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Privacy NoticeShe may have turned 69 last month, but Carole Malone is looking and feeling better than ever. The journalist and broadcaster recently spoke about her health overhaul, revealing she’d used controversial weight-loss drug Wegovy. While she admits its use came with its drawbacks she is happy with the results. There are concerns about drugs such as Wegovy, which is aimed at tackling chronic obesity, and Ozempic, for type 2 diabetes, being used as weight-loss aids. The ex-Celebrity Big Brother contestant confesses she was initially against the idea of taking them to shed the pounds. “Every bone in my body was telling me I shouldn’t be taking a drug that people who are sick take. Why? Because I’m a strong woman. I was thinking, ‘Why don’t I have the willpower or strength to do what’s required to lose weight?’”
Carole Malone has opened up about her experience using Wegovy to lose weight
(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
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However, she ruptured a glute muscle, which left her worried about her mobility. It was then she decided to take action. After doing some research, she was introduced by a friend to a company that supplies the weight-loss drug. “Before my injury, being overweight had depressed me, but it hadn’t debilitated me,” she says. “Then, for a month, I had to use a crutch and found myself hobbling into TV studios. That’s what made me take it. I had a vision that I was going to hurtle into old age not being able to do anything for myself.” She continues, “There are a few side-effects to the drug. Tiredness is one side-effect I had. I also felt a bit dizzy now and then. It lasted for the first three weeks. I’d get the odd headache, too.” In six months she has gone from 14st 8lb to about 11st 3lb because the drug suppresses the appetite – which came as a bit of a shock for Carole because it put her off the foods she once loved.
In six months Carole has gone from 14st 8lb to about 11st 3lb
(Image: Supplied)
“The fact I didn’t want to eat things like cake any more was a revelation. It was also like losing a friend. It felt like a bit of a death to me, as food has always been a comfort. If I’d had a bad day, I’d have some cake. But I didn’t want to do that any more. There was a sense of loss. “You say to yourself, ‘Where’s my comfort going to come from?’ But it’s all about the resetting of your eating habits. On this drug, I don’t want to drink wine either because it gives me acid. I don’t like it much any more, which is a bit boring.” Some people have referred to medications like Wegovy and Ozempic as miracle drugs – but not Carole. She said they can work miracles, but only with hard work as well. “People shouldn’t expect to just inject themselves and see the weight drop off. You have to change your bad eating habits as well.” She overhauled her own diet to include oily fish, protein and vegetables – but only after realising she was depriving her body of essential nutrients. “At the start, because I didn’t want to eat, I chose not to eat a lot of the time. What I didn’t take into account was nutrition and vitamins. That’s not the drug’s fault. That’s my fault,” she says.
Before her weight loss, Carole had “a vision that I was going to hurtle into old age not being able to do anything for myself”
(Image: ITV)
“I was excited about the fact that I was losing weight and wasn’t hungry. I didn’t think about the loss of muscle mass, which has reduced to virtually nothing. Now I’m having to go to the gym to work at building it back up.” Now a size 12/14, she has to take “maybe one more dose” of the drug before finishing the course. After that she’ll rely on her newfound habits to stay on track. “When you get thin, you say ‘I’m never going to be fat again’. And that’s the terrifying thing for me now I’ve done the first part of my journey. The next part is to try to keep the weight off, which I have never done before, and that scares me,” she says. “I’m on a much lower dose now, so I do feel a bit hungry. I don’t think feeling hungry is a bad thing, as I’m the right weight. But I have to be aware that when I’m hungry I don’t eat food that’s bad for me.” Meanwhile, she plans to continue her healthy lifestyle. “My mobility is better than it’s been for years. I can walk my dog for miles. I don’t get the pains in my knees any more. That niggling glute injury which was the starting point for all this doesn’t hurt me any more. I’m a different woman. I’m happy with what I now see in the mirror and I’m happy that my health is better. I’m excited by how much healthier I feel. And who knows, I might even get to live a bit longer.”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnHealth
