Like so many women, I can't take fat jabs. So could I lose two stone in three months on 'natural Ozempic' pills? JANE ALEXANDER suffered zero side effects - here's the exact amount she lost

Meet Elcella – the buzzy new supplement people are calling the 'natural Mounjaro'.

It promises to tame your appetite by coaxing your gut to release the hormones triggered by the big dog weight-loss jabs. Colour me excited.

Trying to lose weight has been a wearying part of my life since childhood (my mother put me on my first diet aged seven). 

I've watched the feeding frenzy over the injections and they are so very tempting.

However, my history of gallstones (caused, ironically enough, by crash dieting) means they're just too risky for me. 

Rapid weight loss alters the make-up of bile, including an increase of cholesterol which can be a trigger for gallstone formation.

The jabs also slow the digestive process (including gallbladder emptying) which lets bile sit around longer, becoming more concentrated – another risk factor for stones. I don't want to lose my gall bladder. 

Could a non-synthetic alternative truly mimic the effects of the weight loss jabs?

Jane Alexander found that her appetite was suppressed on Elcella but still found that she was eating in the evenings

The natural weight loss market is already large and is growing fast. 

Globally it was estimated at a chunky $28.65billion (£21.45billion) in 2023 and is expected to stretch its waistband to a capacious $101.83billion (£76.41billion) by 2033, according to Spherical Insights & Consulting. 

From fibre bulking and carb-blocking supplements through mood balancing pills to satiety-enhancing gummies, the shelves are heaving with products designed for people like me who are a couple of stone overweight and looking for alternatives to the GLP-1 meds.

So what makes Elcella special? It was created by two researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, Dr Madusha Peiris and Dr Rubina Aktar, who found that a certain type of cell releases certain appetite-suppressing hormones when it meets certain fatty acids in a certain part of the intestines. 

It's a very precise mechanism that tells our body we really don't need that chocolate brownie or that fifth slice of toast.

The science bit is worth knowing: the cells involved are enteroendocrine cells, commonly known as L-cells, while the hormones are GLP-1 (which we all know from the fat jabs), plus the less well-known PYY (peptide YY). 

The fatty acids are called alpha-linolenic, lauric, capric and caprylic and are found in linseed (flaxseed) and coconut oil (and in its refined cousin, MCT oil).

So why not just slug the oils? The key, say Drs Peiris and Aktar, is getting the oils past the stomach and small intestine into the lower gut –the colon – where our L-cells are concentrated. 

This doesn't happen naturally, so what they've done is develop a coated capsule that transports the right stuff to the right place for us.

Elcella is classed as a supplement which means it's regulated like a food so doesn't require MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority) approval in the same way as a drug.

Elcella did not give Jane any side effects that weight loss jabs give, for example nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea

The firm's own 12-week observational evaluation of 51 people (34 completed the trial) gave exciting results: a 94 per cent improvement in appetite control and an average weight loss of 6kg (that's just over 13 pounds), plus an average shedding of 7cm (2.76 inches) from the waistline. 

Potentially I could lose a stone in three months. I signed up quicker than you can say 'Mounjaro'.

Three large tubs full of black and green capsules arrive in the post. The instructions say to take four pills twice a day (eight in total).

You take the first lot two to three hours before lunch and the second two to three hours before dinner. 

The theory is that the capsules will kickstart the hunger suppression right as your appetite hormones start yelling.

I'm sceptical. I've tried these oils before (they've been around for years with anecdotal claims they could help control hunger) and they didn't do a thing. 

However, I can see that getting them intact to the colon might make a difference.

Four days into the trial I head off to Austria on a work trip. 

Jane found that the amount of weight she lost varied week to week, losing as much as nine pounds to nothing

I have a chia pudding for breakfast at the airport and don't feel remotely tempted by the in-flight snacks. In fact, I don't miss lunch at all and, when confronted by a hearty dinner at my hotel, I pick over my meal.

The next few days are very strange. The food is delicious but I'm regularly defeated – I manage one or maybe two of the four courses on offer. 

Could the pills actually be working – or is this the placebo effect? I don't have any nausea or digestive issues; I'm just too full to eat. It feels very odd.

I move to another hotel, this time in Italy, and the pattern remains the same. Some days I look at my lunch and just can't face it. 

After two weeks on the pills, I've lost nine pounds and am over the moon.

This must be how people feel on Mounjaro. But then I head back home and – despite still taking the pills to the letter of the instructions – that miraculous 'too full to face food' effect fades to a distant memory. 

My problem has always been eating too much in the evening. It's a common issue. There are a host of reasons – both physiological and psychological – why we find ourselves reaching for the crisps or downing another glass of wine or beer once we come off the day shift. 

A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that levels of ghrelin (the hunger hormone) rise in the evening while levels of leptin (the fullness hormone) decrease.

'Evening is a high risk time for overeating, especially if you're stressed and already prone to binge eating,' said Susan Carnell, Ph.D, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and lead author of the 2018 study.

Let's look a bit closer at stress. By the time evening comes around, we have often accumulated a shedload of it. 

Meanwhile levels of dopamine are low (preparing us for sleep). So we're caught in a biological tug of war – wired yet tired – and our brains want relief. 

The simplest way to get that dopamine/serotonin hit is to grab something to eat (particularly sugar, carbs, fat) which temporarily calms anxiety, blunts sadness, and gives us that cuddly comfort feeling. So it's often not real hunger at all.

And yet, just to make things complicated, it could be. 

Nutritional therapists say a lot of us (particularly those trying to lose weight) undereat during the day – trying to 'save calories' by skipping breakfast or having a very light lunch so, by the time evening comes around, we're in nutrient deficit territory.

'Eat!' yells the body – it's a physiological urge. To make it worse there's often a rebound psychological element. 

If you've been 'good' all day, there's a subconscious tendency to rebel. 'It's my turn now!' the brain chimes in.

And, just to add the icing on the cake (sorry!), come evening our brains are suffering from decision fatigue. 

We've had to make so many choices through the day (work, partners, children, parents, pets, you name it) that the prefrontal cortex (the bit of our brain that can plan, resist temptation and think ahead to know we really shouldn't eat that biscuit) effectively hands over control to the limbic system that is a simple 'live in the moment' soul.

'I want it and I want it now,' it says. The prefrontal cortex has clocked off – the parents are out and the kids are in charge.

I know all this and yet I still get caught out.  

It's not that I'll eat particularly bad food (and I very rarely drink alcohol) but once I start eating in the evening, I find it really hard to stop. A slice of toast becomes six. A few grapes turns into a whole bunch.

By the end of the month, I have put on the weight I lost while away.

I'm back to square one and it's demoralising, to put it mildly.

I go back to the Elcella website, hoping I'd missed something. It explains that the pills work in combination with 'behavioural changes'. 

So basically, it's saying you need to diet as well.

A close friend who's on Mounjaro hasn't intentionally changed anything at all.

She simply doesn't want to eat – in fact, can't eat – so much and has lost four stone in under six months without any effort whatsoever.

The advice Elcella gives is sensible and pretty much what any nutritional therapist would tell you: 'Serve small portions (your gut may say 'enough' sooner). 

Pause before taking seconds (give your body time to respond). Stay hydrated (water keeps your gut happy). Move your body (even a little helps).'

I already move my body – I have a dog so daily walks are non-negotiable, plus I haul myself to the gym three times a week for weights and cardio.

I make a conscious effort to drink more water and I try to be more aware of my portions.

Yet, by the end of the eighth week, the scales haven't moved.

'Meaningful results usually require at least 12 weeks of consistent use,' says the Elcella website. 

Could there be a turn-around in these last weeks? My digestion is certainly better and, maybe too much information, but my bowel movements are perfect.

However, after ten weeks, I've only lost a paltry three pounds. I plug away at the pills, and there's no doubt they are affecting my appetite. 

I'm simply not that hungry. However, despite all my best intentions, I still overeat in the evenings. 

I'm not eating bad food but I'm obviously still eating too much (and probably not making good enough choices during the day).

'You can suppress appetite with a drug or supplement, but if you're eating out of habit, stress, emotion or reward, that doesn't go away,' says nutritional therapist Lucy Miller.

'No pill can rewire emotional habits or patterns. Long-term change almost always needs a combination of nutritional, psychological and behavioural work. 

A supplement might be a small tool, but it's not the solution.' So, bottom line, are these pills honestly an alternative to the weight loss jabs?

'Not at this point,' says Lucy. 'They don't act on the body in the same way as drugs like Mounjaro or Ozempic, which are pharmaceutical grade GLP-1 receptor agonists with clear, dose-controlled effects. 

'Elcella may mimic part of that mechanism by trying to stimulate natural GLP-1 production but it's unlikely to do it with anywhere near the same potency, predictability or clinical outcome.'

However, Kim Pearson, a nutritionist who specialises in weight loss, thinks there is a place for supplements like Elcella.

'Supplements are unlikely to replicate the effects of GLP-1 medications but a high-quality supplement like Elcella may well be supportive for fat loss, particularly when used alongside an optimal diet providing protein, fibre and healthy fats,' she says. 'And with far less risks than GLP-1 medications carry.'

The risks are a valid point. The problem with the fat jabs, say Drs Peiris and Aktar, is that they use artificial versions of gut hormones (GLP-1 and/or GIP), which hang around the body for much longer than nature intended, potentially causing the side-effects associated with the drugs.

Common issues include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, abdominal pain, acid reflux, gallstones, and kidney stress, none of which I had on Elcella.

In addition, they say, the injections create a dependency: if you stop taking them, there's an inevitable rebound effect as your appetite resurges in the absence of the artificial hormones.

By contrast, they claim Elcella gets to the root of the problem. It encourages our gut to do what it should be doing – releasing our own home-grown natural hormones at the right levels to control appetite and cravings.

Weight loss injections use a synthetic form of appetite hormones to signal fullness in the body – the effects persist while you take the drug but fade once you stop.

Elcella, the makers claim, is using nutrients to stimulate L-cells to release our natural hormones. Over time, the gut becomes healthier, learns to regulate itself better, and no longer needs regular outside prodding. 

Then, it's claimed, you can just take the supplement (in smaller doses) to support gut health.

I'm coming to the end of the trial – just over a week to go – and, suddenly, there's a shift. I have no idea why but I stop overeating in the evening and I'm cutting down on snacks through the day.

I'm eating less and my cravings for sweet things seem to have vanished. 

It's too late for a major weight loss result but by the time the trial ends I have lost six pounds in total and hopefully I'll continue to shed pounds in the weeks to come. 

Interestingly my clothes feel noticeably looser.

The weight loss jabs cut the pounds indiscriminately – one of the common concerns is that you can lose muscle as well as fat, which is obviously not ideal. 

Elcella claims that its slower approach means you lose fat and, in particular, visceral fat (the most dangerous type of fat which wraps itself around our vital organs). That's a definite plus.

I'd certainly continue to take it – not just for the weight loss but because it's a convenient way to get the benefits of the fatty acids it contains. 

At first it felt like a faff having to factor in when to take the pills but it becomes second nature.

However, there's just one thing stopping me. 

Elcella is expensive. It costs £595 for a 12-week programme – that's £2,380 a year (which is on a par with some of the jabs).

If you're after a drug-level effect – substantial, medically supervised weight loss– GLP-1 medicines remain the gold standard.

But, if you're looking for a non-pharmaceutical, gut-focused approach and can afford the programme, I think Elcella is definitely worth a try. 

Just be realistic about your expectations and talk to your GP if you have diabetes, heart disease or are taking other medications. (Elcella is not recommended for those with severe gut inflammation or if you have had part of your bowel removed).

It's also not advised during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, because it's not good to restrict your diet at these times).

I like that it's an example of nutrition science being given real consideration. 

However, it's another reminder that there are no natural miracle cures.

If you can't or don't want to take the jabs, the inconvenient truth is that weight loss is a long slog of eating better (and probably less), moving more (and smarter), and (so often overlooked) attending to the emotional aspects of eating.

Sadly no supplement, however smart, can fix that.