ABOUT 20 years ago a dear pal of mine – a naturally muscular rugby player type from Bradford – once mocked me on holiday when I emerged by the pool in a pair of swim shorts.
“Mate,” he guffawed, “you look like E.T.”
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And he was right. I have a naturally, unusually large – but not actually fat – torso and spindly limbs. And I do, indeed, look like something out of sci-fi movie.
That was still preferable, however, to the Jabba the Hut I then became over the subsequent two decades.
All that was reversed, however, when I started taking fat jab Mounjaro and lost three stone in six months. I reversed my diabetes, restored my piece of mind and something that looked more like my old self.
I certainly couldn’t have gone on the way I was.
By last September I was tipping the scales at 17 stone which, even for someone 6ft 2ins tall, still made me obese.
For about five years I’d been pre-diabetic. If I didn’t (1) exercise more and (2) improve my diet, I was on a fast-track to getting full type 2 diabetes. Of course, I did neither.
So my latest blood sugar readings landed in my inbox about eight months ago confirming that, yes, I now officially had the condition, one that my older relatives also had.
If that weren’t enough, just months earlier my brother, who also has diabetes but doesn’t smoke, had suffered a minor heart attack at the age of 57.
This was a particular shock because our dad had his first heart attack aged 54 and had another one at 59 that killed him. I’d just turned 20 when he passed away.
Now I was about to enter my fifties. With almost a 38 inch waist and arms and legs that were becoming flabby, I now longed for the days when I looked like ET. At least I was a healthy ET and, heck, at least some parts of me were skinny.
So last September I started the jabs, which cost me about £220 from Superdrug. After an online assessment via emails and pictures sent to a doctor, my pack arrived in the post and my first injection was on a Friday night.
It was remarkably easy. As someone who’s not a fan of needles, I was surprised by how tiny it was.
It’s like a centimetre long, stiff hair. The needles they take your bloods with at the doctors will suddenly look like javelins.
Then when I woke up on the Saturday, my hunger – which was invariably ravenous in the mornings – had evaporated.
I skipped the usual breakfast and went for a brunch affair, but even then I couldn’t eat much. Usually, by about 2pm I’d be grumpy, retching and light-headed as my blood sugars plunged but none of that happened. Instead I pushed through till dinner when I had a full and proper meal.
And it’s pretty much been a similar pattern for the past six to eight months.
Mounjaro worked for me by sapping the hunger and the side effects of not eating
The weight started to fall off immediately, first a few ounces then more as the dose intensity increased and I got used to when I could and should eat (my tip is try to eat three times a day, but only as much as you’re able to physically muster).
I lost, on average, about half a stone a month, and after about three months I could see the change in my body – smaller man boobs, flatter stomach, and a waist that shrank back down to about 32 inches.
Mounjaro worked for me by sapping the hunger and the side effects of not eating.
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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.
‘Vicious cycle’
It basically allowed me to break the vicious cycle I was on – I ate. I got bigger. My bigger body demanded more fuel. I ate more.
Crucially it cuts out most of the food noise that consciously and subconsciously seeps into our busy, daily lives – the shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, vending machines and bags of birthday sweet treats in the office we can’t resist.
There were side effects for me, however, and they’re not always the things you’d bring up at refined dinner parties.
Constipation is one (the drug makes you feel fuller for long by slowing down your digestive system) and diminished libido was another.
Why? My own theory is that you lose that brain buzz you get just before you enjoy something. That’s whether it’s a chocolate bar, a pint, or any other thrill-giver.
But since I don’t intend to be on the jabs forever, it’s a small, temporary price to pay.
The problem with fat jabs is that, unlike many women, lots of men see anything to do with dieting as trivial and faddy and are either dismissive or wary of it
And I actually found I enjoyed mealtimes MORE because when I chose my grub I did it on the basis of what intrigued me, not what was guaranteed to fill me up and satisfy that junk food buzz.
Crucially Mounjaro won’t transform you into an Adonis. The weight fell of me unevenly, so I STILL have a disproportionately large torso and skinny limbs.
But I know that just means I need to hit the gym to even things out.
It is a life-changing, perhaps life-changing circuit-breaker that helped to reset my health, however.
The biggest positive change is that my important blood sugar levels have fallen by a third, indicating I’ve officially gone from being diabetic, through the pre-diabetic banding, deep into the normal category. Which is staggering in six months.
In fact the biggest hindrance to the whole process is perhaps the most unexpected.
It’s a chronic condition called “Being a bloke.”
The problem with fat jabs is that, unlike many women, lots of men see anything to do with dieting as trivial and faddy and are either dismissive or wary of it.
Ironic, really, given that at the other end of the male spectrum are gym junkies who think nothing of injecting themselves with steroids.
The trouble is there will be loads of fellas out there who will be struggling with their health and, like me, want to do something about it, but can’t because they’re too busy, too preoccupied, too sceptical.
Crucially, they’ll also think it seems a tad too vain.
To them I simply say this: that after mocking me for looking like ET, my muscular mate from Bradford also slammed on three stone over the same 15 year period.
Then, magically, he lost it all over the past six months and looks and feels fantastic… and, no, it wasn’t from playing more rugby.
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How to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes
According to Diabetes UK, there are a few diet tweaks you can make to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes:
- Choose drinks without added sugar – skip out the sugar in your tea and coffee and stay away from fizzy and energy drinks
- Eat whole grains such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholemeal flour, wholegrain bread and oats instead of refined carbs
- Cut down on red and processed meat like bacon, ham, sausages, pork, beef and lamb
- Eat plenty of fruit and veg – apples, grapes, berries, and green leafy veg such as spinach, kale, watercress, and rocket have been associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
- Have unsweetened yoghurt and cheese
- Cut down on booze – and have a few days a week with none at all
- Have healthy snacks like unsweetened yoghurt, unsalted nuts, seeds and fruit and veg
- Eat healthy fats included in nuts, seeds, avocados and olive oil
- Cut down on salt
- Get your vitamins and minerals from food instead of tablets