A general practitioner who once dismissed weight-loss injections has shared how trying one herself resulted in a dramatic six-stone weight loss and unexpected improvements in several chronic health conditions. Dr Emma Anders, 39, an obesity specialist, revealed she had struggled with her weight since childhood and attempted numerous diets over the years, including Weight Watchers and keto, but could not maintain long-term results.
Despite working as a private GP for a decade, she had previously declined requests to offer GLP-1 weight-loss treatments. However, after observing significant changes in her patients, she decided to try the treatment herself. Dr Anders has since lost approximately six stone, dropping from a size 20 to a size 8. She also reported improvements in other health conditions, including acne, rosacea, and symptoms linked to stage four endometriosis.
Previous Diet Struggles
She stated: “I've done every diet out there, Weight Watchers more times than I can count and Keto. Everything works, but I can't keep the weight off and I feel awful. I came across GLP1s working in A&E 10 years ago. Usually, I was dealing with people who'd had complications with them and I was very critical of their efficiency and if they actually worked. As a private GP for the last 10 years, lots of patients had discussed weight management with me and in the past I wouldn't have brought GLP1s up as an option, but now I do.”
She added that by October 2024, she had reached her heaviest weight despite exercising regularly, prompting her to reconsider. “If I'm honest, I was desperate and panicked. The year before, I'd worked more and more with people on GLP1s, not prescribing them but seeing the change. People weren't coming to me saying they were happy to be a smaller size but were healthier and had a clearer mind. I was more open-minded to them and decided to try one because, honestly, I think my weight would have killed me and I didn't know how to stop it.”
Starting Mounjaro
Dr Anders began taking a weekly 2.5mg dose of Mounjaro and chose not to increase it, stating she experienced strong results without side effects. She reported losing 56lbs (four stone) within the first three months while continuing to eat regular meals. “I started one day on October 12, 2024 and the next day I woke up and felt like a different person. It didn't change my appetite in the first week, but I felt really good. By the end of the second week, my acne rosacea, which I'd had for 10 years, was completely gone,” she said.
Dr Anders described the condition as previously painful and persistent, adding: “If I stop my GLP1, my face gets very hot. The biggest effect is that it makes my face less painful.” She also noted that her relationship with food changed over time, with a greater sense of fullness after meals. “By the end of the third week, I'd eat a meal and didn't realise I didn't feel full. If I eat a big meal with loads of carbs and protein, I feel really content. It's life-changing. I realised, 'this is going to work'.”
Additional Health Improvements
After several months, she said her endometriosis symptoms had also eased significantly. A former Olympic weightlifting competitor and England karate representative, she has since completed two marathons in one week and says her physical performance has improved. “I used to go to the gym before work because it gave me mental clarity and used to make my head feel clearer and felt better, but I was desperate to lose weight. After taking Mounjaro, now I wake up feeling that mental clarity and do gymming for sheer fun,” she added.
She stated that she had experienced no side effects from the medication, though she acknowledged this is not typical for all patients. Dr Anders believes the medical approach to obesity should evolve, with greater focus on understanding individual behaviours and underlying causes rather than solely addressing weight. Rather than prescribing treatments universally, she said care should be tailored to each patient.
Future of GLP-1 Treatments
“I think there will be an exciting shift in medicine in the next few years where we can understand more how it's [GLP1s] working,” she said. “We know it decreases inflammation and has been trialled for things like long Covid and we know it helps balance hormones and are looking into treatments for PCOS but the reality is we don't know the full extent of how they work. That's good and bad. It's positive because it transforms lives, but there is the negative of what could potentially happen in the future, so we have to balance that as well.”
