Gordon Ramsay is wrong – “Monjaro Minos” are lifesavers for people like me
cOrdon Ramsay appeared typically this weekend when he dismissed the idea of ​​a “Monjaro Menu” or “Ozmpic Delicious Menu” – the restaurant’s smaller and smaller meals for people on weight loss drugs – as “absolute bulls***”. At first, he cried too much to eat.
He said: “There is no way to surrender to Monjaro’s blow…” The Times During an interview promoting Matt Abbey’s new self-sustained restaurant, Bonaire, which opened in Mayfair last week, he was generally upbeat. “That’s the problem they [the diners] Eat more in the first place! There’s no way we’re going to make you feel any less at 10:30pm with Ozimpek’s tasting menu.
Ramsey clearly doesn’t get it – telling people to eat less isn’t working. If people simply stopped “food noise” and didn’t eat enough food, we’d all be doing it without fat. But there’s a reason 2.5 million people in the UK use weight loss injections – and it’s not because we’re all weak.
I am one of the most determined people I know, but like many people, I have struggled with eating issues. After two pregnancies I gained 16kg (about two and a half stone) and ate with wild abandon. I ate with ease, I ate with joy and I ate with sadness all at once. I was dealing with the stress of raising my two children alone as well as caring for my aging father after my wife’s suicide.
I have always had an addictive personality which makes it difficult to overcome food issues. I often slept late at night – jumbo bags of my kids’ sweet food was the norm. I had an insatiable appetite, even for healthy foods like Greek yogurt like bananas, cashew nuts, whole bags of veggie cocktail sausage, and huge portions. Spaghetti al Fongol. The more I filled, the less uncomfortable I felt.
Sometimes I have to act on my emotions so fast that I grab ice cream from the freezer and eat the whole tub in one sitting. I like sugar – something that often happens to people who quit drinking, like I did 20 years ago after being addicted to it in my early twenties.
The sound of food was constantly heard in the background. Overeating has become a habit; It was second nature, I couldn’t break it. I was always thin, but I gained weight. Clothes did not come like before. My boyfriend’s baggy jeans felt tight, I could no longer zip up my old clothes, and on vacation, I refused to wear a bikini and swam around in a kaftan instead. I racked my brain thinking it was good. My face looked fresh and youthful – and I told myself I didn’t want to be a slave to the “skinny girl” aesthetic. After the birth of my two daughters, nine-year-old Lola and seven-year-old Liberty, I thought: Who cares anyway? I don’t have time for romance.
My wake up call came when my GP told me my cholesterol levels were dangerously high and I needed a statin. I asked him to give me six months to pay it back.
I was fascinated. Not many people in England used it at the time, but I heard it was the latest Hollywood secret. Weight loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. When the GLP-1 receptor is activated in cells in areas of the brain and body that control hunger (such as the hypothalamus), it reduces cravings and food intake, which lowers blood sugar and slows weight loss.
At the school gate the mothers started shouting “go to the pen”. A drug that could help me feel fuller for longer and suppress my appetite was just what I needed. Even though I had an illness related to my weight, I still didn’t meet the full criteria for a BMI of 30-35, which was considered obesity at the time. My only hope was personal access to Vigovi through Dr.
The first time I hit my stomach I was nervous, not sure what was going to happen. When do I stop feeling hungry – and do I enjoy eating?
Within weeks, the food noises that I had struggled with for years were so mild that I could ignore them. After about four weeks, it was completely gone. I no longer found myself in the fridge for another slice of cheese, and at children’s parties, I became one of those mothers I always envied – the one who didn’t drown her head in chips and cake. I didn’t imagine what I had for breakfast, lunch and dinner all day.
It gave me the opportunity to focus on the emotional, physical, and spiritual changes I needed to make. It took about six or seven months to get back to my pre-pregnancy size, and since then, I’ve been able to stay on track. I try to eat within an eight-hour window—noon to 8 p.m.—and avoid sugar and ultra-processed foods as much as possible. But the sound of food never goes away completely. When I’m stressed, I still reach for the caramel wafers—but instead of eating eight packets, I stop at two.
I stayed on a low dose so I had no side effects and when I got back to my previous weight I microdosed and tapered over two months to prevent a relapse. It was a way to reset my mind and body – and it worked in a way that fatty foods never did.
Telling people to eat less in the first place is deafening. If people could simply control their food addiction, we’d all be doing it without fat injections
A mini-menu could really help the new regime, which means Ramsey might regret rejecting the idea. A Bloomberg survey earlier this year found that more than half of weight-loss drug users in the United States are eating less, and British restaurants are having to adapt their menus to this new diet.
“Monjaro menus” are a growing trend in the United States—and they’re becoming increasingly popular here. Not everyone in Ozimpek, Monjaro or Vigwe wants to deal with two full tasting menus in Bonaire: £195 for five courses, £225 for seven, and à la carte at £165 for three. That’s why some chefs create mini “Monjaro menus.” It’s a really thoughtful idea – and a sign of the times.
At his three-Michelin-starred restaurant, The Fat Duck, in Barry, Berkshire, Heston Blumenthal has created a tasting menu with small portion sizes to satisfy small appetites. Meanwhile, Anthony Worrall-Thompson is creating a ‘sharing menu’ at Grill of the Green in Kew to make eating less likely.
After six months, I was able to bring my cholesterol levels back to normal. I felt comfortable in my body – no longer overweight or hiding in baggy clothes. Today, I feel better and stronger and I finally found a way to process my emotions instead of eating them.
So yes, it might sound funny to Gordon Ramsay. But for most of us, it’s not as simple as “just don’t eat as much.” Many of us really appreciate small portions and a variety of food experiences. This should not be something we should feel ashamed of. We are not weak or weak-willed. Taking weight loss pills isn’t cheating—and shaming doesn’t help. In fact, a creative and delicious “Monjaro-friendly” menu may be what gets people through his doors.
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