About Leanfire XT
Spring is weight loss season. By early April, most people’s New Year’s diet resolutions are a distant memory. But summer is coming and with it less clothes and the dreaded swimsuit season. It’s time to get serious about shedding a few pounds and toning up. If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. The diet and weight control industry is massive at nearly $72 billion annually. In this review, we’ll introduce an energy and weight loss supplement, Leanfire XT, by Force Factor. First, we’re going to pull back the curtains on the company behind Leanfire XT and behind Force Factor, NutraClick, LLC.
NutraClick’s reason for being is to “produce cutting-edge health and wellness products that enrich consumers’ lives.” The company, started by two former Harvard University rowers in 2009, was introduced as Hungry Fish Media. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company’s technological and digital marketing expertise created an unprecedented demand for their only product at the time, Force Factor, a men’s health product. Within their first year, they were named GNC’s Rising Star in the supplement space. Today Force Factor is one of several NutraClick brands, joined by Peak Life, Stages of Beauty, Bona Clara, Femme Factor, and ProbioSlim.
The Force Factor website today features products in men’s health and male vitality, probiotics, brain health, sexual health, sleep aids, daily nutrition, workout recovery, diet, and weight control. NutraClick has come a long way in a little over ten years.
In this article, we’ll do a deep dive into the brand’s LeanFire XT, an energy and thermogenic weight loss supplement. We’ll review the product’s three-part formulation and its use of proprietary blends and patented ingredients. The company prides itself on its research and science-based formulations, so we’ll look at the science behind their structure-function claims. We’ll inform you where you can find the product, hint; Force Factor enjoys some of the most widespread distribution both online and in brick and mortar in the industry. We’ll give you our impressions of the cost-value relationship, and as always provide a rating in terms of effectiveness and value. Throughout the review, you’ll see evidence of NutriClick’s potent, ultra-aggressive marketing.
What Is Leanfire XT?
Leanfire XT is a weight loss dietary supplement in capsule form made and produced by Force Factor. This company is well-known within the health and wellness energy and, in addition to Leanfire XT, has produced a variety of supplements including Alpha King, LeanFire, Test X180, ProbioSlim, and Forebrain.
The company positions Leanfire XT as a fat-burning thermogenic that provides energy, focus, and mental clarity. The Force Factor website promises increased thermogenesis through its proprietary formula, the Peak Thermovigilance® Triplex Fat Incineration Weight Loss Blend featuring the patented Verilean® Green Coffee Bean Extract. The Metabolic Mind Matrix amplifies mental focus and clarity, and the Pure Energy Complex containing another patented ingredient, Teacrine®, provides jitter-free energy.
As a further example of NutraClick’s marketing, they claim Double the Weight Loss, stating … “So stop settling for “just another fat burner,” and let LeanFire XT show you how the proper dosages of hand-picked, scientifically engineered thermogenic intelligence ingredients can make a difference in your workouts.”
Now, we love patented ingredients that are supported by clinical trials. These clinical results validate a brand’s structure-function claims, such as “double the weight loss.” However, to use these structure-function claims, the manufacturer must use the appropriate dose, the dosage used in the clinical trials. More about this in the Claims versus Reality section below.
Leanfire XT Ingredients
As with virtually all NutraClick’s items, this is a very complex formula, unfortunately, a proprietary blend, making it difficult to determine the precise amount of ingredients, with a few exceptions.
Peak Thermovigilance® Triplex Fat Incineration Weight Loss Blend
- Verilean® Green Coffee Bean Extract – now, a fascinating fact about this patented ingredient. As it turns out, the patent is on the name Verilean®, owned by NutraClick. Typically supplement products using patented ingredients are using a compound developed by an ingredient manufacturer who has filed for the patent to protect the ingredient and/or the process. Ingredient manufacturers typically conduct clinical trials to validate the efficacy of these ingredients and then market the compound to be used in a brand’s product.
On a GNC landing site for Leanfire Ultimate, another Force Factor product, we found the following statement, “Verilean®, a premium green coffee bean extract that has been clinically shown to help you burn more fat relative to muscle, and help double your weight loss.”
On Amazon, we found the following, “Results from a 60-day randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of African green coffee bean extract (Coffea canephora).”
We investigated further, looking for a NutraClick clinical trial of Verilean, but came up empty. What we did discover is that there are clinical trials on GCB (Green Coffee Beans). The results of these trials appear to be what GNC and Amazon are quoting. Medical News Today says of these clinical trials, “the results from these trials are promising, but the studies are all of poor methodological quality. More rigorous trials are needed to assess the usefulness of GCE as a weight loss tool.” Further, they stated, “It’s important to keep in mind that some of these studies were sponsored by companies that profit from the sale of green coffee beans.”
- Green Tea Leaf Extract – a popular ingredient in many nutritional supplements for its antioxidant properties and purported weight loss benefits.
- L-Carnitine – a naturally occurring amino acid derivative from lysine and methionine. L-carnitine’s primary role is to help transport fatty acids into the mitochondria, where they can be burned for energy.
- Cayenne Pepper – a hot chili in the Capsicum family, closely related to jalapenos. Capsaicin, an ingredient in cayenne pepper, is thought to help with weight management.
- BioPerine® – another patented ingredient, this one owned by an independent ingredient manufacturer Sabinsa. BioPerine® is extracted from black pepper fruit and is a popular additive in supplements to enhance bioavailability.
Metabolic Mind Matrix
- L-Theanine – an amino acid typically found in tea. Thought to be effective for mental focus and attention at a dose of 200 mg.
- Caffeine Anhydrous, 150 mg – equivalent to about a cup and a half of coffee. This ingredient is a staple in weight loss and cognition products.
Pure Energy Complex
- Teacrine® – another patented ingredient, this one owned by Compound Solutions, an independent ingredient supplier, who has conducted clinical trials on the compound. Test results validate structure-function claims at a dosage of 200 mg. Unfortunately, we do not know how much Teacrine® is in the Leanfire proprietary blend.
- DMAE – Dimethylaminoethanol Bitartrate is a compound naturally produced in the body, believed to enhance brain function.
- Yohimbine – an herbal supplement from the bark of the African evergreen tree is often used in male health products, it is also believed to help in weight loss. Results in clinical trials are mixed but do include some encouraging results for fat loss.
To summarize this Key Ingredient segment, let’s return to NutraClicks marketers, “The three premium blends in LeanFire XT® deliver, in a scientific symbiosis we call thermovigilance.”
Leanfire XT Dosages
Take one capsule twice daily, thirty to sixty minutes before your two biggest meals. Do not take more than two capsules in a four-hour period, or more than four capsules in a twenty-four-hour period. Do not take within four hours of bedtime.
Leanfire XT Benefits
There are three primary benefits listed on the package:
- Incinerate Fat
- Improve Endurance
- Amplify Focus and Clarity
The company also makes claims relating to their “jitter free” proprietary blend. And, the number one claim, often repeated on the ForceFactor website, and in the collateral materials shared with their retail partners, “Now with Double the Weight Loss,” to “help you achieve jaw-dropping body-sculpting results.”
Leanfire XT Claims Vs. Reality
Study any weight loss product, and you will find favorable and unfavorable reviews, Leanfire is no different. It is our standard practice to provide you our unbiased assessment of products, rather than rehash customer reviews. However, we feel Leanfire and NutraClick are an exception. Their website features rave reviews with a grade of 4.5 of 5 stars. The customer reviews on other sites deviate dramatically, Amazon, 2.5 stars, and GNC 3.4 stars. Almost half the reviews on Amazon rate the product as 1 star. There are multiple reports of adverse side effects associated with this product, discussed in more detail below.
Our position on Leanfire is that it has proven ingredients used in other popular weight loss products. Green tea and green coffee beans have shown encouraging results in weight loss clinical trials. We know BioPerine® enhances bioavailability. There are clinical studies to support the efficacy of Teacrine®. What we don’t know is how much of each of these ingredients is in Leanfire XT’s proprietary formulation.
Given the marketing minds behind the brand, we are concerned about “fairy dusting,” that is including an ingredient at less than its clinical dosage to enable the use of structure-function claims. For that reason, we cannot endorse the product as meeting the company’s aggressive claims in their advertising and on their website.
Is Leanfire XT Safe?
Although Leanfire does not contain any banned substances, the combination of ingredients with stimulating properties (caffeine anhydrous, green coffee, and green tea) creates the potential for side effects such as the jitters, headaches, nausea, anxiety, shakiness, and elevated blood pressure. We strongly recommend that you do not exceed the recommended dosage and do not take later than mid-afternoon.
Due to the potency of some of the ingredients, we encourage you to discuss this product with your medical professional before starting use, particularly if you have high blood pressure or a pre-existing heart condition. Some of Leanfire XT’s ingredients have the potential for interactions with prescription medicines.
Where To Buy Leanfire XT
NutraClick and Force Factor are excellent marketers. Their products enjoy broad distribution on e-commerce platforms as well as most major brick and mortar retailers. They entered the market through their alliance with GNC in 2009, earning industry awards such as Rising Star at GNC in 2010 and Bodybuilding.com’s Best New Brand of the Year in 2011.
It appears the best places to buy Leanfire XT are on Amazon.com, where the product sells for $29.99 or at GNC, either online or in-store, also at $29.99.
Leanfire XT Pricing
The Force Factor website offers a sixty-count bottle, a thirty-day supply for $69.99 shipped via Amazon for online orders. Ironic, as on Amazon.com, the price is listed, as noted above, at $29.99. As their first trading partner, GNC also retails the product at $29.99 available online or in-store. Other retailers such as Vitamin Shoppe retail Leanfire XT for $38.24 with free shipping. Walgreens sells the product for $39.99 in their brick and mortar stores, but it is not available online.
Final Thoughts: Does Leanfire XT Really Work?
We admire what NutraClick has accomplished in its short history. They have built a stable of brands that enjoy excellent distribution in the marketplace. Our only cause for concern with the company is their “over the top” advertising and product benefit claims.
Other points of interest, all NutraClick items are made in a GMP certified manufacturing facility, and the company offers a Money-Back Guarantee. The Guarantee favors NutraClick VIP Members, those on an auto-ship program versus people who bought the products via standard delivery.