sugar, diabetes, and inflammation—and she's now sharing her expertise worldwide. In Let Your Body Do the Work, Sams explains how the naturally occurring GLP-1 hormone works in the body and shares practical, everyday tips on how to activate it through nutrition and lifestyle tweaks.

This powerful hormone can not only help to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, but also regulate blood sugar and appetite, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, support satiety, and support natural prevention of common diseases. An instant bestseller in Denmark, Let Your Body Do the Work is your resource for accessing the benefits of healthy, active weight-loss hormones without the hefty price tag.

"It should never be easier to get expensive injections than to understand our own hormones. The world needs both medication and education." —Anette Sams

176 pages, Paperback

Expected publication June 23, 2026

Reviews

[Bookbubble · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 ⭐

This is basic diet info, not a manual for "activating" your natural GLP-1 hormones.

Let Your Body Do the Work’s description suggests a deeper book about the body’s natural GLP-1 hormones, written by someone with real pharmaceutical research experience. I went in already knowing GLP-1 is a hormone the body makes. What I wanted was more on how the GLP-1 the body makes compares to medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide, what lifestyle can realistically do, and where the line is between supporting natural GLP-1 and pretending you can get Ozempic-adjacent results by eating brown rice, boiled chicken, and broccoli every meal.

The book has a good amount of science about L-cells, digestion, insulin, food structure, and the GLP-1 hormone. The author clearly knows the biology. When she stays in the science, the book is interesting. The problem is that the science keeps turning into wrapping paper for the same tired wellness advice every “expert” doles out: eat unprocessed food, eat more vegetables, exercise, sleep, leave time between meals, and try cold exposure.

The book went off the rails when it promised practical, everyday tips on how to activate your GLP-1, but the plan it proposes is basic wellness rules with GLP-1 language glued on top. If you bought this hoping to learn how to get some of the same effects as a GLP-1 medication without taking one, this does not deliver. It explains why whole foods, vegetables, movement, sleep, and meal spacing may support your body’s own GLP-1 response. There's nothing here a dietitian can't tell you. The author's dieting advice is not the same as spelling out a clear or realistic plan for activating GLP-1 in a meaningful way.

The diet advice is not useful or new. The book spends a lot of time on fiber, but fails to differentiate soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, fermentable fiber, resistant starch, or how those differences affect digestion, satiety, blood sugar, gut bacteria, and GLP-1 signaling. If your whole argument is built around fiber, food structure, and nutrients reaching L-cells lower in the gut, what are people supposed to do if cabbage, beans, lentils, raw vegetables, or whole grains wreck their GI system? Not everyone can just chow down 100g fiber every day. A lot of people are sensitive to fiber and it causes gastric inflammation and distress.

The ultra-processed food discussion also slid hard into clean-eating logic. A protein bar, flavored yogurt, cereal, plant milk, bread, processed meat, and soda are not all the same food just because they are processed, and a food not being great for GLP-1 activation does not mean it has no place in someone’s diet. It turns a specific digestion-and-hormone argument into a sloppy clean-eating list, where very different foods get treated like the same problem. You can lose weight and still eat bread, cereal, protein bars, flavored yogurt, sauces, or other processed foods.

Another problem with the food advice is that it assumes privilege and ideal conditions: enough money, easy food access, good storage, a flexible schedule, and the ability to follow a fresh-food-heavy plan for longer than a week.

There are also a few topics the book noticeably avoids that should have been addressed. It fails to acknowledge the role sodium and saturated fat play in harming people's diets. These deficits stood out because the author mentions heart disease, but then recommends foods like cheese, cream, beef, lamb, coconut milk, and dairy fat without giving those issues the same energy she gives sugar and ultra-processed foods. If heart disease is part of the conversation, saturated fat and sodium can't just sit in the corner untouched.

The framing around GLP-1 medication is also troubling, particularly because the author worked for Novo Nordisk. The book does not come out and say “don’t take GLP-1 meds,” but there is a clear moral tilt toward "natural activation." Pop-wellness culture phrases like “magic hormone,” “switches,” (refers to biohacking) and asking the body to produce more GLP-1 push the book into influencer wellness territory and out of science- and evidence-backed research. Calling medication users “passive injection users” was especially reductive. People using GLP-1 meds are not passive. They are using medical treatment for a complex metabolic issue. That's like accusing people with high blood pressure of being "passive pill poppers" because they take blood pressure medication instead of trying harder to lower it "naturally." Turning medical treatment into a natural-versus-medication lifestyle morality play is not neutral education.

This book cross-pollinates science and influencer wellness content. It has GLP-1 science and uses legitimate biology to sell the same whole-food lifestyle plan people have heard forever. But it presents the information without adding anything new, practical, or specific. She also skips parts of the current conversation, like berberine. The efficacy of berberine does have science behind it, even if the evidence base is not huge, but people are already seeing it marketed as “nature’s Ozempic,” an overhyped marketing phrase. I’m not saying she needed to recommend it. I’m saying a book about natural metabolic tools should have addressed it in some manner.

Sams has the background to write a useful GLP-1 book. But instead of giving a clear explanation of the body’s own GLP-1, how it compares to medication, and what lifestyle can realistically do, the book turns into science-washed wellness advice. If I wanted “eat unprocessed food, eat vegetables, exercise, and sleep,” I could get that from the American Diabetes Association website in more detail and with more practical application, including recipes, which this book does not have. I'm sad to report that this book didn't add anything useful to the practical GLP-1 conversation.

[Bookish Emili Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let Your Body Do the Work by Anette Sams, PhD, presents an accessible overview of how the body regulates hunger, metabolism, and energy. The book focuses on biological processes and aims to explain why traditional approaches to diet and weight control can feel difficult to sustain. Sams makes a consistent effort to ground her points in physiology, which gives the book a clear sense of direction.
One of its strengths is readability. The author explains scientific concepts in plain language, making the material approachable for a general audience. Complex ideas about hormones, appetite, and metabolic signals are broken down into manageable pieces, which helps readers engage with the subject without needing a technical background. The tone remains steady and informative throughout.
The book also does a solid job of reinforcing a central idea: that the body has built-in systems designed to regulate balance. This perspective can be useful for readers who are frustrated with rigid or overly prescriptive diet advice. Sams encourages a more adaptive and responsive approach, which may resonate with those looking for a less restrictive framework.
That said, the book can feel somewhat repetitive. Key concepts are revisited frequently without adding much new detail, which slows the overall pace. In some sections, the argument relies on broad claims that would benefit from more precise evidence or clearer sourcing. Readers who want a deeper or more technical analysis may find the discussion somewhat limited.
There is also a tendency to stay at a general level. While the ideas are clear, the book offers fewer detailed, step-by-step applications than some readers might expect. The guidance leans more toward principles than specific strategies, which can leave practical implementation somewhat open-ended.
Overall, Let Your Body Do the Work offers a clear and accessible introduction to the body’s internal regulation systems. It presents a useful perspective, but the limited depth and repetition hold it back from being more impactful. It is a reasonable choice for readers looking for a broad, easy-to-understand overview, though those seeking more detailed guidance may come away wanting more.

[Karisa]

Let Your Body Do the Work is not what I was expecting it to be. There is a lot of relevant science and biology explained that I felt was somewhat helpful, but often felt repetitive and overwhelming to me. I was hopeful for something really useful, new, and groundbreaking--but felt like what I was left with was everything I already knew: eat unprocessed foods, lots of veggies, exercise, and prioritize sleep. I do have a little understanding now as to why those things are helpful on a cellular level. I think there are a lot of cultural, environmental , and genetic factors that aren't accounted for. It feels written with a strong undertone that anyone can do this and lose unwanted body fat when I think in reality there are a lot more influences that aren't recognized. Overall, I think it's definitely informative as to the why behind the basics of healthy habits, but not wonderfully exciting new habits to try. I am thankful to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the ARC!