I think he's said before that he didn't want to use drugs to lose the weight iirc.
It's definitely much more admirable to lose the weight through determination and better choices than through cheating with the shot, I say as a cheater myself.
I will warn that the shot can exacerbate any digestion issues you have prior. I went from not being able to eat fresh onions but could have fried or powdered onions prior to taking the shot to if anything has a hint of onion in it now it makes me sick for days. Highly annoying as well days where nausea takes over but overall I don't feel too different after being on it for a year. I am down around 55 lbs so far but it's cheating so I don't feel very accomplished.