“It was life-changing not to have any food noise.”

Katie: What got you to the place that you wanted to start weight loss medication?

Lucy: I’m somebody who’s literally been a lifelong yo-yo dieter. I was put on a diet by the school nurse when I was at infant school age five, because I was tall and my height skewed the charts they used in terms of what a five-year-old should be like. I was never fat as a child; I was sort of sturdy, and my mum and dad were tall.

That started a lifelong bad association with food, I can pinpoint it. After that, throughout junior school and secondary school, I was bullied for it; I was also quite smart and outgoing, but because kids don’t like the kids that are a bit different, I would always get called names.

When I was 11, my parents separated, and I found comfort in food. And I started putting on weight.

At secondary school, the tallest and the shortest from each class was always pulled out and made to be weighed and measured. Because I was tall and a bit heavier, I would get pulled out of class. This destroyed me – between the ages of 11 to 15, once or twice a year there’d be a knock at the back of the classroom, and the health visitor would say, “Can we have Lucy, please?”

I don’t know whether it was a government programme, or ensuring welfare standards, but I lived in fear of it. It made me super paranoid at a vulnerable age, and definitely encouraged what I think was a disordered relationship with food when I was younger.

“I regularly experienced real shame associated with being overweight.”

I put on a lot of weight between the ages of 11 and 16, just through being a bit miserable and finding comfort in sweet things, predominantly sweet carbohydrates. The bus would stop outside the baker’s and I’d go to get some cakes. I would eat things because I found comfort in them, but I’d be really ashamed and hide it; I remember once my parents found wrappers underneath my bed. I found it so humiliating… I regularly experienced real shame associated with being overweight. And then I lost it when I was sixteen; a friend of mine, her mum was going to Weight Watchers, and I thought, “well, I’ll tag along”, and I lost loads. I got to a point where people would say to me, “you look amazing, but you’ve got to stop now” and that was incredible, but not sustainable.

I was a 16-year-old girl who still had so much changing and growing to do, you know, and I was having one Weetabix with skimmed milk for breakfast, and three slices of cold beef with two ounces of string beans for a main meal, because that’s what it said in the book. I lost weight hand over fist. I remember feeling my hip bones for the first time. But it wasn’t sustainable.

I went to college in early adult life and my weight would go up, and because I’m tall, people can’t really see the first couple of stones. It takes a good couple of stone to make any difference both ways. And I spent the next ten, twenty years going up by four or five stone, and then losing three.

“I spent the next ten, twenty years going up by four or five stone, and then losing three.”

How did you lose weight each time?

I tried every single diet under the sun. All the different soups and eggs and grapefruit and all that sort of stuff.

The one that was massively successful for me was Atkins. At that point, Atkins was all just eggs and sausages and cheese; I think you can only do that really successfully once! Because it’s not sustainable. So I lost the weight, and then gradually put that back on, just through not sticking at it and going straight back to previous habits.

A couple of years after that, I lost weight really successfully on my own without doing anything faddy… but that was a case of falling in love, which is a great appetite suppressant! And then things would happen where I would pile it all back on again.

I did a total food replacement programme, a very low calorie diet (VLCD), where you have soups and shakes and bars and stuff like that. Again because I’m a pretty 100 percent person, I lost weight hand over fist, and I lost it so quickly – I lost four or five stone, but it all went straight back on me. I’ve got a picture of myself at Christmas in this gorgeous dress that I dreamed of wearing. And by the summer it was all back on again.

About five or six years ago, my workplace leisure society held a competition to be healthy. They had a team weight loss challenge, and I was in it with a few of my colleagues. And because I’m quite competitive, we won that, and I lost about four stone again. That was with the ketogenic diet, which I loved. I like things that are sciencey: something that feels like a bit of an experiment really appeals to my brain, to understand the science behind it.

Shortly after that I had a big life change – I had a close bereavement and started a new job all at the same time. In my new job we’d have meetings in coffee shops all the time, and I gained weight because of that and because of the stress I was under. I am a total comfort eater.

This loss and gain cycle was very destructive; I have always experienced a lot of guilt associated with weight gain.

“I want to stay feeling and looking young and feeling strong as long as I can, so that I can really enjoy life. I’ve got loads left to do!”

This takes me now to the last couple of years, when I started to understand that what I actually need to do is focus on health, rather than focusing on size. It’s about what’s making me healthy and can give me the greatest chance of longevity. I want to stay feeling and looking young and feeling strong as long as I can, so that I can really enjoy life. I’ve got loads left to do!

I had a diagnosis of an autoimmune condition a few years ago, I think that’s made a big difference in this; it was a bit of an epiphany for me, thinking there’s got to be a smarter way of losing weight. It was a really good catalyst.

Last year was another stressful time and I struggled to stick to healthy eating. I would definitely go, “I start on Monday”, then cut down on carbs… but I drank alcohol too consistently. I knew it wasn’t healthy, and I was starting to feel aches and pains in my hands and feet, and I’d get puffy ankles. I just felt really crappy but I was struggling to focus consistently, and I really struggled with not drinking. But I knew that drinking alcohol was not consistent with fat loss for me.

I always read a lot, I research a lot, I’m always online looking for the next big thing (because I know I do well with something that’s new and novel to try). I’d heard people talk about Wegovy. But I was really quite wary, because I’m not somebody who likes to take drugs unnecessarily, and I don’t want to put artificial stuff in my body. I was reading a lot about ultra-processed foods and how bad they are for you, and all the stuff Chris Van Tulleken did last year, and I was really interested in it. I’d become very aware of the importance of putting the right things in my body, and very aware of the impact that sugar has on me in all its guises; both complex and simple carbohydrates. It’s literally just like a hard drug – isn’t it? It’s so addictive.

When I was in a bad phase, I wouldn’t think twice about stopping off at the burger drive-through and eating a burger and chips. I loved it and I got a great amount of satisfaction from it; if I was lonely or sad, I knew food was there. And I was still at that point last year: when I was lonely or sad or unhappy or stressed, that food would still be my crutch. But I looked at the Wegovy, and I still thought, “I don’t think that’s for me”.

It was actually my mum who changed my mind. My mum is very smart and knows me better than anyone. She’s very anti any medication, or injections of any kind. And it was her who actually said to me, “I think that would be good for you, I think you should do it.” She said she’d looked at the research – like me, she’s always reading stuff online and researching things – and had watched something about it. It was the fact that she was so certain that made me pay more attention.

“I just thought that it’s worth trying for three months, just to see. What made me come to Coastal was the fact that it’s medically supervised.”

I think she knew how desperately unhappy I was with myself. And I think she’d read reports about how it stops cravings, which allows people to regain control. And she just really surprised me by advocating that I did something which involved injecting myself, it’s so not her. And that made me rethink and I just thought, “right okay, well there’s got to be something in it. She’s a smart cookie.” And so I decided to explore it.

What allayed your own fears about it?

I think it was researching what semaglutide is, and speaking to Dr Hayley about it and how it controls the specific regulatory hormones in your body. I just thought that it’s worth trying for three months, just to see. I couldn’t see there being anything to lose, because I’m being medically evaluated as I go along, so if any markers start going off course, or there’s any medical issue, it would be identified quickly. And I had everything to gain, because if it worked and I could lose the body fat that was making me miserable, then it would be worth every single penny. And fortunately that’s what actually happened!

I saw Coastal advertised and I drive past it all the time. It was brand new, I saw it when it was being built. And then the three month programme that was advertised. And that was it, really. I rang up, came in and had an initial consultation with Hayley and just did it.

You could have gone online or to a pharmacy. What made you come to Coastal?

What made me come to Coastal was the fact that it’s medically supervised. if I’m going to be taking a risk of putting what was to me then a completely unknown substance in my body, being able to talk to somebody who has spent all that time at medical school, and is an expert in this field, was important to me. Also the fact that you had blood tests with it as well, and the nutrition appointment once a month; considering what comes with it, I thought it really was very cost-effective, and very much worth trying. So I signed up for the initial three month programme – which was a year ago!

You were my first patient! So you started taking it, how did you feel?

For the first couple of months I’d have a little bit of tummy discomfort for a couple of days, and I think I had a little bit of nausea on day two, but nothing severe. I just felt a bit ‘meh’. Also on day two I’d get a headache; that happened every time I took it for the first couple of months. I’d go, “I’ve got a headache… what day is? Ohh it’s Wednesday!” And you know, it made sense, so it became a little bit of a pattern.

It sounds like it didn’t concern you overly?

No because I just figured that’s what it was. You’re warned there are these various side effects to watch out for, but I never had anything like palpitations or diarrhoea, or severe stomach pain. At certain stages when the dose went up, I had a bit of just not going for a few days; that’s the way your digestive system really slows down, and that’s a bit weird, but it’s all part of the process. I got used to it. After the first couple of months I don’t think I felt anything. I think month three and four was when my gut slowed down, so the passage of food slows down, but that’s what it’s intended to do. I never worried about any of it, because I’d think “that’s what it was intended to do”.

What were the positives? What did you notice?

So the main thing I noticed straight away was I would literally stop eating through half of whatever I made. That’s the manifestation of the drug in its purest form. My rules for the whole thing were to take the drug, and then food-wise, choose unprocessed foods wherever possible, making the very best decision I can based on what’s in front of me. And no alcohol. They were my rules, and I found it easy to follow those because my appetite would just go. I’d think I wanted to eat, and I’d make something, but then I’d quite quickly not be hungry. Where in the past I would carry on, now I’d just stop, because it was the best choice I could make.

“The main thing I noticed straight away was I would literally stop eating through half of whatever I made.”

It was a Thursday/Friday that I started Wegovy, and I went out to dinner on the Saturday night, and I had the best choice on the menu. I wanted to keep it mostly unprocessed. I knew chips were out, so I had fajitas without the wrap; just the steak, peppers and onions. It was low carb, a really good choice, and I was really happy with it, but I ate about a third of it. And I just sat there and I thought, “I can’t eat anymore. That’s weird, that never happens”. I was just looking at it, going, “I don’t want it”. And that’s how it was, I didn’t want it.

I very quickly made meals smaller, because it got to a point I just couldn’t finish a normal-sized meal. I’m a real foodie and I love to cook, it’s one of the greatest pleasures in my life. But I literally just stopped thinking about food.

I describe it as that “food noise” that’s constantly in your head… so if you’re dieting, you’re constantly sitting there thinking, “God I really want that… I’d kill for that. Ah, Jeff’s got a donut… I’d love some of that. Oh so-and-so’s got an ice cream on the beach… I’d love to do that. I wonder if I can get that? Maybe I’ll have a treat… maybe I’ll have a cheat day?” And that food noise just completely went. It’s almost like if you’ve got very, very loud music or ringing of bells and it’s really irritating, and then it stops, and all you can hear is nothing. It’s beautiful silence. It’s joyful, that’s how I would describe it.

“That food noise just completely went. It’s almost like if you’ve got very, very loud music or ringing of bells and it’s really irritating, and then it stops, and all you can hear is nothing. It’s beautiful silence. It’s joyful, that’s how I would describe it.”

It sounds very peaceful.

It was very, very peaceful. It was life-changing not to have any food noise. I couldn’t quite believe it. I still can’t, actually. It just made it easy to make the right choices.

That’s powerful.

it’s very, very powerful. I do have a joyful relationship with food, but then I have a very guilty and unhealthy relationship with my body because of it; because of what I’ve done with food over the years, and it’s deeply, deeply impacted my entire life. This suddenly stopping, and making it easy for me to make the good choices, quickly became a very consistent pattern. When I went out, I would always have something. Working in the office a couple of days a week, I’d go out with my team for lunch – we were a sociable team, and they would have chicken wings and pints of beer and stuff, and I would have the chicken but without the sauce, or I would have cauliflower wings. But I could never eat them all. I might have a non-alcoholic beer. And I loved it, it felt like a treat. But in real terms (although I have never counted a single calorie) if I think about it, it was probably about 400 calories. So I never over-consumed, but I didn’t even have to think about it. Making the right choice became second nature; it became like, you know, going out and walking the dog without thinking about it. It was incredibly powerful for someone like me. I’ve been very fortunate in so many ways, but that’s been a very difficult part of my life, my ongoing weight battle. It’s been very hard. So it’s stopped that, and it’s stopped the noise for the first time ever.

And so you’ve been doing this nearly a year now. It sounds like you’ve consistently found the same thing?

I was consistently losing weight for about six months, and I felt incredible, I was extremely happy, it was properly life-changing… just from a health perspective, I just felt incredible. I looked different, my skin was different, my eyes were brighter, everything… people just said I looked really radiant, like, “you’re glowing”. I wasn’t drinking alcohol, I was sleeping better. And being four or five stone lighter, I’m wearing clothes that I choose because I love them, not because they fit and they look okay… and you know, there’s vanity in that, but it is just extraordinary.

“I just felt incredible. I looked different, my skin was different, my eyes were brighter, everything… people just said I looked really radiant, like, “you’re glowing”.”

I got to that point where I hit my goals, which was incredible … the mental satisfaction of having a goal and actually sticking to it and manifesting it, it very rarely happens. In the past I’ve tended to derail myself and go on to the next thing, but not with not with this I haven’t. Because it’s such a beautiful and simple control mechanism.

Christmas, for example… I love doing all the festive stuff at Christmas. And most years in December I probably put on a stone from the first of December to January; it’s eating season, eating and enjoying, you know, mince pies and alcohol and everything. Well this past Christmas, I was a pound down.

I remember you saying that was your goal, wasn’t it!

I didn’t care what I lost, I just didn’t want to put on weight. And I did not, I was a pound down from the start of December. I couldn’t believe it, that was a massive victory for me.

And you still enjoyed things?

I had a little bit of whatever I fancied. My only rule was it had to be made from scratch. So I didn’t eat, you know, boxes of chocolates and stuff like that, but I did stuff dates with some beautiful peanut butter and dip it in some chocolate, and had a couple of those. And lots of veg, and the best possible cuts of meat and fish that I could afford… and if I wanted a piece of cake, it was some kind of really beautiful homemade fruit cake that I’ve made myself with a piece of cheese and fruit, instead of sticking sugar and icing and marzipan around it. It just made it easy and I loved it. I had the best Christmas without any guilt and no feelings of, “ohh God I feel so stuffed”. That was every other Christmas! It was genuinely liberating.

“It just made it easy to make all the right choices.”

It sounds like food quality, actually, has been something that you’ve prioritised.

Food quality is something I prioritise. Yeah absolutely right. I’m very lucky that I love vegetables, I love whole foods; I could easily be vegetarian if I wanted to, but equally I don’t want to! I love really beautiful pieces of meat, I love gorgeous fish and I make sure I go to the butchers and get the best quality I can, ruminant and locally sourced, you know; very high welfare standards… and I’d rather just have a little bit of that now and again than anything else. I’m in a very fortunate position where I can do that, but that’s really important to me. Whatever I put into my body has to be good. It just made it easy to make all the right choices. I was never tempted.

Do you think that you were this person who prioritised food quality before, or is this something that has shifted in any way?

I’ve always been somebody who’s researched a lot of stuff and wants to do the right thing, but I’d always fall down. I’d always go back to having what is complete crap, you know, going out and having white carbs.

I got down to my goal weight about four or five months ago. I had a very nice summer socialising with friends. But I had quite a stressful time as well, just how things have been going in life. And whilst I have eaten more, I’m not “piling it back” on (which if you watch or read anything scary that’s coming out of America they will tell you, “you’ll just put it back on like that” – that’s not true, you won’t). Using Burger King as an example, I’m never even tempted. If I went to a Burger King it would be because there was nothing else around. I could probably go and get a couple of beef patties and keep the carbs out and just have the beef.

I just always make the best choice available now. I never choose the big dirty stuff. I’m not even tempted by it. And bread holds no appeal still.

“The other thing worth knowing about Wegovy is that it makes it very easy to say no to alcohol.”

Do you think your tastes might have changed slightly?

What I choose has definitely changed. Even if I have days when I think, “I’ll just eat what I want today”, what I want is not what I would have previously had. So a treat to me would be a couple of roast potatoes. And that’s a beautiful treat. Glorious. But processed stuff, I’m just naturally not interested in it, I don’t choose it. The other thing of course that is really worth knowing about Wegovy is that it makes it very easy to say no to alcohol. I gave up drinking altogether. Previously I’d been quite successful, but I’d always go back to it. I used to drink quite a lot of red wine – I have not drunk red wine since I started on Wegovy nearly a year ago. I’m not even tempted. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve probably had things I never used to drink; I really loved a glass of white wine in the summer, and a whisky and Diet Coke. But I do actually find that drinking alcohol has stifled my progress in terms of going further.

It will do that, from a metabolic point of view.

If you wanted to give up alcohol as well as reduce your body fat and reduce your weight, Wegovy is brilliant for that, it’s made it so easy. I never craved. Wegovy or Mounjaro and not drinking is definitely the magic bullet for me.

I’m not saying I haven’t overeaten since I’ve not been on the drug in the last couple of months. But I have absolutely no hesitation in going back up to higher dose, because I want to reduce my weight a bit further. I’ve revised my goals. I want to go down by another 20 or 30 pounds – I’d love to be able to finally say I’ve lost 100lbs, and that is my longer term aim now. 2025 is my year of getting strong; I know exactly where I want to get to and I want to have some wiggle room with my weight, so if it does go up a few pounds because I’ve gone away for the weekend or on holiday for a bit, and lived, like people do… it has to be sustainable, and this way I can sustain it without causing myself any mental anguish.

Because I’m tall and I’ve got a medium frame, my body weight was always “obese” on the BMI range. I’ve got it down to just “overweight”. That’s a step in the right direction, but I want to get down to the point where I’m within what is a healthy weight range for my height. And to get stronger and build some muscle on my frame. But I know I need to get down before I do that. That’s my plan for the next year.

“I’ve wasted way too much time letting my weight impact how I feel about myself and cause damage to my life. Well, that stops here. This programme has made that much of a difference.”

What would you say to somebody else who’s at the point you were a year ago, and they’re not sure what to do? It’s a very personal choice, of course.

Well things have changed from a year ago, in as much as there’s a lot more research into GLP 1 agonists, which indicates some really positive long-term health implications for people. I’m keen to stay on it long-term and explore taking a small dose, for the health benefits and to support maintenance.

I would say if any part of my story has spoken to you in terms of yoyo dieting making you really miserable and guilty, know that no-one should feel shameful. We should be kind to ourselves, but the reality is – life, media, so many societal pressures – it makes us feel that if we’re overweight, we don’t fit into the image of what society deems as beautiful and attractive. It’s a really hard journey. And easy to feel isolated and alone in that journey. But you’re not.

“I would say Wegovy, Mounjaro, they just give you control in a way that I couldn’t have envisaged. That’s almost miraculous for someone like me.”

I would say the benefits of these agonists – Wegovy, Mounjaro – they just give you control in a way that I couldn’t have envisaged. I was somebody who felt out of control. Starting that diet on Monday, falling off the wagon and beating myself up, then eating the wrong things and not worrying about it until the following Monday… that was a regular pattern for me. The difference this has made is it’s given me that control back, to make the right choices. And that was really surprising. It’s done that by cutting out all of that food noise; that I really want this… I really want that… I must have that… I’m just going to have this… Those thoughts just never go through my head. And that’s almost miraculous for someone like me. It was very, very unexpected.

It’s had such a positive impact on everything else in my life: my mood, how I feel about myself; I feel a lot more stable, I don’t feel miserable then happy then sad anymore, self-medicating through food and drink. That’s a massive thing. I would say to anybody who has that in their life, who has that really obtrusive food noise, I would say try it. Try it, give yourself a couple of months. For me, the magic bullet was taking the drug and then promising myself that I’ll just make the best choice I can given the circumstances in front of me, whether that’s breakfast, lunch, dinner… whether at work, at home, at a party or at a wedding. This medication accompanied with the ethos of I will just make the very best choice I can for where I am now, I think that’s it; I think that then becomes a habit, because you just get into a really consistent rhythm. And that is what has made all the difference to me.

For people like me, who are food-driven, it is a stress. Overeating is stressful, and yet I would still do it, even though I knew I would hate myself for it and feel bleurgh the next day, and I wouldn’t sleep, my heart would pound. I would still do it, because for that moment, when that food was in my hand or my fork in my mouth, it would make me happy. What this has done is meant I don’t do that anymore, and it just takes the stress completely out of it. And that’s been transformational because you just use that energy on other things.

“It’s had such a positive impact on everything else in my life: my mood, how I feel about myself.”

You said in the early days that part of your reason for doing this is you wanted to be able to halve your medication for your autoimmune condition. Have you managed to be able to do that?

No I’m not quite at that point yet. So if I lose that next twenty, thirty pounds, I’ll be at that point. If I get to that point I’ll not only feel incredible, but that’s a really important thing for me because the medication is quite powerful stuff.

One final question. Without fishing for compliments, has the coaching been useful to you?!

I’ve always found the coaching with you enables me to find sense in everything. The process, certainly the first four or five months, kind of blew my mind really; I couldn’t get my head round it because it was such a remarkable change and my headspace just felt so light and free of noise. And talking to you made sense of it all. It enabled me to have coping strategies. I’d massively encourage this way. This is the whole thing. I understand people finding the online prescription appealing, but there’s absolutely no way you get what you get from this, and it’s that holistic care and support.

You, as the coach, you don’t give the answers; you encouraged me to come up with them for myself. And that’s golden.

“I’d massively encourage this way. This is the whole thing. I understand people finding the online prescription appealing, but there’s absolutely no way you get what you get from this, and it’s that holistic care and support.”

Wonderful! That’s what I try to do! Any closing thoughts?

This has been a lifelong thing. When I was a kid, one of my grandparents – I didn’t see her all that often, but when I did she’d be like, “You’ve put on weight. You look fat, you shouldn’t wear that.” And I believed it. The thing is, I know I was dealt a good hand by nature. I’m not ugly, I’ve got good bones, I’m smart, but at the same time I’ve been crippled with self-doubt, self-loathing because of my weight since I was a small child. And I’m sick of it, I don’t want to be that person anymore. I’ve wasted way too much time letting my weight impact how I feel about myself and cause damage to my life. Well, that stops here. This programme has made that much of a difference. It’s been my whole life.

Life starts again here!

Yeah, I know right!