Gogglebox star Amy Tapper has been open and honest about her weight loss journey after she used weight loss injections to help shed eight stone. Amy appeared on the Channel 4 show between 2013 and 2018, she appeared alongside her mum and dad, Jonathan and Nikki and her older brother Josh.
The TV star previously weighed 23 stone and wore size 26 clothing, she has now dropped to a size 18. Amy attempted twelve years of various diets without success prior to her recent sessions with a personal trainer and using Mounjaro.
Amy appeared on Good Morning Britain this week to discuss the backlash and criticism she has faced as a result of her weight loss. She spoke to Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway, telling them: “I do think of myself as strong minded and whatever they say to me I can say a lot worse about myself.
“But of course it affects you. No one is super human and I can be strong and confident but when I’ve put all this work in, I do just kind of have to laugh about it.”
Amy added: “I don’t have to think about anything, I don’t have to plan any diets in my head. I just know that I’ll listen to what is going on and that is it and it’s just a nice place to be.
“But the online trolls come in and it sort of affects your peacefulness in your head. This eat less move more, it’s put there as some sort of an insult. But if you’re doing that with the weight loss medication side by side, it’s the most perfect pair so I don’t know why it’s bothering anyone.”
Amy admitted that she understands there are opinions about the method of losing weight, but has stood by her choice to use the injections, she added “I think you’re doomed if you do and doomed if you don’t so why not just do it.
“If people have things to say at least you know you’re doing the right thing and you’re doing it for yourself and you’re doing it because you want to. If you are doing it because you want to then what anyone says should just go over your head.”
Amy’s GP has recommended she continues taking the injections for life, to stop her body returning to its previous patterns. However, Dr Amir Khan previously clarified: “When it comes to these drugs and how long you should be on them, NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] suggests that you should be on them for a maximum of two years.
“Within that time, we should get the holistic support that goes along with getting down to a healthy weight. It might be different for each individual person.”
The mass rollout of weight loss injections on the NHS in England began in June. It means GPs are allowed to prescribe the drugs for the first time. Around 220,000 people are expected to receive Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide.
The drug is an antidiabetic drug which lowers blood sugar levels and and slows down how quickly food is digested. Mounjaro will be prescribed to severely overweight people who also suffer from a range of other health problems. It will be made by Eli Lilly, through the NHS over the next three years.
In the first year of the programme, the drug will be offered to people with a body mass index (BMI) score of over 40 who have at least four other health problems linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and obstructive sleep apnoea.
Dr Claire Fuller, from NHS England, said: “This is an important next step in the rollout of weight loss drugs, with community-based services now able to offer this treatment from today.
“We urgently need to address rising levels of obesity and prioritise support for those who are experiencing severe ill health – and greater access to weight loss drugs will make a significant difference to the lives of those people.”