Mother credits Mounjaro injections with nine-stone weight loss and end to £1,000-a-month 'boredom spending' habit

A 34-year-old mother in Sheffield credits weekly Mounjaro injections with both a nine-stone weight loss and the end of what she described as a £600–£1,000-a-month ‘‘boredom spending’’ habit.

Grace Parkin said she began taking the Eli Lilly medication, marketed as Mounjaro (tirzepatide), in May 2024 after previous attempts to address her weight — including a gastric balloon procedure and a different prescription jab — had not resolved what she called the ‘‘food noise’’ and impulsive buying. At her heaviest she weighed 19st 11lbs and wore a size 26; she now says she weighs 10st 7lbs and wears a size 12, a loss she puts at about 9st 4lbs.

Parkin said the injections suppressed not only appetite for food but also the urge to make rapid, impulsive purchases she associated with seeking a short-lived endorphin rush. She told reporters she had previously spent hundreds on clothes, eating out, holidays and alcohol, sometimes spending between £50 and £300 in a single evening and visiting her local shopping centre multiple times a week. Since starting Mounjaro, she said, her monthly discretionary spending has fallen by more than £600.

Before the injections, Parkin described a pattern of strict weekday dieting followed by weekend binge drinking and high-calorie meals. She said she paid about £150 a month for a private prescription for the injections at the outset; recent price increases for the pens have raised the cost of treatment to around £320 per month. Parkin said the reduction in her nonessential spending has left her able to continue paying for the medication.

Parkin previously underwent a gastric balloon in 2009 and later tried the weight-loss jab Saxenda but stopped that treatment because of severe nausea. She said she experienced fewer adverse effects on Mounjaro and that the treatment ‘‘turns the food noise off’’ and removed the guilt she associated with eating. Mounjaro was originally developed to treat diabetes; tirzepatide mimics hormones that regulate appetite and blood sugar.

Medical literature and regulatory guidance note that tirzepatide and similar glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists can cause side effects such as nausea, abdominal discomfort and constipation, and that individual responses vary. Parkin acknowledged that many users report such side effects but said her main change was a reduction in cravings for both junk food and compulsive shopping.

Parkin provided a snapshot of how her diet and spending changed after beginning treatment. She said weekend breakfasts that once might have been bacon sandwiches and days filled with takeaways and meals out have been largely replaced by skipped breakfasts, lighter lunches such as sliced meat with Greek yogurt, and dinners of lean protein and vegetables. On spending, she said purchases that previously ranged from £200 to £400 on takeaways or nights out are now capped at about £100, and clothing purchases have likewise been reduced.

Clinicians and public-health experts have cautioned that while weight-loss medications can be effective for some patients, they are not a cure-all for behavioural or psychological drivers of eating and other addictive behaviours. Treatment plans typically combine medication with dietary counselling, exercise and, when appropriate, psychological support to address underlying triggers for overeating or impulse spending.

Parkin acknowledged that private prescriptions and the rising cost of branded pens make access to these medications inequitable for some patients. She said she would ‘‘shop around’’ for pharmacies to manage costs and stressed she did not want to revert to previous habits.

Her account adds to a growing body of personal reports from people using GLP-1 receptor agonists and related drugs for weight loss, which have drawn attention for their effects on appetite and behaviour as well as for supply and cost issues in several countries. Regulators and health services continue to evaluate long-term effectiveness, safety and appropriate use of these medications in people without diabetes.