Two years ago, Louise Peachman felt trapped in her own body.
Tipping the scales at 101.5kg (223.7lbs), every day was a slog for the size 20 mother of four, who struggled with simple tasks like tying her shoelaces.
Louise followed all the standard advice: eat less, move more, be patient. But she could never shift the baby weight she'd gained after four back-to-back pregnancies.
'I tried every diet under the sun – Weight Watchers, Lite N Easy, Lady Shake, keto. I tried at least 15 different options and nothing worked,' the 37-year-old marriage celebrant told Daily Mail.
'I struggled to stick to it, really disliked it, and found that nothing suited my busy lifestyle. The diet would last no more than a few weeks – maybe a month.
'Any weight I lost would come back and I was back to where I started – all the hard work was for nothing.'
Louise struggled with portion control and would often fall back on convenience food when she was too tired to cook. While she went for a long walk every morning, it wasn't even close to enough to counteract her poor eating habits.
'I was obsessed with food and wanted to eat at every opportunity I had. I ate too much multiple times a day. I had really bad food habits,' she explained.
Even walking up stairs or standing on her feet for long periods was challenging.
'One of the biggest things I noticed was after standing up for five hours a day at work, my feet would swell from carrying all the weight,' she said.
'The next day, I would be a zombie and completely exhausted. Like a hangover, without even drinking.'
Louise, from New South Wales, Australia, spent eight years struggling to shake off the unwanted kilos but was never able to drop below 80kg (176lbs).
Then, in late 2023, after speaking with her doctor, Louise decided to try weight loss injections and was prescribed Ozempic then Mounjaro.
Although the medication promised to quiet 'food noise' and curb hunger, it simply didn't work for Louise to begin with.
On the lowest dose, she actually gained weight, and it wasn't until her doctor put her on a higher dosage that the weight finally started to drop off.
In the space of four months, Louise lost 12 kilos (26lbs).
But then her weight loss stalled. For weeks, the scales refused to budge. 'I quickly learned that the medication wasn't going to work on its own. I had to make some changes too,' she said.
But while many patients on weight loss drugs incorporate calorie tracking and ramped-up exercise, Louise took a more radical approach.
Soon after her weight began to plateau, she attended a wedding where she overheard a waiter ask the man next to her about dietary requirements. His response caught her attention.
'I'm on the carnivore diet,' he said.
Louise was intrigued – she'd never heard of it before. Later, she looked it up and discovered it meant eating only animal products – meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy.
No vegetables, no carbs. Just protein.
Louise decided to try the approach – adding an extra rule of her own.
'What helped me break through was simplifying everything. I shifted to a carnivore-style approach, eating only protein, and reduced my eating window to one main meal in the early evening, around 5pm,' she said.
'Removing carbohydrates and constant grazing helped stabilise my blood sugar, reduce inflammation and quieted the mental noise around food.'
While the drastic adjustment was difficult at first, Louise quickly discovered if she had a coffee with three sugars at 10am-11am, it would tide her over until dinner.
Five days a week, Louise restricted herself to animal products only. A typical meal would consist of 400g-500g of meat, such as steak, chicken breast or lamb cutlets, and several eggs.
On the other two days of the week, she took a more relaxed approach, including some non-carnivore treats.
'I made a commitment to myself to go pretty hard on this diet, but I was not going to let it control my life. So if I'm at a wedding or event, I eat whatever I want,' she said.
This diet, combined with following her prescribing doctor's guidelines for dosage, helped her break through her plateau and supercharged her weight loss.
Within seven months, Louise had dropped a further 19kg (42lbs), eventually reaching a weight of 70.6kg (156lbs) by the end of July 2025.
A common concern with the carnivore diet is the lack of fibre and nutrient intake, such as vitamin C.
However, Louise says she hasn't experienced any health issues, and her morning coffee acts as a laxative.
'I didn't add supplements or extreme workouts. In fact, over-training had been one of the biggest contributors to my plateau,' she said.
'When I prioritised recovery, hydration and low-stress movement, like walking over punishing gym sessions, my body finally started responding again.'
She also noticed that whenever she ate carbohydrates at dinner, she would wake up feeling hungry. This wasn't the case when she stuck to protein.
By last November, Louise had reached 66.5kg (147lbs), bringing her total weight loss to 35kg (77lbs). She's now a size 8, meaning she's dropped a whopping six dress sizes.
While her rapid weight loss has left her with some saggy skin, Louise says she looks and feels 'amazing'.
'I'm able to go to the shops and buy any clothes I want, whereas before I was never able to do that and was self-conscious of my chubby arms,' she said.
'Being a celebrant, I have more than 65 dresses that couples can choose for me to wear on their wedding day – and I feel comfortable in all of them.
'For the first time in my life, I'm able to have my arms exposed and not covered.'
As for the Mounjaro, Louise now injects just once a month as a 'booster', which she says helps to curb her 'food noise'.
However, you should always consult your doctor to see what's right for you, as GLP-1 medications are prescribed to be taken consistently.
After years of yo-yo dieting and her first-hand experience, Louise's advice is simple.
'Find your motivation, otherwise you won't go anywhere. Without motivation or a "why", you won't succeed,' she said.
'Even if you try a GLP-1 medication, you have to put in the effort.
'Now I feel and look amazing, I present myself well and feel good in my own skin. Before, I never did.
'Looking back at old photos, I looked like an elephant and I was really unhappy. Even now it's hard to see how I used to present myself. I was still well-dressed but I was just so much bigger.'
