A 38-year-old mother from Manchester has described feeling like a new woman after dropping from a size 22 to a size 12 in 18 months, funding her weight-loss jabs by sharing her journey on TikTok. Amy Carding, a midday assistant at a school, said that after years of yo-yo dieting she finally likes her reflection in the mirror. She reached her heaviest weight of 17st 7lb (111.1kg) in 2024, 18 months after giving birth to her daughter Raine.
Weight Struggles After Childbirth
Standing at 5ft 2in (157.5cm), Amy said her weight began affecting her confidence, leading to her avoiding going out and struggling to play with her baby. In March 2023, her GP put her on a waiting list for a weight management appointment, which she described as a bit of a wake-up call. She would try to be good and eat healthier, but after a few weeks she would have extra treats and fall off the wagon. By June 2024, Amy had reached her heaviest weight, was wearing a size 22, and had an obese BMI of 44.8.
Turning Point with Mounjaro
In October 2024, she decided to start taking Mounjaro – a once-weekly injectable prescription medication containing the active ingredient tirzepatide. Within just one month, Amy had lost one stone (6.4kg) and began documenting her progress on TikTok, where her videos quickly gained hundreds of thousands of views. She uses the income generated from her TikTok account to help fund her injections, which cost around £300 a month. She now weighs 11st 11lb (74.8kg) and said she is more sociable, confident, and able to enjoy running around with her children, Lucas (15), Autumn (9), and Raine (3).
Amy, who also lives with her partner Dale (35), told PA Real Life: “It’s literally changed my life, I feel 1,000 times better – I feel like a new woman. Before, I felt so depressed about my weight, now I actually like what I see in the mirror. It feels like a miracle.”
Diet and Lifestyle Changes
Before her transformation, a typical day would involve a bacon sandwich for breakfast, a Pot Noodle for lunch, living off coffees and biscuits between meals, and a takeaway pizza most evenings. She said: “I didn’t feel great. My skin was bad, and I didn’t take a lot of pictures with the baby. I didn’t go out much, I just wasn’t socialising. I was a bit depressed and avoided people.” Her weight also meant she struggled to play with her baby daughter: “I found it hard juggling the baby and cooking, and it got to the point where my knees were so sore. I couldn’t bend down to pick Raine up properly, or play with her on the floor.”
After starting Mounjaro, her daily eating habits changed to fruit for breakfast and vegetables as snacks, followed by meals such as chicken, rice and vegetables for dinner, with the occasional takeaway or dessert at weekends. She also walks around 15,000 steps a day to boost her weight loss.
Managing Side Effects
Amy initially felt nervous about injecting herself, but found it fine with little nausea. However, after a few months, she began experiencing nausea similar to pregnancy sickness. She used Sea-Band acupressure bands, which she has not been paid to mention, and noticed a difference immediately. She now wears them on the day of her injection, when nausea is strongest.
TikTok Success and Social Life
On TikTok under the handle @amy_lisa29, her before-and-after videos have earned more than 300,000 views. She regularly shows her more than 5,000 followers what she eats in a day and runs a series called Weigh-in Wednesdays. Through her content, Amy has earned enough income to help pay for her Mounjaro injections. At 18 months in, she went down to size 12, now weighing 11st 11lb (74.8kg) with a BMI of 30.2, just over the obese threshold of 30 according to the NHS.
She said: “I can see it on the scales, but I think I had a bit of body dysmorphia – I couldn’t really see the changes on my body until I looked at photos.” She is now a much more active mother, taking her children out to play every day, and no longer shies away from socialising. She added: “I’ve met up with women who are also on Mounjaro who I’ve met through TikTok. We all went out in Manchester and I would have never been able to do that before. I feel a lot more confident now – people compliment me more and it just gives me a huge boost.”
Looking ahead, Amy hopes to lose another stone and, following guidance from her GP and pharmacist, plans to stay on the medication to maintain her weight loss. To others wanting to lose weight, she said: “Just do it. If I can, anyone else can.”
