Do people actually ‘diet’ anymore?
Diet-related content is no longer pulling the audiences it once did, with waning online interest in weight-loss organisations such as Slimming World, meal replacement company SlimFast and low-calorie diet The Cambridge Diet. Weight Watchers has recently filed for bankruptcy in the US due to the huge impact these injections have had, despite the fact the brand is now selling weight medications as part of its programmes.
At the same time, interest in ‘Wegovy’, ‘Mounjaro’, ‘Ozempic’ and ‘slimming jabs’ has exploded online. Search demand in the UK for Mounjaro hit a 5-year high in August, coupled with over 72,000 mentions across social and web over the last 12 months. On TikTok, you’ll find over a staggering 295,000 posts including the hashtag #mounjarojourney. Just a glance at trending hashtags reveals that content about the experience of using these drugs is now dwarfing traditional diet advice.
What has happened to diet influencers?
This has all resulted in a new breed of weight-loss influencer, one which is strikingly different from their predecessors. Rather than posting endless meal prep photos or inspirational gym selfies, today’s Mounjaro influencers are candid about their use of medication, often including comparisons of how they look before vs. after the jab and weekly weigh-ins.
This open, raw approach has resonated with audiences who were perhaps sceptical of the ‘clean eating’ and ‘willpower’ narratives of the past. These new influencers are less about discipline, and more about medical intervention and lived experience.
So who are these GLP-1 influencers brave enough to broadcast their lives for the world to see? Anneka started posting under the username @anneka_mounjaro_journey after initially struggling to find people talking candidly about the reality of taking Mounjaro. “It felt like many people were still feeling like they should keep the fact they were using jabs a secret, so I thought – why not share my own experience? If it helps even one person feel more informed or less alone, then it’s worth it. I also find that it keeps me accountable, and is a great diary of progress.”
Rachel Williams is a health coach who who spent roughly 25 years “yo-yo dieting, going from one slimming group to another, and trying every diet under the sun”. She has pivoted her content to demonstrate how GLP-1s are a tool that’s part of the overall weight loss journey. “I talk about what you should be eating to nourish your body whilst on the medication as well as the habit changes to get longevity from your results, way after you come off the medication.” She believes that while Mounjaro has offered many a lifeline, sustainable weight loss requires more than just taking medication. “[Mounjaro] is a tool to empower you, but the real transformation comes from your habits and mindset,” she says. “The choices you make: what you eat, how you move and how you think about food, remain the cornerstone of success.”
Other Mounjaro users have found success in particular niches. Deb, who posts @thebedway, turned her channel into a mentoring platform, demonstrating how to self-administer the jab to thousands, if not millions. “My demonstration videos do really well – my most popular video of how to inject Mounjaro has 2.5 million views! My before and after videos and pictures also do well, but people also really like my tips, ‘making tea with me’ videos, and what I take to work to eat,” she says.
However, other ‘slim-fluencers’ have discovered that the success of the jab has made a direct impact on their content. Georgie Bowden, known online as @_me.my.chins.and.i, posts funny weight-loss-related reels to her 124,000 followers. She lost over 8 stone naturally, and wants to encourage women away from diet culture and towards sustainable habits. “The challenge currently is that every transformation is now assumed to be GLP related. I’ve had to highlight that my own journey, and my members’ results, come from natural, sustainable approaches. GLP-1s can be a useful tool, especially for people who feel constantly overwhelmed by food,” she says. “But when they’re treated like a crash diet, they risk becoming just another quick fix. If used alongside education and habit building they can create real space for change.”
Emma Storey-Gordon, a female fat-loss expert, believes that while the jabs have an important, often life-changing role for some, there should always be a longer-term plan in place. “They’re not magic, they’re not the enemy and they’re certainly not going anywhere,” she says. “They work because of their potent impact on hunger and food noise, but long term there is no avoiding the need for behaviour change.”
Emma, who shares quick exercise routines and fitness advice on Instagram, has embraced the skinny jab and its ability to tackle obesity, rather than choosing to ignore its popularity. “I’ve always spoken about fat loss and the science behind it with nuance – weight-loss drugs are no different. There are pros and cons with the jab. The biology is interesting and I’m enjoying working with people to come off the drugs and maintain their weight,” she says. “It’s an exciting new challenge for me as a coach. It’s the biggest change we have seen in the fat loss field in decades… potentially ever, certainly in my career.”
What next for the Mounjaro influencers?
Looking ahead, it seems unlikely that slimming jabs will disappear from the conversation any time soon. However with TikTok recently changing its community guidelines – making it increasingly harder to talk openly and freely on the topic of GLP-1s – the future for the Mounjaro influencer hangs in the balance.
The recent hike in price has likewise proved a sticking point for TikTokers, with many switching to Wegovy as a cheaper alternative. “[Mounjaro] may become slightly less popular in the future, as the price is now unrealistic and unachievable to the average person,” according to Nikita (@thejourneyofnikita), who’s lost 53 pounds in 26 weeks. “However I am very nearly at the end of my journey with Mounjaro, so I won’t be changing to Wegovy. Instead my focus on videos will shift to weight maintenance following Mounjaro and doing it naturally.”
Deb, who describes her experience on the jab as ‘life-changing’, hopes they will only become more prolific, whether privately or through the NHS. “I genuinely believe so many people could benefit from it. Unlike other diet trends we’ve seen in the past, this feels different. The results really do speak for themselves, and I think that’s why it’s here to stay. Honestly, I ask myself what could possibly top this in terms of helping people achieve their goals, and I don’t think we’ve seen anything that compares yet.”
Can traditional diet culture recover?
The question remains: is there still a place for strict dieting in the age of weight-loss injections? The answer is complicated. There is still demand for nuanced, evidence-based advice, especially as the downsides of rapid, medication-induced weight loss become more apparent. It’s possible that the weight-loss jab boom is less about the death of weight-loss content and more about its evolution. The conversation is moving away from rigid meal plans and gym workouts and towards a more open, complex discussion about what it means to pursue health in a world where weight can be changed with a jab. The real challenge for the traditional diet industry – and the people working within it – is to keep pace with audiences’ changing expectations and to find new ways to add value in a world where, for many, weight loss has never been easier, but true wellbeing remains as elusive as ever.
