Biggest Loser star Fiona Falkiner tells of the physical and mental battle of losing 30kg — and putting it back on
FIONA Falkiner, former star of TV’s The Biggest Loser, tells how she regained the 30kg she lost and the mental battles that came with shedding it again.
Wentworth Courier
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THROW the scales out!
That’s the advice The Biggest Loser Transformed host Fiona Falkiner has when it comes to weight loss, with the television star promising the new upcoming series on Ten will see the focus off kilograms and more on mindsets.
Chatting to Wentworth Courier under the Harbour Bridge on Australia Day Eve at The Kerrigan at Pier One, the Redfern gal, who admits to living in practically every single suburb in Sydney with her nomadic lifestyle, says the exciting thing about the new format is it will see trainers Shannon Ponton and Libby Babet not only help everyday Aussies tackle their bodies but also their minds.
“It is not based on the numbers on the scale, but it is focusing on the mindset and getting contestants to realise its not about losing the weight but it’s about really prioritising yourself and the stumbling blocks that lead up to weight gain,” Fiona said.
“It gives them the tools to cope with weight loss.”
Falkiner would know. She says she regained every single one of the staggering 30 kilos she lost on the show because she was not in the right frame of mind.
“I came out of the show and went through a bit of a depression and the weight came on really quickly as I wasn’t in the right place mentally or emotionally and it took a few years to figure out what truly made me happy,” she said.
She admits she hit a low point and knew things could not go on.
At her worst, she would not leave her house for days for fear of people seeing her.
“I got to the point after the show, I was suffering a lot of backlash from people on the street, I wasn’t leaving my apartment during the day and I would go out at night and run in the dark so no one could see me because I was too scared to go to the gym because I was embarrassed,” she said.
She also punished herself with food.
“It’s an addiction, it was mental. I call it anxiety related bingeing, and I haven’t done it for seven or eight years.
“I thought this can’t go on I am really struggling and the emotional eating came back with a vengeance.”
Working out what things in her life that made her truly happy and taking the pressure off were the initial steps she took. She went to a retreat and broke down to a counsellor.
“Until that point I’d never thought I had a problem and dug deep and admitted I was Band-Aid-ing the problems,” she said.
“I stopped weighing myself and dieting. I started doing affirmations, which I practice every day. Taking five minutes out of my day to be grateful for everything I’ve been given and a pat on the back for everything I’ve achieved.
“Telling myself I am strong and independent, setting myself goals. Doing yoga and meditation. “Giving myself kudos for whatever I’ve achieved and grounding myself and learning to really love me for me and taking away that pressure for conforming to what I thought I had to be.”
She now trains five days a week — but to make herself feel happy and healthy — and says that’s all that counts.
“And that’s the way I live every day. I don’t train now for the numbers on the scale,” she said.
‘I’M LEARNING TO LOVE AND RESPECT MY BODY’
“I’m doing strength training to see how strong I can be. And how it makes you feel. You can remove the scales and go through this process and don’t look at food as the enemy but as nourishment for your body.
“I thrive off that feeling instead of it being the process for negativity where you weigh yourself every day, which can be quite traumatising.
“I pursue things in life that really make me happy and surround myself with positive like minded people that make me feel good.”
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