Prue Leith has revealed she tried weight loss injection Mounjaro for a month and “did not lose a single pound”, adding “I tried, but it didn’t do anything”.
The 86-year-old TV cook has opened up about her experiences with the medication which she said she thinks is “worth a go”, and was inspired to try it after it “worked so well” for her husband.
Speaking to the Press Association, Leith said she is in favour of weight loss jabs.
She said: “I think it’s worth a go.
“I tried, but it didn’t do anything. I didn’t read the instructions.”
The broadcaster spoke about how her husband – retired fashion designer John Playfair – had a positive experience on Mounjaro and has “lost three stone and is healthier than anything”.
She told PA: “It was working so well for him I thought, ‘oh, well, maybe I’ll have a go’.”
Leith said she did not listen to the pharmacists’ advice on how many calories to eat daily, and that her body went into “starvation mode”.
She added: “I reckon I was eating 200 calories a day, which I didn’t realise.
“And what your body then does is it simply says, ‘this is starvation. I mustn’t let anything go’. I did not lose a single pound.
“So I lost no weight, although for two weeks I was eating almost nothing.”
Reflecting on her experience with Mounjaro, she said: “I don’t think I need to (use it). It’s bloody expensive, and I think if it’s not going to work, it’s a waste of money.”
In her latest book, titled Being Old…And Learning To Love It!, Leith speaks about never putting on weight during her time on Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off, and that she lived on a diet of cake and red wine.
She told PA: “Cake and wine go together. I mean, it’s obviously not a diet to be recommended. It worked fine for me.
“It’s only 10 weeks of my life, and it’s only two days of every week. It’s not seven days a week. For 20 days, I lived on cake and wine.”
Leith announced last month that she would be stepping down from her role as a judge on the popular baking show after nine years.
She said her main reason for leaving the show is because “it always happens in the summer” and that instead she wishes to spend that time holidaying in Europe.
She added: “I could have happily gone on doing it forever. I know I would miss it, but I’m running out of time.”
Last month, it was announced that Leith would be replaced on the show by cookbook author Nigella Lawson.
Speaking about this, she said: “(Nigella) is going to be absolutely brilliant. She’ll be very different, but she’s a class act. She really knows what she’s doing.”
As well as Great British Bake Off, Leith is also known for her role as a judge on BBC cooking TV show Great British Menu, and has been actively involved in food education over her six-decade career.