I recovered from booze & drug addiction then piled on 3 stone – Mounjaro was the only thing that helped

The Sun

4 days ago

CAT Sims has opened up about turning to Mounjaro after quitting booze and drugs lead her turning to food and piling on three stones.
Author and podcaster Cat, 43, from London, hailed the weight loss jab as 'rehab for food' and praised it for being a 'silver bullet.'
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Cat has previously opened up about battling an alcoholic and drug addiction - but managed to kick the habit of having a bottle of wine a night and taking cocaine regularly.
However, she then struggled with food.
Speaking on the podcast, Made by Mammas, she candidly shared that she is 'all or nothing' and food is a 'big issue for her.'
Cat, who is married to husband Jimmy and has two daughters, Billie and Bo, explained: 'I think actually that was probably my first addiction.
'But for me, I'm sure there are people who can balance who can moderate. I do not have that gene.
'I've recently started Mounjaro, I've recently started the weight loss jabs.
'I was three stone heavier than I was when I gave up booze.
'I think people think if you give up booze you're going to lose a little weight.
'I lost nothing. I just went straight into food and chocolate and sugar.'
She then explained how Mounjaro has helped her 'food addiction', and said: 'For me it's like rehab for food addiction.
'You're locked down and while you're there you do all the work, so that when you come out of rehab you can do it on your own.
'And that's what Mounjaro is for me.'
Cat shared how she feels like her food addiction is now gone thanks to the controversial weight loss jab.
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She added: 'I have no cravings for the crappy food or the ultra processed stuff.
'It was always a difficult thing because with booze and alcohol I was always like I can just abstain, I don't have to have those things, but food, I can't just not eat.
'But now I think doing the work I'm doing while I'm on the injections has made me realise that I can abstain from the ultra processed stuff.
'There are side effects, as there are with any drug or medication or anything that you put into you that isn't naturally supposed to be, but for me, it's been a silver bullet in terms of helping me manage what is essentially a food addiction, you know, and also I'm perimenopausal.'
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MOUNJARO TAKEOVER
Mounjaro injections are licensed for patients with type 2 diabetes and are administered every seven days.
They are also available to assist those who are clinically obese (with a Body Mass Index of 30 or over).
The drugs, which have been widely regarded as 'fat jabs', can be prescribed by a practitioner - such as a doctor, nurse or a pharmacist-independent prescriber.
But increasingly, we are seeing more and more people buying them through online pharmacies, without sufficient checks.
Not only this, but recently, figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency revealed that fat jabs had been linked to 82 deaths across the UK.
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.