HMB: Does it help prevent muscle loss?

[keangkong]

Does anyone have any opinions on whether HMB (dydroxymethylbutyrate) helps prevent muscle loss while a person loses weight after start a GLP-1 drug (tirzepatide, in my case)?

Since I started taking tirzepatide on August 7 of this year, I have lost 6 pounds of muscle mass, according to my Renpho smart scale. I"ve have had some sort of virus most of this time and have done almost no exercise. It was just beginning to go away until I caught COVID-19 last week. But I'll soon be lifting.

However, I visited a registered dietitian earlier this week. She advised me to consume 3 grams of HMB per day. Does anyone have an opinion on whether HMB is likely to help? Typically, I'd just follow her advice because she is considered an expert. But I didn't like this woman because she didn't tell me much else other than that she'll conduct an indirect calorimetry test on April 1, 2025.

 

[hexagonal]

The science on it is pretty mixed, honestly. Some of the best studies show minimal impact on reduction of muscle loss in non-eldery/non-wasting disease individuals, but others show some results.

I'm taking it while also lifting 5x a week on a hypertrophy-focused program while in a fairly large caloric deficit. I figure if I'm going to invest that much time into lifting, I might as well hedge my bets with the HMB.

 

[keangkong]

The science on it is pretty mixed, honestly. Some of the best studies show minimal impact on reduction of muscle loss in non-eldery/non-wasting disease individuals, but others show some results.

I'm taking it while also lifting 5x a week on a hypertrophy-focused program while in a fairly large caloric deficit. I figure if I'm going to invest that much time into lifting, I might as well hedge my bets with the HMB.

Thanks. You make me feel better about taking it. I saw a Mike Israetel youtube video criticizing the supplement. While I consider him to be an expert, he seemed to be addressing people who are eating more calories than I currently do. I lose at about two pounds per week.

 

[gershon]

The science on it is pretty mixed, honestly. Some of the best studies show minimal impact on reduction of muscle loss in non-eldery/non-wasting disease individuals, but others show some results.

I'm taking it while also lifting 5x a week on a hypertrophy-focused program while in a fairly large caloric deficit. I figure if I'm going to invest that much time into lifting, I might as well hedge my bets with the HMB.

yeah i looked up results and they are all over the place. however, as i am on GLP-1 and a whole host of other things (vitamins, various supplements) I said what the hell and added HMB.

Also for those who have lost weight, consider GLA (gamma linoleic acid). In a study of those who lost weight, those taking GLA regained less and those who did not take GLA. It was a small study, but that's about as good as we have. The study is by Schirmer and was published in 2007 in the Journal of Nutrition:

Gamma-linolenate reduces weight regain in formerly obese humans - PubMed

The purpose of this study was to determine whether gamma-linolenate (GLA) supplementation would suppress weight regain following major weight loss. Fifty formerly obese humans were randomized into a double-blind study and given either 890 mg/d of GLA (5 g/d borage oil) or 5 g/d olive oil...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[glpfun]

Get hormones checked

 

[keangkong]

Get hormones checked

My prescribing doctor is an endocrinologist so I believe that's already being done.

 

[gershon]

one meta analysis showed an improvement in muscle strength with HMB, then another one showed improved total body mass but that was about it.....so its up in the air....there are probably many analyses that have looked at this....

improved strength in the elderly: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9326439/

increased total body mass: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7285233/#sec4-nutrients-12-01523

 

[gershon]

one meta analysis showed an improvement in muscle strength with HMB, then another one showed improved total body mass but that was about it.....so its up in the air....there are probably many analyses that have looked at this....

improved strength in the elderly: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9326439/

increased total body mass: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7285233/#sec4-nutrients-12-01523

My prescribing doctor is an endocrinologist so I believe that's already being done.

and then one can argue about the dose.....i take 2000mg of the calcium HMB/day.

you may also want to look at epicatechin.