My Jaffa Cake addiction left me so fat I couldn’t fit in bath… jabs were my saviour but I’m fighting to stay on them

NINETEEN stone Beverley Cuddy says she was so addicted to Jaffa Cakes, they used to “speak” to her from the cupboard.

To outsiders, she clearly needed help. But it wasn’t until Beverley had to buy shoe stretchers for her chubby toes and got stuck in a chair while out for dinner that she realised quite how desperate her weight problem was.

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At her heaviest, Beverley was 19st (121kg) and “fed up” that she was unable to do the things she always loved.

The dog welfare campaigner, 63, could no longer take long baths or be spontaneous. She couldn’t judge dog shows because it was too painful to stand due to the pressure on her legs.

It even left her in hospital multiple times with chest infections and collapsed lungs.

Beverley, from Worcestershire, tells Sun Health: “I was costing the NHS a wedge as I just kept getting ill.

“I couldn’t get in the bath anymore because my legs were so swollen that they couldn’t bend.

“At one point, I had to even buy extenders to make my shoes fit.

“If we went on holiday, I wouldn’t fit properly in the seat on the plane in economy, and I even got stuck in some chairs at restaurants. 

“It was so embarrassing. The world just isn’t built for bigger people.

“I was truly miserable, and the sadder I got, the more I comfort ate. It was a cycle I couldn’t break.”

Beverley also hated relying on other people, but she had no choice when she could barely move. 

She says: “I’d never been overly concerned about looking fat, but I hated the thought of being a burden on my family.”

Everything changed when Beverley came across an advert on Facebook for Mounjaro in April 2024. 

The so-called ‘skinny jab’ contains tirzepatide, which makes users feel fuller for longer and therefore less hungry.

Comfort eating was ultimately killing me.

Beverley Cuddy

Beverley signed up immediately through online pharmacy Juniper, initially costing her £130 per month. 

She has lost about 40 per cent of her body weight and dropped from a size 22 to a 12, now weighing 11st 4lbs (72kg). 

And she will continue to pay hundreds for the jabs per month to maintain, because her new, healthier future is “priceless”.

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‘Comfort eating was ultimately killing me,’ she says[/caption]

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But everything changed when she saw a Facebook advert in 2024[/caption]

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Beverley started taking Mounjaro and her ‘food noise’ disappeared[/caption]

Beverley says: “Comfort eating was ultimately killing me.

“I didn’t know anyone else taking GLP-1 jabs at the time, though I was completely open about it on my social media.

“I’d tried and failed so many diets before, but this was very different. 

“I found it incredibly easy to stick to because all the food noise in my head vanished.

“Jaffa Cakes were no longer talking to me. And I could, for the first time in my life, think like what I imagine a naturally thin person does.

“Food was no longer an emotional crutch; it was simply fuel.”

FORKING OUT FOREVER

She had a brutal wake-up call earlier this month, though, when the price of Mounjaro shot up by 170 per cent.

It means that, per month, it generally costs £330 instead of £122 at the highest dose. 

Juniper has frozen prices while patients decide whether to stop taking the drugs or switch to another brand, so Beverley currently pays £229 a month.

But this will increase to £304 from October. 

These injections might have become more expensive, but the change they’ve brought to my future is priceless

Beverley Cuddy

Beverley says the injections have cured her “food addiction” and saved her life, so she will be tightening her belt in other ways to keep affording them. 

She says: “It’s never been the cheapest – Mounjaro is like the M&S or Waitrose of weight loss.

“I fear some people facing shortages may turn to unsafe sources. But you shouldn’t gamble with your health. It’s madness.

“I’d rather pay more for a reputable company than go for a slightly cheaper version of the jab.

“The drug probably still costs less than what most people spend on lunch and a coffee each day – and certainly less than what many spend on Botox and fillers.

“Imagine investing that money instead to extend your life in quality and quantity. That’s the difference between price and value.

“If you can regain the health you used to have when weighing much less, that, to me, is priceless.”

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Beverley lost about 40 per cent of her body weight[/caption]

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She dropped from a size 22 to a 12 and now weighs 11st 4lbs[/caption]

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Before she started taking jabs, Beverley was always getting ill, frequently ending up in hospital[/caption]

While she has dropped from 12.5mg to 10mg, which is saving her some money, Beverley plans to continue reducing her dose until she no longer needs the injections. 

She adds: “I have all the energy now that I used to in my 20s. Mounjaro has given me back my energy and optimism.

“The ‘eat less, move more’ brigade may think it’s simple, but they have no idea what food noise is like.

“There’s so much negativity around so-called ‘skinny jabs’, but they’re literally a life-saver for many of us.

“I feel liberated at last after years of yo-yo dieting.

“These injections might have become more expensive, but the change they’ve brought to my future is priceless.

“When you’re on the drug, you’re spending less at the supermarket, on takeaways and dining out – so it balances out really.

“In the long run, these jabs will save taxpayers a fortune.”

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The cost of Mounjaro has increased – but Beverley says it’s worth every penny[/caption]

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Her energy levels are now the same as when she was in her 20s[/caption]

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‘I feel liberated at last after years of yo-yo dieting,’ Beverley says[/caption]