A woman has shared her experience of spending over £1,700 on a six-month course of Ozempic, only to find herself gaining weight instead of losing it.

Emma Warner, a 42-year-old from Plymouth, weighed nearly 17 stone when she was offered the chance to try weight loss medication through a private clinic in 2022.

She was prescribed a six-month regimen of Ozempic, a drug officially approved for Type 2 diabetes treatment but often used off-label to aid in weight loss.

Investing £1,712 in the course, Emma hoped the medication would help curb her appetite and result in weight loss.

Ozempic’s active ingredient, semaglutide, is known to suppress appetite and slow digestion, which can assist with losing weight.

However, Emma’s experience was quite different. She remarked, “I felt just as hungry as before, and throughout the six months, I ended up gaining 22 pounds (10 kilograms). I was incredibly disappointed.”

While semaglutide can aid weight loss for many who are prescribed it, there are some people who simply don’t respond to the drug. However, scientists do not know yet why this is the case. 

Emma’s disappointment was so deep she never returned to the private clinic, but the weight didn’t budge.

Emma says the turning point for her was seeing photos of herself on holiday weighing in at nearly 18st. She is pictured before her weight loss

Emma Warner, 42, weighed just under 17st in 2022 when she paid for a six-month course of Ozempic that cost her over £1,700. Pictured during her weight loss journey

The Plymouth native was ‘so disappointed’ when the weight loss drugs did not work for her, causing her to gain 22lbs instead.  Pictured after gaining weight

Though proven to be ‘incredibly effective tools’ for many, weight-loss medications aren’t ‘magic bullets’, said Robbie Puddick, nutritionist at NHS-backed healthy eating plan Second Nature.

What many fail to realise, the expert said, is that sustained weight-loss requires users to work foster ‘lifestyle and habit change’ alongside use of the drug.

‘These medications work by reducing appetite and slowing digestion, which creates an ideal window for developing healthier eating patterns,’ he said.

‘However, if someone relies solely on the medication without building lasting habits, they’re likely to struggle when they reduce or stop the drug. The appetite suppression disappears, but without new behavioural patterns in place, old eating habits typically return.’

It’s a fact that became all too clear to Emma, who recalled feeling feeling immense disappointment at not having shifted the weight she hoped to.

The turning point came in the summer of 2023 when she attended a family wedding in Greece with her eight-year-old son, Arlo.

‘When I saw the photos, my heart sank,’ she said, as she weighed almost 18st at the time. 

Fortunately, all hope was not lost, however, and she managed to lose weight by turning to diet programme Slimming World.  

Since joining Slimming World, Emma has lost 3st 6lbs – all while still enjoying her favourite foods (pictured after her weight loss journey)

She joined Slimming World with her sister, and while she was initially nervous, she came away from the first group meeting feeling inspired. Pictured now

She has learned how to cook her favourite dishes in order to make them healthier instead of relying on convenience meals (pictured now)

She said: ‘When I got back and showed the photos to family and friends, I was mortified at how I looked. I spoke to my sister Laura and she suggested that we join Slimming World together.’

Emma admitted she was nervous about attending a Slimming World support group for the first time, as she worried ‘everyone would be looking at me’.

However, her sister provided some much-needed reassurance that everyone in the group would be ‘all in the same boat.’

Emma said she lost 9lbs in the first week, after she and her sister began to think about everyday habits and make simple changes to their lives. 

According to Puddick, the only sustainable solution for long-term weight-loss, is to combine the powers of the drug with improving ‘behavioural patterns’ around food.

Indeed, by working to ‘recognise genuine hunger cues’, weight-loss hopefuls can develop ‘a sustainable eating framework’ and ditch ’emotional eating’ habits.

Harnessing these methods proved successful for Emma, who admitted she’d previously never given much thought to what she ate.   

‘I’d been commuting to and from London and I’d often grab food on the go without thinking about it,’ she said.

‘Lunch might have been a sandwich, crisps or a chocolate bar and a fizzy drink as part of a meal deal, or a ready meal, like mac ‘n’ cheese.

‘I realised it was all about convenience for me – it was such an eye opener!’

Emma began to learn how to change her eating habits and cook meals from scratch so she could make them healthier without losing flavour.

Puddick said learning to improve habits and  ‘rewire your relationship’, was essential to fostering habits that could ‘last a lifetime’.

But it doesn’t happen overnight, he cautioned.

‘This process takes time, which is why the medication can be so valuable, as it provides the breathing space needed to establish these new patterns of behaviour.’

Adapting her eating patterns was an essential move in creating lasting changes to Emma’s weight.  

She learned how to make her favourite dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, stew and chilli with cheesy garlic bread. She even learned how to make healthy changes to the meals her Ghanaian husband loves.

‘I’ve even adapted some Ghanaian meals, which are typically cooked with a lot of oil, to healthier versions – my Jollof rice is a favourite!’ the mother said.

‘We’re both eating more healthily and cooking meals at home like Slimming World’s sweet potato curry or if we’re pushed for time, then we both love cauliflower mac and cheese from the Slimming World food range at Iceland.’

Now, Emma has lost a total of 3st 6lbs and says ‘life is so much easier’, adding: ‘I don’t get out of breath so much and I’m able to play with Arlo and take him to the park.

‘I’ve gone from trying to find a quick fix that cost a fortune to feeling in control of my weight. I’ve started planning my meals and I batch cook my favourites at the weekend.

‘When I commute – which I do less now as I have a new role closer to home – I take something I’ve cooked at home. I’m losing weight yet I feel fuller than ever and I’m saving money.’

The nutritionist maintained that gaining weight after using fat jabs was rarely the failure of the individual or the medication. 

He said: ‘It simply highlights that sustainable weight loss requires addressing the behavioural and psychological factors that contributed to weight gain in the first place. 

‘When someone experiences weight regain after stopping medication, it’s not a failure of the drug or the person. It simply highlights that sustainable weight loss requires addressing the behavioural and psychological factors that contributed to weight gain in the first place. ‘