A woman who shed eight stone using Mounjaro has said she doesn’t think the NHS should provide free fat jabs and believes people should ‘take responsibility’ for their own weight.
Sarah White, 37, from York, was 22 stone when she first began injecting herself with Mounjaro in September 2024.
The mother-of-three has struggled to lose weight following her back-to-back pregnancies in 2019 and 2020, with the stress of parenting leading her to pile on the pounds.
Working long hours as a nurse, she struggled to find the time to cook fresh meals despite her best efforts, often finding herself reaching for easy dinners like frozen pizzas.
She had tried numerous diets but could never stick to them, and struggled to find the time to go to the gym with three toddlers at home.
After it was recommended to her by a friend, Sarah made the decision to begin taking Mounjaro, ordering her first dose for £90.
Alongside injecting herself with the weight-loss drug, she also took up running and gym classes, as well as sticking to a calorie restricted diet.
A year on and she has now lost 8st, slimming down from a size 24 to a 14st size 16 – a change that she attributes to lifestyle improvements as well as fat jabs.
Sarah White, 37, from York, was 22st when she first began injecting herself with Mounjaro in September 2024 (pictured after weight loss)
A woman who shed 8st using fat jabs has said she doesn’t think the NHS should provide free fat jabs and believes people should ‘take responsibility’ for their own weight (the pictured Sarah submitted to obtain Mounjaro)
But despite having used the drugs herself, Sarah is passionately against NHS handing out the jabs unless they’re used by those with medical conditions such as diabetes.
Sarah said: ‘When my kids were young, my health and weight were bottom priority in everything. I didn’t have time.
‘I was a chronic dieter and I did Slimming World and low carb diets but life gets in the way and I never had the mentality to stick with it.
‘I was cynical but I decided to order the jabs as I saw the benefits of the appetite suppression.
‘I do agree that it’s a medication for people, like those with diabetes, and they should get it on the NHS.
‘But I am using Mounjaro to make the lifestyle changes so that when I come off the drug, I can stay healthy long-term.
‘I made myself fat so I should have the responsibility to sort it. I’m more than happy to pay for something that’s aided me to lose the weight. Why should my obesity be a burden on an already crippled NHS?’
Working long hours as a nurse, she struggled to find the time to cook fresh meals despite her best efforts, often finding herself reaching for easy dinners like frozen pizzas and ready meals (pictured before weight loss)
She had tried numerous diets but could never stick to them, and struggled to find the time to go to the gym with three toddlers at home (pictured before weight loss)
Alongside injecting herself with the weight-loss drug, she also took up running and gym classes, as well as sticking to a calorie restricted diet (pictured three months in)
A year on and she has now lost 8st, slimming down from a size 24 to a 14st size 16 – a change that she attributes to lifestyle improvements as well as fat jabs (pictured after losing 8st)
Sarah saw the numbers rising on the scales after having daughters Amelia and Ellie, now six, and son Charlie, now four.
She was unable to take time away from the little ones to exercise and fell back into bad habits when she dieted.
‘I would try diets but if I ever decided to have a weekend off, that would be the end of it. Life gets in the way and the ease of convenience food would sneak in,’ she said.
‘I love cooking family meals but with work, it would be easier to put a pizza in the oven or get a takeaway. Even just things like having toast on a night shift, or a biscuit with my cup of tea.’
She was initially ‘cynical’ after a friend revealed she had lost more than 2st on Mounjaro, but eventually decided to try it herself after many a failed diets.
The weight began to drop off and Sarah became more inspired to implement longer-term lifestyle changes.
She got clued into nutrition and started exercising – with a view that she would eventually be able to come off the drug and not put the weight back on.
‘All along I was implementing changes that I could stick to without the jabs,’ she said. ‘People think the jabs just burn fat but it’s aided me to make the lifestyle changes.’
It comes following the news that weight loss drugs are set to become more widely available on the NHS for free as part of a 10-year plan for the health service (pictured before weight loss)
She was initially ‘cynical’ after a friend revealed she had lost more than 2st on Mounjaro, but eventually decided to try it herself after many a failed diets (pictured before weight loss)
Sarah now believes people who are overweight as a result of living an ‘unhealthy lifestyle’ should not expect the NHS to provide them with expensive jabs (pictured before weight loss)
But despite having used the drugs herself, Sarah is passionately against NHS handing out the jabs unless they’re used by those with medical conditions such as diabetes (pictured after losing weight)
Sarah now believes people who are overweight as a result of living an ‘unhealthy lifestyle’ should not expect the NHS to provide them with expensive jabs.
She suggested those people can make ‘sacrifices and lifestyle changes to financially commit to Mounjaro’.
‘If people think what they spend on their food shops, on Mounjaro they could cut back on spending that way.
‘Mounjaro helps with not wanting to buy takeaways because the hunger isn’t there too.
‘It isn’t cheap – it started out costing £90 for me, then £120, and now £150. But I find the money because I’m investing in a better future for myself and my family.
‘People could easily spend £50 or £60 a month on Slimming World and then another £50 on a gym membership – nobody expects the NHS to pay for that.’
As discussions arise around NHS eligibility for the jabs, Sarah feels in cases where isn’t a medical criteria besides being overweight, people should take responsibility.
She added: ‘I gained weight through an unhealthy lifestyle, if I can get something to help me lose weight I’ll do that.
‘It’s the same as people paying for the gym. I shouldn’t be a burden on the NHS because I made myself morbidly obese.
‘If there was a way of contribution where people pay a subsidised price, maybe that would work.
‘But I don’t think obesity management should get more funding on an already stretched NHS.’