A grandmother whose life ‘did a 180’ after taking Mounjaro has warned of a common mistake new users of the jab often make.
Georgina Coomber, 47, from West Yorkshire, started taking Mounjaro in April 2024, and has since lost over five stone and dropped from a size 24 to a 14.
The mum-of-three, who has one baby granddaughter, has been so overwhelmed by the positive changes the medication has empowered her to make, that she has set up a TikTok channel to encourage and support other people on a similar journey.
At her heaviest Ms Coomber weighed more than 17 stone, which, she told Mail Online was the result of having a poor relationship with food from childhood, and gaining weight after welcoming her children in quick succession shortly after she turned 18.
She also had several hormone-related medical conditions that affected her weight, including issues with her thyroid, and going into early menopause at just 37.
‘I ate my emotions, so whether I was happy, sad, or whatever I was, I always ate,’ she said.
Posting as @ginagee.mounjaro, she shared a video to her 38,500 followers listing some of the common mistakes people taking the jabs make, and the first one is something a lot of newbie jabbers might be guilty of.
She said: ‘Lots of people think “the higher the dose, the more you’ll lose”. But this isn’t necessarily true.
Georgina Coomber struggled with her weight her entire life
The grandmother has lost over five stone in 15 months
‘Personally, I always drag out doses as long as I can. This is to make sure that I don’t get any side effects—which I haven’t done, because it’s allowing my body to get used to that dose.’
People taking the medication begin with a month of weekly injections at the minimum dosage of 2.5mg.
Then, once the body has adjusted to that strength, and the appetite suppressant effects do not feel as noticeable, users move up a dosage.
The pens increase in strength in 2.5mg increments until the a maximum dose of 15mg.
Ms Coomber spent four weeks on the first dose, then 12 on the second and third doses of 5mg and 7.5mg. She has been on a 10mg dose for over four months.
Other common mistakes Ms Coomber mentioned were people not buying their jabs from a legitimate medical provider, not staying hydrated, and not eating enough.
Ms Coomber told the Mail Online that when she first heard about GLP-1 medication she was wary of taking it, but after doing her research and deciding that ‘the long-term health risks of obesity were scarier than the side effects of Mounjaro’, she obtained a private prescription.
Within days she could feel a change in herself—the dreaded ‘food noise’ which had tormented her for decades finally fell silent.
One of the inspiring posts Ms Coomber has posted online
She was desperately unhappy with her weight when she began taking the medication
‘I would even take this medication if it was just to silence food noise, not to help me lose weight.
‘Having the food noise there constantly for 35 years plus has just been a constant drain.
‘Within a couple of days of taking my first jab I noticed it working, and it was the best feeling in the world.
‘I just couldn’t believe I’d found something that finally took that food noise away.
‘I felt like I was carrying the world of on my shoulders. Now I feel a lot lighter—not physically because I’ve lost weight, but just in my spirit, my soul.
‘Everything just feels lighter because I haven’t got this food noise consuming my thoughts constantly.’
However, echoing many anecdotes shared by other emotional eaters who have started taking Mounjaro, Ms Coomber did experience a difficult period where she was unable to use food to distract herself from difficult emotions.
She said: ‘After about the third week I had about four days where I felt really low, really low mood.
‘I felt really down, I felt really discombobulated, out of sorts. I didn’t feel myself at all, and I was really worried about that feeling.
The grandmother-of-one now looks truly unrecognisable
Ms Coomber was initially reluctant to take the medication
‘Looking back on reflection now, I think it was because food wasn’t giving me the same comfort anymore.
‘I have had to learn to deal with my emotions differently, rather than eat them.’
Another big difference Ms Coomber is embracing is feeling confident in her own skin for the first time in her life—and she’s making the most of it.
She said: ‘My whole life feels like it’s done a 180, it’s just the polar opposite of what it used to be.
‘When my kids were growing up I never took them swimming, and I didn’t take them abroad on holiday until they were teenagers.
‘I’ve missed out on so much and so have my children. I never took them swimming. I never took them to places where I’d have to show myself.
‘I missed out on lots of opportunities just because of my weight. There were certain jobs that I always wanted that I never went for because of my weight.
‘But now I feel like I can do anything. I’d never have done TikTok years ago because of how ashamed I was about myself.
‘My whole personality, my whole life has changed. It’s amazing.’