Furthermore, the average starting weight of the placebo group is more than 20kg less than that of the active group. The more a person weighs, the faster the weight comes off initially. Putting these two groups on 1800 kcalories a day without any supplementation would still most likely yield more “weight” loss in the active group vs. placebo, but, like in this “study”, the fat loss will be very similar.

But, precisely because there’s no reliable studies out there on this herb, it may indeed be something worthwhile. We just won’t know until brave souls like you try it out and report back to the community, and/or an actual well-designed clinical review is published.

As far as your issues with weight loss, I can sympathize completely. I lost over 100 lbs. on low-carb, but no matter how much I tried, I could not sustain the same lifestyle after the weight came off. The fact of the matter is, I love carbs, and once the pressure to lose was no longer there, I went back to my old eating habits. It also doesn’t help that everyone in my family eats carbs liberally (none of them have weight issues, I am the only “lucky” one). Needless to say, I gained a lot of the weight I lost back. After trying to go back to low-carb, I realized that even if I lose weight again, it will not be sustainable over the long term. My only option was to modify my diet in such a way that carbs are part of my life, but in a healthy, reasonable way. I am happy to say that this is working for me very well – I do not feel deprived, do not get carb cravings and am satisfied with the food that I eat more than ever. Low-carb is an excellent way to lose weight, but it’s not the only possibility. The key is to find the food pattern that you will follow indefinitely vs. a temporary solution, no matter how well the latter works.

Good luck with your goal!