Late February wobbles??
Righty ho - quick check in team, those health goals you set at New Year — how are they going?
Eep.. THAT bad??? - don't worry about it. You're normal. January has this way of making everything feel possible (fresh year! clean slate! new running shoes fresh in the box from the Boxing Day sales! ) and then February turns up with a work emergency, a rainy Tuesday, and someone's delicious birthday shout in the staffroom and suddenly the whole plan is... less intact than it was.
It happens to literally everyone. ESPECIALLY me.
WEGOVY is EXCITING but the boring stuff is more important
We've done some extra training at Roslyn Pharmacy so we can help eligible patients access Wegovy without seeing a doctor. For the right person, the results are genuinely impressive. But there’s an important message the headlines don't really cover: medication is just part of it, not a magic wand. The lifestyle stuff — the habits, the sleep, the movement, what you're eating — that's still what actually drives long-term results. It's what protects muscle while you lose weight, and it's what stops everything unravelling if you come off treatment later.
So I figured I'd tighten things up myself. Drop a few kilos. See what a simple, consistent system could do without any help from meds (also I didn't qualify for Wegovy)
Here's the plan :
1. Be honest about what you actually want
Get your head into the right STATE. Not "I should probably..." or "it'd be nice to..." I mean; actually, properly , GOTTA HAVE - NO MATTER WHAT!
Mine was: reach 68kg before April. Simple. Measurable. Something I could actually know if I'd hit or not.
Try it. Write your goal in one sentence. Then write your reason underneath. If the reason makes you shrug? That's not the right goal yet.
2. Stop trusting willpower
Ulysses sailing past the Sirens didn't sit there going "I've got this fam, I’m strong." He literally had his crew tie him to the mast of his boat so he couldn't be tempted. That's the energy I’m looking for!!
For me it was no white carbs anywhere near me during the week, staying out of the staffroom cake situation, and simply not buying the snacks I know I'll inhale when I'm tired or distracted on the couch. I deleted the Maccas app and KFC app from my phone, cut back on the social media so I wouldn’t get bombarded with food ads or food content - that algorithm knows me too well!
Remove the temptation - stop with any of the decision making other than the new path you’re going down. The more choices you have to make a decision on, the more likely you are to crack.
3. Build an impenetrable system
A goal tells you where you're going. A system is what actually gets you there.
Make everything that helps you reach your goals simple and easy : running gear goes in the spare bathroom the night before. Three mornings a week, locked in. No "let's see how I feel." Clothes on, out the door, done.
No motivation required. No 6am inner monologue. Just a process I'd already decided on so there was nothing left to debate.
Most people don't fall off because they're lazy — they fall off because the plan requires them to wake up inspired. Nobody wakes up inspired every day. Build something that doesn't need inspiration to work.
4. Write it down.
Pick a couple of simple measures — weekly weight (not daily, daily is too much micromanagement), waist measurement, workouts done, home-cooked dinners, steps, whatever fits your goal. Write it somewhere obvious.
The moment it's written down it stops being a vague feeling and becomes an actual plan. Those “kind-a”, vague feelings don't survive real life pal.
5. Review it every week and don't be precious about it
You will have off days. You'll eat the thing. You'll skip the run. A family thing will come up or you'll just be too tired and that's that.
That's not failure — that's just real life.
Each week: what worked, what didn't, what's one small change that makes next week easier. Then re-read your goal. Get BACK into that state. Re-read your system. Get back at it. Do not ( I repeat: DO NOT ) QUIT!
This applies to any health goal you’re working on — weight loss, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol, moving more, taking medicines regularly… you name it.
If you need help — practical strategies, realistic targets, or just a simple conversation with a team of friendly health professionals — come in and have a chat. No judgement, no drama. Just a practical conversation with people who actually want to help.
And if you see me loitering in the staffroom eyeing up the birthday cake… feel free to remind me of everything I just wrote.
Till next month - take care!
Andy and the team at Roslyn Pharmacy - Dunedins Friendliest Pharmacy