Weight loss medication

Weight loss medications can enhance the effectiveness of dietary and lifestyle modifications, helping individuals achieve greater weight loss than they might be able to achieve otherwise.

Lots of different factors influence body weight, including your genetics, environment, and hormones. This means it can be challenging to lose weight and keep the weight off, and adding medications to lifestyle changes can help with this. There are several medications available for weight care and our team will discuss the options with you.

At rfynd, we strive to help you achieve your weight loss and wellness goals.

Whilst lifestyle measures such as physical activity and dietary changes can take you so far, recent evidence shows that adding weight loss medication can help you lose more weight and achieve greater health benefits.
Reference: New England Journal of Medicine (2021).

‍That’s why we’ve combined our weight loss medication program with our Wellness Essentials to create the Megastar offer. This incorporates dietitian support as well as access to 1000s of nutritious recipes and over 4000 workouts with our partners at Centr. Not only that, but you have your very own health coach to guide you and keep you on track. We want to enable you to achieve the best results possible with the best support.

rfynd’s medication program is a virtual health clinic, meaning you can speak to our medical team from the comfort of your own home. Our program offers the convenience of delivering medications straight to your door.

The average weight loss that can be expected from weight loss medications can vary depending on several factors including the type of medication, the length of time the medication is taken and your commitment to healthy lifestyle habits.

Liraglutide (Saxenda) is the only available GLP-1 medication available in New Zealand, currently.  In one of the largest trials looking at Liraglutide versus placebo (no active treatment), 63% of people lost at least 5%, 33% lost more than 10% and 14% lost more than 15% of their baseline body weight.
References: New England Journal of Medicine (2015)

‍When the same medication (Liraglutide) was combined with a low calorie diet and vigorous exercise, weight loss was even greater. 87% of people lost at least 5%, 69% of people lost at least 10%, 49% of people lost at least 15% and 33% lost at least 20% of their weight after 1 year.  
References: New England Journal of Medicine (2021)

Liraglutide (Saxenda) is the only available GLP-1 medication available for weight loss in New Zealand, currently. Whilst semaglutide (Ozempic) is approved by Medsafe for treatment of diabetes in New Zealand, it's not approved for weight loss and Novo Nordisk, the company behind the drug, has not yet launched it in New Zealand yet.
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Obesity is a complex chronic disease and everyone is unique in how they respond to weight loss medication. Many of the clinical trials on the modern weight loss medication, such as GLP-1s, were conducted for at least 12 months. Most experts believe that weight loss medication, like Saxenda, may need to be taken long-term to help combat the chronic disease that obesity is. The scientific data suggests that after ceasing weight loss medication that the average person will likely regain some weight. However, we hope that by helping you adopt healthy habits with our Wellness Essentials program as part of the Megastar program that your medication dose may be able to be decreased or stopped altogether. Adopting healthy lifestyle changes  not only assists weight loss, it also helps people maintain it, decreases the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, and boosts energy and confidence.
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During your initial consultation, your rfynd Specialist Endocrinologist will review your medical history, blood tests, your weight care goals and any medications you are taking. They'll use this information to recommend a personalised treatment plan. During follow up consultations, you can share your progress, ask questions, and discuss any concerns you may have.
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Yes. To prioritise patient health and safety, the medication program is for qualifying patients with a BMI ≥30 (or ≥27 with certain health-related conditions).
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There are a few restrictions  for using weight loss medication. Here are a few common ones:

• Pregnancy

• Breastfeeding

• Certain health conditions such as severe liver and kidney disease.

• Patients less than 18 years old or older than 65.

• Body mass index (BMI) <27

rfynd’s medical team will help to ensure that the medication is appropriate for you by undertaking a thorough evaluation with you.

Obesity is a complex chronic disease and everyone is unique in how they respond to weight loss medication. The scientific data suggests that after ceasing weight loss medication that the average person will likely regain some weight. Most experts believe that weight loss medication, like Saxenda, may need to be taken long-term. Adopting healthy lifestyle changes with our Wellness Essentials not only assists weight loss, it also helps people maintain weight loss, decreases the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, and boosts energy and confidence.

During your initial consultation, your rfynd medical team member will review your medical history, blood tests, your weight care goals and any medications you are taking. They'll use this information to recommend a personalized treatment plan. During follow up consultations, you can share your progress, ask questions, and discuss any concerns you may have.

Before starting any medication treatment with rfynd, your medical team may ask you to complete blood tests to ensure the medication is safe for you.

No, you are not required to follow a strict diet while taking the medications, however, we strongly recommend making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle to achieve long term success. When combined with the Wellness Essentials program, you receive dietitian and health coach support to help you make these sustainable lifestyle changes, as well as access to member only resources to boost your knowledge on healthy meal planning.

Yes. Weight loss medication and surgery are complimentary rather than competing treatment options. Everyone’s journey is unique and some patients want to try medication and then look to surgery if they haven’t reached their weight loss and health goals.  As obesity is a chronic disease, both treatment options, surgery and medication, may be employed at different times on an individual’s journey to help achieve the desired weight and health goals.

No, you don't need a doctor's referral to join us at rfynd. However, our team is very happy to collaborate with your doctor.

No. However, if you do have health insurance we’re happy to provide details of the service to assist in your claim.