By Howard Lloyd

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A self-proclaimed ‘tea addict’ who consumed 140 sugary brews weekly has shed six stone on Mounjaro – without abandoning her beloved habit. Susan Garner, 61, drinks up to 20 cups of tea daily with four sugars each and would occasionally polish off a 1kg bag of sugar in merely three days. Her compulsion caused her weight to balloon and she tipped the scales at 14st 12lbs and squeezed into a size 20 at her peak – leaving her feeling ‘mortified’ and lacking the confidence to venture outdoors. In February 2025, Susan received a prescription for Mounjaro from her GP – beginning with the 2.5mg dosage and gradually increasing to 7mg. She has plummeted five dress sizes, now fits into a size 10, and weighs 9st despite maintaining her tea consumption – by substituting sugar with sweetener. Susan, who does not work due to her health conditions, from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, said: “I was addicted to cups of tea and I’d go through an entire bag of sugar every three day – it’s the only thing I haven’t given up. “It got to a point where I just hated what I saw in the mirror – I really wanted willpower to lose weight. I was very down, I always thought people would look at me and think ‘oh god, she’s fat’. Now, I have a new lease of life – but I’m still addicted to drinking tea.” Susan’s initial attempt at shedding pounds was in 2004, when she underwent gastric bypass surgery. She plummeted from 19st 8lbs and a size 22 to 8st 8lbs and a size eight. However, over the years, her fondness for sweet cups of tea, biscuits, and crisps led to her regaining most of the weight. Feeling down about her size, Susan decided to bring it up with her GP during an asthma check-up in February 2025. She said: “I was always making excuses so I wouldn’t have to leave the house looking the way I did. I’d recently heard about weight loss injections and I mentioned them to my GP, just in case. “She said she’d see if I fit the criteria for it – and a couple of weeks later, she told me I’d got it approved. I was just bursting inside – I thought ‘this is my new lease of life’. I didn’t have any expectations at all, I was just excited to see what would happen.” Susan started on a low dose of 2.5mg – and did not feel like her appetite had changed. But when she stepped on the scales at the end of week one, she had shed 7lbs. In addition to taking Mounjaro, she also adopted the NHS-recommended lifestyle changes, including walking 10,000 steps per day, drinking 2l of water and eating five portions of fruit. She did not cut back on her cups of tea, but swapped four sugars for four sweeteners per drink. “The weight was absolutely falling off, and I felt on top of the world ,” Susan exclaimed. “Everyone would see me and double-take – they’d say ‘god, I didn’t realise it was you’. That was really nice.” In just eight months, Susan has achieved her dream dress size – a size 10 – and no longer feels the need to hide in “fat granny clothes” such as baggy tops and tunics. These days, she’s rocking “tight” black jeans and feels like she’s knocked a decade off her age. While her diet has seen a significant overhaul, Susan is relieved that she has not had to completely abandon her beloved tea – sweeteners have proven to be a “great compromise”. She shared: “I used to wear clothes for a woman my age – but I am a granny. Now, I feel like I can wear tight, black jeans – and I’m not worried about it. Mounjaro did really boost my confidence.” Here’s what Susan’s diet looked like before: Breakfast: Two slices of white toast with jam, two cups of tea with four sugars each. Snack: A whole packet of biscuits and a slice of cake, 18 cups of tea between breakfast and dinner. Dinner: Bacon, a fried egg and chips. After-dinner snack: Crisps and a chocolate bar. And here’s what Susan’s diet looks like now: Breakfast: Boiled egg with one slice of wholemeal toast, two cups of tea with four sweeteners and a splash of skimmed milk. Snack: 18 cups of tea, four sweeteners each and skimmed milk. Dinner: Jacket potato with cheese, beans and salad.