Problem solving my way from size 24 to size 12, in just eleven months

In October 2024, Welsh politician Carolyn Harris found herself emotionally dragged down by internet trolls. “They would comment on everything; my hair colour, my glasses, my clothes size. It felt relentless.” Weighing 19 stone at the time and wearing size 24 clothes, Carolyn was aware that her weight may become a health risk, but was struggling to take control. “I have very strong willpower but found it so hard to lose weight and keep it off.” It was a problem she was struggling to solve. 

The instinct to solve problems 

“I have always been a problem solver,” Carolyn shares. In the ordinary working class neighbourhood of Swansea where she grew up, Carolyn’s family and friends would often turn to her to help “sort things out”. Be it writing a letter of complaint, making a tricky phone call or rationalising complicated situations, Carolyn grew up fully immersed and engaged in the issues that affected local life in Swansea. “My family weren’t members of a political party – but they were very political in their own little ways. So I grew up knowing about politics, and my instinct was to get involved.” From a young age, Carolyn would be down at the polling station during elections, taking numbers for the Labour party, rubbing shoulders with all the local politicians. 

Despite being politically engaged and deeply acquainted with matters affecting the community, Carolyn didn’t go straight into politics. “Like a lot of working class women, I’ve suffered from imposter syndrome all my life.” She was the first in her family to go to university, studying social history and social policy as a mature student, but convinced herself she wasn’t clever enough to be a Member of Parliament. Instead she dived into the charity sector, working with grassroots community organisations supporting disadvantaged young people, drawing on local resources to help improve the lives of those who were suffering. 

In 2005 when the local MP retired, Carolyn attached herself to one of the new candidates who, once elected, leaned heavily on Carolyn’s intimate knowledge of the constituency. A volunteering role that turned into a full-time job lasting ten years, it took being fully immersed in political life for Carolyn to realise that she had naturally slipped into the role of a politician. In 2015 she ran for office and was elected to parliament. “I didn’t come into politics looking for greatness,” she explains. “I still do what I’ve always done – solve people’s problems – just more officially! And I’ve widened my base of people to help.”

Beyond our own strength

“There are some problems that can’t be solved on your own, however strong you are,” Carolyn confesses. Prior to her political journey kicking off, Carolyn’s eight-year-old son died in a road accident. “It felt like the first time ever that I wasn’t in control. And that’s when I went into a bit of a dark place…I was so angry with God.” Carolyn had grown up in a church-going community, joining the church choir and attending services three times a day on a Sunday. Similar to her innate drive to engage in politics, she was naturally compelled to follow God: “God was just a massive part of who I was.” 

Even when I was battling with God over losing my child, I still believed, otherwise I wouldn’t have been having those conversations with him

“Even when I was battling with God over losing my child, I still believed, otherwise I wouldn’t have been having those conversations with him,” she explains, matter-of-factly. This anger at God over her crippling grief morphed into what she describes as “an obsession with church”. Going to church as often as she could, Carolyn grasped for a semblance of control over life’s unpredictability. “Deep down I knew I was afraid that something else bad might happen. I knew I needed God.” 

Taking Mounjaro 

Carolyn’s “unhealthy obsession” with faith and church tempered to a deep reassurance of God’s presence in everything, and a confidence that prayer and problem solving come hand in hand. By the autumn of 2024, weight had become an issue that was affecting her mind, body and spirit, and, while prayer was a vital, natural response, Carolyn’s innate problem-solving instincts also kicked in. This couldn’t just be prayed away; God also wanted her to take action. 

At the time, Carolyn was – and continues to be – a key player in driving the political conversation around menopause. “Once you scratch the surface of a problem, what you inevitably find are layers and layers of other problems underneath.” Uncovering entrenched misunderstandings around menopause also unearthed other concerns around women’s health. She was about to add weight loss to that list.

During International Menopause Awareness Week in October last year, Carolyn took part in a ‘walk and talk about menopause’ event in Swansea. She was halfway into the walk when she had to take a break because her back was hurting, pain caused by her weight. “I finished the walk, but it was hard work.” Later that day she decided to go on Mounjaro. 

A brand of weight-loss medication called tirzepatide, Mounjaro had been prescribed to Carolyn a week prior to this event by her menopause doctor, following some tests to assess her eligibility. She admits that her motivation to invest in the drug, which initially cost her £119 a month for the highest dose, was primarily motivated by the fact that she had been “letting other people and their negative thoughts and words affect me”. But it’s also clear that a turning point for Carolyn was when her weight started to impact her ability to participate in political activities. She was determined that her weight wouldn’t get in the way of her emotional and physical energy to advocate for meaningful change in her constituency. 

I’m the kind of person who instantly psychologically feels better when I know I’ve taken an action to regain control of a situation

“The effect of taking Mounjaro, for me, was almost instant,” she shares. “I think that I’m the kind of person who instantly psychologically feels better when I know I’ve taken an action to regain control of a situation.” Carolyn felt the mental load lifting, soon followed by her weight shifting. “I took that first dose in October. By Christmastime I could really feel a physical difference, and by January other people were noticing it too.” Eleven months on, Carolyn had lost eight stone. “[The internet trolls] probably wanted to break me but, in a way, they have made me stronger…I’ve taken control of my weight and my health. I was probably heading into pre-diabetes because of my weight and other medical conditions related to obesity. Now I’ve resolved that myself and reduced my likelihood of developing these conditions.”  

Campaigning for accessibility

Carolyn is aware that there are many others battling with the physical, emotional and mental ramifications of weight gain, but who fall outside the NHS criteria to qualify for a prescription and don’t possess the financial resources to invest in weight-loss jabs like Mounjaro. “I continue to pay to be on Mounjaro, but the cost is going up dramatically. I’m concerned for people less fortunate than me, who don’t earn what I earn, and can’t afford to do what I’ve done, which has resulted in turning my life around.” Earlier this year Carolyn launched a campaign to find ways to make Mounjaro more affordable and challenge drug companies who are inflating prices by as much as 170 per cent. “Perhaps makers will discover that they’ve priced themselves out of the market, or we’ll discover other companies who can help people access weight-loss drugs more easily, but if we don’t bring it up as an issue, no one talks about it and nothing ever changes.” 

“I’m only advocating that it worked for me,” Carolyn emphasises, acknowledging how much happier and healthier she is now. “And it might not be right for you,” she adds. She is clear that there is a discernment process needed before taking such drugs, and that some people experience side effects. But through prayer and consultation with a doctor, she hopes that it will be the source of significant life transformation for many. 

Words by Jane Knoop  

Read our resident GP Dr Becky Howie’s article, While body positivity is important, clinical obesity is a disease – is weight-loss medication a healthy solution? online at womanalive.co.uk