A woman has revealed how her chubby cheeks and double chin made her avoid smiling until her dazzling 140lbs weight loss.
Shelbi Nunery’s confidence was left on the floor by her ballooning weight, which at her heaviest was 255lbs.
The 5ft5 teacher wouldn’t even smile at the camera out of shame about her looks and claims it even impacted her career with higher ups not taking her seriously.
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That was until taking Mounjaro saw her drop a whopping 140lbs – transforming her face from “chubby” to chiselled.
“I used to avoid smiling because of my chubby cheeks and double chin,” Shelbi, from Ohio, USA, told Need To Know.
“I notice people are quicker to make small talk with me.
“People seem to take me more seriously now.
“I’m in several leadership positions in work and in my community and I have noticed a shift in how some people treat me.
“The stigma in our society of being overweight is real.”
The 34-year-old turned to the weightloss drug after years of consistently failing at eating less and moving more.
The mother of three had no hopes of it working – but was left shocked when the weight just started to fall off her after starting in 2024.
She said: “Counting calories and moving more seemed so simple and I would always chastise myself for not being successful.
“I’ve done plenty of hard things in my life..I earned three degrees while raising children and working full time..but why couldn’t I rise to this challenge with the classic ‘eat less and move more?’
“Turns out my body needed support.
“Starting a GLP (glucagon-like peptide-1) was the last line of defence for me. My last shot. I honestly didn’t think it was even going to work.”
Miraculously, Shelbi only relied on Mounjaro during her journey – with her MS making any additional exercise extremely difficult.
Despite the physical challenges, she is now aiming to include training into her everyday life.
Shelbi said: “I did not do anything extra to aid in my weight loss.
“Exercise is important for anyone…weight loss journey or not.
“But it’s not part of my story. Incorporating consistent exercise into my life is still a goal of mine.
“I have MS, so that’s one of the challenges I face with regular movement and weight training.”
Since losing the weight, Shelbi has developed an “Ozempic Face” – a trending term on social media relating to the hollowed, gaunt, or sagging facial skin appearance of someone who has had rapid weight loss due to drugs such as Mounjaro or Ozempic.
Sharing her face transformation online the clip racked up a whopping 3.6m views and, despite a negative reaction, the teacher loves her new look.
Shelbi said: “I love my face..wrinkles and all.
“It was never a concern to me.
“I was excited to see what I would look like at a normal weight.
“I can confidently give a full smile to the camera now.
“I was surprised at how sharp my jawline became.”
Shelbi is now documenting her journey to help break the stigma around weightloss drugs.
She is also hoping to inspire others in a similar position to her before she lost the weight.
Shelbi said: “I was not expecting there to be a stigma surrounding these medications too…especially if it was successful for people like me.
“I make content about being confident during a GLP journey.
“My goal with my content is to play a part in breaking the stigma and misinformation surrounding GLPs.
“The way someone loses weight doesn’t make them less deserving of the health they’ve achieved or are trying to achieve.”
