Fat jabs helped me lose 7st – I'd tried every diet under the sun and it's not lazy way out, says Gogglebox's Amy Tapper

The Sun

5 hours ago

AFTER years of fad diets and sweat-soaked gym sessions, ex-Gogglebox favourite Amy Tapper has undergone a major body transformation.
But the secret behind her dramatic 7st weight loss isn't what you might think – and Amy herself warns that it's not for everyone.
The 25-year-old TV star, who won the nation's hearts alongside her family on the Channel 4 sofa hit, has dropped from a size 26 to a size 18 in just 12 months.
And after keeping schtum about exactly how she's shed the pounds, she today reveals it is all thanks to the weight loss drug Mounjaro.
In an exclusive photoshoot with Fabulous, Amy shows off her incredible new look and opens up for the first time about her journey, telling us: 'I've gone to doctors all my life and they can never tell me the problem – because there's actually nothing wrong with me.
'My bloods are always amazing, I haven't got polycystic ovaries, I haven't got a thyroid problem and I haven't got anything that usually makes you put on weight. It is just genetics.'
Dad Jonathan, 58, has slimmed down from his 21st 3lb weight to 18st 8lbs since he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2019.
She spoke to her doctor whether her weight was inherited from her dad - but was told it could be from distant relative but it's impossible to know.
For single Amy, who starred on E4 matchmaking show Celebs Go Dating in 2018, trying to slim down has been a lifelong battle.
'I have done every single diet under the sun,' says Amy, who, like
56 per cent of UK adults, has followed fad diets in a desperate bid to lose weight, including one which only let her eat chicken and sweet potatoes.
Gogglebox's Amy Tapper shows off incredible 5st weight loss in amazing before and after pics
'The same thing happens over and over again. I get three stone lighter and I don't lose any more.'
For years Amy, from Edgware, north London, was trapped in a vicious cycle of losing some weight, only to put it all back on again.
'Trying to lose weight became my full-time job,' says Amy, who managed to shed just over 3st back in 2021 by healthy eating and regular boxing.
'I found that pressurising as well, because I knew the way my body worked.
'Once I got over that 3st mark, it would take me a month to lose another pound.
'I would be really good all week, I would work out, and I would lose nothing. So then it was just like: 'What's the point?''
Although she has always eaten healthily, Amy says she struggled with her portion sizes.
She said: 'I don't think I've ever even tried a full-fat coke in my life.
'It was more the portions of it. I'd be able to have a three-course meal. I'd be able to eat things on a bigger scale.'
Amy says that last year she finally reached breaking point.
'I felt there was nothing else I could do,' she admits.
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'I actually went to a doctor about surgery, because it got past the point of caring about how I look."
Although her doctors told her she was physically healthy, Amy struggled with the secondary effects of being overweight.
She said: 'I'd get really sweaty and really out of breath quickly.'
'If my friend lived on the top floor somewhere I'd dread to go there because I'd know by the time I'd get to the top I'd be out of breath.'
In June last year, her doctor introduced her to weight loss drug Mounjaro.
500,000 people in the UK are currently taking either Mounjaro or Wegovy, according to Simple Online Pharmacy, with a staggering 1.5 million Brits currently using some kind of weight loss drug.
That's up 24.6 per cent since October 2024, according to market intelligence company IQVIA.
Typically, patients can expect to lose 15 to 20 per cent of their total body weight in a matter of months.
It proved to be a huge turning point for 5ft 3 Amy, who has lost a third of her body weight since 2021.
'I've been on these injections for a year now and I've lost 7st,' she says.
'I'm not sure what my BMI was exactly but I was definitely considered morbidly obese.'
She has been taking a 15mg weekly dose since February which she worked her way up to from 2.5mg.
'I'm fitting into size 18 clothes for the first time since I was 15 or 16 – it's hard for me to believe.
'It's changed my life. I went to the theatre the other night and when I sat down, my thighs weren't touching the person next to me, or the sides of the chairs. I had room.
'I was like: 'Oh my God, Mum, this is what it feels like to just fit.''
That feeling of not fitting has dogged Amy ever since she was a child.
'Even growing up as a kid and going to Disney at a young age, I wasn't able to go on certain rides,' she says.
'You don't choose that life at that age.'
But while weight loss medication has been life-changing for Amy, she believes that it shouldn't be dished out to those who see it as a quick fix.
'It frustrates me on a daily basis knowing that certain people are on it,' she says.
'It's too available for your normal person. If you've only got 3st or less to lose, you should not be on it.
'And unfortunately, it ruins it for people like me who it's absolutely life-changing for.
'I also get annoyed that some people call it the 'lazy way out'.
'I don't want people to think that I've sat around for the last 17 years of my life not trying to lose weight.
'I want people to know that this has been my only option to get this far.'
Amy strongly believes that Mounjaro is a drug designed for those who, like her, have bodies that don't respond to traditional dieting or exercise.
And despite the benefits, she even fears for those who use it when they don't need to.
'It goes for your muscles,' she says.
NO QUICK FIX
'That's why there's the whole ' Ozempic face ' and 'Ozempic arms' and all of that stuff. 'It's also really damaging for people with eating disorders.'
She has worked with personal trainer Tash since the end of 2021 doing regular workouts to help her tone up and maintain muscle mass.
She said: 'Exercising alongside Mounjaro is so important - it's very hard to work out if you are at that point of needing Mounjaro.'
Amy says she has only experienced side effects when going up a dose - and minimises them by drinking plenty of water and taking electrolytes.
For Amy, this is no quick fix and she believes she will need to take weight loss medication 'for life'.
Now, she makes sure she follows doctor's orders by listening to what her body needs and makes sure her small meals are nutritionally dense.
She said: 'If I'm not hungry I'm not going to force myself to eat.
'I do have to make sure I get protein in and that is my number one priority so I eat a lot of chicken and tuna.'
I'm fitting into size 18 clothes for the first time since I was 15 or 16 – it's hard for me to believe.
Although she was open about taking the medication with friends and family, she said she didn't want to open up until she felt she was educated enough to answer her followers' questions.
She is keen for fans to understand the commitment of taking Mounjaro.
She says: 'What people don't realise is that it does so much more than just suppress your appetite.
'It also curbs cravings and slows down your digestive system to keep you fuller for longer.
'There's no such thing as an easy way out. Even surgery is not an easy way out.
'Coming off the injections will mean my body goes back to its old ways.
'I don't want people to think that they can just go on it, lose a couple of stone, come off of it, and be chilling.
'The minute they come off, their bodies will go back to doing exactly what they did before and they're going to store fat.'
Amy's family – brother Josh, 27, who works for a think-tank, nursery manager mum Nikki, 52, and dad Jonathan, 58, a chauffeur – are thrilled at her weight loss success.
'They're so proud and so happy about it,' she says.
'They were always supportive of me their whole lives - and now they are happy to see me so happy.'
The star, who has been sharing her weight loss journey with her 76,000 Instagram followers, now laughs at the trolls who once attacked her over her size.
BODY BATTLE
'I used to scroll through my phone looking at negative comments calling me 'the fat girl in the corner', but now I see them arguing in the comments section about if I am on Mounjaro or not. It makes me laugh.'
Despite dropping an incredible 7st, Amy's body battle is far from over.
Having lost weight at such speed, she eventually hopes to have skin removal surgery once she has reached a stable weight in the next couple years.
'It's a long way down the line, but I've lost the weight sooner than I would have ever imagined in my life,' she says.
'I'm definitely having a party after I have reached my goal weight and had my loose skin removed.
'You need to celebrate these things. Otherwise, what's the point?'
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.