I’ve lost 5st on fat jabs after years of yo-yo dieting – it’s not cheating it’s just the next step

CHANTELLE Ealey battled with weight since childhood, enduring cruel comments and failed diets for decades.

Then, the now 32-year-old Bristol native shed three stone in just three months with weight loss jab Wegovy – and has since shed nearly five stone.

“People say it’s cheating, but it’s just the next step,”; she said.

Chantelle’s struggles began early. “I was nothing out of the ordinary, just a bit chubby,”; she recalled.

But her weight was constantly mentioned by family, and at seven or eight, her GP had told her to keep food journals.

She had dreams of becoming a dancer but was told she was “too fat”.

“It was horrible,”; she said. “It stuck with me. It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.”;

As she grew older, her weight increased, and two years ago, at 23 stone and a size 22, she had reached her heaviest.

Her size left her open to abuse.

“People can be really cruel,”; she said.

“I remember being in a bar when a man moved back. I thought he was being polite, but he said he was just making space for my ‘fat ass.’ That shocked me.”;

Chantelle had fibromyalgia, making exercise painful.

“I couldn’t go to the gym or for a run—it was just too much,”; she explained.

“While she had lost weight through calorie restriction before, she always regained it.

“I tried restrictive diets, food diaries, meal replacements – nothing kept the weight off.”;

She also struggled with binge eating. “It was an emotional response,”; she said.

“If I was a bit sad, I’d get a packet of doughnuts and eat the lot.”;

Her cravings were intense.

“I loved savoury snacks – crisps, nuts, takeaway,” she said.

“Once, I brought a bag of large cookies into work, shared half, and ate about 15 myself. I felt sick after.

“I’d always had so much negativity about being overweight, and it just made me feel worse. So I’d eat more to feel better—it was a vicious cycle.”;

THE TURNING POINT

In 2022, Chantelle asked her doctor for weight-loss injections and was enrolled in the NHS-funded Oviva Tier 3 Weight Management service, which combined medication with diet, exercise, and mental health support.

She started Wegovy in July 2023. “It was amazing. I just didn’t feel hunger most of the time,”; she said.

“I ate because I knew I should, not because I needed to. I probably ate two-thirds of what I used to.”;

The results were dramatic. “In the first three months, I lost three stone I’d now lost nearly five stone, averaging about two pounds a week.”;

The reaction from others had been overwhelming.

“People kept telling me how great I looked, how I was ‘disappearing',” she said.

“It was always said with love, but it was a lot. It came from friends, family, colleagues – just everyone. I had to ask people to stop.”;

‘NOT CHEATING'

Since starting the injections, Chantelle's eating habits have improved – she no longer binges on sugary treats after meals.

“I couldn’t stomach that anymore,” she said.

“If I ate something rich or too sweet, I didn’t feel well. I had a Krispy Kreme one day, and it affected my tummy really badly.”;

Chantelle now insists the injections were not an easy way out.

She said people always ask her “‘Why don’t you lose weight the normal way?’

“I’d tried that. It wasn’t an easy option. I’d done everything else, and this was just the next step.”;

“The alternative would have been surgery, which I really didn’t want to do.”;

For Chantelle, Wegovy had been life-changing.

“I didn’t feel that different, but I did feel happier. I was doing really well, and it had given me a bit of a boost. It was a miracle drug.”;