Back in spring, social media was flooded with ‘What I Eat On Ozempic’ vlogs and hacks to combat Mounjaro-induced nausea. By peak holiday season, feeds were filled with advice on getting pens through customs and how to bend the drug’s no-alcohol rule for those all-inclusive Pina Coladas.
It was a glimpse into the poolside pressure felt by Brits who had decided to dedicate their summer to the so-called skinny jab.
Originally developed for type 2 diabetics to help regulate blood sugar, the likes of Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have been hailed as a transformative weight loss tool.
Thanks to their powerful appetite-suppressing side effects, they were considered 2025’s secret summer essential for those wanting to drop a dress size fast ahead of their holidays.
However, as we now prepare to layer up for autumn, many of those who celebrated #MounjaroSummer are getting ready to wean themselves off the jabs and weigh up the cost of slimming down for the season.
Despite having a healthy BMI and therefore not qualifying for an NHS weight loss prescription, Emily Deeley tells Metro that she was determined to slim down for a confidence boost in time for summer.
Enter Mounjaro Summer
‘I wouldn’t have gone on holiday with the stone and a half I had put on,’ Emily, 29, admits, adding frankly, ‘I didn’t feel good and my clothes didn’t fit.
‘Two of my friends were on [Mounjaro]. I noticed they’d lost so much weight and nothing they tried before worked, so I thought it must be effective.’
A frequent dieter who works out regularly, Emily confesses that reaching her goal through traditional methods would’ve been much harder ahead of her getaway to Mallorca. ‘It makes a difference – I lost two stone and felt nicer in a bikini,’ she explains.
By June, Emily had surpassed her target and had been fortunate to avoid Mounjaro’s common side effects, such as dizziness and the infamous sulphur burps. But three months in, she decided to increase her dosage from five to 7.5 milligrams, which triggered a wave of debilitating symptoms.
‘I was depressed for a week, I had no energy to make the bed, and was freezing all the time,’ Emily remembers.
Unpleasant symptoms of using weight loss jabs are often front and centre, according to Google and SEMrush — the term ‘Mounjaro side effects’ receives around 110,000 monthly searches in the UK.
Yet despite concerns, demand was high this summer, and the Advertising Standards Authority ramped up efforts to tackle any ads that preyed on Brits’ insecurities.
‘We’re continuing to carry out extensive monitoring and enforcement work in this sector. All injectable forms of weight-loss medication are prescription-only medicines and can’t be advertised to the public, including as part of summer promotions or holiday offers,’ a spokesperson told Metro.
Operation ‘belly bust’
In Hertfordshire, Mel* went on what she dubbed ‘operation belly bust’ as part of her prep for a special summer event in the calendar.
As of June 2025, to qualify for Mounjaro on the NHS, patients must have a BMI of around 40 or above, a history of weight-related conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease, and must commit to a supervised weight management programme.
However, those who don’t meet the criteria, like Mel, are turning to unofficial routes to access the drug.
‘I haven’t told anyone, not even my kids,’ admits the 63-year-old mum, who managed to obtain Mounjaro through her aesthetician.
After putting in her order, the following morning, a conspicuous motorbike courier hand-delivered the goods. Aiming to lose half a stone for a wedding in Spain at the end of the month, so far she’s shed around three lbs per week – although it’s not been without issue.
‘The first few days were awful — I’ve never felt so ill, I genuinely thought I was dying,’ Mel recalls. But, with an ‘unforgiving’ satin guest dress to squeeze into, she’s refusing to let the physical toll deter her from her mission.
‘What’s the worst that can happen?’
For Siobhan Jackson, Mounjaro Summer has marked a turning point. For the first time, she wasn’t dreading joining her daughter in the pool. ‘We bought matching swimming costumes to wear on holiday in Florida, and I could go on the rides,’ she tells Metro.
‘Before, someone skinny would pull the lap bar down too tight, and I couldn’t breathe. This year, I don’t have that problem.’
To celebrate turning 40, in March, Siobhan decided to treat herself to her first shot of Mounjaro, the medication she had watched transform patients’ lives from her desk at a busy GP surgery.
‘I used to have quite an active job; what I’d look forward to after work was food. My weight gradually crept up, and I wasn’t feeling well,’ she explains.
As patient reports came through, she tracked their progress and noticed a pattern. ‘I didn’t think I would experience the side effects as it was the people still having takeaways that seemed to be affected. I’d already sorted my diet out. I thought I’m going to give it a go — what’s the worst that can happen?’
Since then, Siobhan has dropped nearly four stone, but the physical changes are only part of her journey. Mentally and emotionally, she also feels like a different person. ‘Mounjaro stops the food noise. We’ve still got Easter eggs in the house and crisps going out of date. Now I’ll crave an apple. I also have virtually no photos of me and my daughter, but I’m happy to have my picture taken now.’
But not everything has been smooth sailing as Siobhan experienced one of the more challenging side effects of the jab. ‘I have had hair loss, which has been really difficult.’
Short-term use without a long-term strategy
Doctor Martin Saweirs tells Metro he has noticed an increase in interest in the run-up to summer and has prescribed weight loss jabs to many eligible patients this year at his clinic, 14 Harley Street. ‘There are also people we have just refused. It wouldn’t be sensible to give somebody medication when they’re already well within a healthy weight range,’ he explains.
The real danger, Dr Martin warns, isn’t the drug; it’s how people are using it, and the desire for rapid results is pushing some into risky territory. ‘When you increase the dose at an unsafe rate, that’s where you hear the horror stories about people ending up in hospital,’ he says. ‘Many crank up the amount as quickly as they can to reach a target within a short time frame, and it’s just not sustainable for them.
‘You’ll also hear about people getting pancreatitis, and this is usually when there’s been a lack of supervision or too high a dose has been used.’
According to Dr Martin, short-term use without a long-term strategy often backfires. ‘You’re changing your relationship with food. I think the people who presume it’s going to be two months on and then job done, they just put the weight straight back on after they finish it.’
Repeated cycling on and off the drug, especially at high doses, can impact the metabolism, not to mention a person’s mental health. Still, Dr Martin insists, the medication itself isn’t the enemy. In fact, he says, it has an impressive safety track record when used properly and under supervision.
‘This family of medicine has been around for a very long time, and so far, in terms of long-term side effects, there really haven’t been any. If used sensibly by the right people, they’re generally pretty safe. The mental health benefits to patients can be immeasurable too.’
Welcoming a new season
After her summer success, Siobhan plans to take Mounjaro into autumn and beyond due to the impact it had on her physical and mental well-being.
However, she does add that another reason she is reluctant to give it up is because: ‘It worries me that all the issues that made me big in the first place will still be there if I stop it.’
Emily explains that she decided to part ways with the jab at the four-month mark after people began commenting that she looked too thin, although she admits it hasn’t been easy.
Since ending her journey, Emily has gained half a stone and is back to her ‘normal’ weight. ‘I don’t like the hunger pains you get without it. If I could stay on it forever, I would, but it’s difficult to get now,’ she explains. ‘I miss not always thinking about what I’m going to eat.’
Meanwhile, Mel has decided to use Mounjaro on an ad hoc basis and confesses that she would take the drug again in the run-up to further special occasions beyond the summer months.
‘I’m coming off after the wedding and I know the weight will come back on,’ she admits, adding a poignant sentiment most women can relate to: ‘I’ve often thought, “Why am I putting myself through this just to look a bit slimmer for one day in a dress?”’
