Hello to everyone and welcome to my website Be Healthy Malta. My name is Fiona Briffa and I have created this website because I love to help people to lose weight by healthy eating and flexible dieting. To get to know me better, and to understand why I love to help people, I want to share my own personal story with you...
My Story...
Since I was a young girl, I always felt conscious about being chubby but, I knew nothing about how I should have gone about it and although I did not eat large portions, I did like to eat high in calorie food. As a child, I was a timid and quiet girl with very low self esteem for I always felt fat and ugly. Words like "fat" or "lazy" hurt deeply for I was not fat by choice nor lazy! When I was a teenager, I became more and more self conscious about my weight problem. I was not very fat at that time but, I saw myself huge! To lose weight, I started dieting but as I didn't know how to go about it in a healthy and lasting way, all I ended up doing was yo-yo dieting.
In fact, during my teenage years and early twenties, I was always yo-yo dieting. I used to lose weight for a couple of months and then put it back on. This cycle of yo-yo dieting was no good at all and some years later, with three kids, with a slow thyroid and with a broken marriage, I piled more and more pounds. To top it all, because of all the heartache I suffered, I suffered from depression too. Because of all this, the weight kept piling on and on till I weighed 104 kilos!! Food was my only comfort! Food gave me happiness, or so I thought.
Throughout my whole marriage separation I suffered a lot. I became fatter due to an increase in comfort eating and high calorie fast food. I suffered from depression and had to take medicine to help me cope but, believe it or not, during that difficult period of time, I also found my true self... I found the real Fiona... the real me. It's a weird thing to say, but yes, I found myself during the storm of my life. Although my marriage separation was indeed a terrible experience both for me and my children, I learned a lot from it all. Yes, I suffered tremendously and it was really hard at times to cope or even to do simple daily tasks! Yes, I cried my heart out at most times and cried myself to sleep most nights. Yes, I wanted to vanish into thin air a lot of times too but, something kept me going and saw light through being positive. And yes, I turned my pain into my gain...
Because of my terrible experience, I became stronger and wiser and although there were times in which I wished myself dead, because of the so many problems I had to face, I kept going, for I believed that things will turn out for the better in the end. I wanted to live and not simply exist. I decided that when this ordeal was over and done with, it will be the time for me to fly. I wanted to live. I had to do it. I had to do it for the kids and for myself. And I'm happy to say that I did it thanks to positive thinking and thanks to poetry. Yes, I love writing poems. Expressing myself through poetry helped me a great deal to deal with my life's challenges. (If you are interested in reading my poems, you are welcome to visit my Facebook Page Il-Maltempata ta' Hajti).
It was only up to me to make myself happy.
As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, and I started to settle into my new life with my three children, I started to love myself more by trying to change my eating habits to healthy ones. I finally felt happy after so many sad and painful years, and I wanted to lose weight because I didn't want food to control me anymore. I didn't want to be or stay a victim of my own sufferings. I didn't want to keep eating food for comfort to numb the pain, the heartache and the sufferings. Food wasn't making me happy in the end. Food was only making me fat and being fat made me feel tired and unhappy. It was only up to me to make myself happy! Only up to ME!!
So, I decided to start my healthy lifestyle and slimming journey in March 2014. I started by changing some of my eating habits to healthy ones. I started to cook my favourite food in a low calorie and healthier version and yes, I started to lose weight. During that period of time, exactly at the very beginning of my weight loss journey, I met my partner Brian who happened to love the healthy lifestyle. Brian gave me the push I needed to finally make it for real. He helped me in my training and we went walking and running together to help me get healthier, and to burn more calories. We still do training and go walks together. I can't thank him enough for always being there for me and for helping me throughout my weight loss journey.
I am happy with myself and with what I have achieved.
In these past years, I lost a lot of weight and I am proud of myself for even though I went through hell and back because of the storm I had to go through, I never gave up on life and on my dream to lose weight. I lost weight slowly but steadily and, I am happy with myself and with what I have achieved. Mind you, there were times when I got stuck as well and thought I wouldn't make it but I kept going none the less for I was determined to lose the weight. Today, I am truly happy for the changes I see in myself and within myself. I feel better both mentally and physically. Clothes look better too. I'm in love with dresses and I am more energetic than ever before.
Was it easy? Is it easy to lose weight?
No, it wasn't and it isn't easy, for you must be ready to change your eating habits as well as your lifestyle if you want changes to happen to you, and change is not and is never easy. The journey is never a straight line to success. It's full of obstacles and bumps! Yes, I did have bad days. A lot of bad days! And, I still do!! I do have my downfalls but that doesn't mean I am going to quit or going back to my old ways! No way!! When I overeat, I do feel guilty afterwards but then, I tell myself that bad days happen and do my best to continue with my healthy lifestyle. So, after you cheat, whether by choice or just because you couldn't resist that tempting but not so healthy food, keep going with a healthy lifestyle and don't quit because you cheated!! When we fall, we get back up. We don't remain on the floor!! So, never stop if you really want to achieve your goal.
How am I helping others now:
During my weight loss journey, my interest in both nutrition and weight loss, kept increasing and I started studying about calorie counting, weight loss, and nutrition. In fact, I am happy to say that thanks to my studies and courses I took, I have achieved three Diplomas and two Globally recognized Advanced Diplomas in Weight Loss and in Nutrition. I studied for myself and to help others as well. Now, I am really happy that I am helping people get slim with my Flexi Guide which is based on healthy eating and flexible dieting, with my healthy and low in calorie recipes which I share on Social Media, and also with genuine products full of nutrients.
I am sharing my story with all of you, here, on my website, for I want to encourage all those who think they can't make it. I know how it feels like to be called "fat". I was fat because I was eating many of the wrong kind of foods, had a slow thyroid which now I take medication for, and had depression because of the terrible storm I passed through. Like me, I believe there are many others... Everyone with his/her own story. Everyone with his/her own problems. But, no matter what, we should never give up on life or on our dreams and goals!
Never be a quitter even when life is bitter!
If you are fat, depressed and feel at a loss, don't give up! Be positive always and positive things will definitely start happening to you. Believe in yourself and be selfish in a positive way, for you are important like everyone else. Start doing and not just wishing. It's up to you. Only you! Excuses won't slim you down. Healthy eating and an active lifestyle will.
This Website...
I have created this website for all those interested in starting a healthy lifestyle and for all those who want to start their weight loss journey. If you need any help and want to start your journey with me, feel free to contact me. I am only a message away!
Your success is my success.
Regards,
Fiona Briffa
CEO of Be Healthy Malta and Certified Nutrition Coach & Weight Loss Advisor
Please Note:
The products found on this website are not intended to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure or prevent a specific disease or class of diseases. You should consult your family doctor if you are experiencing a medical problem and/or you're taking medicine, before you use a new product or before you start your slimming journey.