Imagine shedding weight without altering your diet or sweating it off in the gym.

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute now say it is possible. In their study, published last week in the journal Nature Communications, they have discovered that a neuropeptide hormone, FLP-7, acts like a fat-burning trigger.

The researchers, led by Supriya Srinivasan, started off, attempting to grasp how serotonin, a neuromodulator between the brain and the gut, triggers fat loss. They conducted a series of experiments on Caenorhabditis elegans, or roundworms, whose simple metabolism and capability to produce neurological signals similar to those of the human brain make them the go-to lab organisms.

Erasing roundworms’ genes one by one in order to determine their relevance for serotonin’s fat-paring faculties, the scientists identified the fat-reducing effects of FLP-7, which had previously been linked to muscle contraction. Released by brain neurons, which respond to heightened levels of serotonin, FLP-7 flows into the circulatory system, switching on the fat-effacing process in the gut, without impacting food intake. What is even better, FLP-7 exhibits none of serotonin’s side effects that range from dizziness to mood swings to headaches.

Before you rejoice, however, these preliminary findings are still to be subject to further, more comprehensive tests. And, it might be years, before FLP-7-enhanced weight-loss drugs hit the shelves.