30-stone dad who used to spend £25 a day on takeaways says ‘Mounjaro has given me my life back’ after losing 13 stone

A dad who was left crying on his knees after failing to qualify for weight loss injections on the NHS has hit his goal weight and claims he has reversed diabetes by opting for private treatment.

Mark Spurr, 54, feels he has extended his life, saved his job, and now needs a new passport because airline crew no longer recognise him since he started taking Mounjaro weight loss injections.

The security officer, from Morley, West Yorkshire, has dropped 13 stone and trimmed 18 inches from his waist since investing in the treatment last summer.

He now supports thousands of others in their own weight loss journeys on his Tiktok and Youtube channels @markonmounjaro.

After pleading with his GP for NHS treatment without success, Mark resorted to private care to improve his health and avoid being fired from his job at an immigration centre in Leeds, as he could no longer fit into his required stab-proof vest.

Mark estimates he has so far spent £3,500 on Mounjaro, averaging £219 per month, which pales in comparison to the £12,000 he would have spent on junk food and takeaways over the same time period, since he began using Mounjaro 17 months ago.

This is based on his previous £25 daily spend – a Greggs sausage sandwich for breakfast; a pasty, bun, sandwich and cake for lunch; an £8 takeaway dinner; followed by £5 on snacks from the garage – which he has swapped for home-cooked meals.

Mounjaro’s UK list price significantly increased in September when manufacturer Eli Lilly aligned it with prices in other countries.

The weekly weight loss injection, containing tirzepatide, suppresses appetite and enhances fullness to help weight loss alongside a diet and exercise plan.

Doses escalate every four weeks unless a lower maintenance level is chosen, with prices now ranging from £179.99 to £309.99 per month, reflecting an increase of up to 170%.

But Mark says that even with the price hikes, he saves hundreds of pounds per month by eating less and leading a healthier lifestyle thanks to the medicine.

His next – and final – step in his journey is to address the two stone of excess skin from his dramatic weight loss which will put him at his goal weight of 15 stone.

Now he is fundraising for the surgery, which is considered cosmetic and therefore not available through the NHS.

“Mounjaro has given me my life back in so many ways,” Mark told PA Real Life.

“I have reversed my Type 2 diabetes, saved my job and am spending more time with the family – doing normal things like going for a walk rather than hiding in a gym where I was too unfit for outdoor exercise.

“I even need a new passport. Flying to Spain in June, airline staff said my picture doesn’t look like me and nearly didn’t let me board the flight.

“My total spend so far sounds like a lot of money but when you do the maths, I’ve saved thousands, even with the higher prices.”

Mark, who was slim during childhood, began to gain weight when he left school at 15 and took a job as a joiner for Leeds City Council.

For the past 10 years, he has battled harder with his weight, which he said spiralled out of control when his mum, Susan Spurr, died in her 60s in 2014.

“Food was a coping mechanism,” Mark said.

“I joined Slimming World but was yoyo dieting. At one point, I lost six stone but then gained it back and more.”

Mark’s tipping point came when his employer warned him that his job at a Leeds immigration centre was at risk if he could no longer fit into his stab-proof vest.

Weighing around 30 stone with a body-mass index (BMI) of 57, he struggled to walk from the car park to work.

According to the NHS, a healthy BMI score is between 18.5 and 24.9, with a score of 40 or above indicating severe obesity.

An occupational health report suggested he needed to lose six stone to perform his job safely and he took some time off.

Despite these challenges, Mark was informed he did not meet the NHS criteria for weight loss injections, which includes having a BMI over 35 and at least one weight-related illness.

His overall condition, including his diabetes, was not severe enough to qualify.

“I was basically on my hands and knees, crying my eyes out and pleading with my GP to prescribe me something. I was in so much pain,” Mark said.

“I might as well have been smashing my head against a brick wall as I was told I didn’t fit the criteria, but they recommended that I take it privately.”

Mark researched private options for taking Mounjaro and began weekly injections on a dose of 2.5mg, costing £100 per month – which now costs £179.99 under the new price structure.

After one week, he had lost nine pounds and was leading a healthier lifestyle, eating high protein meals like chicken with rice and egg salad.

This progressed to a steady two to three pound weekly weight loss which enabled him to return to mountain biking with his son Joshua, 29, and family outings with his granddaughter Hailey, six.

Other benefits include securing his job and reversing his Type 2 diabetes, Mark said.

“I went for a medical review at my GP and the blood test results came back showing that my blood pressure was much lower – with no Type 2 diabetes.

“So I was put into remission with no need for medicine besides the Mounjaro, which helps to control it.”

Mounjaro was originally designed to treat Type 2 diabetes by managing blood sugar levels.

However, its effect on weight loss in clinical trials led to a separate approval for weight management under another brand name.

Mark’s weight loss has now hit 13 stone, and his waist has reduced from 60 inches to 40 – and it would be lower still without his excess skin.

But he says while many people want to attribute his success entirely to Mounjaro, “it’s not a magic jab”.

“It gets more difficult to remain focused as time goes on and if you’re not prepared to change, you will be throwing money down the drain,” he added.

“You’ve still got to be prepared to quit the junk food and get help with the emotional side of what’s causing you to eat.”

Mark plans to reduce his Mounjaro dose and maintain his weight for the next 12 months and is determined to have skin removal surgery next year to improve his mobility and reduce soreness.

However, he has a long way to go in funding the private procedure, so far having raised just £135 of his £20,000 target on GoFundMe.

“To get this far is a real personal achievement,” he said.

“This is the last thing now holding me back.”

Mark’s GoFundMe page can be found here: https://gofund.me/8290976b1