'I quit the gym and lost six stone - dropping a dress size a month'

A woman who has lost nearly six stone and dropped a dress size every month has said food no longer “feels like an addiction” after using Mounjaro jabs. Portia Devine, 35, a project manager from Ely, Cambridgeshire, reached her heaviest weight of 14st 7lbs (92.1kg) in 2022, feeling trapped in a cycle of emotional eating and low self-esteem. Standing at 5ft 1in (154.9cm) tall, Portia said she used to “constantly” think about food, until she began taking Mounjaro – a weight loss injection medication which makes you feel fuller for longer and therefore less hungry – in April 2025.

Since then, she has lost weight steadily, dropping a dress size every month and gaining a new sense of confidence – now going out alone and no longer hiding behind “baggy clothes”. She now weighs 8st 11lbs (55.8kg), wearing a size eight, and pays £210 a month for her medication and check-ups, but said she no longer goes to the gym as she cannot afford both. Portia told PA Real Life: “Food used to feel like an addiction – I was always thinking about it and I’d be hungry straight after eating for no reason.

“Mounjaro has been the best decision I’ve ever made – food is still enjoyable but I view it as fuel now. It’s just changed my mindset, I used to use food as a reward.”

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Portia reached her heaviest weight of 14st 7lbs (92.1kg), when she had an obese body mass index (BMI) of 38.4 and wore a size 18, in 2022, after years of struggling with her weight. She said: “I’ve been overweight since I was 10, when I had my first period, and I put weight on almost overnight.

“I think what led me to my highest weight, though, was I got into a new relationship, and we were eating out a lot. Then we broke up and I was quite miserable and was emotionally eating.”

In 2022, Portia would typically skip breakfast, have a sandwich and crisps for lunch and eat a home-cooked dinner of stews containing “hidden calories”, such as high-fat mince and cream. At the time, she said she went to the gym three times a week but did not “do many” steps each day because she worked in an office. She added: “I felt very low, my self-esteem was rock bottom.

“I have suffered from anxiety most of my life, and my weight and how I looked definitely added to that. I would try to hide myself with baggy clothes and I felt like I couldn’t really dress the way I wanted, because nothing looked good on me. I wouldn’t really go out on my own because I didn’t want people to notice me.”

Portia said she felt as though she was constantly thinking about food and that it felt like “an addiction”.

“I felt like my body was telling me I was hungry even though I shouldn’t be – I felt like I was fighting my body,” she explained. “I felt like I couldn’t think about anything else.”

Portia also felt she had tried “every diet” over the years – from WeightWatchers to intense calorie counting – and that nothing “seemed to work”. But going to the gym and “watching what she ate” helped her lose some weight – by 2025, she weighed 12st (76.2kg), with an obese BMI of 31.7, and wore a size 14.

However, from there, she said her weight plateaued, despite increasing her exercise and decreasing her calorie intake. So, in April 2025, she decided to try Mounjaro and said her food noise – the constant thoughts about food – “instantly” disappeared. “It felt like a weight off my shoulders, to be honest, and just a huge relief,” Portia said. “I stopped having anxiety about my weight and slowly felt more confident and happier.”

In her first week, she said she lost 5lbs (2.3kg), followed by 3lbs (1.4kg) in her second week, and since then she has lost an average of 2lbs (0.9kg) per week. “I’ve consistently lost weight per week. Luckily, I haven’t had any plateaus,” she added. “It’s changed my life – I can’t believe how well it has worked.”

Since taking the medication, she said she has often suffered with nausea but has managed to keep this at bay by using Sea-Band’s acupressure bands – a product she has not been paid to promote. She said: “They’ve been a lifesaver, and I don’t feel nauseous anymore, they’ve really made a difference.”

Portia said she has been prescribed Mounjaro through her local pharmacy and currently pays £210 a month for 7.5mg, along with a monthly check-up that includes blood pressure monitoring and discussions about her progress. NHS England says that, before prescribing Mounjaro, a healthcare professional will talk through the benefits and limitations, including any side effects.

If Mounjaro is recommended, individuals will need to eat a balanced, reduced calorie diet and take part in physical activity regularly whilst taking the medicine. Portia now “prioritises protein and fibre” in her daily diet, having yoghurt, flaxseeds and peanut butter for breakfast, homemade soup for lunch and a low-fat cottage pie for dinner.

She now also goes to Pilates classes and walks daily but she “can’t afford” a gym membership alongside paying for Mounjaro. Portia has “dropped a dress size every month” and now enjoys shopping, though she is still adjusting to her new body. She now weighs 8st 11lbs (55.8kg), with a healthy BMI of 23.2, wearing a size eight, and feels “so much more confident”.

Portia said: “I do more on my own now. I met my mum and dad the other day in a restaurant and I walked in on my own, which sounds silly, but I never would have done that before.

“I go to coffee shops and restaurants on my own and enjoy it.”

Looking ahead, she plans to join the gym and slowly wean herself off Mounjaro, with advice from her pharmacist, once she reaches her goal weight of 8st 7lb (53.9kg). “I feel confident that I can keep the weight off – I think I’ve built up healthy habits and my whole mindset around food has changed,” she said. To others wanting to lose weight, she said: “If I can do it, anyone can.

“I’d recommend the jabs – it changed my entire life.”