Targeted at women looking to burn belly fat, Leanbean is highly regarded by many people. We try to uncover the facts about its performance…..
What we like: Evidence of Fat Burn; Reduced cravings; No side effects
What we don’t like: Women-centric marketing can seem disingenuous; Large capsules to swallow.
If you’re looking for a thermogenic fat burner to help strip your body of undesired subcutaneous fat then you may have already heard of Leanbean. If you’re female then the chances are even higher. It’s been hard to avoid the adverts which get flung our way as soon as you start searching for information on dieting products.
In this post we aim to explain what’s fizzed the world up about Leanbean and why sportswomen like surfer Bree Kleintop publicly endorse it. We conduct our own mini-trial with a BDAweightwise volunteer taking Leanbean regularly for 2 months and then dropping it whilst maintaining the same diet and exercise regime. The results are certainly interesting….
Leanbean – a Fat Burner For Women?
Let’s put one thing to bed straight away. There is no significant reason why a man cannot take Leanbean in preference to an alternative thermogenic like PhenQ, PhenGold or PrimeShred. PrimeShred especially sounds like it’s aimed at men, but in fact both Leanbean and PrimeShred contain a fairly similar mix of natural ingredients – this is marketing at work, and we’re not massive fans to put it mildly.
Ultimate Life (the US company behind Leanbean) do claim that Leanbean is specifically “tailored” towards women, and we understand that their scientists and dieticians have chosen ingredients which have some scientific evidence of weight loss impact in females. Our research into the published scientific literature does partially confirm this. However, in our view a specific targeting of women in this way feels a little exploitative. That being said, Leanbean does come in nice pink, feminine-friendly packaging… (a joke before I get lynched by my fellow sisters!).
What’s in a typical Leanbean Capsule? Doseage?
Each jar of Leanbean comes with 180 capsules inside which seems like alot but the recommended serving is two of these capsules taken three times a day – that’s six capsules a day in total. That means that your 180 capsules will last 30 days (about a month if you stick to the recommendations). We would advise that if you’re going to try Leanbean then purchase at least two jars, because one month is not long enough to determine whether results are real or based on natural bodily cycles (e.g. water retention).
Let’s take a look at a Leanbean capsule in detail. The first thing to be said is that the capsules are quite large – this is primarily due to 500mg of Gluomannan in each (see below for details), and it’s this ingredient which provides some differentiation in Leanbean performance compared with the field. Our tester Sarah reported that she found them difficult to swallow due to the size – something to bear in mind if you’re considering buying.
Leanbean Ingredients and their Effects On The Body
Glucomannan is a fibrous compound which comes from the root of the Konjac plant. Its main use in diets is to act as a thickening agent which can promote a feeling of fullness and thus tends to restrict calorie intake. In this sense it has no strictly fat burning (thermogenic) properties but can help with weight loss and consequential fat burn as a result of fewer calories eaten.
But does the science support weight loss properties of Glucomannan?
We looked through the scientific literature of numerous trials which have specifically tested Glucomannan in obese individuals, and it was quite easy to find individual reports of both success and failure. However, this useful summary paper was published in the Obesity Journal in 2020 which compiles all the available trial data into an overview analysis of Glucomannan performance as a weight loss aid. The overall consensus was that after six trials and 225 volunteers there was considerable scientific evidence that the Glucomannan tablets aided weight loss in men and women compared with placebo. In addition, female-specific weight loss was also mentioned positively, which vindicates Ultimate Life’s decision to include it in Leanbean.
Potassium chloride is a similar electrolyte to standard table salt (sodium chloride), but potassium directly helps the body burn energy by effectively breaking down glucose (sugar). It is also used to help stimulate muscle contraction (in combination with magnesium) and stops the body retaining water.
These are all excellent benefits for targeting fat burn, and indeed a 2019 trial reported in the Nutrients journal suggested that increased potassium in the diet does show improved weight reduction and smaller waist circumference in obese people under calorie controlled diet conditions.
Green coffee beans are an excellent source of anti-oxidants and an analysis of various trials using green coffee extract (GCE) as a supplement for weight loss showed promising data. In a series of trials, the mean end weight of a person taking GCE was 2.47kg lighter than the equivalent person taking a placebo. Impressive results, and this explains why it is such a common ingredient in weight loss supplements.
But how does it work? Well GCE acts as a pure thermogenic compound (i.e. promoting energy burn in the body) which means it is boosting your metabolism. We have found the best impact to be achieved in combination with a diet and exercise plan, but some reports say that GCE can even give results without changing your lifestyle because it can also stop your body turning glucose into fat in the first place.
The GCE in a serving of Leanbean (two capsules) contains much less caffeine than a cup of coffee and so it is not going to wake you up in the same way that a supplement like PhenQ will, but even so we think its inclusion is a beneficial component.
This is a well known weight loss supplement which actually had limited impact on our clients when we recently tested it, and the scientific community seem to agree with us. An analysis of numerous weight loss trials using Garconia extract (also known as Hydroxycitric Acid) showed a slight benefit to taking it as a supplement, but “not statistically significant”. This ingredient in Leanbean doesn’t particularly do it for us!
The final main ingredient (apart from vitamin B6 and B12) in Leanbean is BioPerine which is also known as ‘piperine’ or more commonly black pepper. This has been shown in rats to significantly reduce visceral fat (the dangerous fat which forms around organs) by increasing metabolism. There is also some evidence that it stops cell telomeres from shortening which may be linked to anti-ageing properties.
Choline is an essential requirement for human life and there is some evidence that taken as a supplement it can reduce fat buildup in the liver as well as promote cognition. Not having any choline in your diet can be dangerous, with cancer being an unfortunate byproduct in certain cases. However, you can easily get your recommended choline intake through a normal food diet (eggs, meat, vegetables etc), so please don’t stress about not having enough. In fact, excess choline is also not great and can cause diarrhoea.
In terms of scientific studies on choline supplements, there is evidence that it can help with weight loss. A study of 22 female judo and tae-kwon-do athletes found that the body-fat percentage of the participants reduced by 10.2% for the choline group compared with 4.05% for the control placebo group. A pretty stunning improvement which justifies its inclusion in Leanbean.
Zinc is a well known element in weight loss circles and is a mineral which is needed by the human body. When taken as a supplement (or in a combination capsule like Leanbean), it has been shown to reduce BMI in obese patients, although the daily doses were about 3x higher than recommended for Leanbean (30mg vs 10.8mg).
Be aware that too much zinc in your diet is not good and can cause weakened bones and/or aneamia. We recommend sticking to the Leanbean recommendations per day.
Sales of pure turmeric supplements (also known as Curcumin) are skyrocketing at the moment and that is because there is increasing evidence that the herb has excellent thermogenic properties, in a similar way to GCE discussed above.
Over 21 trials have been conducted with turmeric on over 1600 volunteers, and there is compelling evidence that BMI, weight and waist circumference are reduced more than if a placebo is taken.
Another natural ingredient which promotes antioxidants in the body, and may have some impact on resting glucose levels in the body. We have found no evidence of peer-reviewed trial data which shows any fat burning or weight loss benefit even though it has been touted frequently as a ‘wonder food’. Possibly marketing hype, and difficult to test independently as part of the Leanbean blend.
Our Leanbean Trial and Experience
Website and Ordering
We have been excited to try out Leanbean for a while now in order to see how it stacks up with the competition. In terms of pricing, it’s at the top end of the weight loss scale at £39 for a month’s supply, and it certainly makes sense to buy in bulk as the cost per jar drops significantly. A four month supply can currently be purchased for £117 which is a much more healthy £29.25 per month, and there are no additional shipping charges – you would hope not!
We ordered through the official website and noted that you can get a full refund up to 90 days after purchase if you’re not satisfied. Always good to see.
Performance
We asked a friend and colleague from BDAWeightwise (Sarah) if she would be interested in testing out the Leanbean supplement in conjunction with some training from Andy Platt, our resident personal trainer. Sarah takes up the Leanbean review from this point to describe her experiences.
Sarah’s Leanbean Experience
As a 34 year old mum of two, I’ve often struggled with my weight and it is only in recent years that I’ve begun to get into a routine of diet and exercise which works for me. However, I would still consider myself to be carrying a little more ‘flab’ than I would like – especially on my belly, the side of my waist (‘love handles’ I guess) and around the triceps/underarm area.
I decided to purchase a two month package of pills from Leanbean which required me to take two capsules with breakfast, two for lunch and two in the evening with dinner over a eight week period.
My stats were/are as follows – I used some home smart scales for the BMI and body fat measurements.
- Height: 5ft 9 (1.75m)
- Start weight: 10 stone 9 pounds (67.5 kg)
- Start BMI: 22
- Start body fat %: 27
The BDAWeightwise team asked me to then start a calorie controlled diet and exercise program, initially with the Leanbean supplement for 8 weeks and then without the supplement for a further 8 weeks. I was told this was an attempt at adding a placebo element to the test, but obviously it is not properly scientific as there are any number of reasons why performance might vary over this time period when monitoring just one person’s stats.
I was asked to switch to 1500 calories per day, with three hour-long cardio/resistance workouts per week at Andy’s home gym.
I aimed to record my weight, BMI and body fat % once a week in order to help plot out the progress, both with and without the Leanbean supplements.
Leanbean Side Effects and Sarah’s Thoughts on the Program
I was expecting the Leanbean to give me a racing heart, and I actually sat around for 20 minutes after taking my first capsule waiting for this to happen. I was pleasantly surprised to not get any feelings of being “wired” – to be honest I felt no change at all after taking the supplements for the first few days – was it a waste of money?
Reducing my calories to 1500 per day was tough at first – I’ve been used to eating what I want, but that flexibility had led to me eating too much. Dropping to 1500 per day left me initially having a grumbly stomach at around 11am, but a quick banana soon solved that.
The Leanbean tablets felt like they kicked in on the second day – even though I’d had the exact same breakfast, that grumbly feeling did not materialize before lunchtime, and I put this down to the Glucomannan in the capsules, lending a feeling of fullness. I made sure I was drinking large amounts of water each day, and replaced my lunchtime meal with a meal replacement protein shake every day. I think the combination of Leanbean with the protein shake was a gamechanger and meant I could save a reasonable amount of calories for my evening meal.
In terms of the three hours of cardio and resistance training each week, that was tough. I’ve known Andy for many years, but had never been to one of his gym sessions before. He got me doing burpies, crunches, pressups, star jumps etc as well as lifting some light weights at high rep counts. I was aching so bad for a couple of days after the first session, but I found that a massage gun worked well to reduce that pain (Editor comment – check out our review of the Pulseroll gun here). After a week or so, my body got more used to the onslaught, and I was not aching quite so much!
Leanbean Weight Loss and Fat Burn Results
We thank Sarah immensely for her sterling work on the trial, and she was kind enough to supply a ‘before’ and ‘after’ set of photographs. Please see below. It’s evident that her belly fat has significantly reduced from the overall 4 month experience which is superb news for her.
She lost a whopping total of 17 pounds overall which works out at just over 1 pound (0.45kg) per week. Her start weight was 10 stones 9 pounds and her final weight was an incredible 9 stones 5.5 pounds.
This is not to say that the trial was a walk in the park – Sarah reported that she had never exercised so intensely during the full four months of the trial, and operating at only 1500 calories per day was a significant challenge.
The following graph plots Sarah’s BMI and body fat % over the 16 weeks of the trial and the results are pretty impressive, with or without the Leanbean.
If we look at the graph above which plots Sarah’s weekly statistics then there is clearly a faster rate of reduction in both BMI and body fat when Sarah was taking the Leanbean supplements at the start of the trial.
After week 8, the rate of weight loss definitely slows down, which we attribute to not taking Leanbean. Of course, there is always the possibility that this ‘tailing off’ could be due to reduced effort by Sarah at this point in the test, or alternatively her body getting used to the regime. These are both credible theories, but Sarah assures us that she was trying just as hard in the later stage of the trial.
Conclusions
In our opinion, Leanbean supplements can offer significant benefits for weight loss and fat burn, and is one of the most effective offerings on the market outside of prescription slimming pills. We noticed no side effects during a two month trial with Leanbean, and the trial data showed a definite steeper slope (higher gradient trendline) of BMI/Body Fat reduction when taking Leanbean compared to when not taking it.
We were impressed with the ordering process, fast shipment and the offer of a full money back refund in the event of not being happy with the product. Overall, Leanbean gets the thumbs up from BDAWeightwise – recommended.
PROS
- Natural Ingredients
- Trial showed significant impact from Leanbean on BMI and Body Fat %
- No side effects like heart racing observed in our trial
- Reduced appetite evident due to feeling fuller
CONS
- Not sure why Leanbean is only aimed at women - a bit sexist?
- Large capsules were difficult to swallow
- Expensive to continue taking for many months
