I lost 5st in 5 months on Mounjaro then went cold turkey as I couldn’t afford it – here’s what happens after you stop
A WOMAN has shared what happened to her once she had stopped taking fats jabs.
As a growing number of people and celebrities share their epic Mounjaro transformations, mum-of-three Mary has revealed what’s happened to her ever since she went cold turkey.
According to the woman, her Mounjaro journey started in July 2024, after she topped the scales at 17.5 stone.
At the time, she recently told TikTok users, her goal was to drop down to 11.5 stone – and ”it worked brilliantly”.
In just five months, Mary lost a whopping 5 stone between the end of July and the end of December last year.
”Mounjaro made me feel like I could breathe for the first time in years.
”For the first time since I could remember I didn’t think about food at all!”
Mounjaro is regarded by some as the King Kong of weight loss jabs.
Sun GP Dr Zoe Williams acknowledged that Mounjaro, which could soon be rolled out on the NHS, can save the lives of people with “life-threatening levels of obesity.”
But despite this, the NHS warned: “Never take an anti-obesity medicine if it has not been prescribed to you.
“These types of medicines may not be safe for you and can cause serious side effects.”
About half a million Brits use weight loss drugs – and the number is expected to double in the next year.
Mounjaro works by suppressing your appetite, making people feel fuller for longer.
The injections are licensed for patients with type 2 diabetes and to assist those who are clinically obese (with a Body Mass Index of 30 or over).
One jab is administered each week but the duration is dependent on someone’s weight.
The drugs can be lawfully supplied when prescribed by a practitioner – such as a doctor, nurse or a pharmacist-independent prescriber.
But increasingly, people have been buying them through online pharmacies with insufficient checks.
Only recently, figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency revealed fat jabs had been linked to 82 deaths across the UK.
And the family of a man from Burton upon Trent, Staffs, who died after taking Mounjaro, are now calling for a probe into the jab’s “potential to kill.”
However, whilst Mary was happy with the results, she no longer could afford forking out for the jabs – and was forced to stop using Mounjaro.
”[I] literally just used my last pen and then went off it,” she shared in a recent video.
”Naively, I assumed that the good habits that I’ve got into over that five, six months that I was taking it would just stick with me.
”That didn’t happen.”
Almost immediately, the mum-of-three said, ”all of the food noise came back”, as did the cravings.
Meanwhile, her willpower went out of the window – and since being off Mounjaro, Mary’s regained some of the weight, currently at 13.5 stone.
”So for anybody that is currently taking Mounjaro and is thinking about coming off, these will be my suggestions […] – have a plan in place.
”If you’re like me when you take Mounjaro have found that you haven’t even needed to use your willpower, you haven’t even needed to count your calories […] – don’t expect that to continue.
”So have a plan in place – whether that’s counting calories, whether that’s intermittent fasting, whether that’s reducing your portion sizes.”
Put simply, intermittent fasting is an eating plan where people switch between fasting and eating on a regular schedule, typically sticking to the 16:8 eating window (16 hours of no food and 8 hours of meals).
Numerous celebs and influencers swear by this method, with Hugh Jackman reportedly trying it to beef up for X-men movies.
Research suggests that intermittent fasting, also loved by Jennifer Aniston, could help with weight loss and managing conditions like cholesterol.
However, it’s worth noting that this diet is not suitable for everyone.
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK.
Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market.
Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight.
They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients’ sugar levels are too high.
Can I get them?
NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics.
Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure.
GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss.
Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk.
Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health.
Are there any risks?
Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients’ mental health.
Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.
‘Mounjaro is a temporary fix’
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @contrary_mary1, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up over 411k views in just one day.
It’s also amassed more than 5,000 likes, 491 comments and 967 shares at the time of writing.
Social media users were quick to flock to comments to share their thoughts – with fellow Mounjaro users also opening up about their experience with the jab.
One person said: ”I’m 3 weeks off of it & nearly a STONE up. I’m still running, weightlifting and calorie counting, I’m spiralling.”
Someone else chimed in: ”Without it, my life is controlled by food. My mind is consumed by diet.
”Mounjaro frees me from it and I live a happier, healthier life. I don’t want to stop.”
A third thought: ”You gotta really put in the graft and mentally get yourself in a place to get off it, otherwise you’re wasting your money.”
”Mounjaro is a temporary fix. Overeating/comfort eating is centred in the mind and without a change of mindset this won’t go away.
”I’m 58 and tried every diet and MJ, the food noise is still there.”