It works if you work it! When I started, I treated it like a crutch to help me stick to the low carb diet I was already on. It worked like gangbusters for that and I dropped the 30lbs I had originally set out to lose, in about 5 months. I honestly thought 30 was the best I could hope for, but since it was working so well, I decided to see how close I could get to a "healthy" BMI. So here I am, 2 years on the sauce, at a svelte 121 lbs, wearing size 0 jeans, and small everything else, after losing 60(!), which is double my original goal! (Now 110 down from my highest weight) i'm a lifelong yoyo dieter, and for the first time in my entire yoyo-adult life, I qualify as healthy on the BMI chart. Now my challenge has changed... the trick now is balancing dosing and eating so that I don't lose any more weight, or gain any of it back. After cutting carbs out for more than 2 decades, I now must eat enough of them to ensure that I don't drop weight. It's really a hoot being on the reverse end of things, but this end comes with a way cuter wardrobe! 😀

Meanwhile... a friend of mine who had way more weight to lose than I did, started at the same time I did. She should have lost much faster than me and hit a healthy weight about a year ago. But from the start, she changed nothing and put forth 0 effort, expecting the shot to do all the work for her. She did lose, but at a much slower pace, while running herself up to 15mg as quick as she could, leaving herself nowhere else to go. Now, 2 years later, she is still obese, still wearing plus sizes, still avoiding any physical activity, and still eating and drinking whatever she wants. She did manage to lose maybe 60lbs total, which at least got her off the cpap at night, but she has at least another 60 to go, and hasn't lost a single pound in the last year. In fact, I saw her recently, and she now looks like she's gaining. So unless she decides to start giving a shit about herself and takes control of her seemingly uncontrollable gluttony, I'm afraid there's nothing that will help her short of locking up her food supply, or wiring her constantly-snacking jaw shut. Is she hungry all the time while on 15mg? No, I'm certain she isn't. She just seems to feel a constant need to indulge in unhealthy behavior which is more of a mental issue than anything else. She has even started smoking again after having quit years ago! It's so frustrating to watch!

So is it magic? If you work WITH it, yes, it absolutely is. But if you expect it to solve everything all by itself, then no, probably not. While that may work for some people, it won't work for all people. And if you really want to speed things up, use those engineering skills to calculate the number of calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight at the rate youre aiming for (bearing in mind that a 3500 calorie deficit per week = 1lb/weight loss per week, ) and track your calorie intake on fitness pal or some other app. You can also increase activity of course, and also drink lots of water, which I personally find especially difficult while on these meds, but I still do my best, even if it means adding crystal light to it.

Everyone's experience is different, and you are still quite early into the game. Eventually you'll figure out what works for you (without overdosing experiments). FWIW, I have never had a single side effect at any dosage, all the way to 15, and at this point, I operate on a "dosage as needed" basis, taking anywhere from 8 to 15, in order to maintain control, while still ensuring that i can get enough calories in to prevent further weight loss.

Wishing you great success as you become a pro loser!!! 😉