Hello everyone
So, here we are on week 52 and what a journey! I really didn't think I'd lose so much weight in a year. If you’d told me back then that I’d still be writing about this journey twelve months later and that I’d be nearly unrecognisable, I’d have laughed, probably while eating a cake. Yet here I am, a year older, a lot lighter, and with a story that’s been far more dramatic, hilarious, frustrating and life‑changing than I originally expected.
I wanted to use this final blog to look back on the highs, the lows, and the major milestones that shaped this year. And what a year it’s been.
I started this journey with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I’d never injected myself before and the idea of sticking a needle into my skin was very scary. Luckily, I had someone to help me the first time and I also had SheMed to help me through it. After a few weeks, I was injecting like a pro, although I did have a couple of mishaps in the first couple of weeks!
The early weeks of Mounjaro were a bit of a challenge. The eggy burps were disgusting, nausea popped up occasionally and the switch between diarrhoea and constipation became a recurring theme. But the food noise quietened and my appetite shrank. For the first time in decades, I felt like I wasn’t fighting food cravings every minute of the day.
Unlike other people I read about on SheMed's Facebook group, I didn’t drop weight in dramatic chunks; there were no “I lost a stone in a week!” moments. Instead, it was slow, steady, and very consistent. Half a pound here, a pound there, the occasional whoosh that made me double‑check the scales to make sure they weren’t broken, but slow and steady.
Over time, those tiny losses added up to something huge. I watched myself move from the 16‑stone bracket to the 15s, then the 14s, then the 13s. I hit the 12s and nearly fell off the scales in shock. And then — the moment I never thought I’d see again — the 11‑stone bracket. I hadn’t been there in more than twenty‑five years. All in all, I’ve lost more than five stone. Five - actual - stone. It still doesn’t feel real.
The highs this year have been nothing short of life‑changing. I can walk for miles without stopping. I can climb hills without feeling like my lungs are trying to escape through my mouth. I can tie my shoelaces without performing a small yoga routine beforehand. I can wear dresses, shorts, and fitted tops without feeling like I need to keep trying to cover my stomach.
My resting heart rate dropped. My blood sugar normalised. My cholesterol improved. My blood pressure settled. My joints stopped screaming every time I stood up. I slept better. I breathed better. I lived better. Then there were the little things; the things you don’t realise you’ve lost until you get them back. Crossing my legs comfortably, sitting in a chair without worrying about whether it would hold me, walking into a room without scanning for the nearest seat and buying clothes because I liked them, not because they were the only ones that fit.
I even started exercising again, proper exercise, not just the “walk to the fridge and back” variety. Joe Wicks, walking challenges, long days out, and the occasional burst of enthusiasm that made me feel like I was starring in my own fitness montage. Plus, of course, I've now joined the gym.
Of course, it hasn’t all been sunshine and salads. There were weeks when the side effects hit hard. The diarrhoea episode at work; the one that forced me to break my lifelong rule about never doing a number two anywhere but home. The stomach cramps, the wind, the nausea, the bloating and the constipation… all part of the glamorous world of weight‑loss medication. There were weeks were I plateaued, weeks where I gained weight despite eating like a Victorian orphan, weeks where hunger returned with a vengeance, weeks where I felt tired, emotional, or just fed up with the whole thing.
And then there was the heartbreak of losing Mounjaro. The price hike that forced me to switch to Wegovy felt like a slap in the face. It was so unfair, particularly as I'd convinced myself that it wouldn't affect me because I was on a 12 month contract. I was terrified to switch as I’d heard the horror stories. I’d read the comparisons and I’d convinced myself that the suppression I was getting with Mounjaro would end and the food noise would be back.
But Wegovy surprised me. The suppression wasn't as good at first but it didn't disappear altogether. I had a bit of food noise at the start but not so bad I was struggling to stay within a calorie deficit and the weight continued to drop slowly and consistently. I finally realised that the medication wasn’t doing all the work anymore; I was, which bodes well for the future. My habits have changed and so has my mindset. My relationship with food has changed and I eat much more healthily. I feel I'm not the same person who started this journey a year ago.
The weight loss is incredible and the health improvements are life‑changing. My confidence is through the roof but the biggest achievement this year isn’t a number on the scales. It’s the fact that I didn’t give up. Not when the side effects hit. Not when the weight loss slowed. Not when the medication changed. I just kept going and I think I should be very proud of myself.
I’m not done yet. I still have goals: reaching the overweight BMI category, building more strength, improving my fitness, and continuing to nurture this healthier, happier version of myself. For the first time in my adult life, I’m determined not to gain all the weight back and I'm going to carry on using Wegovy for the foreseeable future.
So, for the last time, here are this weeks stats:
Weight - 11st 7lb
BMI - 30.4 (so close!)
Total weight loss since 6th Jan 2025 - 5 stone 3lbs
Total Wegovy loss - 9.5lb
Wegovy dose - 2.4mg
Here are the before, during and after photos and a weight loss graph proving that Wegovy does exactly what it says on the tin:
This year has been transformative. Hard at times, hilarious at others, but always worth it and if the next year is even half as life‑changing as this one, I’ll consider myself very lucky. I might come back with a couple of updates over the next year so watch this space.
Until next time — and thank you for being part of the journey and good luck with your own weight loss journey. If I can do it, anyone can and it's so worth it.
Over and out x
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