'I ditched takeaways to fund my skinny jabs - now I'm saving money at my skinniest'

Natalie Strange has faced a lifelong struggle with her weight, tipping the scales at 19st or 120kg. After years of unsuccessful attempts with various programmes like WeightWatchers, Natalie encountered Mounjaro.

The innovative weight loss and type 2 diabetes treatment has been making waves globally for its impressive outcomes. Despite its cost, she found it balanced out by putting the £250 a month she spent on takeaways into funding her weight loss jabs instead.

Natalie, 36, from Norwich, shared with NeedtoKnow: "I felt disgusted by my body and avoided travelling with my husband because I felt like an embarrassment. I didn't even really enjoy eating takeaways. It just left me feeling guilty and bloated. People used to tell me I looked unhealthy, or severely bloated."

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The turning point came when doctors highlighted the severe condition of her physical health: "It really got me down and I was desperate to find a way out of this never-ending cycle. When doctors told me how poor my physical health was, though, that was the moment I knew something had to change."

Her journey with Mounjaro began in March 2024, and the results were quickly visible. Natalie recounted: "In the first week, I lost 10lbs and then in less than a month, I went down by two stone.

"I never felt full before and was constantly craving junk food; but not anymore. Now I feel like a new person. I'm struggling to find my new style though, as I'm unsure what to wear now since none of my clothes fit me."

Before embarking on her weight loss journey with medication, Natalie's diet was far from ideal. She would often start her day with three bowls of cereal, pastries or a full English breakfast. Lunchtime meant a trip to McDonald's for a Big Mac meal, an extra cheeseburger, apple pie, and a milkshake.

Come evening, dinner was typically a takeaway, with choices ranging from Chinese dishes to kebabs, while snacking on chocolates and sweets throughout the day was the norm. This costly and unhealthy eating habit had consequences for her health.

Nowadays, Natalie opts for a healthier start with a protein shake or berries and Greek yoghurt. Lunch is a more balanced affair with a jacket potato and baked beans or a protein bagel with ham and cream cheese.

For dinner, she enjoys chicken with vegetables or a high-protein, low-calorie ready meal, and she has cut down on snacking, choosing fruit when she needs something between meals.

Natalie's transformation has seen her drop an incredible 12 dress sizes and she's been sharing her progress and challenges on , attracting thousands of followers. Alongside her weight loss, she's discovered a surge in energy, which she channels into yoga, strength training, and running.

However, the journey hasn't been without its difficulties. The stay-at-home mum has faced side effects of the medication, such as nausea, stomach cramps, and frequent .

Stopping her takeaway habit allowed Natalie to pocket around £250 each month. While close to £200 of that is now spent on her Mounjaro injections, she has plans to stop this year as she's currently on a maintenance dose of 5mg.

Natalie said: "I think there is a general thinking that using medication for weight loss is cheating. I feel like it's just levelling the playing field.

"My desperate need to overindulge was a health problem, not a willpower issue. The skinny jabs have just made me normal."