Naomi Hyland, a 34-year-old sales administrator from Bangor, County Down, credits the medication Mounjaro with helping her achieve significant weight loss after years of unsuccessful dieting. Standing 5 feet 6 inches tall, Hyland said she struggled with her weight since her early twenties when university life and poor eating habits led her to reach 15 stone 7 pounds (217 pounds). Despite numerous attempts to lose weight through various diets and fitness regimes, including Slimming World, juice cleanses, and online personal trainers, Hyland found it difficult to maintain any long-term results.

Hyland described facing social challenges related to her size, including a hurtful remark from a colleague in 2019 that prompted her to take weight loss more seriously. Over six months, she was able to lose around 2 stone through calorie counting but gained the weight back after discontinuing the effort.

Her experience changed in August 2024 when she began using Mounjaro, a weight-loss injection that has gained popularity in the UK and elsewhere. At the time she started treatment, she weighed 14 stone 10 pounds (206 pounds). Hyland noted initial side effects, such as nausea, which made the regimen challenging during the first month. To manage the nausea, she adopted acupressure wristbands designed to alleviate seasickness, which she said helped her continue the treatment.

By October 2025, after more than a year on Mounjaro, Hyland had shed 5 stone 7 pounds (77 pounds), bringing her weight down to 9 stone 3 pounds (129 pounds) and reducing her clothing size from a 16 to an 8. She reported a significant boost in confidence and said the weight loss positively affected her personal life, including meeting a partner with whom she has been in a relationship for two years.

Hyland discontinued Mounjaro in November 2025 but experienced a weight regain of 2 stone (28 pounds) within a few months, prompting her to restart the treatment. As of September 2026, she weighs 10 stone 3 pounds (143 pounds) and plans to continue using the injections for the foreseeable future.

Mounjaro is part of a wider class of medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have been prescribed increasingly for weight management. Since the introduction of another similar drug, Wegovy, in the UK in September 2023, about 2.6 million people have used weight-loss injections. These treatments have attracted attention for their efficacy, though concerns remain around side effects, accessibility, and the long-term sustainability of weight loss once treatment ceases.

Hyland expressed optimism about the availability of such therapies for people who have struggled with weight throughout their lives, emphasizing the value of having additional tools beyond traditional diet and exercise options.