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Herbal Pharmacist

Weight Management: Keep the Muscle and Lose the Fat

by | Mar 19, 2025 | Aging Gracefully, Blood Sugar, Exercise & Fitness, General Health, Heart Health, Men's Health, muscle health, weight management, Weight Mangament, Women's health

Weight management has been a common topic for decades. The introduction of GLP-1 agonist drugs has upended this category. While the nutraceutical industry clamors to “be like Mike,” we overlook the real goal of weight management: maintaining muscle and losing fat. It is well documented that the GLP-1 agonist category leads to a significant loss of muscle mass (lean mass) of 39-40%[i][ii]. However, an even more staggering fact is often overlooked:

A calorie-restrictive diet will cause people to lose a significant portion of their lean mass.

People of “normal weight” will lose up to 35% of their lean mass on a calorie-restricted diet, while overweight or obese people lose “only” 30%.[iii]

Why does this matter?  A loss of skeletal muscle mass reduces strength[iv] and lowers resting metabolic rate (sometimes called basal metabolic rate (BMR))[v]. BMR is the minimum number of calories the body needs to sustain life. BMR breaks down like this[vi]:

  • Basic Life Processes: ~70% of total energy (example: breathing, heart pump, body temperature, and transmission of hormones in the body)
  • Activity-induced energy: ~20% of energy expenditure
  • Diet-related and food digestion; ~10% energy expenditure.

While many people celebrate their weight management program by seeing the number on the scale decreasing, what is happening beneath the surface may not be as beneficial as they think. In short, loss of lean body mass will also lower basal metabolic rate and lead to subsequent weight gain.[vii]

The secret to long-term weight management may be hidden in an area often overlooked:  Body Composition.

Body composition encompasses two components: body fat and fat-free mass (lean mass). Body fat can be divided into essential and excess types. Essential body fat is located in your organs, muscles, and brain, and it plays a crucial role in protecting and regulating vital functions. Conversely, excess fat, often called visceral fat, can accumulate around your digestive organs and heart, elevating your risk of serious health problems. Fat-free mass includes everything else, such as muscles, organs, fluids, bones, and more.

The Elephant in the Room

It is time for us to talk about weight management goals in the terms they should be: decreasing body fat while maintaining or increasing lean mass. For decades, the dietary supplement and functional food and beverage market has taken advantage of consumers with quick-fix ingredients that did little to improve their body composition. Now is the time to lean (no pun intended) on new science and some fantastic scientifically substantiated ingredients for weight management that have a positive impact on body composition:

  • Cissus quadrangularis (as CQR-300® from Gateway Health Alliance)—A recent study with CQR-300® showed a 12.8% reduction in body fat, 8.9% reduction in waist circumference, and 7.7% reduction in hip circumference in just eight weeks.[viii]
  • Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (as MOROSIL® from BIONAP)—Research with MOROSIL in a six-month study showed improvements in body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference, and body composition.[ix]
  • Citrus polyphenols (as Sinetrol® from Fytexia®) mimic the phenotype change from white to beige within adipose cells, i.e., from cells that store energy to metabolism-driven cells. In this way, Sinetrol® prevents further storage of fat within adipose tissue. Observed with DEXA scan.[x]
  • Dichrostachys glomerata (as Dyglomera® from Gateway Health Alliance)– Dyglomera® has improved body composition in 12 weeks. The percentage of body fat measured by DEXA showed a 22.85% reduction in the percentage of body fat.[xi]
  • Gynostemma pentaphyllum leaf extract (as ActivAMP® from Gencor Pacific)– A 16-week study with ActivAMP® showed via DEXA positive changes In body composition, including fat mass, lean mass, and mass distribution—also improvements in hip and waist circumference.[xii]
  • Irvingia gabonensis (as IGOB131® from Gateway Health Alliance)– Multiple clinical studies have shown the benefits of IGOB131® and its impact on metabolic health. One study showed statistically significant improvements in body weight and composition after ten weeks, including an 18.4% reduction in body fat[xiii].
  • Limosilactobacillus fermentum strains K7-Lb1, K8-Lb1, and K11-Lb3 (as SlimBiotic from SlimBiotics)—A recent study involving 180 subjects over three months showed improvements in body fat mass, body weight, visceral adipose tissue, waist circumference, and hip-to-waist circumference.[xiv]

Final Thoughts

With a new awareness of the potential harm from weight management programs, such as excessive muscle loss, this is the perfect time for the dietary supplement and functional foods and beverage industries to step up and offer safer solutions in the battle against the bulge. New studies should focus more on the impact on body composition rather than just on overall body weight. This article did not have the space to include the underlying mechanisms of action of the ingredients mentioned. However, it is important to emphasize that ingredients can often be combined to create a multipronged approach to healthier weight management products. Taking the extra time to further explore these mechanisms of action will help you develop a novel product with multiple benefits for the body.

References

[i] Wilding J, Batterham R, Calanna S, Davies M, Van Gaal L, Lingvay I, McGowan B, et al., Once-Weekly Semaglutaide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity, New England Journal of Medicine Volume 384 • Number 11 • March 18, 2021, Pages: 989-1002, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2032183

[ii] McCrimmon, R.J., Catarig, AM., Frias, J.P. et al. Effects of once-weekly semaglutide vs once-daily canagliflozin on body composition in type 2 diabetes: a substudy of the SUSTAIN 8 randomised controlled clinical trial. Diabetologia63, 473–485 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-019-05065-8

[iii] Cava E, Yeat NC, Mittendorfer B. Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss. Adv Nutr. 2017 May 15;8(3):511-519. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014506. PMID: 28507015; PMCID: PMC5421125.

[iv] Santanasto AJ, Glynn NW, Newman MA, et al. Impact of weight loss on physical function with changes in strength, muscle mass, and muscle fat infiltration in overweight to moderately obese older adults: a randomized clinical trial. J Obes. 2011;2011:10. pii:516576

[v] Heilbronn LK, de Jonge L, Frisard MI, et al. Effect of 6-month calorie restriction on biomarkers of longevity, metabolic adaptation, and oxidative stress in overweight individuals: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2006;295(13):1539–48

[vi] Johannsen D. L., Knuth N. D., Huizenga R., Rood J. C., Ravussin E., Hall K. D. Metabolic slowing with massive weight loss despite preservation of fat-free mass. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism . 2012;97(7):2489–2496. doi: 10.1210/jc.2012-1444.

[vii] Tizmaghz A, Bahardoust M, Hosseini M, Pazouki A, Alizadeh Otaghvar H, Shabestanipour G. Changes in Body Composition, Basal Metabolic Rate, and Blood Albumin during the First Year following Laparoscopic Mini-Gastric Bypass. J Obes. 2022 Jun 28;2022:7485736. Doi: 10.1155/2022/7485736. PMID: 35800664; PMCID: PMC9256454.

[viii] Nash R, Azantsa B, Kuate D, Singh H, Oben J. The Use of a Stem and Leaf Aqueous Extract of Cissus quadrangularis (CQR-300) to Reduce Body Fat and Other Components of Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight Participants. J Altern Complement Med. 2019 Jan;25(1):98-106. doi: 10.1089/acm.2018.0016.

[ix] Briskey D, Malfa GA, Rao A. Effectiveness of “Moro” Blood Orange Citrus sinensis Osbeck (Rutaceae) Standardized Extract on Weight Loss in Overweight but Otherwise Healthy Men and Women-A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study. Nutrients. 2022 Jan 18;14(3):427. doi: 10.3390/nu14030427

[x] Park SJ, Sharma A, Bae MH, Sung HC, Kim NK, Sung E, Lee HJ. Efficacy and Safety of Sinetrol-XPur on Weight and Body Fat Reduction in Overweight or Obese Adults: A 12-Week, Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel, Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Med Food. 2020 Mar;23(3):335-342. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2019.4649. Epub 2020 March 4. PMID: 32130058.

[xi] Youovop J., Takuissu G., Mbopda C., Nwang F., Ntentié R., Mbong M., Azantsa B., Singh H., Oben  J.The Effects of DyglomeraⓇ(Dichrostachys glomerata extract) on Body Fat Percentage and Body Weight: A Randomized,Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. Functional Foods in Health and Disease2023; 13(6):334-346,DOI:https://www.doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v13i6.1088

[xii] Rao A, Clayton P, Briskey D. The effect of an orally-dosed Gynostemma pentaphyllum extract (ActivAMP®) on body composition in overweight, adult men and women: A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2022 Jun;35(3):583-589. doi: 10.1111/jhn.12936.

[xiii] Ngondi JL, Etoundi BC, Nyangono CB, Mbofung CM, Oben JE. IGOB131, a novel seed extract of the West African plant Irvingia gabonensis, significantly reduces body weight and improves metabolic parameters in overweight humans in a randomized double-blind placebo controlled investigation. Lipids Health Dis. 2009 March 2;8:7. doi: 10.1186/1476-511X-8-7

[xiv] Laue, C., Papazova, E., Pannenbeckers, A., & Schrezenmeir, J. Effect of a Probiotic and a Synbiotic on Body Fat Mass, Body Weight and Traits of Metabolic Syndrome in Individuals with Abdominal Overweight: A Human, Double-Blind, Randomised, Controlled Clinical Study. Nutrients, 15(13), 3039. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15133039