A woman who was horrified by her holiday photographs shed five stone in just five months after struggling with obesity her whole life. Karlie Cumming, 31, was finally shocked into action after the images left her “ashamed and appalled’. “I had just returned home from a family holiday with my husband and two little children,” she said.
“I looked at the holiday pictures and had a lump in my throat; was that really me? I was ashamed and appalled at the woman looking back at me in the mirror. I was over 22 stone, and even my trusty black leggings were looking stretched over the body I didn’t recognise.”
Karlie, from Edinburgh, says she has had a troublesome relationship with food from childhood and has always battled with her weight. “I can remember climbing onto the worktop to eat sugar from the sugar bowl, and when my dad caught me, he would say; ‘well, you wouldn’t catch Cinderella doing that now, would you?’ From there, I realised that my relationship with food was not the same as a ‘normal child’.
“After my parents’ divorce when I was 4, I used food as an emotional crutch. I felt deep shame surrounding my dependency on junk food – I would secretly eat, right through childhood. In fact, when my weight spiralled out of control when I was nine, my mum attempted to monitor my food intake, and would try her best to pack a healthy lunch for me to take to school. I would discard what I didn’t want from the lunch, and sneak to the chip shop across from the school gates.
“There was an addiction and a comfort found in the unhealthy foods I would consume. I began fad dieting when I was still in primary school – drinking slim fast shakes in a desperate attempt to be a normal size, but unable to tear myself away from my addiction – and running right back to the chip shop.”
Karlie lost a lot of weight in her twenties after a relationship broke down and she moved back in with her mum – but it was not through healthy lifestyle changes. “I all but starved myself in desperation,” she said. “Of course, without healthy changes being implemented, I fell back into the familiar pattern of emotional eating and gained it all back.”
After she decided things had to change in March 2024, she started a TikTok account her hold herself accountable, documenting her life and weekly weigh-ins. “I tracked my calories, I exercised, I stayed consistent with my TikTok weigh-ins. However, just like every attempt before that, I failed at every hurdle,” she says.
“My addiction to takeaway foods, and dependence on junk food was too strong, and so I sabotaged myself again. I remember scrolling TikTok and reading stories about GLP1s, and Mounjaro. I was intrigued, but terrified – I convinced myself that it wouldn’t work for me, and that I would have unmanageable side effects.
“By August, I decided to give my ‘last attempt’ at a refreshed weight loss journey, and so I bit the bullet.”
Karlie decided to try a combination of weight loss medication and Habitual’s meal replacements and support programme. “I found Habitual, and with their 1:1 support system and care team, they were the perfect fit to ease my anxious mind when beginning my GLP1 journey,” she explains.
“Within days, I was facing my first injection day. I was absolutely terrified, but I was more terrified that my obesity would prevent me from living long enough to see my boys grow into men. So I did it, and it is quite simply, the best decision I have ever made. I must be clear though, it is not a magic wand – I have worked hard for the results I have obtained thus far.
“I have my Habitual meal replacements daily alongside balanced meals, I do strength training as often as possible, and most importantly, I am reflecting on the changes I make – and how they are changing all aspects of my life.”
Karlie lost over five stone – and feels wonderful in her new body. “In the space of my first 27 weeks, I had lost 75 pounds, which is almost five and a half stone,” she explains. “I have gone from squeezing myself into a size 24 to wearing a 16 comfortably – I haven’t been this size since I was a teenager!
“I cannot describe in words how I feel now. More than anything, I’m still in disbelief that I’m doing it, that something is actually working. I’ve spent my lifetime being obese, and for the first time – I see a light at the end of the tunnel. The emotions this evokes are overwhelming – I’m so proud of myself for investing in my health, but more so, I’m excited for the clothes I can now buy, for the life I can live with my children as I can now run with them, play with them – make memories.
“And I still look back at the pictures with a lump in my throat, but not out of sadness anymore – out of pure joy.”
Karlie’s friends and family were delighted to see how confident she felt after her transformation, too. “My friends and family have been extremely supportive,” Karlie adds.
“Of course it’s human nature to worry, but they knew that I did my research and made an informed decision. “And when they saw it begin to work, and my confidence began to shine – they knew it was all worth it. Coming from a girl who has lived her whole life feeling inferior due to the shadow obesity casts, I’d like more people to know that there is an exit door.
“I struggled to push my way through navigating my weight during the entirety of my life. The weight of bad habits and my junk food dependency was just too strong for me to push through, but I found my strength through the use of my tools; GLP1, healthier food choices and strength training.
“Everyone’s journey will look different, and you mustn’t compare. You can do it, believe me – and no it won’t be easy, but it will be the best thing you will ever do for yourself. When you begin your weight loss journey after many failed attempts, there’s a core belief there that this time will be no different. This time will be different.
“Stay consistent – when the weight of the door is too much, just stay consistent, you will push through. Even when it feels like your efforts aren’t working, they are.”
Karlie also wants people to be open-minded when it comes to weight loss medication. “GLP1 medications receive a wealth of negative reactions, but this is an unfair representation of the reality,” she adds.
“I am part of a wider community on social media who document their GLP1 medication journey, and I have been for six months. I, unlike people who shine a pessimistic outlook on this medication, have lived and continue to live with the effects. So I would like to take this as an opportunity to debunk some of the pessimism surrounding this medication.
“There remains an overshadowing stigma surrounding GLP1 usage. The reason for this, I do not know. GLP1 medications are now regulated to treat both Type 2 diabetes, and obesity in the UK – and although there are thousands of us who have decided to take Mounjaro to aid weight loss, the stigma persists. I have many friends on social media that are ‘secret jabbers’, and whilst I do respect their decision – I feel sad that there is a need to obscure the truth.
“I, for one, feel absolutely no shame when telling others that I have used Mounjaro as a tool in my weight loss journey. There have been mixed responses, naturally, from ‘good for you’ to ‘but you’re stealing it from the diabetics’. The truth is, people will formulate a concrete opinion about something they read on a headline, but they know nothing factual about it, or how it’s transforming lives for the better.
“I will continue to document my GLP1 journey on TikTok; and whilst it’s not always sunshine and rainbows – it’s real. So rather than headline grabbing and forming uninformed opinions, there should be more coverage from content creators who document real, raw and emotional experiences from their weightloss journeys using a GLP1 medication such as Mounjaro.”