PLANO, TEXAS: Sara Stevens tried losing weight for years and nothing seemed to work--until last August when she started giving herself daily injections of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic ganadotropin--better known as hCG. Sara said he it worked like a charm. "My starting weight was 212 and after 40 days I weighed 182," Sara said. "I lost exactly 30 pounds."

Lee Tucker-Horne is a certified nutritionist at Sactuary Wellness Centers at Skintastic in Plano, Texas. Sara had a full exam, learned how to give herself a shot and was put on a strict 500 calorie a day diet. Tucker-Horn said the hormone tricks the body into thinking it's not as hungry as it should be.

"It's not going to eat your muscle cells," Tucker-Horne said. "It just eats your fat cells so it used all the excess fat, helps you get it out of the body and only uses as much excess as you have."

The 40 day plan costs about $900.00 and despite the weight that Sara and others have lost--the Food and Drug Administration requires hCG packaging labels to warn that it has not been shown to increase weight loss.

Some experts say that it acts as nothing more than a placebo. Dr. Jeffery Adelglass said the diet plan isn't for everyone--and even though there are few studies that support the diet--it's hard to argue with success.

"Well, the reason you don't know how it works is because no one is really, really sure how it works," Dr. Adelglass said. "The only thing most people know is that it does seem to work and people like Sara are very, very happy and successful."

Dr. Adelglass said the key to any weight loss program is safety and moderation. Health experts say the hCG diet can have side effects including depression, headaches and tender breasts. Sara said her only side effect was mild hunger--she's now on the maintenance plan and consumes about 1,500 calories a day. She's lost a grand total of 53 pounds.

"I am happier the way I look in the mirror, the way I feel, the way my clothes fit and the way people look at me," Sara said. "I'm not embarrassed anymore."So is it the hormone, fewer calories or both? Sara said she doesn't care. "I'm absolutely amazed."