Fiona Falkiner: ‘Women need to be kinder to each other’

SHE lost 30kg on Biggest Loser and went on to host the show. But shedding the weight wasn’t enough to make Fiona Falkiner happy.

HER life has changed dramatically since appearing on The Biggest Loser way back in 2006, but Fiona Falkiner says she’s still learning to love and respect her body almost a decade after shedding an incredible 30kg.

The former contestant admits she was a shy, insecure university student when she applied to compete on Australia’s first season of The Biggest Loser, and credits the weight loss series with saving her life. But Falkiner says she was naive to think that seeing a smaller number on the scales would solve all of her problems.

“There is no quick fix,” the popular TV personality told news.com.au. “For me, I was really lucky in a sense that I was able to go in [The Biggest Loser house] and lose 30kg and it was relatively quickly.

“But my whole life I blamed all my problems, all my insecurities, all my everything on my weight, and I thought, if I lose weight, my life will be perfect.

“So I went into an environment, lost weight, came out and lo and behold I was skinny and I looked great on the outside, but on the inside all those problems still existed and it made me have the shock realisation that it had nothing to do with the number on the scales. I had to change my mindset.”

Falkiner, who is the host of this season’s TBL Families on Ten, went on to achieve huge success after finishing fourth on the show. Now a model, the 32-year-old splits her time between her commitments in Australia and regularly jetting off to fashion capitals New York and London to hit the catwalks alongside other big names.

She’s also signed on as a brand ambassador for Trimfit Bodies, a 12-week weight loss program with a focus on developing the right mindset in order to succeed.

Having lost the weight and never looked back, Falkiner says understanding the psychology and mindset behind how to lose weight (and more importantly, keep it off) is essential.

The ex-contestant admitted that, throughout her own journey, rewiring what was going on in her head proved the hardest part. “I had to fix what was up here [head] to fix what was going on here [heart], because post the show I did struggle with my weight. I went up and down; my weight really fluctuated a lot.”

Fiona Falkiner still works her butt off every day to maintain her incredible bod.

Falkiner, now a healthy and happy size 16, explained that she signed on to the Trimfit program because she was passionate about working with real women who would never be a size 8, but wanted a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their families.

“I think it’s incredibly important to just take small steps, because for a lot of people, it’s scary,” she said. “And it’s having that support around you, the nutrition as well … knowing how to eat appropriately … it is hard and you can lose motivation.”

Speaking of motivation, the driving force behind Trimfit is for women and men of all abilities and ages to feel supported in their weight loss goals — something she says women aren’t particularly good at. “Women need to be kinder to each other, but also to themselves,” she said.

Growing up in country Victoria, the bubbly blonde recalls applying for The Biggest Loser after struggling with her weight her entire life, never thinking she’d make it onto the show. “Somehow, out of all of those people, I got on and that’s when my life completely changed,” she said.

“If I hadn’t have had my time on The Biggest Loser, I probably would never have got to this point. I was too scared to go to my local gym.”

Fiona Falkiner now.

Fiona Falkiner in 2006 before TBL.

But, despite exiting The Biggest Loser house nearly a decade ago, Falkiner says she still works on her own positive mindset every single day.

“To this day I do it; I do positive affirmations every day. I sit somewhere quiet and just take time out and think of everything in my life and be thankful for all the positives and set small goals for myself and give myself a pat on the back for the things that I’ve achieved,” she said.

“I’m healthy and I’m happy … it’s taken a process as well but [I’m] learning to really love and respect my body,” she said.

Now a big name in Australia and living at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, barely a day goes by that Falkiner isn’t photographed by the paparazzi, working up a sweat down by the sand or sunbaking in a bikini. She says the constant spotlight can be challenging at times, but being happier in her own skin allows her to tune out much of the noise.

“You need to change that negative chat inside your head, everything we do is habit that we’ve formed. You can break any habit, it just takes time.

“That’s what I’ve learnt, I’m far from perfect, I’ve got wobbly bits, I’ve got all sorts of bits going on but I love it, it’s me. I know that I’m healthy and I’m loving life, I’m happy and that’s what it should be about.”

Fi Falkiner put us through our paces to show what a Trimfit workout looks like.