My knees hurt, my back hurt, I was breathless going up the stairs and felt like a 92 year old. Your jab life unfiltered

Anna-Louise Dearden | Last update: 28th September 2025

Why did you decide to start slimming jabs – and what was your turning point?

(We love a lightbulb moment – big or small.)

It was when I stood in horror and looked at the number on the scales! 19st 10… 

WTAF! I’m 52, 5ft 3, and I stood in disbelief that I had let myself get to that size. Yet I already knew it, by how I felt inside and out. It was the moment of reckoning I needed. And it was a weight I never wanted to see on the scales ever again. I took my seat at Slimming World, welcome pack in hand, fighting off the tears of disappointment with the realisation that this was very real. 

It was mid-May 2024. My wife Emma and I had just returned from a 10 night ‘ULTRA all inclusive’ holiday in Greece, when she declared she needed to lose weight as her jeans no longer fitted. The next night was where the journey began.

It was great to start, we were determined, supporting each other and high fiving each week as the scales showed our food optimising effort results. As the months passed, so did the motivation. Old patterns showing their truth – stress eating, comfort eating, celebration eating, self-sabotage. In the seven months, I had lost 21 pounds and started to feel better, healthier and more determined – but still some binge patterns struck and slowed down progress.

I watched the world go GLP1 crazy and vowed I wanted to do it the natural way, battling the same pound coming and going every week, until the week before Christmas when I declared that was it – I needed a new way to lose weight.

My friend messaged me an hour later telling me to ‘get myself on the jabs’.

His ADHD was being helped, his anxiety and for the first time in his life he had no food noise or compulsions. We chatted; I probed, mainly with the curiosity around the changes to his brain. As a professional mindset coach, who certifies and mentors coaches all over the world, I was fascinated! The call ended with him saying ‘just do it, then work the food out after…your health will thank you.’ He was right. My knees hurt, my back hurt, I was breathless going up the stairs and felt like a 92 year old, rather than a 52 year old! I took his loyalty code and placed my order, thinking I’d try it for a week… 

What surprised you most when you started?

(Be honest. We’ve heard everything from burping air to crying over chips.)

I jabbed Mounjaro on a Saturday night, 22/2/2025, fearing the side effects I’d been hearing about all over the internet. Also with the emotional trepidation of needing to put right over four decades of diet failures.

I was genuinely nervous and recorded a very raw video of myself, describing my reasons, my health desires, my fears and sharing a few tears. 

Little did I know that sharing that video would change so much in my life! Not only did it go crazy, I had thousands of likes and hundreds of comments; I received loads of direct messages in the days and weeks that followed from people feeling and fearing the same, describing their lifelong battle and self-hate. 

Many moved me to tears and during this time, I knew that my professional career as a deep structure mindset coach was about to meet my personal goals and create something very needed. I felt like I found home, with my people and their gratitude makes my heart sing.

I woke up the next morning with a clear mind. No food noise. No hunger… It was both bizarre and emotional.

All of my life thinking I was greedy, lazy or lacked willpower, when really my AuDHD neurospicy brain had simply not been allowing enough GLP1 for my hormone receptors to create hunger and satiety clues. As the days passed, I felt like a normal adult who could have one biscuit, say no to cake. Stopping eating when getting the cue from my brain to say ‘you’re full’ and simply not thinking about food until I felt hungry. A revelation that so many Mounjaro users explain – it was very real! 

The biggest shock was I stopped other compulsive patterns, some of which I didn’t know I had! Online shopping, alcohol and caffeine all but became a ‘not interested.’ Even some people pleasing and saying yes to things, that I didn’t know I was doing! A revelation.  

What’s your jab routine like now – pen, time, tricks?

(Do you set an alarm, use a Post-it, or just wing it?)

Throughout my journey I decided to listen to my body, something I’d not really ever done. I vowed that if I got the terrible side effects, I would stop. This was a wellness journey, more than a weight loss journey – I wanted to enjoy it and feel healthy!

When I went up from the 2.5mg loading dose to 5mg as suggested by the online prescribers, I had possibly the worst week I can remember. I felt lifeless, in a low mood, nothing interested me, and I couldn’t be bothered with anything. This was an absolute NO. I spend my day listening, caring and motivating others and here I was with what felt like depression. I micro-dosed 3.75mg for a month and then all was well.

Most of my 60 pounds lost has been on 7.5mg and the satiety and suppression are mainly good, apart from a random day where I can barely eat, or I can eat everything!

I used these days as good training for coming off Mounjaro, as for me it was never about maintenance, I knew I had to learn this as part of the journey to understanding nutrition and actually moving more.

The biggest change was on July 1, when I started the DiabetesUK 1 million step challenge, meaning I had to average 11,000 steps a day to hit the goal. Wow, it was a game changer! I did not know what I was capable of, I am now challenging myself to new things constantly – I’m even about to do a park run! If you’d have told me of last year that this would ever be a thing, I’d have laughed hysterically! 

Who has been the most supportive person in your WLD journey?

(Mum, bf, total strangers?)

My wife stuck with Slimming World, mainly as she is a Type 1 Diabetic and wasn’t allowed to take Mounjaro. I carried on going to classes and losing an average of 1.3 pounds a week, focusing on protein, fibre and vegetables – very much the SW plan anyway. Doing this together has been so fun, brought us closer together in every way and I am so grateful for her ability to cook anything and be patient on the days I said I was hungry and could only manage two mouthfuls (the dogs were happy on these days).

Emma is only four pounds from her target weight – in fact we won Women of The Year 2025 at our Retford Slimming World Group, which is an award for supporting and inspiring members. It was an emotional Wednesday night weigh in, that’s for sure!

What’s your go-to comfort food now – and what’s out?

(Pasta forever? Chicken ick? We want it all.)

KFC is gone forever. I can’t even contemplate greasy foods and am pretty sure that fast food habit has fast gone!

I love a protein pudding these days – the fridge is always well stocked, they help me hit my protein goals and satisfy any mental or physical sweet needs. I also love anything to do with eggs – I always have and always will!

Best thing you’ve gained – besides weight loss?

(Confidence? Shoes you can finally lace up? Energy to argue with your partner again?)

Apart from the weight loss, the energy and the ability to move more freely is my biggest non-scale victory. I walk daily, I step on the spot and no longer avoid physical movement!  I can dry myself easily, my knickers stay up, my boobs don’t strangle me when I lay down, I’m nearer to the table when I eat, and don’t drop half of it down me. I no longer snore or block the water from moving in the bath. I no longer have to think about getting up from chairs, or if I’ll fit in them, having dropped at least three dress sizes and 60 pounds of my 100 pound mission.

To be more than halfway there gives me a sense of self-pride that I didn’t know existed. Oh, and of course, I look better in clothes, my style is already changing and I am proud of the hips and curves I’ve previously loathed – I feel like myself and love myself, I have become my priority and helping other people to do this too is just the cherry on the weight loss cake!

Anything you wish someone had told you at the start?

(Newbies, take notes.)

I always feared this mammoth eight stone weight loss journey.

 I thought it would be painful, hard, exhausting, lonely and embarrassing… I could not have been more wrong.

It has been the most joyful way I’ve ever set myself free! I now remind myself that my perception of doing other hard things is probably a load of rubbish, and everything else in my life is changing too!

What’s your take on the whole easy way out chat – and have you adjusted your lifestyle too – fitness/nutrition etc.?

(Be honest. It helps our readers cope.)

As I write this, I have decided to take a Mounjaro break. I always said if I didn’t enjoy it I would stop, and the last few weeks I have craved eating big plates of vegetables and I am listening to my body.

I am curious how the inner emotional work I’ve done, the nutrition knowledge I have and the non-negotiable daily steps will be, without the medication. Will my appetite be naturally lower for healthier food? Will my blood sugars remain stable to stave off the cravings? I am genuinely excited to find out.

What’s your next goal?

(Could be to run for a bus or dance at my daughter’s wedding – or come off the drugs and carry on with a lifestyle change – whatever matters to you.)

My goal for myself and my clients is to not be the statistic of people using Mounjaro as the quick fix diet cure, changing nothing and then piling it back on. Each to their own, but at my time of life, my mission is to still be healthier and live longer, than simply drop as many pounds as I can in the quickest time.

My lifelong goal is to get in the best shape of my life and enjoy feeling proud of myself.

This is the biggest reward of all.

Finally – give us your one-liner SlimrChat wisdom?

(What would you write on a Post-it for the next person starting out?)

If you have struggled all your life, this is your chance to choose to change – your future self will thank you for it!

Inspired by Vivienne’s weight loss journey? Have a look at what Laura, Emily, Katie and Jen said about their journeys.