Taking Mounjaro but still hungry: Your jab life, unfiltered

Anna-Louise Dearden | Last update: 11th August 2025

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

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

Mine was quite an unusual start – I’ve got a lot of friends who have been on the jabs and they’ve worked absolute wonders for them. I was really keen to try them, but I’m overweight rather than obese, and with a BMI of 28, I didn’t think I’d qualify for them.

That changed when, in the course of my job as a freelance journalist, I was asked by a newspaper to do some research into dodgy weight-loss jabs. I had to look into unregulated suppliers who are sending out God-knows-what to customers who are desperate to lose weight but don’t necessarily fit the required criteria, or can’t afford full-price pens.

As part of my research, I decided to apply for Mounjaro via a reputable high-street chemist so I could compare the application process with the one you go through to buy potentially fake jabs.

I assumed that after filling in all the forms and sending in my photos, I would be rejected – but to my surprise, I was accepted.

I think it’s either because I take medication for acid reflux, or because I have gallstones – although I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. Whatever the reason, I’d already given my card details and once I was approved they took the payment for the jab, so I thought, ‘Well I guess I’m on Mounjaro now, then…’

Oh, and P.S., if your chosen ‘pharmacy’ is asking questions like ‘Do you have a sweet tooth?’ instead of for your GP’s details and photo evidence of your weight, run like the wind!

What surprised you most when you started?

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

I was surprised when I didn’t start feeling terrible within an hour of my first jab – you hear so many horror stories about the side-effects, I was expecting to start vomiting almost immediately. Instead, I haven’t really experienced anything except for a ringing in my ears and occasional palpitations, neither of which are on the list of side-effects to expect.

In fact, I suffer from IBS, and the jab seems to have actually cleared up my symptoms, which was a surprise too – perhaps I’m constipated, and when constipation meets IBS, they cancel each other out? Who knows…

I was also very surprised by how easy it is to jab yourself – the needle is so thin, you don’t feel it at all, so self-administering the jab is smooth sailing.

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

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

I’m currently on my last week of 5mg, and as the suppression element of Mounjaro isn’t working very well for me, I’ll be going up to 7.5mg next. I jab on a Monday morning after my weekly weigh-in – I’ve jabbed in my stomach and thigh, but really couldn’t tell any difference between them.

Although I’m pretty sure I know the routine by now, I still read the whole leaflet and go through it step-by-step to make sure I’m doing it correctly.

I’ve heard stories of people forgetting they’ve taken a dose and jabbing themselves two days in a row, but if I’m methodical about it and take my time, I don’t risk forgetting!

Each time, I hope this is the dose that’s going to work for more than a day or two, but I’m not quite there yet…although i have dropped from 11st 12lb to 10st 13lb. 

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

(Mum, bf, total strangers?)

A couple of the people I know who have been through the journey already have been a great support with their hints and tips. My fiancé is very supportive considering how much time I’m spending grumping around the house moaning about being hungry, and my mum is also very good about it – she’s considering giving Mounjaro a go too.

I’m also a big fan of chatrooms where people can share their worries – the one week I gained 1lb, I was outraged about it until I got some reassurance from a group of total strangers! 

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

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

I’ve eaten so much chicken, I’m practically growing feathers – my new weekly treat is some hot rotisserie chicken with a couple of sausages and buttered sourdough bread. It’s not exactly calorie-deficit friendly, but it is delicious and filling, and packed with protein.

I still enjoy a nice bowl of pasta too, just not every single day, as I’m trying to increase my protein intake.

Nothing’s off the menu, sadly – I wish I could say, like so many others on this journey, that I feel stuffed after a few mouthfuls or can’t bear to even glance at a cheeseburger, but that only applies on one or two days a week for me, so far. When it happens, I’ll happily swap pizza for a salad – which is pretty miraculous, so fingers crossed a higher dose will work a bit better.

Best thing you’ve gained – besides weight loss?

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

Although I’ve ‘only’ lost 13lbs, I can really see the difference in my face – recently, for the first time, some friends took some impromptu pictures of me on a night out and I didn’t have three chins! It’s been five years since I last had a single chin, and it’s lovely to wave goodbye to a flabby face at last and not feel paranoid about unflattering photos going up on Facebook.

I’ve also gained a couple of old size-14 dresses and a belt that I can just about get away with wearing again now…

Anything you wish someone had told you at the start?

(Newbies, take notes.)

That the suppression effect doesn’t kick in immediately for everyone! I was counting down the hours after reading that it can take 72 hours for it to start working, but then it got to five days, then six, and I felt no different.

It’s quite dispiriting when you’re paying a lot of money to feel hungry all day. But it does work sometimes, which keeps me persevering. When I stay full for longer, can only manage small portions and the food noise disappears, it feels like real-life, Harry Potter-style magic.

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.)

I kind of agree it’s an easy way out – but I see absolutely nothing wrong with taking that path! When I’m trying to stick to 1,200 cals a day and I’m really hungry and can’t stop thinking about pizza and nothing fills me up, it reminds me how hard it is to lose weight the usual way. So why wouldn’t I choose an easier way?

The people who annoy me are the, ‘why don’t you eat less and move more instead?’ brigade who have clearly never experienced passing a Chinese takeaway and thinking about Chow Mein for the next five hours.

The jab in full swing makes me feel like I’ve been gifted the same brain as my slender friends, who always seem to be full after half a plateful of food, and don’t start planning dinner halfway through lunch.

Yes, you do have to exercise and calorie count, but for those of us who suffer with food noise and don’t fill up very easily, that’s so much easier to do on the jab than off it.

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 initial goal was to lose two stones, which will place me half a stone under the ‘overweight’ line and give me some wiggle room when I come off the jab. The challenge will be carrying on eating less without the help of the jab, but I really don’t want those chins back, so I’m confident I can manage it.

Finally – give us your one-liner SlimrChat wisdom?

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

Don’t despair if it doesn’t work right away – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.