I LOST 7ST ON MOUNJARO – BUT THIS UNWANTED SIDE EFFECT COSTS ME £70 A MONTH

A mum who lost seven stone on Mounjaro says her weight loss has come with one unwanted side effect.

Emilly Murray, 35, went from 16 stone and a size 22 to nine stone and a size 6/8 in less than a year after she decided to start taking the weight-loss jab.

Despite loving her new body the mum-of-three says slimming down has cost her an extra £70 a month – because she now has to have her heating on more.

The ‘MJ Freeze’

Emilly, from Aintree, Liverpool, says the one thing she misses about being larger is spending less on her energy bills each month.

Since she has lost weight she has been struggling with the cold and now has to crank up the heating in her home.

The Mounjaro side effect is now known on TikTok as the “MJ Freeze”, with hundreds of weight-loss jab users struggling to stay warm in the winter temperatures.

Emilly keeps her heating on 22 degrees for over six hours a day, while also wrapping up in multiple layers and dressing gowns at home.

The extra hours of heating have caused her monthly bill to rocket from £85 to £155.

Emilly said the cold is “absolutely horrendous” and that she could feel a difference in her body from her very first jab.

“I was sat in bed shivering with a hoodie on,” she said.

‘I haven’t felt my toes or fingers once this winter’

Emilly added: “This winter I haven’t felt my toes or fingers once. It doesn’t feel like when you are cold normally.

“You can’t feel your fingers, and when you drink water you feel even colder, which is concerning because water intake is an important part of weight-loss jab journeys.

“At home I am always wearing a dressing gown, a heated blanket, heated gloves, heated slippers – and carrying a hot water bottle.”

When she takes her son to to school Emilly says she has to put on thermals under her normal pants.

“Then I have two t-shirts, a jumper, a big coat and gloves. Even with all of these layers I am still freezing to my core!” she said.

Worth every penny

Emilly purchases Mounjaro privately and pays £200 per month for a 7.5 dose jab.

This, alongside the additional £70 in heating, costs her £270 every four weeks.

Despite the increasing expense, Emilly insists the cost is “worth every penny” as losing weight has enabled her to run after her kids and climb the stairs without getting out of breath.

She said: “I decided to go on them because at my heaviest I was over 22st.

“I lost weight on my own, but I was struggling. I am capable of losing weight – I know what to do and got myself to 16st without jabs – but it was the food noise that was my issue, I just always wanted to eat.

“I was just going to try Mounjaro for the month – within a couple of hours my head was quiet, no more food noise.

She added that, thanks to the jabs, food doesn’t rule her life again and she feels “in charge” again.

“It’s worth going through this cold – you just need to be prepared to get higher heating bills,” Emilly added.

No inner heating any more

Emilly believes that there is a reason why Mounjaro users tend to freeze up, explaining that she thinks it is due to a lack of eating.

She said: “I had gone from eating a massive amount of calories to less – our bodies are used to eating high amounts – so your body has a lot less energy to burn for heat.

“Of course I’m going to be cold, I have no inner heating any more.”

Emilly added that she has not met “a single person” on Mounjaro who hasn’t had the MJ freeze.

No ‘robust’ link between GLP-1s and feeling cold

Dietitian specialising weight management, Sioned Quirke, explains the sudden chills experienced by Mounjaro users may not be a direct link to the jab itself.

“There is no robust clinical trial evidence that GLP-1 drugs directly cause people to feel cold as a pharmacological side effect,” she said.

“However, there are some metabolic reasons why people could feel cold called ‘adaptive thermogenesis’ after weight loss.”

This is when “significant” weight loss reduces subcutaneous fat, which normally acts as insulation.

Lower caloric intake reduces heat production because “diet-induced thermogenesis and resting energy expenditure” drop during weight loss.

“Adaptive metabolic slowing often seen during weight loss reduces heat generation as the body conserves energy,” Sioned added.

2026-02-11T12:29:39Z