![\"Left:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306698936-3124.jpg\")
\n\t\tWhen the Wegovy pills were launched in the U.S., there was no doubt in Rachael\u2019s mind that this was the path for her (Picture: Rachael Narins \/ Getty)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tWhen the Wegovy pills were launched in the U.S., there was no doubt in Rachael\u2019s mind that this was the path for her (Picture: Rachael Narins \/ Getty)<\/p>\n
Despite taking a new weight loss pill<\/a> every day for the last five months, Rachael Narins admits: \u2018Food is all I think about; literally 24 hours a day.\u2019<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not down to the food noise usually associated with weight gain<\/a>. The 53-year-old is a trained chef, a recipe developer and ghostwrites cookbooks.<\/p>\n \u2018My job is to develop recipes, cook, taste; and I also visit restaurants<\/a> all the time. I keep up with trends \u2013 if something\u2019s on Instagram, I go and taste it,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n Although she would often consume a lot of food in a day, Rachael managed to stay in shape by exercising<\/a> a lot. However, as she got older, she says she noticed her weight creeping up as a result of being around food all the time. \u2018I work out, I\u2019m still very active; but as you age, it just happens,\u2019 she tells Metro.<\/p>\n \u2018My clothes got tighter, and I didn\u2019t feel good. In a very short amount of time, I suddenly couldn\u2019t wear anything I owned. I\u2019m in a very front-facing business, so I get photographed publicly a lot \u2013 and those pictures made me want to cry.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tAsk Metro<\/p>\n Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about \u2013 powered by Metro and trusted publications.<\/p>\n \u2018As my clothes stopped fitting, I started wearing dresses all the time and stopped wearing leggings. When I went to work out, I no longer fit into my gym clothes, and that diminished my motivation to exercise.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n No longer able to wear what was in her wardrobe, Rachael desperately found going shopping soul-destroying, and would often end up feeling hopeless and reduced to tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t Recalling one distressing moment in 2025, she says: \u2018We had an event, and I had a dress all picked out. I went to put it on, and it didn\u2019t fit. I mean \u2013 not at all. Didn\u2019t go over my hips. That was crushing, and I didn\u2019t ever want to be in that position again.\u2019<\/p>\n Rachael had known about Wegovy<\/a> \u2013 the brand name for a medicine called semaglutide, used to manage obesity and excess weight \u2013 for a while. Initially used to treat diabetes<\/a>, the jabs have become a firm fixture on the dieting scene over the last few years, with around 1.6 million adults in the UK alone using weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro<\/a> between 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n \u2018I started to notice that, going out for meals with friends, I was the only one eating; at parties, I was the only one at the buffet,\u2019 says Rachael. \u2018On a girls\u2019 trip, we went to this incredible restaurant I\u2019d been wanting to try. We ordered all this food, but most of it went to waste.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t While she was desperate to lose weight, Rachael admits that she just couldn\u2019t bring herself to use weight loss injections \u2013 or \u2018pens\u2019. She knew about the extreme nausea<\/a> the drug could bring on, and didn\u2019t like the idea of taking something on a weekly, rather than daily, basis in case it didn\u2019t agree with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the Wegovy pills were launched in the US at the start of this year, there was no doubt in Rachael\u2019s mind that this was the path for her. Living in Los Angeles<\/a>, it meant she was able to get her hands on them months before they became available in the UK, just a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n Rachael ordered the pill online, following a Zoom consultation with a physician, and paid with her insurance. She continues to have a Zoom call every month with her physician: \u2018They keep tabs on my progress, any issues I have, the dosage I\u2019m taking,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n \t\t Aware of what she describes as the potential \u2018myriad\u2019 of side effects to do with weight loss jabs, such as vomiting, diarrhoea<\/a> and fatigue, she knew the pill might be the same \u2013 and it was.<\/p>\n \u2018The big one is nausea \u2013 throwing up a lot,\u2019 says Rachael. \u2018It\u2019s unpleasant. I didn\u2019t have a severe reaction to it, thankfully; but before taking the first dose, you have to think about whether you\u2019re going to be able to stay home if you get sick.<\/p>\n \u2018For the first two days, I was sick in the morning for about two hours; and every time my dosage increased, it would happen again.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Rachael started on a 1.5mg dose for the first month, but says it had no impact for her. Once her dosage was upped in the second month, she started to notice some substantial differences. <\/p>\n Not only was she losing weight week by week, she was also feeling the mental benefits.<\/p>\n \u2018It was making me eat less,\u2019 Rachael explains. \u2018I have a quarter of what I used to, and I\u2019m full, I\u2019m satisfied, I\u2019m happy. I can still work out, I still have energy, I still sleep<\/a> fine. But when I make a dozen doughnuts, in an afternoon when I\u2019m testing recipes, I\u2019m not compelled to eat all of them and then feel terrible about myself.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t The pills have now stopped the \u2018food noise\u2019 in her head, says Rachael, which she describes as very strange. \u2018I drive down the street, and I don\u2019t think, \u201cI want that fried fish sandwich, I want that fried chicken\u201d; it\u2019s like [that part of] my brain isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n \u2018I still love talking about food, cooking, and bringing people together at a table. I just eat less.\u2019<\/p>\n Taking the pill daily means that Rachael can stop any time she wants, rather than injecting it and then having to cope with potential side effects for a week. But there are considerations that she remains highly mindful of.\u00a0<\/p>\n She was terrified about the potential of interactions with other drugs \u2013 \u2018Cold medicine, lozenges, eye drops \u2013 everything!\u2019 \u2013 so was fastidious with asking her physician about this. \u2018I explained I\u2019m a bit neurotic about this, and came prepared with questions \u2013 and my physician was very patient with me,\u2019 Rachael says.<\/p>\n \t\t She also notes that it\u2019s not just the \u2018food noise\u2019 that has switched off; because she\u2019s not hungry, she forgets to drink water, too, so dehydration<\/a> is a real risk.<\/p>\n \u2018At no point during the day do you think, \u201cGosh, I\u2019m thirsty\u201d; and then you realise you\u2019ve not had a sip of water,\u2019 says Rachael. \u2018So that\u2019s something that my doctor has been very \u2018on me\u2019 about. There\u2019s an app, and I\u2019m encouraged to log my water there.\u2019<\/p>\n When she first started taking the weight loss pills, Rachael had a goal in mind when it came to her weight \u2013\u00a0to lose 18% of her starting body weight \u2013\u00a0and says she\u2019s \u2018very happy with the progress\u2019 so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, once she reaches that goal, she plans to discuss options with her doctor about stopping Wegovy, while maintaining her weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018The pill is a way to establish a healthy lifestyle that I can maintain,\u2019 she explains. \u2018That\u2019s the mindset I\u2019m going with. Get back to my pre-Covid weight, and then just stick with a healthy lifestyle.\u2019<\/p>\n Crucially, Rachael wants to break past any lingering stigma around\u00a0 \u2018quick fix\u2019 weight loss drugs. <\/p>\n While she doesn\u2019t proclaim it loudly at the start of every interaction, she\u2019s open and honest about taking the daily pill and wants to chat freely with other people doing the same, so she feels confident asking \u2018What are you eating? What\u2019s working for you?\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her openness hasn\u2019t always been met with positivity though. She has encountered a little eye-rolling from others, along the lines of \u2018You\u2019re on that too?!\u2019; and her husband has been adamant that he loves her the way she is (though Rachael adds that he respects her choices).\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018But why shouldn\u2019t someone feel better about themselves?\u2019 she asks. \u2018If someone else has a problem with it, that\u2019s on them.<\/p>\n \u2018There shouldn\u2019t be any stigma to weight loss, as far as I\u2019m concerned. I\u2019m never going to be ashamed of using the tools provided to me to make a positive difference in my life.\u2019<\/p>\n Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing izzie.price@metro.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Share your views in the comments below.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306698302-06bf-e1785253999164.jpg\")
\n\t\t\u2018Why shouldn\u2019t someone feel better about themselves?,\u2019 asks Rachael (Picture: Rachael Narins)<\/p>\n![\"I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306698306-9fae-e1785254127909.jpg\")
\n\t\tNot only was Rachael losing weight week by week, she was also feeling the mental benefits of Wegovy (Picture: Rachael Narins)<\/p>\n![\"I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306698217-9f53-e1785254218220.jpg\")
\n\t\t\u2018I\u2019m never going to be ashamed of using the tools provided to me to make a positive difference in my life,\u2019 Rachael says (Picture: Rachael Narins)<\/p>\n![\"I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306698298-b293-e1785253896412.jpg\")
\n\t\t\u2018I still love talking about food, cooking, and bringing people together at a table,\u2019 says Rachael (Picture: Rachael Narins)<\/p>\n![\"I](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SEI_306698216-de74.jpg\")
\n\t\tRachael\u2019s husband has been adamant that he loves her the way she is, but respects her choices (Picture: Rachael Narins)<\/p>\n
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