‘BORDERLINE alcoholic' Shane Harding claims King Kong weight loss jab Mounjaro helped her shed six stone by curbing her alcohol cravings.
“Day to day, I have no craving for alcohol,” the 29, from Barnstaple, Devon, said.
“Mounjaro has completely changed my life and my relationship with alcohol.”
Shane had struggled with her since .
The content creator tipped the scales at 18st 12lbs at her heaviest and struggled to squeeze into a size 24.
She had tried every in the book, but after marrying her husband, Mert Iscen, 30, a barber, she “got comfortable” and piled back on the pounds.
In part, she put the weight gain down to her ability to “easily” polish off two bottles of wine in an evening – and would four or five times a week.
“I was borderline alcoholic,” she explained. “I would drink three to four times a week.”
She went to the doctors for help slimming down and claims she was told to “move more and eat less” – leaving her in floods of tears.
In 2024, she decided enough was enough and she resorted to the weight loss drug, Mounjaro.
It works by mimicking two hormones that help control and .
It reduces hunger, helping people eat less, which leads to weight loss.
She started buying Mounjaro privately from a pharmaceutical company – Right Angled – setting her back £112-a-month.
She said: “When I started Mounjaro I was 18st 12lbs and now I am 5lbs away from hitting my goal weight of 12st.
“I do one injection a week – which costs £28 a week. It has been smooth sailing for me since I started.”
For Shane, the biggest effect Mounjaro has had on her life was related to her alcohol consumption.
“Now, I don't crave it, I don't need it. If I do have a drink, I will have a glass,” she explained.
“The only regret I have is that I wish I had started it sooner. It has given me a new lease of life,” she added.
Before starting on Mounjaro, Shane said she would cry when looking in the mirror and avoid going clothes shopping.
Since starting the weight loss jab, Shane said she has become more confident and loves going out to buy new clothes.
Shane said: “I have always been a bubbly person, when I was at my biggest, I felt like I wore a mask.
“I used to portray myself as being happy, but I was miserable within myself.
“Anytime I had to look in the mirror, I could cry.
“But now, I feel confident, I'm happy within myself, and I love looking at myself in the mirror.
“Going on Mounjaro is the best thing I have ever done, and I wish I had done it sooner.”
Shane said she used to cook “hearty English meals” before starting her weekly jabs – including pasta, cottage pie, and a roast dinner.
Now she has ditched and swapped them out for heavy – like chicken salad.
Shane said: “I would eat very normal, English food – it wasn't necessarily the food I was eating, but the portion sizes.
“We would have a takeaway once or twice a week for convenience.
“I would make hearty meals like pasta, cottage pie and traditional English food.
“I would wake up and be hungry. Once that hunger had worn off, I would eat something.
“But now, that voice inside your head telling you that you are hungry is gone.”
Weeks away from goal weight
Shane said she will continue taking a 15mg dose of Mounjaro until she hits her 12st target.
She will then lower her dosage to help maintain her weight loss.
Shane said: “I think I will hit my goal within the next 12 weeks, but as I get smaller and smaller, the weight loss gets smaller.
“I hope to stay on Mounjaro for a while.
“Once I hit my goal weight, I will lower the dosage to maintain my weight loss for six months to a year if possible.”
Shane said she does worry that she will pile the pounds back on.
But is confident she has changed her relationship with food and her lifestyle to maintain her weight.
She said: “I think everyone has a slight worry of putting weight back on or going back to an old habit.
“I am hoping I have changed my relationship with food enough, and my habits so much that I can carry on with my lifestyle.”
‘More comfortable in my own skin'
Shane has already scheduled for July 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey, to undergo a tummy tuck and skin tightening on her stomach, thighs, and ‘bingo wings'.
The surgery is costing £6500, and Shane said she wanted to take the opportunity now while she has disposable income.
She said: “I'm really looking forward to the surgery, I'm nervous as I've never had an operation before, so I am really throwing myself in the deep end.
“In hindsight, my excess skin is not extreme, there are people out there with extreme cases.
“The operations will allow me to feel more comfortable in my own skin.”
