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I’m a single mum & having kids ruined my body
A MUM who feared having kids “ruined” her body has managed to shrink a whopping five dress sizes after taking fat jabs.
Carly Brannan, 35, struggled with her weight and developed chronic back pain after giving birth to her daughter, aged five, and son, three.
And she admitted that she began “eating rubbish” after having “no willpower” as she adjusted to being a single mum who also worked full time in a hospital, which pushed her into a size 14-16.
But she was keen to try and get back to her previously slim frame – and was inspired after seeing her sister-in-law Debbie’s transformation.
We exclusively told last week how Debbie managed to shed 7st in seven months using weight-loss jabs.
The 39-year-old dropped from a size 16-18 to a size 8-10 with the help of Wegovy in 2022, reversing her obesity and becoming symptom-free with her fibromyalgia.
And her incredible transformation gave Carly, from Glasgow, the courage to try it for herself. She started taking Ozempic at the start of 2023, and within four and a half months had dropped 4st.
Happy with her progress, she stopped for a while but then turned to rval fat jab Mounjaro to shed another 1.5st – bringing her total weight loss to 5.5st.
The single mum now wears a size 6 and admits that it has been life-changing for her, adding that she now feels “the best I’ve ever felt”.
I felt so rubbish about myself before. Whereas now I feel like I’ve got a new lease of life. It’s 100% boosted my confidence
Carly Brannan
She credits her weight loss to the medication and daily reformer Pilates classes, and now works in Elite Clinic of Aesthetics alongside Debbie, who launched the firm to help others achieve their weight-loss goals.
Carly told The Scottish Sun: “I was always thin, and then I decided to have kids, and that ruined my body, I’m not going to lie.
” I had two kids back-to-back. I didn’t realise I was putting on the weight until I started losing it again.
“After the kids came, I was eating rubbish and just had no willpower at all. It’s harder because you don’t have time.
“I was still working in the hospital at that point as well, so it was all shift work, so it was hard to eat right.
“Then, obviously, Debbie was on the medication at the time, and I was like, ‘My God, how do you look like that? I need to try that’.
“So I started taking it, and I think I lost about 4st in about four and a half months.
“And then I came off the medication, and I was still losing weight, just because obviously my appetite and that had changed.
“I came to a halt, and Mounjaro had come out at this point.
This is the best I’ve ever felt, even before the kids. It’s been a massive difference
Carly Brannan
“So being in the clinic, I thought, no, I do need to lose a wee bit more, and I swapped over to Mounjaro, and I still maintain it using Mounjaro.
“Altogether, I lost about five and a half stone in total.”
Carly revealed that Mounjaro has been life-changing for her – not just to help with her weight loss, but also to help with her other health conditions.
She said: “I still take it once a month because I get night sweats and all that with my hormones, and it stops all that.
“I had a bad back and things like that, so the weight didn’t help with that either. So obviously getting the weight off has helped all that.”
And she also told how her incredible transformation has given her “a new lease of life”.
How fat jabs work – and how to get maximum results safely
WEIGHT loss jabs were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes – and Ozempic is still prescribed for that.
Wegovy and Mounjaro, which are now available on the NHS, along with Saxenda, are licensed for weight management in obese adults (BMI over 30) or those who are overweight (BMI over 27) with related conditions such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
They work by mimicking hormones like GLP-1, which help regulate appetite, slow digestion and make you feel fuller for longer – often leading to dramatic weight loss.
The health benefits can be huge, since obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
But not everyone sees the same results. One common mistake is expecting it to work instantly.
For example, taking it right before a takeaway, special occasion, or big night out in the hope it will stop you from overindulging.
Jason Murphy, head of pharmacy and weight loss expert at Chemist4U, says: “Taking the jab right before a takeaway or party won’t automatically stop you from indulging.
“Weight loss injections need time to build up in your system. They don’t blunt your appetite immediately after injection.
“It usually takes a few days to start feeling a difference, and several weeks for the full effects to settle in.”
Inject your dose mid-week if you plan for a heavier weekend.
Another common error is injecting in the same spot each time.
“People often default to injecting in the same spot over and over, but this can cause local irritation or even small lumps of fat under the skin (lipohypertrophy),” Dr Crystal Wyllie, GP at Asda Online Doctor, explains.
“This can affect how well the medication is absorbed and make it less effective.”
She recommends rotating injection sites between the abdomen, thigh, and upper arm, and even picking different spots within those zones.
And never stop using them suddenly as this can lead to rapid weight gain, Mital Thakrar, a pharmacist from Well Pharmacy, warns.
“There’s a tendency to ditch weight-loss treatments as soon as you reach your desired weight,” he says. “But that’s not our advice.”
A recent University of Oxford study found people typically return to their original weight within 10 months of stopping treatment, especially if lifestyle changes weren’t firmly established.
“Without the appetite suppression, hunger and cravings return quickly,” Mr Thakrar explains.
This includes healthier eating, which means cutting out junk food and alcohol while increasing protein and fibre, as well as exercising regularly.
“Building habits like these during treatment is key for sustaining results,” he says.
“Many patients see improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure.”
But stopping too soon can reverse these gains if weight creeps back.
Finally, if you’re not seeing results, you might be missing the oldest rule in the book – drinking enough water.
“Dehydration is a common, yet indirect, side effect of weight loss injections,” Dr Wyllie says.
The drugs dull appetite, and in doing so, they can also blunt thirst signals. Yet hydration is crucial for the body to function properly.
“Aim for two to three litres per day, sipping regularly, not just when thirsty,” Dr Wyllie explains.
“Hydration supports metabolism, digestion, and can reduce side effects like headaches, nausea and constipation.”
Carly struggled with her mental health after her partner left her with two young children and she started gaining weight.
But now, the stunning blonde said she is in the “best position she has ever been in” and is now back at university studying to get a degree in Prescribing – all thanks to the huge confidence boost the weight-loss jabs gave her.
She said: “This is the best I’ve ever felt, even before the kids.
“I was a size 14, 16, and I’m a size 6 now. I’m only 4’11 as well, so I’m small. So the weight wasn’t good on me.
“It’s been a massive difference, because I’m a single mum with two kids, the business, and I’m doing my prescribing and things just now.
“I wouldn’t have done that, because I felt so rubbish about myself before. Whereas now I feel like I’ve got a new lease of life.
“It’s 100% boosted my confidence.”
- Carly is the co-owner of Elite Clinic of Aesthetics in Glasgow alongside sister-in-law Debbie, which was recently crowned as Medical Face and Body Aesthetic Treatments Clinic of the Year 2025 for Scotland by Global Health and Pharma
