I lost over 3 stone on Mounjaro and went from a size 18 to a 10 – here’s EXACTLY what I did after my last jab to lose another 8lbs and get down to a size 8 without the injections: CLAUDIA CONNELL

This time last year if somebody had told me that I’d be selling my size 12 clothes on Vinted because they swamped my slender body I’d have assumed they’d suffered a blow to the head.

The very idea that in the near future I’d have a cavernous thigh gap, a flattened stomach and upper arms the width of a baguette seemed laughably unthinkable.

Yet, still somewhat in disbelief, that’s exactly where I am today.

Last summer was a very different story. I was a size 18, the heaviest I’d ever been. At 5ft 5in and 13st 2lb I was officially obese, something I always swore I’d never allow myself to become.

As every overweight person knows, being heavy in hot weather is incredibly unpleasant.

Last year I felt horribly self-conscious in sack-like cover ups. While everyone else seemed to be flashing their lithe limbs, I’d have chafing from inner thigh chub rub.

I’d overheat in long-sleeved tops and dresses because I didn’t want to flash my wobbly bingo wings, and I was so paranoid about under-boob sweat leaving stains on my clothes that I’d insert tissues into my bra.

By contrast I’ve spent much of this summer swanning around in Daisy Duke denim cut-offs. Yes, I’m far too old for them but I don’t care, I love the fact my legs are so slim that my thighs are virtually the same thickness as my calves.

On Saturday I wore a sleeveless halterneck dress to the races at Goodwood in Sussex, safe in the knowledge that my back fat is a thing of the past.

Of course, my new slimmed down shape is all thanks to the marvel of Mounjaro. Three months ago I wrote about my experience of being on weight-loss injections for The Daily Mail, revealing how, after six months of jabbing, I’d shed 46lb, dropped to 9st 12lb and was the trimmest I’d been in decades. For me Mounjaro has been a miracle. On it, the pounds simply melted away and the food noise that had blighted my life was silenced.

When I wrote that feature in May I was newly off the medication, and although my appetite was slowly returning, it was manageable.

And since then, all anyone – friends, family and readers – have wanted to know is: have I kept it off?

The answer to which is: I’ll say! Not only have I kept the weight off, I’ve shed another 8lb and now weigh 9st 4lb which gives me a body mass index (BMI) of 21.6 (anything between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered in the healthy range).

When I wrote the first story, I said that although I could squeeze into a generous size 10, I was going to be sensible and not rush out and buy clothes in that size.

After all, surely fitting into a size 10 would be a fleeting thing, so why waste money on clothes that would fit me for a fortnight?

That all changed about a month ago when I popped into Whistles, one of my favourite high street clothes stores, and spotted a lovely dress in the sale. It was a size 10. I held it up. It looked tiny. A tight-fighting shirt style, I doubted I’d get all the buttons done up, especially across my stomach – always my problem area.

But it did do up. Then, as I was looking at my reflection in the mirror, I heard the sales assistant say: ‘Oh that’s a bit loose on you, isn’t it? I’ll fetch you a size eight.’

The incident triggered a memory – of being in the very same changing room about ten months earlier and feeling tearful because I couldn’t fasten a pair of size 18 trousers. Now I was trying on clothes five sizes smaller and it all felt a little surreal.

I decided not to get the smaller size because I feel the same way about buying size eights as I did size 10s: they won’t fit me for long, best not to tempt fate.

However, the majority of my ‘sensible’ size 12 purchases had to be jettisoned due to a rather embarrassing incident. Walking home from the supermarket, my hands full of carrier bags, I became aware of a strange sensation. In horror I realised that the denim culottes I’d purchased from Monsoon in the spring were falling down. They’d slipped below my bum and I was exposing my underwear to the world.

Luckily, I managed to grab them before they fell to the ground.

Before that sounds like too sickening a ‘poor me, I’m so skinny my clothes literally fall off’ boast, let me say that the reason I lost my culottes is that I now have the sorriest, saggiest backside you ever saw.

Once full and bootylicious, it used to look great in jeans but now resembles an old, flattened cushion in desperate need of plumping up.

I flogged the culottes on Vinted and bought a selection of new size 10 clothes (and a belt), giving my credit card yet another bashing.

Mounjaro certainly hasn’t been cheap for me. There was the outlay of around £150 a month for the six months I was on it and in the past three months I’ve spent a whopping £2,000 on clothes, a combination of necessity and relishing the fact that for the first time in years I can go into any shop, grab something off the rail and know it will fit.

In fact, I used to dread clothes shopping and now love it (probably a bit too much). It’s not my imagination; store assistants are definitely friendlier to thinner people.

And the more high-end the shop, the nicer they are. They swarm to help me, offer suggestions and pay me compliments when I try the clothes on – something I never experienced as a fatty.

I don’t think they set out to ignore larger people, they just don’t know what to say or what outfits to suggest.

I suspect feeling so negatively about my shape showed in my body language, too, making me unapproachable. Now I bounce into shops.

Most people put a little weight back on after coming off a diet, which is why I expected to regain around half a stone in the first three months – but it didn’t happen because of my overwhelming fear of getting fat again.

I’ve lost weight many times before but have always regained the lot within a year, ending up heavier than when I started.

Now in my late 50s I know I can’t let that happen again. Yes, in theory I could go back to Mounjaro (I still have an emergency stash), but I’ve been determined to go it alone.

I want to prove to myself I can, but mostly I want to show the people gleefully waiting for me to chunk up again that I won’t let it happen.

Helpfully, and I still don’t quite understand what kind of witchcraft is at play here, my appetite has still not fully returned.

I get hungry, but it’s not the stomach-rumbling ravenous feeling I’d experienced before that led to me falling off the diet wagon so many times and I want to keep it that way.

For the past three months I’ve been vowing to hit the gym and do something about my saggy behind and pathetically weedy arms.

But I’ve been swerving exercise because I also know a strenuous workout will make me feel starving afterwards, and with starving hunger comes temptation and, frankly, I want to stay thin more than I want a pert bum and biceps.

As for the food noise, that has crept back in – although, along with the appetite, it’s nothing like as bad as it was pre-Mounjaro.

I don’t mindlessly scroll the internet looking at recipes and supermarket websites like I used to. But I do sometimes, when hungry, drool at the thought of a plate of loaded nachos.

I miss how the injections meant I never thought about food. Ever.

However, in recent weeks I’ve become worried that my fear of regaining weight is making me too restrictive with my diet and the two meals a day I’ve been eating.

I’ve been getting by on several cups of coffee until lunchtime when I’ll usually have something like a tuna salad. In the evening I have chicken or more fish with vegetables. If I want a snack, it’s a small Greek yogurt, some watermelon or a couple of squares of dark chocolate.

Mounjaro killed my desire for alcohol stone dead, but I will now have a small G&T in front of the telly or a glass of wine when I eat out.

Truth be told, I’ve been getting bored with what I’m eating. But I know if I return to my old carb-heavy diet of pasta and rice-based dishes it will be lethal.

I want to enjoy food but not if it means piling on the pounds. Nutritionist Kim Pearson is someone I’ve worked with many times in the last few years, and so I turned to her for help and advice.

As someone who has helped many people lose weight, she knows that coming off a diet plan can be scary.

‘Being conscious of regain is not a bad thing,’ she says.

‘Research shows that the majority of people who lose weight do regain in a short space of time, but it’s important to not let that fear cause you to eat too little.’ Kim’s advice to anyone taking Mounjaro and transitioning off it is to aim for at least 90 grams of protein per day and clearly I’ve been getting nothing like that from my meals – leading to a worrying muscle loss.

‘Muscle burns calories, even at rest,’ says Kim

‘The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. The less you have the fewer calories you’ll burn. In other words, by losing muscle you’ve reduced your natural calorie-burning capacity.’

Kim recommends that I structure a meal routine – meals spaced four to five hours apart – with dishes that contain the right amount of protein, healthy fats and fibre-rich vegetables.

The trouble is, like most people, I’m not that clued in on nutritional compositions.

To help me, she has shared recipes she gives her clients doing her Metabolic Reset Programme (see above for a selection). They’re designed to be balanced, healthy and filling.

Most importantly, although I’ll be eating more, it won’t lead to weight gain.

She recommends a weekly treat meal, too, but the idea makes me nervous. I don’t want it to be a stepping stone back to old eating habits.

‘There’s a lot to be said for giving yourself permission in advance,’ says Kim. ‘Psychologically, you might eat something you consider forbidden, feel like you’ve failed and that sets off a pattern of overindulgence.

‘Instead tell yourself if it’s just one evening, you deserve it and can allow yourself some flexibility And a “treat” meal doesn’t have to be unhealthy. It could be a delicious steak or a seafood platter.’

The most urgent thing for me to focus on is building my muscle and only strength training is going to achieve that.

Kim advises. ‘A useful thing to do would be to get a fully body composition analysis done so you can see how much muscle you have and how much you need to build.’

For the past two weeks I’ve been eating Kim’s recommended meals. I’ve started having protein smoothies at breakfast and more substantial lunches and dinners.

I’m not snacking and I’ve yet to build up to my treat meal, but my weight has remained stable.

Now to hit that gym…

https://www.kim-pearson.com/