'I lost 11st on Mounjaro - I can feel my bones and it's uncomfortable'
Emilly Murray, a 35-year-old mum-of-three from Liverpool, has shared the weight loss journey that saw her shed an impressive 11st, but says it is not all positive. Once tipping the scales at 22st 1.5lbs and struggling to fit into a size 30, Emilly was a self-proclaimed "secret eater".
In just one year, she managed to lose over six stone through a calorie deficit and regular exercise before starting on the weight loss jab Mounjaro in December 2024. Since then, she's lost an additional five stone and credits the jab with helping to curb her "constant obsession and thinking about food".
Now weighing a trim 10st 9.5lbs and fitting comfortably into a size eight, the former "binge eater" admits she hardly recognises herself. However, her incredible transformation hasn't been without its downsides. Emilly has found several negatives to using Mounjaro, including difficulty shaving her armpits due to them being hollow, receiving unsolicited comments about her weight, and not recognising her own reflection.
The stay-at-home mum said: "It feels amazing, but it's very surreal. I look in the mirror and I still don't see what other people see.
"It's really hard to not feel like the old me. Your brain just doesn't catch up. Lying in the bath is not comfy.
"Obviously I'm not used to feeling all these bones. When I was on holiday I was so uncomfortable on the chairs and the sunbed.
"My coccyx hurt the most. I was obviously that fat they [her bones] didn't touch much.
"I didn't roll over in bed and feel hip bones and now I do and I'm like, 'Oh'. It really is uncomfortable.
"On my armpits I've never had a gap there, it's always been flat. Now there's a big gaping hole.
"I've constantly got cuts because I'm not used to being able to shave my armpits now they are hollow. It's strange, I think I might have to get laser."
Following her independent six stone weight loss, Emilly discovered she was battling to "shed any more weight".
She said: "I've got disordered eating, I'm a bit of a binge eater. I was binge eating over the weekend and restricting my calories during the week. I wasn't addressing the issues I had with food."
Typically consuming just one 2,000 calorie meal daily, Emilly would visit the shop each evening and purchase Doritos, a share bar of chocolate and a bag of sweets and "eat them all". Following her research into the weight loss injection, she bought her first Mounjaro pen for £105 from a private pharmacy and began using it in December 2024.
She said: "I've never looked back, it's the best thing I've ever done. I've never not struggled so much because I've not got that constant obsession of thinking about food every minute of every day.
"People talk about 'food noise'. I've got friends who are like 'oh I forgot to eat today'. When you take Mounjaro and that stops, it's like mental clarity. You literally just eat for fuel and I hate to say 'normal people', but that's what normal people do."
With her target weight of 9st 7lbs within reach, Emilly's next phase involves addressing excess skin removal.
She said: "Because my brain has not caught up it's hard to be like 'this is enough now' because I've got loose skin. I've got it everywhere and it's quite bad.
"The top negative I would say is other people's opinions. I must get hundreds of comments through the week saying 'just eat less and move more'.
"People don't see obesity as a disease. I haven't lived my life, I've always hid away and I've been miserable.
"When you've got people who don't struggle with their weight giving their opinions saying you were 'cheating' using medication is one of the most negative things. The risks of obesity are far worse to me than the risk of Mounjaro, but when you start Mounjaro everyone wants to say how dangerous it is.
"Now as I've lost weight people are telling me I need to stop, or I've gone too far. Where were these people when I was 22 stone?"
Beyond having to adjust to feeling her bones beneath her skin following her dramatic weight loss, Emilly finds herself battling unexpected challenges like properly shaving her underarms due to newly formed hollows. She continues to find shopping for clothes bizarre and frequently gravitates towards larger sizes out of habit.
Emilly said: "I was able to go to Zara and buy clothes. I always remember every winter trying to find a coat that fit me and it was so difficult, there were no options.
"It's always been such a negative experience. It's so nice now that it can be a nice experience. I actually stood in the changing room and cried."
Blaming her former eating habits on emotional triggers, Emilly explained "things got worse" when her daughter was hospitalised following a premature birth and rare birth defect.
She said: "It would trigger me to binge, I'd secret-eat. I own my own house, but I'd still hide wrappers in the bin. I wouldn't have breakfast and sometimes skip dinner.
"Throughout the day around 3pm I'd just grab a chocolate bar and a coffee on the way to the school run. When the kids had gone to bed I'd go to the Tesco at the end of my road and buy a big massive packet of family Doritos, a share bar of chocolate and a bag of sweets and eat them all.
"I was a secret eater. The one meal I had would be 2,000 calories - even though I was full I had to have something after.
"Now I'll have a clear whey yoghurt and fruit for breakfast and chicken thighs for dinner. I'll make, for example, a chicken tikka for dinner and have that, but it's all calorie-counted and portion-controlled."
Emilly intends to reduce her doses and eventually cease taking the injection within the next six to twelve months.
She added: "It's literally changed my life. I wish I'd started it earlier. It's about rebuilding that relationship with food whilst you're on it. It's not even about losing the weight the most important thing about it is rebuilding that relationship."
Emilly's pre-weight loss diet
Breakfast: Nothing
Lunch: Nothing
Dinner: Air fryer meals or takeaway
Snacks: Mid-afternoon chocolate bar and coffee, evening snacks like Doritos, chocolate and jelly sweets
Drinks: Fizzy drinks
Emilly's current diet
Breakfast: Clear whey protein, yoghurt and fruit
Lunch: Chicken thighs with salad
Snacks: Meat, cheeses, fruit
Drinks: Water or sugar-free juice
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