How Can CBD Help You Lose Weight?

If you are new to CBD, a widely popular compound or cannabinoid derived from the cannabis plant, you might want to start with our CBD FAQs to better familiarize yourself with this multi-faceted plant medicine. You will find that it has an astonishing array of benefits to help support your mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

There is now a growing body of evidence to support the safety and efficacy of CBD as a natural remedy for chronic pain, mood disorders, cardiovascular conditions, and more. However, it is only in recent years that this unique cannabinoid has been studied for its ability to facilitate healthy weight loss.

In 2024, over 40% of US adults were considered obese. Let that sink in. Nearly half of the American adult population is dangerously overweight. According to the National Institutes of Health, obesity accelerates the risk of the following serious health issues:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Metabolic syndrome
• Fatty liver diseases
• Some cancers
• Breathing problems
• Osteoarthritis
• Gout
• Diseases of the gallbladder and pancreas
• Kidney disease
• Pregnancy problems
• Fertility problems
• Sexual function problems
• Mental health issues

Being overweight but not obese still carries significant health risks—especially if you carry extra fat around your waist. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight can help prevent these problems, stop them from getting worse, or even make them go away.

While most people understand that consume more calories than we burn each day leads to weight gain, the accumulation of excess pounds−or avoirdupois, as the French say−is seldom a deliberate choice. Rather it is more often a gradual process with a person adding a few pounds each year, often around the holidays, while also becoming increasingly sedentary with age, causing calorie-burning lean muscle to transition increasingly to inactive white fat.

Brown vs. white fat

We have another kind of fat too, called brown fat, consisting of specialized fat cells which, unlike white fat, are packed with mitochondria, the cell’s energy powerhouses. This functional fat is metabolically active, breaking down blood sugar (glucose) and fat molecules to create heat and help maintain body temperature (thermogenesis). Researchers have been working to harness brown fat’s activity to treat obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders. To recap, brown fat helps your body by:

• Maintaining your body temperature.
• Producing and stores energy.
• Burning calories.
• Helping to control blood sugar and insulin levels.

CBD and weight loss

As noted by Columbia University, roughly 48% of U.S. men and 61% of women stated they wanted to lose weight in 2024. Given the scope of this national problem, researchers started to take a closer look at several ways in which CBD may support healthy weight loss, as well as maintenance−keeping that lost fat from being paid back with interest−which tends to be the hardest part.

As we are learning, CBD supports fat loss through its interaction with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), a homeostatic signaling network in our bodies which plays a crucial role in regulating appetite, digestion, mood, sleep, and more. It consists of three main components: endocannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors, and enzymes that regulate endocannabinoid synthesis.

We now know that CBD has a balancing effect on your endocannabinoid system (ECS). By interacting with the CB1 and CB2 receptors in your brain, CBD helps with a calmer mood, which may translate into fewer emotional food cravings.

For example, CB1 receptor antagonists may help reduce appetite and control obesity by blocking off or “deactivating” the receptor. Stimulation of CB2 receptor antagonists limits inflammation and promotes anti-obesity effects by reducing food intake and weight gain.

CBD and brown fat

One of the most valuable ways CBD facilitates healthy weight loss is by helping white fat convert to brown, which as we learned above, is our body’s great ally when it comes to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Scientists have found that CBD can influence genes and proteins involved in fat metabolism, leading to “browning” of white fat cells for increased fat burning, and enhanced metabolic function.

As you can see, by interacting naturally with your own body, CBD can help you to rebalance your system making your body more receptive to safe, healthy fat loss as well as maintenance, especially when combined with keeping a daily food journal, regular exercise, and a whole food, plant-based menu.