A 31-year-old mum who started a weight-loss plan in March last year after hitting 264lbs and finding none of the clothes in the shop fit her has already lost 91lbs. Emily Harris (31) from Dumfries and Galloway has achieved weight-loss success through a combination of weight loss medication and a support program.
Emily says it was a holiday shopping trip, and the photos that were taken, that prompted her to take action. Emily began her journey with weight-loss jab Mounjaro andHabitual’smeal replacements on March 4 last year, having gained weight and reaching 264lbs after having her little boy the August before. Since then,in the span of 10 months, she has managed to drop to 173lbs – 2lbs lighter than she was pre-baby.
Emily said: “The moment that sparked it for me was when we were on holiday for my 31st birthday, I knew I’d got big… nothing fit me, even the largest clothes in the store. However, I wasn’t quite aware how big I was. Until somebody took a photo of us and I was shocked by what I saw, I’d never been this big and I felt helpless.
“I had limited time for the gym, being a mum took up what little free time I had. I also have exceptionally high cortisol levels because of a benign brain tumour as well as PCOS – so I felt defeated before I started any diet.”
She added: “I remember not long before I had been researching weight loss medication, and I was intrigued. After a couple days I found Mounjaro and it was a now or never moment, I ordered my first pen – and that changed everything for me. My relationship with food has done a 180, I understand what balanced eating looks like now – and I’ve stopped lying to myself about what I ate being normal.
“Habitual have been the main players in keeping me right during this journey, the support, prompt responses, personal touch, meal plans and shopping lists all played such a key part in stopping me giving up, and there’s been a few times I nearly did.
“I’ve taken my BMI from 43 to 27. 2 points away from the ‘healthy’ range and I can’t believe that happened honestly, I’m able to buy clothes without stress, I don’t feel judged every time I meet somebody new, and my social anxiety has all but disappeared since.”
Having dropped more than 90lbs, Emily has since come off Mounjaro. She said: “Habitual also supported me in coming off the medication. Though for my height I should be about a stone lighter, I knew I was ‘done’.
“I’m not done with weight loss, I am still working towards reaching that goal weight of 158 lbs – however, I wanted to do the last step for me. I wanted to prove to myself I could and set myself up the right way.”