I lost 55 pounds on Mounjaro in six months — here’s why I quit taking it

By eating well and working out consistently, certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist Natalie Wilgus could always maintain a healthy weight.

But after the birth of her son in 2019, Wilgus experienced a slew of symptoms that compromised her body and spirit, including weight gain, loss of muscle mass, massive mood swings, thinning hair and insatiable food cravings.

Doctors assured her that her body was adjusting to motherhood and her weight would eventually stabilize.

It didn’t. Wilgus tells Women’s Health, “Despite doing everything ‘right’ (eating clean, watching my macros, exercising daily), I was not only not losing weight — I was actually gaining weight.”

After two years of struggle with no results, Wilgus finally saw an endocrinologist who discovered her body was not producing testosterone. She began giving herself weekly injections of the hormone but still saw no change in her weight.

Three months later, she decided to try Mounjaro, the diabetes drug tirzepatide that has helped users quickly shed pounds.

“I was desperate for something to move the needle, and Mounjaro was literally a last resort for me,” explained Wilgus, who has polycystic ovary syndrome but had not experienced weight gain from the condition. “Up until the point of taking my first injection, nothing I was doing — daily exercise, watching my diet and testosterone treatment — had been working.”

Wilgus and her doctor set a goal weight of 140 pounds and agreed that once she reached that goal, she would stop taking Mounjaro and transition into a “maintenance stage.”

Her body’s response to the injections was swift and powerful. “My cravings immediately subsided and my portion sizes at each meal decreased by over half,” she said.

Wilgus continued her pre-Mounjaro fitness regimen of cardio and strength training, working out five to six times per week for 45 to 60 minutes a day.

“I think that was part of what helped me to drop the weight so quickly,” she told Women’s Health. “I was already doing the ‘right’ things from a traditional weight-loss standpoint, but my body just wasn’t responding prior to starting Mounjaro.”

Wilgus lost 10 pounds in her first two weeks of taking Mounjaro, eventually losing more than 55 pounds.

While some people who take weight-loss injections experience significant muscle loss, Wilgus was determined to stay strong. “I pushed myself to lift heavier in the gym and focused on increasing my protein intake to maintain my muscle,” she said.

Six months after she started taking Mounjaro, Wilgus reached her weight loss goal. Over the course of two months, she slowly weaned herself off the medication and thankfully, experienced no negative side effects.

In the tapering period, Wilgus learned to preserve the habits and portion sizes she adopted while taking Mounjaro, crediting them with helping her maintain her weight.

“I immediately portion my food as soon as I sit down to eat. If I’m at a restaurant, I ask for a to-go box at the beginning of my meal. That way, I can portion my meal appropriately and not be tempted to overeat,” she shared to Women’s Health. “If I’m preparing food at home, I like to pre-portion what I need and pack the rest away for another meal.”

Wilgus explained that several factors, primarily meeting her goal weight, contributed to her stopping the medication.

Cost also played a part in her quitting. As the injections were not covered by insurance, she paid out of pocket, and upwards of $1,000 a month for the majority of the time she spent on Mounjaro. “I do think it helped me, though, because it made me want to hit my goal weight faster so I wouldn’t have to keep paying!” Wilgus said.

Another reason? Body dysmorphia.

“It is real, and I am no exception to its mental detriment — so it was very important that I chose a weight that I knew was healthy and sustainable for my overall success,” she said to Women’s Health.

However, if Wilgus notices weight gain of more than 10 pounds over a six-month period, she takes a low “maintenance” dosage of Mounjaro for two weeks.

“This was at the recommendation of my doctor, and since I’m only using two of the Mounjaro pens for the maintenance doses (instead of all four in a monthly pack), it is much more affordable since one pack will last me a year,” she said to Women’s Health.

Wilgus hopes her story will lessen the stigma of taking drugs like Mounjaro for weight loss, “So many people are embarrassed or ashamed to say that they’ve gotten help from medications, but I love that we are living in a world where such things exist. My body feels stronger, and I feel more empowered and more in control of my health than ever before.”