DOCTORS have dubbed her the “Ozempic poster girl” after she managed to keep her six stone weight loss off for two YEARS after she gave up the jabs.
And now Aisling McCarthy has revealed exactly how she did it – and the phenomenal impact it’s had on her confidence and her VERY spicy sex life.
“The whole experience has totally changed how I feel about myself, never mind the amount of weight I’ve lost – the feeling inside for me matters more than that,” she told The Sun.
At her heaviest, 5ft 5in Aisling, tipped the scales at 17st 7lbs and says her size was having a huge effect on both her mental and physical health, as well as her relationship with husband Jonathan, 46, a driver.
Aisling, who worked for a credit union before medically retiring in 2021, says her body struggles began when she was at secondary school.
She said: “Growing up, I was skinny, but I always thought I was fat. Even looking back now at pictures, I think, how did I think I was fat back then when I was size 10? I wasn’t fat but my head made me feel like I was.”
It didn’t help that Aisling, 43, from Cork, Ireland, had size 34E breasts in secondary school, meaning that while she was a size 10 on the bottom, she’d have to size up to a 14-16 on top, making her feel much bigger than she was.
I started setting an alarm for every two hours otherwise I’d forget to eat
Aisling McCarthy
She explains: “In secondary school, around the age of 15, I’d have my bra on but I used to wear a polo neck inside my shirt so my boobs wouldn’t be showing.
“When you have big boobs, you sweat, and because of how they han,g you get fungus infections underneath. I used to put talcum powder underneath to stop the friction and get treatment cream from the doctors.
“The smell was just disgusting – it was like a rotten egg kind of smell. I couldn’t even jog because I felt like I’d get two black eyes.”
By the time she reached her early 30s, Aisling, who was around 9.2st, was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and five years later arthritis – and her world as she knew it came crumbling down.
She experienced excruciating pain that would pang through her back, hips and hands, leaving her feeling depressed.
Aisling, who is mum to Bethany, 11, said: “I became very restricted with what I was able to do exercise-wise.
“When I got fibromyalgia, arthritis and pains in the hip, I couldn’t do what I used to, such as going to the gym and walking around the fields. It slowed me down a lot, so the weight crept on from there.
“I’ve always been an emotional eater, so if I was depressed, I’d treat myself and eat something just to make me stop thinking about what I was depressed over.
“If I was in the shop and saw a nice cake, I’d pick it up even if I wasn’t hungry. I have a sweet tooth, so it was all sweet stuff that I’d go for.”
As she piled on the pounds, Aisling’s breasts increased to a size 38HH, and she started using her long hair as a comfort blanket to hide them.
“I always had my hair long because I thought if I cut it really, really short I’d look fatter than I really was,” she says. “When I had my big boobs, I didn’t like them, so I’d use my hair to help cover them.”
‘Couldn’t hold my child’
When Aisling fell pregnant with her daughter Bethany in January 2014, she was regularly reliant on crutches or a wheelchair to get around.
And by the time her daughter was born in October 2014, Aisling, then aged 32 and 11st, wasn’t able to lift her due to the pain.
She says: “I didn’t have baby weight. I actually lost 3st when I was pregnant with Bethany because I had gestational diabetes so they put me on the diabetic diet.
“But because of not being able to lift or hold her because of my hands and back, that’s when the weight started to creep back on.
“Jonathan would have to do the rocking to sleep and stuff like that, and I was getting frustrated that I couldn’t help.
“It’s hard not being able to hold your child, yet watching your husband do it – you’re not jealous, but you’re looking at him doing all the stuff with her that you want to do.”
Within a year, Aisling’s weight had piled on pretty fast, and before she knew it, she’d ballooned to a size 20-22 and weighed a whopping 17 and a half stone, which was her heaviest ever weight.
Adamant she wanted to feel healthy but keep her curves, the mum-of-one turned to a variety of diets – from Slimming World to Slimfast.
But while she lost some of the weight, she piled it back on just as quickly because she felt it just wasn’t “sustainable.”
Soon, Aisling’s weight gain started to take a toll on her sex life with husband Jonathan, too.
She admits: “It was non-existent. I was just more conscious about myself. I’m the type of person who likes to role-play and dress up a little, but I wasn’t wearing any of it because I felt like I was huge.
“Me and my husband were friends 18 years before we got together, so he’s seen everything and then for him to see me like that, I didn’t like it – even though he didn’t care and it was all me.
Our sex life was non-existent. I was just more conscious about myself
Aisling McCarthy
“And I was in so much pain with my back and in my hips, he was afraid he’d hurt me.”
Desperate for help, in April 2022, she visited her doctor who recommended Ozempic.
The prescription semaglutide drug, which had primarily been used as a treatment for diabetes, had only been approved by the European Medicines Agency for weight loss in November 2021.
It was something that worried Aisling, so she carried out her own research – even contacting the makers Novo Nordisk, who talked her through everything.
After learning it replicates the hormone GLP-1, which regulates appetite and slows down digestion, meaning those who take it will feel fuller after eating less, she decided it was worth a try.
Aisling paid £121.49 for a monthly prescription and started injecting herself with a 0.25mg dose weekly, which she says is the “tolerance dose” to see how her body coped with the medication.
After testing how her body reacted to it, the dosage doubled after four weeks and then increased to 1mg after another two months.
She lost a whopping 5lbs in the first week, before then going on to lose a steady 1-2lbs a week, but it wasn’t without its side effects.
“At the very start I had nausea but I treated it like I was pregnant and would settle it with dry biscuits or ginger,” she explains.
“Once I did that, I was fine – and it was only on the day of injection I’d get the side effects.
“Every time I injected I’d also get a headache and tiredness but after a while, you get used to it and you know what you’re going to get so you can be more prepared for it.”
In the first week, Aisling was left feeling “knackered” and “exhausted” after the Ozempic suppressed her appetite so much so, she forgot to eat.
She recalls: “I’d get up in the morning and I wouldn’t even think about making my own breakfast. It turns off everything. You just don’t think about food even if you’re making it for someone else.”
However, after a visit to the doctor following a pain in her chest, where she was left feeling like she was having a heart attack, she was told she needed to eat more calories.
“I started setting an alarm for every two hours, otherwise I’d forget to eat,” she adds.
But while Aisling didn’t diet, she did reduce her portion sizes and cut out all of the rubbish she was eating before – including the Chinese takeaways, sweets, chocolate and popcorn.
She says: “I knew this was my last chance now, and if I was paying for the injections, I wanted to use them to my advantage. I didn’t want to come off them and then need them again.”
If I go on top now I don’t feel like a pig on top of him, or if I do any other position all you’re looking at is your faults and now I’m like, ‘yep, I look fantastic!’ It’s so much better now
Aisling McCarthy
So while Aisling would eat her usual tea and toast or boiled eggs for breakfast, she started adding more protein such as a probiotic drinks and yoghurts.
“I wasn’t as tired anymore because I was eating proper foods as well,” she continues. “I wasn’t craving the sugar or those foods because for me, it turned off the craving for the sugar.”
As she started losing weight and eating a healthier diet, her energy and confidence came back – as did her sex life with Jonathan.
“Oh yeaaaaah!” she enthuses, speaking of getting back into role play. “Let’s just say our holiday to Italy was brilliant. It was a fantastic holiday! I’m more confident in myself.
“If I go on top now I don’t feel like a pig on top of him, or if I do any other position all I was looking at before was my faults and now I’m like, ‘yep, I look fantastic!’ It’s so much better now.
“He can see I’m more happier in myself too!”
While Aisling didn’t set a goal weight because she didn’t want to add any “pressure” to the situation, within a year she’d lost around 5st 5lbs.
It’s believed around 1.5million people use weight loss injections in the UK – yet it was only in June that GPs were given the go ahead to prescribe other GLP-1 medications such as Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide).
Several celebrities have spoken out about their weight loss journey, with Sharon Osbourne admitting to using Ozempic in order to shed 42 pounds.
During a chat with Piers Morgan, she described some of the side effects and said: “You don’t throw up physically, but you’ve got that feeling. It was about two, or three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time. You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat.
“That’s why I keep saying you’ve got to keep this stuff away from younger people because they will go berserk on it, and it’s not right.”
Stephen Fry has previously shared his harrowing experience with Ozempic and told how the “fat jab” caused him to vomit up to five times a day.
Due to the increasing popularity of the weight loss jab, a global shortage of Ozempic meant that Aisling then came off the jab completely.
With her healthier lifestyle in place, she was determined to lose the rest without the use of the jab, and she went on to shed a further 1st 6lbs in the following 12 months.
Aisling stuck with the same healthier lifestyle and foods she was eating while on Ozempic and started exercising more – primarily strengthening physio she did in the gym to help with her arthritis and fibromyalgia.
Now, Aisling weighs 10st 9lbs and is more than happy to tell everyone exactly how she’s lost it.
“I told everyone,” she says. “I never kept it quiet. I wasn’t ashamed in taking the medication. My friends all called me a ‘jammy b****’ – it was jealousy in a nice way.”
It’s been over two years since Aisling has been off the weight loss jabs and she’s maintained her weight – something which has resulted in her doctor calling her the “poster girl for Ozempic.”
Defying research
He explained to her how she’s defied recent research by the University of Oxford, which found people taking weight loss medication typically regain any lost weight within one year of stopping.
She explains: “With my pains I have to go in for checkups anyway so when I’d go in he’d say, ‘You’re looking fantastic!’
“Then when I lost it all and was off it for a month or two, he was like: ‘Omg you’re like the poster girl for Ozempic in the office!’ He said I used it right.”
Aisling adds: “All you’re told is that you’re going to gain the weight back so when I see that in people’s comments on my social media posts I pipe up because I can’t keep my mouth shut…I’m like, ‘well here I am love!’
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.
“I lost all the weight, I’ve been off the injections over two years and I haven’t gained back my weight.”
The mum-of-one believes she’s bucked the trend because she used the medication “right” and didn’t make it the whole reason she lost the weight.
“I also feel like treating my mental health made me a lot stronger to cope with situations off the medication,” she explains.
“And I didn’t follow a diet – we restrict ourselves so much when we’re dieting that we end up bingeing when we come off it.
“Because I didn’t diet, my foods didn’t change off the medication so I wasn’t starving.
“People need support while on the medication and for me I knew I always wanted to come off the medication as it’s a tool.
“If people are told they will be on it for life – why would they even change their lifestyles when they will always have it as a crutch to lean back on? They won’t have the same motivation.”
In February 2025, after losing the weight, Aisling went on to have an apronectomy to remove loose skin, taking her to a size 12-14, and last year had breast reduction surgery, reducing them from a 38HH to a 34D, with each surgery costing her around £4,000 each.
She says: “I’m really happy with my weight now. If I went lower I’d look sick.
I do like having my curves, I’ve always had big hips.
“People in the comments point out, ‘Oh you took the jabs but you’re not a size 8. I’m like, ‘why would I want to be?’
“That doesn’t suit me. It suits other people but it wouldn’t suit me. I’d look like I’m 90, it’d age me so much I wouldn’t want all the loose skin and losing the elasticity in your face.
Now, Aisling’s confidence is better than ever and she loves nothing more than to show off her new figure.
“I love wearing bodycon dresses and I’m so into showing my figure now because I have a lovely figure,” she explains.
“My goal on holidays was to wear crop tops to show my stomach because I always hid my stomach. I’d always wear my tops low enough to cover the bulge in my pants. I just wear tighter clothes than I used to wear.
“It was my first time going on holiday with the skin taken off and the boobs were fully heeled and I was like, ‘yup, I’m walking around the pool with confidence!’ I had the bikinis on, I was rocking it and I was confident.”
