I lost half my bodyweight but it had nothing to do with Ozempic – a simple daily exercise helped me shed the pounds
A WOMAN has revealed how she lost 10 stone in two years without Ozempic thanks to one simple daily exercise.
Hannah Mai, 37, was diagnosed with Cushing's disease - a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of cortisol - in October 2020, after gaining 10 stone in two and a half years.
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8
Hannah Mai gained 10st due to a rare condition that saw her balloon to 20st
Credit: SWNS
8
She has now lost the weight in just two years
Credit: SWNS
8
However, Hannah did it all naturally without the help of fat jabs
Credit: SWNS
Five months after her diagnosis, in February 2021, Hannah underwent brain surgery to remove the pituitary tumour that causes the condition, and was placed on steroids to control her condition.
In April, 2023, Hannah was taken off her steroid medication and was determined to shed the 10 stone she gained due to the disease as she now weighed 20st 5lbs and was a size 26.
In two years, Hannah slimmed down to 10 stone 4lbs and a size 10 by eating high-protein meals and doing pilates every day.
Hannah, who is currently unemployed, from Coventry, Warwickshire, says: "I think Ozempic is great for people who need it, and for medical reasons.
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Read More on Weight Losss
"It is really helping some people, but I feel if you give yourself a chance, you can really push yourself.
"Once I started losing the weight, I just kept going.
"It isn't easy, you really have to push yourself, and focus on who you want to be and think about who you want to be."
When she turned 30, Hannah noticed she started gaining weight and went from nine stone to 16 stone in a few months.
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Most read in Fabulous
She said she kept going to the doctor, but would always be asked if she was pregnant, or the weight gain was blamed on hormones.
Hannah says: "I was always around nine stone, but I noticed how I started to gain a bit of weight.
Doc gives advice on how to tackle Mounjaro side effect of excess loose skin
"I knew there was something wrong with me, but people around me thought I had changed my diet and asked if I was eating more.
"I was asked if I was pregnant six times, and told that my weight gain could be caused by hormones.
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"I went up to 20 stone at my heaviest."
In October 2020, more than two years after she started gaining weight, Hannah woke up one morning with a hunched back.
Hannah googled the cause, and it mentioned Cushing's disease, and after seeing the other symptoms - including weight gain - she went straight to the doctor.
The doctor transferred her to University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire, where an MRI scan and blood test confirmed she had Cushing's disease.
Advertisement
Hannah says: "I printed off the list of symptoms and took them to my doctor, who then referred me to the hospital.
"There, I had an MRI scan and blood tests, which confirmed that I had Cushing's disease.
8
She switched up her diet to calorie controlled and fresh ingredients
Credit: SWNS
8
As well as healthy eating she also practiced pilates every day
Credit: SWNS
Advertisement
8
Hannah says that anyone can lose weight if they put the hard work in
Credit: SWNS
"I was relieved but scared when I got the diagnosis. I had been saying for years that there was something wrong with me."
Five months after her diagnosis, in February 2021, Hannah underwent brain surgery to remove the pituitary tumour that causes the condition, and was placed on steroids to control her condition.
Then, after two years on steroid medication -to control her condition - Hannah was taken off her meds because she started to get better.
Advertisement
After she came off her medication, Hannah says she knew she was better and became determined to lose weight.
The 5 best exercises to lose weight
By Lucy Gornall, personal trainer and health journalist
EXERCISE can be intimidating and hard to devote yourself to. So how do you find the right workout for you?
As a PT and fitness journalist, I've tried everything.
I've taken part in endless fitness competitions, marathons and I maintain a regime of runs, strength training and Pilates.
Fitness is so entrenched in my life, I stick to it even at Christmas!
The key is finding an activity you love that can become a habit.
My top five forms of exercise, especially if you're trying to lose weight, are:
Walking
Running
Pilates
High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
Strength training
She adds: "It wasn't easy to lose weight whilst I was still on steroids, as soon as I came off them, I knew this was my body and I was a lot better.
"I really pushed myself, I worked super hard, cut out all sugar, cut out dairy, and gluten after I was diagnosed with celiac disease "I have a low-carb, high-protein diet with lots of vegetables, and I do pilates every day."
In two years, Hannah was able to shift the pounds going down to 10 stone from 20 stone.
Advertisement
She went from wearing a size 26 clothes to wearing a size 10 - back to where she was before Cushing's disease.
Hannah says: "I am super proud of myself, I am always worried that the weight will come back.
"I feel so much happier. When I look back at myself, I just can't believe I was that size.
"When I look back at old photos, I feel very sad about what happened to me, but it makes me think that I need to be proud about how far I have come."
Advertisement
Hannah is currently raising money for The Pituitary Foundation, to donate click
8
Hannah is 'so much happier' now she has lost the weight
Credit: SWNS
8
She says she is extremely proud of how far she has come
Credit: SWNS
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In his book, Hari recounts his own experiences of using Ozempic; how after his initial dose, he'd gone to his usual cafe for his usual breakfast and felt full after a few mouthfuls; how this feeling had continued, resulting in him experiencing effortless weight loss. I knew how this felt, having had gastric sleeve surgery in 2019. I'd been fat since my first pregnancy in 2000, when I gained an impressive 30kg — and had been trying to lose it ever since. The gastric sleeve was the most successful intervention — I dropped from 92kg to 72kg. But, six years later, my weight was slowly increasing again. I wasn't fat-fat — I'd regained around 8kg, which my bariatric surgeon in Estonia said was normal, and not to worry, but I was concerned about future-proofing my hips and knees and overall health. Suzanne Harrington: "The irony of treating a man-made problem — obesity — with a man-made solution — obesity drugs — is glaring. Almost as glaring as the correlation between widespread obesity and the mass consumption of ultra-processed foods. First, we had fat Americans; now it's all of us." Pic: Andrew Dunsmore INTERNALISED FATTISM Also, after going to the trouble and expense of bariatric surgery, I was done with being fat. I was not going there again. And, yes, that is 100% my own internalised fattism — as a 50-something woman raised by a generation of fatphobics, the societal messaging growing up was that being fat and female was the worst possible combination. Boys don't make passes at girls with fat asses. Imagine your kids hearing that now, even jokily. The highest compliment, genuine and well-meaning, was always 'have you lost weight?' This is not to blame previous generations, socialised to value female worth based wholly on appearance, which was calculated by prettiness and thinness. The democratising influence of the internet on how we view bodies — how one size does not fit all — was still some way off. There was no Lizzo back then, just cottage cheese diets and the male gaze. It was hard not to absorb this messaging. It's not always just a female thing either — a 57-year-old male friend, reared in a loving but fatphobic household, developed bulimia in his early teens that lasted into his 30s. An 86-year-old friend still weighs herself every day, having taken up smoking during menopause in an attempt at weight management. How awful, I think. Then I remember that I stick a needle in my stomach every Friday so that I don't get fat again. Does the availability of Mounjaro — and its effortless weight-loss stablemates — negate all the progress made by the body positive movement? Will fat acceptance cease to be? The aforementioned Lizzo has recently lost a significant amount of weight, as has Adele. Should fat public figures remain fat to make other fat people feel better? Or is that the same as pressuring people to be thin but in reverse? Why should anyone owe anyone else fatness or thinness? Lizzo doesn't talk about body positivity — she talks about body neutrality; your body being nobody else's business. Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic offer a way out of obesity that, until now, has only been available via bariatric surgery, something many people could not access. This is an opportunity for metabolic reset; whether you use it intermittently, or longer term, it's a win-win. Whether your reasons stem from health concerns or societal conditioning — or a complicated mix of both — that's your decision, it's about your levels of comfort within the body you inhabit. For people living with obesity, it's a godsend. Or, as Prof Le Roux puts it: 'We need to treat the disease of obesity the same as we treat asthma or high blood pressure or any other medical condition.' Suzanne Harrington: "This is an opportunity for metabolic reset; whether you use it intermittently, or longer term, it's a win-win. Whether your reasons stem from health concerns or societal conditioning — or a complicated mix of both — that's your decision, it's about your levels of comfort within the body you inhabit." Pic: Andrew Dunsmore HOW IT WORKS Both semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) mimic a hormone produced in the body called GLP-1, released in the gut whenever we eat. This hormone signals the brain to reduce appetite while setting off increased insulin production. Mounjaor also mimics a second hormone, GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide). This is why tirzepatide is linked to greater weight loss. One study using data from two clinical trials of people with type 2 diabetes over 68 weeks, found tirzepatide resulted in a weight loss of 17.8% compared with 12.4% relative to placebo for semaglutide.
