When Gillian, a 60-year-old grandmother from Manchester, put on weight throughout lockdown, she went from being an outgoing bubbly woman, to a hermit who never wanted to leave the house.

After having successfully using Bodyline’s services in the past, Gillian felt incredibly low when she gained the weight back – and more – during the Covid pandemic. Once she’d stepped on the scales and found she was the heaviest she’d ever been – she knew it was time to go back to Bodyline.

“At 15st 10lbs, I was the heaviest I’d ever been. I was depressed, I didn’t want to go out, I didn’t want to meet people, I was just really conscious of my weight all the time. My self-esteem was very, very low. I didn’t want to be seen basically, and I would only step out in the winter, not the summer months. I wouldn’t even nip out to the shops and would ask my partner to do it for me. I didn’t want anyone to see me this way.

“I’d never been that big, and my clothes were going up to between an 18 and a 20, except I didn’t want to shop, I shopped for shoes only. I just wore the same things every day, wash them, put them back on again because I already owned all these beautiful clothes, but they didn’t fit. Yet I didn’t want to buy anymore, because I was determined that I wasn’t going to stay at that weight. I was going to lose it.”

That’s why Gillian decided to come back to Bodyline and give our medical weight loss treatment programme another try.

Considering Mounjaro – the dual acting weight loss jab

Having used Phentermine before, Gillian was unaware of the newest medical weight loss injections that had hit the market.

“I was very unaware of the pen; I didn’t know that this existed. I think it was Katie that spoke to me about the pen, she suggested it as she thought it would work best for me, but as soon as she mentioned needles, I poo-pooed it because I don’t do needles.

“But just before my two-week consultation appointment I was speaking to a woman in reception who had recently started on the pen, Mounjaro, and had already lost a stone. I went in to see Katie and asked her about it, and found out it wasn’t the big needle I was imagining – it was just a little EpiPen type medication.

“So, she prescribed Mounjaro to me, and wow, I’ve not looked back.”

Gillian was getting married to her long term partner the very next month, and was anxious to feel her best and fit into a dress that made her feel confident and special.

“After hearing the lady in reception had lost a stone, I thought – that’s what I need.”

Mounjaro is a self-administered weight loss injection, used once a week. It contains a medication called Tirzepatide which includes dual-acting hormones which mimic the effects of natural hormones in the body.

Mounjaro helps to regulate blood sugar levels, reduce appetite, promote weight loss through reduced caloric intake and resets your metabolism for long term weight loss and improved overall weight health.

Getting married, feeling magnificent on Mounjaro!

And that’s exactly what Gillian got, as she lost a stone in the month leading up to her wedding.

 “I was size 16 by the time that I’d got married, which was a lot better for me. The wedding was amazing. It was very quiet because my partner had been in hospital, very poorly. He’d only just come out on the Friday, and we got married on the Monday. We’ve been together 35 years and never got married, but I’d nearly lost him twice and I just felt it was the time that we needed to do something about this.

“It was very quiet, only family. The kids had organised a little party at my friend’s house after. I felt good on the day. I looked nice. I’d gone and had my makeup done, my hair done and yeah, I felt like I looked more like me.”

And another month after her wedding, Gillian is another stone down – she lost 2 stone in 2 months and has never felt better!

“Now I’m thinking I wish it was now, because I’m another stone lighter now!”

Gillian has an awful lot to celebrate – she worked very hard to completely change her diet, stick to her calories, and lose an incredible amount of weight, transforming her from the inside to the outside.

“Maybe I should go and get my hair and makeup done again, put my dress back on again and it won’t be as tiring!”

Going from 15st 10lbs to 13st 10lbs in 2 months is no easy task, it took a lot of dedication and hard work to ensure she stuck to her goals.

The power of protein

Thanks to nutritional advice from our expert team of nurse prescribers, Gillian curated her diet to ensure she could lose the weight she needed safely. Ahead of her wedding, she cut out carbs to speed up her weight loss, but even since adding carbs slowly back into her diet, Gillian has lost the appetite for pasta and bread.

“I stuck to protein really, but I ate more fruit and veg, and I was eating yogurts, so that was basically a big change for me that first month. But my husband was in hospital at the time, so it was easier because I wasn’t cooking meals for everybody. And I think maybe stress had a bit to do with that as well, I don’t know.

“But then the second month we’d got married, he was home, I was cooking for everybody, and I still didn’t have carbs really. I’d have the odd bit of pasta or the odd slice of bread, but I didn’t really want it. So, I thought, why am I going back to carbs when I’m enjoying my food without the carbs?”

Protein helps us stay fuller for longer, reducing the likelihood of us reaching for snacks and unhealthy cravings. It triggers similar hormonal responses as weight loss injections to boost satisfaction and fullness.

Gillian, as an active 60-year-old, didn’t feel the need to increase her exercise as she was up and about ‘non-stop’, not sitting down, running her grandchildren to and from school, and up and down the stairs of her house.

This goes to show that each person’s weight loss journey is different – no matter how much activity you do, sometimes it is just a change in diet that is the thing between losing the weight and putting it on. However, in many cases, it’s about the hormones as well.

At Bodyline we look at the whole person, taking into account every element of their life to make clinical decisions to improve their health and wellness overall. For Gillian, she had been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for her menopause, but after consideration, had elected to come off it, which also had an impact on her weight.

A totally different life

Part way through her journey, Gillian is finally feeling like herself again, with her mental health and confidence at a whole new level.

“Life has been amazing. I’ve got more energy. I can do more things. I actually want to go out now, go shopping again. Everybody’s passing comments now because they can see that I do look different, they’re telling me how good I look. People that I’ve not seen for ages are like, my God, you look amazing!

“And I’m slowly getting back into my clothes. I got into a size pair of 12 jeans on Saturday, which was like, wow. They were stretchy jeans, mind, but that they were jeans I’d not got into for four or five years!

“[Even with my husband] I’m feeling more confident. Because before, you’d want to cover up, you don’t want to show anything, but it’s totally different now. I’m feeling the confidence around him again.”

Comparing Mounjaro to Phentermine

Gillian is in the position to be able to compare her experiences with both weight loss medications and found that Mounjaro was better suited for her with little to no side effects.

“For me, when I was on Phentermine I couldn’t sleep. Going back to it this time round, it didn’t work for me. Obviously, my sleep pattern was very disturbed, and I was up and down all night.

“Whereas there’s nothing with this, apart from the fact sometimes on the day after that I’ve done my pen, I can get a little bit of a sickly feeling. And I suffer a little bit with heartburn. But it soon passes. It’s manageable. But I’m sleeping, and I feel like my life is normal on this.”

Everyone experiences medications differently, but the benefit of Bodyline is that we can monitor your side effects and make clinical decisions to prevent this, like change your prescription.

Thanks to our wide range of medical weight loss treatments, we can find medications that work best for you – monitoring your success, side effects, and experiences.

Bodyline works, Bodyline cares

We asked Gillian if she would recommend our services to those who are considering medical weight loss, and her response was unmistakable:

 “Oh, definitely. 100%, 110%, I’d say. It’s mind-blowing, the weight I’ve lost. And the staff over there are amazing. Zoe is brilliant, and Katie is just fantastic. She’s got time for you. She explains everything, any issues, and she’s there. She doesn’t rush you. It doesn’t matter how many people are waiting, it’s your time in there. And I think that that makes a difference to everybody.”

Get in touch today if you want to change your life, boost your confidence, and improve your health and wellbeing Call us on 0800 995 6036 or fill in an online contact form for a call back.