£330 a Month to Stay Slim? Why Exercise Might Still Beat the Jab
Eli Lilly has just hiked the private UK price of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) by a jaw-dropping 170%. From September, the highest dose will jump from £122 to £330 per month. NHS patients may be shielded for now, but anyone paying privately is staring at a bill bigger than many people’s weekly food shop.
This isn’t just about numbers on a pharmacy invoice. It’s about the messy, emotional trade-off between two very different paths: the hard graft of exercise versus big pharma's promise of weight-loss drugs.
The uncomfortable truth
Drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy work. They can strip off 10–20% of bodyweight, improve blood sugar, even reduce heart attack risk. They change lives, fast. For someone who’s tried everything and is still struggling, that’s more than medicine it’s hope.
But here’s the sting: stop the injections, and the weight often creeps back. Meanwhile, the side-effects: nausea, vomiting, and now eye-watering costs are reminders that this isn’t a free ride.
Exercise, on the other hand, rarely gives you double-digit fat loss in a year. It’s slower, sweatier, and often feels unfair when the scales barely budge. Yet it delivers benefits no drug can replicate: stronger bones, sharper mood, lower cancer risk, better sleep. And the best part? Movement doesn’t have to drain your wallet. With a little creativity, exercise can be free or nearly free, costing only the discipline it takes to show up.
Ideas for free or budget-friendly workouts:
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Walking or running: Any pavement, park, or set of stairs becomes your training ground. No membership required.
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Bodyweight training: Push-ups, squats, lunges, planks, your body is a built-in gym.
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Household hacks: A backpack filled with books makes a great weighted rucksack. A sturdy chair doubles up for step-ups or tricep dips.
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Outdoor gyms and playgrounds: Many parks have pull-up bars, dip stations, or climbing frames you can use for free.
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YouTube and free apps: Thousands of guided yoga, HIIT, or mobility workouts are just a click away.
Budget-friendly extras if you want to invest a little:
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Resistance bands: A set costs less than a takeaway and offers endless exercises for strength, stretching, and rehab.
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Skipping rope: One of the cheapest, most effective pieces of cardio equipment.
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DIY home gym kit: A yoga mat, resistance bands, and maybe a second-hand kettlebell or dumbbell from a charity shop, enough for full-body workouts in your living room.
So while medication can offer fast results at a high price, exercise remains the low-cost, lifelong investment that’s open to everyone.
So what’s really at stake?
The Mounjaro hike forces a question we’d rather dodge:
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Are we medicating society’s lifestyle problem, or empowering people to reclaim their health?
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Should a jab cost more than a gym membership, fresh food and coaching combined?
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If only the wealthy can afford it privately, are we building a two-tier health system?
My take
If you can access these drugs and they help, don’t feel shame use the tool. But don’t buy the lie that injections alone will save you. At £330 a month, you’re paying for a temporary boost, not a permanent fix.
The real dividend still comes from movement, strength, food quality, and sleep the unsexy basics. They don’t spike share prices, but they build resilience that lasts when the prescription ends.