Dianne is now slimmer than she was at 21 – and insists that using the medication was ‘not cheating’
A former Weight Watchers leader, sick of “fad diets”, spent £2k on prescription-only weight loss injections to lose five-and-a-half stone. Now, people think she looks younger, and she says she has fallen back in love with her life again.
Weighing 15st 7lbs and struggling to squeeze into a size 20 at her biggest, Dianne Carr claimed that she had “tried everything” to slim down. The 39-year-old went through phases of intermittent fasting, shake and soup diets, and detox programs, and even became a Weight Watchers group leader after shedding five stone on the plan.
But she quit the job and soon gained back five-and-a-half stone – before deciding enough was enough. After seeing a video of herself from 2019, she became determined to lose the weight for good.
In April, out of “desperation”, the mum-of-two turned to Mounjaro, an injectable weight loss medicine that makes you feel fuller for longer and therefore less hungry, according to the NHS.
Mounjaro produces more insulin and slows down how quickly food is digested. Originally prescribed for people with type-2 diabetes, it is now available to those struggling with obesity with BMIs over 35.
In a year, she was able to lose five-and-a-half stone by injecting herself with the medication, spending £175 per jab and £2,000 in total. Now weighing 10st 2lbs and slipping into a size 12, Dianne says she feels “like I’ve had a fat suit taken off”.
She has since written a £3.95 guide called Mounjaro Mastery for others wanting to try the weight loss alternative and insists the jabs are “medicine” for larger people. It is not intended to replace medical advice and Dianne offers her own personal experience with the medication.
Dianne, a TV marketer from Teesside in North Yorkshire, said: “I’m slimmer than I was when I was 21. People think I’m younger than I am and it feels really nice. I felt like I was trapped in my own body and now I realise that I am free.”
She struggled with her weight her whole life and was size 20 and 16st at the age of 18 after having her first child after “eating for two”. The new mum signed up to Weight Watchers when her baby was six weeks old and managed to lose five stone and slim to a size 14.
She even became a group leader but quit after five months. She and husband Aaron, a 39-year-old lecturer, went on to have a second child in 2014, and Dianne reached 17st and a size 20 again.
To shed the weight, she claims she tried following Dr Michael Mosley’s The Fast 800 guide on intermittent fasting, Cambridge Weight Plan’s 1:1 shake and soup diet and nine-day detox programs. Dianne says that she “tried absolutely everything” but felt she “could eat the same amount as a skinny person and still gain weight”.
Last April, she bought her first dose of Mounjaro, and took it outside a hospital in case she had an adverse reaction. She has spent about £2,000 overall – and says that for her, it’s been “100 per cent worth every penny”.
She added: “I immediately noticed how my appetite went down massively as well as the amount I could eat. Surprisingly, I stopped drinking alcohol – suddenly I just didn’t crave it on a night out. The medication just made it easier to cut out things that aren’t beneficial.”
Dianne insists she was “really lucky” and didn’t experience very many side effects aside from hair shedding and constipation. Others taking the drug have reported experiencing nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Within two weeks, Dianne lost 9lbs and within a month she’d lost just under a stone. The jab put her off some of her favourite foods – including salt and vinegar crisps – and made her feel fuller more quickly, resulting in her eating much smaller portions.
Dianne said: “I had gotten down to a size 16 and I didn’t have to shop at the plus size sections anymore – a lot opened up for me. When I lost the first stone it gave me the confidence to swim again. I haven’t swam since I was 15 and I didn’t think I’d be able to swim again but I gave it a go and now I can do 60 lengths. Losing the weight made me fall back in love with being in the water.”
The weight loss eventually slowed down and Dianne now loses around 1lb a week. Despite this, she says losing five stone in 12 months was “great” as it usually took her two years to lose the same amount through dieting alone.
She decided not to calorie count or follow diet while on the jabs, but to just focus on healthy eating through substitutes – such as sweet potatoes instead of chips and low-carb bread. Now 10st, she is aiming to get down to 9st before quitting the jabs all together, and focusing on healthy eating.
From March 2025, you can be prescribed tirzepatide (Mounjaro) to manage your weight on the NHS. The treatment is prescribed by a specialist weight management specialist and will only happen if they feel it is the right treatment for you. If you have a BMI of 30 or higher, or a BMI of 27 or more with specific weight-related health issues like hypertension or type 2 diabetes, your doctor may recommend Mounjaro for weight loss, especially if diet and exercise haven’t been enough.
Before prescribing tirzepatide (Mounjaro), a healthcare professional will talk through the benefits and limitations, including any side effects you might get. People taking Mounjaro need to eat a balanced, reduced-calorie diet and take part in physical activity regularly while taking the medicine.
Common side effects of taking Mounjaro include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation, often occurring when starting or increasing the dose. More serious side effects, though rare, can include pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, and a potential risk of thyroid tumours.