There were times when Shawna Fountain feared she would have a heart attack after walking up the stairs. After having four children, the 34-year-old stay-at-home mom had ballooned to 300lbs and a size XXXL, leaving her so ashamed that she often hid at the house. At 5ft 5in, she was firmly classified as severely obese.
But after finding she could not fit down a playground slide with her then seven-year-old, the Michigan native vowed to take control of her health — saying she wanted to be there for her children.
'We were at the park and I couldn't go down the slide, I couldn't fit down the slide that my seven-year-old could fit down,' she said. 'To tell him that I was too big was heartbreaking and he couldn't understand that his mom was too big. I knew that if I kept living the way I was living then I wasn't going to live much longer.'
She had tried fad diets over the years, but found they led her to put weight on rather than lose it. That was when her doctor suggested that she try a weight loss drug. After a consultation, she was prescribed Zepbound, which works by mimicking satiety signals, causing someone to eat less and lose weight. It contains tirzepatide, the drug that is also in Mounjaro.
She had her first dose at the start of November 2024, and said she lost 13lbs in the first week. After a year and four months on the drug, she has lost 154lbs — equivalent to about 2.4lbs every week overall. She has also halved her bodyweight, now weighing 141lbs, and says she doesn't recognize herself in the mirror. Her clothes are now size eight.
Fountain said: 'I remember there were times I thought I was going to have a heart attack just from walking up the stairs. Throughout my adult years, I hid from people. I didn't like to go out in crowds. I spoke to my doctor and I said, "I need help because I cannot keep going like this anymore". I thought my heart was going to give up on me. I have four kids and they deserved to have someone more active in their life and I physically couldn't be the mom they deserved.'
Fountain said her struggles with her weight began at 17, and that doctors soon diagnosed her with thyroid issues and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Thyroid issues, when the thyroid gland produces too few hormones, can slow the metabolism and leave someone feeling exhausted, leading to weight gain. PCOS is a hormone imbalance that causes irregular periods. It can lead to weight gain by disrupting how sugar is used in the body.
The mother also said that, at her heaviest, she did not follow a healthy diet. For breakfast, she would have McDonald's sausage and egg McMuffin with extra sausage and two hash browns, while for lunch she would have fried tacos, and for dinner she would have spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread, mozzarella cheese and parmesan. For snacks, she would have sweets.
Fountain said: 'In the first week I lost 13lbs. I'm so much more active [now I've lost the weight] and I can keep up with my kids and run around with them. Even they say that I'm happier and my husband says that I'm a different version of myself. My anxiety used to be so bad and I used to be depressed but that all seemed to just go away when I started this healthy journey.'
'I feel like a whole new person and like I have a second chance at life. I see a completely different person. I don't recognise myself yet, I feel like I'm looking at a stranger and I struggle with it sometimes. I'm learning to love the person that I see now because she fought a really tough battle to get here and I'm so proud of the person that she is. It's like looking at a stranger so it's just taking me a minute to recognise myself.'
She has also switched up her diet, and says that she now has two eggs and three egg whites for breakfast alongside sourdough toast, turkey bacon and protein with yogurt and chia seeds and berries. For lunch, she has jasmine rice with chicken, potatoes, onions, peppers and hard-boiled eggs, while for dinner, she has protein pasta with bolognese and vegetables. Her snacks are now protein yogurt and fruit.
She continued: 'I want people to know that they're not alone. They don't have to feel stuck, there is help out there and it's okay to use the tool [skinny jabs]. I love sharing my story because it has given me my life back.'
