Can CBD Help You Lose Weight?

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound extracted from the hemp plant that people have long put to a variety of uses. From providing relief for symptoms of anxiety to stimulating weight loss or appetite suppression, certain CBD products can do wonders for the human body. 

Banks conservatively estimate that CBD will be a $16 billion industry by 2025, growing at such a popular rate due to the variety and demand that there’s no sign of it slowing down in sight. Today, we’ll be talking about CBD’s potential to help us lose weight, what we must do to help stimulate the process easier, and everything in between.

We touch briefly on what CBD is for most of our guides and blogs, so please feel free to check out our more detailed explanations if you want more than a quick summary. CBD, however, is one of the 400+ compounds that can be found within the hemp plant. With extraction methods made legal thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill legalizing industrial hemp, we now see CBD extracted into oils, gummies, edibles, capsules, and more.

While there is still much to learn about CBD, we do know many consumers have started incorporating it into their daily routine to promote general wellness, stimulate overall health in various bodily systems, and help relieve a variety of symptoms like types of pain, inflammation, and mood.

The CBD industry is estimated to climb to an impressive $16 billion by 2025, but the weight loss industry is already a staggering $66 billion strong. In 2015-2016, it was estimated that over 93 million US adults are classified as obese, with the numbers continuing to climb drastically. Now, CBD products are expected to get in on the weight loss industry’s success, with a flourishing new method that may actually work.

Internationally and within the states, the obesity epidemic is at an all-time high, with few contenders capable of genuinely tackling the root of the problem. Scam weight loss supplements, prescription medications, quick and dirty fast-food diets, and lack of exercise are becoming more socially acceptable, leading to an entire nation’s weight gain.

That brings us to the core of our guide today, where we answer an important question: is CBD just another scam of a weight loss supplement; just another snake oil promising the world when it’s just expensive and ineffective?

Before we dive deeper, let’s first clarify something. CBD shouldn’t be considered a real weight loss supplement, or any other dietary supplement, for that matter. It may be able to promote weight loss indirectly, but everyone is different, and the FDA has not approved CBD for any of the things we’re going to mention. 

Always run taking CBD by your doctor or a certified medical professional before you incorporate it into your daily routine, especially if you are already taking medication. Likewise, every CBD brand is just as different as every human body; the right CBD product is inexpensive, effective, and does exactly what we need it to do.

Is there any truth to CBD potentially helping with weight loss? There’s not an easy “yes” or “no” answer here, but we want to break it down as best we can. We’re going to look at how different people respond to CBD for weight loss so you can better decide for yourself if adding CBD into your daily routine would help with your weight loss plan.

Firstly, there’s little evidence that CBD has a direct link to weight loss, as it’s so often advertised for. While there may not be a direct link, there is an indirect correlation we’ve seen through various studies and clinical trials. This correlation is that a consistent, daily dose of CBD can promote general wellness in some individuals, which can lead to weight reduction. By helping to improve the following aspects of health below, CBD may indirectly help someone lose weight.

Animal studies can potentially reflect similar results that something might have on humans when it’s related to the endocannabinoid system, which many mammals other than just humans possess. While we, of course, need more studies with human participants, we can see how CBD could affect weight through the animal studies we have now. 

Rats were dosed with CBD daily during a two-week study to look at CBD’s effect on weight reduction. The rats that were given higher doses of CBD saw the most significant weight reduction throughout the two week period. Another study on rats observed CBD’s ability to provide a reduction in food intake. 

The evidence from these trials suggests that CBD may be able to directly influence both food intake and metabolism throughout the body. We look forward to more trials and studies with human participants to be able to further confirm our findings.

We possess two kinds of fat cells: white fat cells, and brown fat cells. The white cells are more predominant, helping to insulate the body and cushion the organs, as well as keep a steady supply of energy going. When there are too many white fat cells in excess, however, it can be a detriment to the body, even leading to chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.

Brown fat cells, on the other hand, are the cells that burn calories in order to generate heat. People at a healthy weight typically carry more brown fat cells in their bodies than those that are considered overweight or obese.

Ideally, the goal is to turn white fat cells into brown fat cells, usually through exercise, proper rest, and even exposing yourself to cold temperatures, in some cases. Research shows that CBD may also help with this conversion process of white to brown fat cells.

A test-tube study looked at how CBD promoted the browning of fat cells, promoting the good kind of fat cells that reduce the risk of various chronic conditions and successful weight loss in one fell swoop. We’re excited to see trials with human participants in the coming years to further confirm the thought that CBD might be capable of helping with this. 

Not every CBD brand is the same. On the contrary, most don’t match up to the quality you should expect from a hemp-derived company. When you’re looking for a CBD brand to secure cannabidiol products that could help with your weight reduction, look at how detailed their third-party testing is on their web platform. Make sure they’re using a whole plant extract and not just part of the hemp plant. Check where they’re sourcing their ingredients from and how and where their products are manufactured.

So, now that we know there may be some real science to CBD’s potential effects on weight loss, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty – how much CBD is it going to take before weight reduction is more likely?

Everyone’s endocannabinoid system is unique, so we all respond to CBD and other outside cannabinoids differently. Depending on many variables, including your sensitivity or tolerance to cannabinoids, your weight, and more, one person could need just 15mg CBD per day, while another person achieves the same results with 100mg CBD per day.

If you’re new to CBD, our best recommendation is to start with a small serving size and work your way up from there. Start with the minimum serving size listed on the product label, or less, especially if you’ve never tried the product before. Always take it easy, because you can always add more to your serving size later.

One thing to keep in mind: no weight-loss method, short of surgery, can happen immediately. As you discover your preferred serving size and integrate CBD into your daily routine, remember that it’s going to take consistent, routine use before you see the results you’re looking for.

Not something that happens overnight, try to stay vigilant with the times you take your CBD throughout the day. Taking the product too sporadically or inconsistently can mean you lose the stacking benefits you could be experiencing over time.

Generally speaking, it can take around 30 days of routine, daily use for CBD’s full potential to be achieved. Everyone is different, so you may feel more or less by that 30-day mark. A routine serving once or twice a day is what will help regulate and maintain the endocannabinoid system in the body, though, and that takes more than a few times to regulate completely.

You won’t feel as much the first day as you do after the first week, which will feel like nothing after the first month. In conclusion, CBD for weight loss may be a viable option, though we look forward to seeing more research on the matter. Adding CBD into your daily routine could tremendously help your efforts to optimize your efforts, enhance your results, and promote your general wellness overall.