‘I’ve lost over a stone on Ozempic, but with one more still to go and a global shortage, what now?’

Even when his own reflection shocked him, former men’s magazine editor, James Brown, wasn’t bothered about piling on the pounds. But a steep walk that left him gasping was the tipping point. Ozempic gave him the fast weight loss he needed, so he’s trying not to panic now there’s a global shortage

James Brown after losing his belly after nearly a year on Ozempic (James Brown)

It was the reflections in parked car door windows that used to get me. I’d be walking past, glance down and think: “I can’t be that big, surely?” But whichever family member I happened to be walking with at the time would confirm the reflection didn’t lie. I was over 50 and I’d got used to being over 15 and a half stone. I could still play football, but being a good passer I’d given up running as I’d wheeze a lot and my asthma would kick in. If I filmed anything quiet on my phone, I’d really hear my breathing on it. So much so, people started to notice and comment on it, too. I didn’t beat myself up about it, though. It was mildly depressing; I wished I was thinner, but I wasn’t in a war with my weight. I just came to accept that it was probably just how it would be.

As a child, I had been super skinny because I was frequently terrified of eating. I’d mostly only eat chips, cheese, sweets and dried bread and wouldn’t go near anything I wasn’t sure of. Even chocolate sponges at school would be ignored if they had custard on. Adults would tell me off for being faddy but later in life, an addiction therapist explained I’d probably had an eating disorder, childhood anorexia nervosa.