I would never have taken weight-loss jabs – but this is why I jumped at the chance to try the Wegovy pill

When the Wegovy pills were launched in the U.S., there was no doubt in Rachael’s mind that this was the path for her (Picture: Rachael Narins / Getty) Despite taking a new weight loss pill every day for the last five months, Rachael Narins admits: ‘Food is all I think about; literally 24 hours a day.’ But it’s not down to the food noise usually associated with weight gain. The 53-year-old is a trained chef, a recipe developer and ghostwrites cookbooks. ‘My job is to develop recipes, cook, taste; and I also visit restaurants all the time. I keep up with trends – if something’s on Instagram, I go and taste it,’ she explains. Although she would often consume a lot of food in a day, Rachael managed to stay in shape by exercising 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. ‘I work out, I’m still very active; but as you age, it just happens,’ she tells Metro. ‘My clothes got tighter, and I didn’t feel good. In a very short amount of time, I suddenly couldn’t wear anything I owned. I’m in a very front-facing business, so I get photographed publicly a lot – and those pictures made me want to cry. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. ‘As 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.’ 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. ‘Why shouldn’t someone feel better about themselves?,’ asks Rachael (Picture: Rachael Narins) Recalling one distressing moment in 2025, she says: ‘We had an event, and I had a dress all picked out. I went to put it on, and it didn’t fit. I mean – not at all. Didn’t go over my hips. That was crushing, and I didn’t ever want to be in that position again.’ Rachael had known about Wegovy – the brand name for a medicine called semaglutide, used to manage obesity and excess weight – for a while. Initially used to treat diabetes, 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 used weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro between 2024 and 2025. ‘I 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,’ says Rachael. ‘On a girls’ trip, we went to this incredible restaurant I’d been wanting to try. We ordered all this food, but most of it went to waste.’ Not only was Rachael losing weight week by week, she was also feeling the mental benefits of Wegovy (Picture: Rachael Narins) While she was desperate to lose weight, Rachael admits that she just couldn’t bring herself to use weight loss injections – or ‘pens’. She knew about the extreme nausea the drug could bring on, and didn’t like the idea of taking something on a weekly, rather than daily, basis in case it didn’t agree with her. When the Wegovy pills were launched in the U.S. at the start of this year, there was no doubt in Rachael’s mind that this was the path for her. Living in Los Angeles, it meant she was able to get her hands on them months before they became available in the UK, just a few weeks ago. 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: ‘They keep tabs on my progress, any issues I have, the dosage I’m taking,’ she explains. ‘I’m never going to be ashamed of using the tools provided to me to make a positive difference in my life,’ Rachael says (Picture: Rachael Narins) Aware of what she describes as the potential ‘myriad’ of side effects to do with weight loss jabs, such as vomiting, diarrhoea and fatigue, she knew the pill might be the same – and it was. ‘The big one is nausea – throwing up a lot,’ says Rachael. ‘It’s unpleasant. I didn’t have a severe reaction to it, thankfully; but before taking the first dose, you have to think about whether you’re going to be able to stay home if you get sick. ‘For the first two days, I was sick in the morning for about two hours; and every time my dosage increased, it would happen again.’ 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. Not only was she losing weight week by week, she was also feeling the mental benefits. ‘It was making me eat less,’ Rachael explains. ‘I have a quarter of what I used to, and I’m full, I’m satisfied, I’m happy. I can still work out, I still have energy, I still sleep fine. But when I make a dozen doughnuts, in an afternoon when I’m testing recipes, I’m not compelled to eat all of them and then feel terrible about myself.’ ‘I still love talking about food, cooking, and bringing people together at a table,’ says Rachael (Picture: Rachael Narins) The pills have now stopped the ‘food noise’ in her head, says Rachael, which she describes as very strange. ‘I drive down the street, and I don’t think, “I want that fried fish sandwich, I want that fried chicken”; it’s like [that part of] my brain isn’t there. ‘I still love talking about food, cooking, and bringing people together at a table. I just eat less.’ 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. She was terrified about the potential of interactions with other drugs – ‘Cold medicine, lozenges, eye drops – everything!’ – so was fastidious with asking her physician about this. ‘I explained I’m a bit neurotic about this, and came prepared with questions – and my physician was very patient with me,’ Rachael says. Rachael’s husband has been adamant that he loves her the way she is, but respects her choices (Picture: Rachael Narins) She also notes that it’s not just the ‘food noise’ that has switched off; because she’s not hungry, she forgets to drink water, too, so dehydration is a real risk. ‘At no point during the day do you think, “Gosh, I’m thirsty”; and then you realise you’ve not had a sip of water,’ says Rachael. ‘So that’s something that my doctor has been very ‘on me’ about. There’s an app, and I’m encouraged to log my water there.’ When she first started taking the weight loss pills, Rachael had a goal in mind when it came to her weigh – to lose 18% of her starting body weight – and says she’s ‘very happy with the progress’ so far. However, once she reaches that goal, she plans to discuss options with her doctor about stopping Wegovy, while maintaining her weight. ‘The pill is a way to establish a healthy lifestyle that I can maintain,’ she explains. ‘That’s the mindset I’m going with. Get back to my pre-Covid weight, and then just stick with a healthy lifestyle.’ Crucially, Rachael wants to break past any lingering stigma around ‘quick fix’ weight loss drugs. While she doesn’t proclaim it loudly at the start of every interaction, she’s open and honest about taking the daily pill and wants to chat freely with other people doing the same, so she feels confident asking ‘What are you eating? What’s working for you?’. Her openness hasn’t always been met with positivity though. She has encountered a little eye-rolling from others, along the lines of ‘You’re on that too?!’; and her husband has been adamant that he loves her the way she is (though Rachael adds that he respects her choices). ‘But why shouldn’t someone feel better about themselves?,’ she asks. ‘If someone else has a problem with it, that’s on them. Deals of the Day Wuka launches the UK’s first period-proof swimwear for heavy flows Bridgerton fans are rushing to buy these new Netflix-inspired perfumes now £12 off The affordable summer wardrobe update you'll wear from rooftop drinks to beach holidays The £7.99 lip balm beauty fans love for glossy, hydrated lips just dropped four new shades This Keskine hydrogel mask could fix your summer skin ‘There’s no stigma to being overweight, as far as I’m concerned, but I’m never going to be ashamed of using the tools provided to me to make a positive difference in my life.’ Do you have a story you’d like to share? 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