The wrong question
When a client comes to me wanting to lose 10kg, the wrong first question is “should we cut out Maltese food?” The right first question is “what are the meals in your week that genuinely make life worth living?” — and for most of my clients, fenkata Sunday is on that list.
A diet plan that survives Sunday lunch at the family table is a diet plan that works. A diet plan that requires you to skip it is a diet plan that fails by Tuesday.
What fenkata actually costs you, in macros
A typical generous portion of Maltese rabbit stew with potatoes, bread, and a glass of wine sits at roughly:
- Calories: ~1,100–1,400 for a generous portion
- Protein: ~60–80g (rabbit is lean and protein-dense — this is a good thing)
- Fat: ~50–70g (most of it from the cooking method, not the rabbit itself)
- Carbs: ~80–120g (potatoes, bread)
That’s a hefty meal. But it’s not categorically worse than, say, a takeaway pizza of equivalent size. The protein content is actually excellent. The “damage” — when there is any — comes from the bread you eat while waiting, the wine that goes with it, and the dessert after.
How we plan around it
The week most of our fat-loss clients run looks roughly like this when Sunday is fenkata day:
- Monday–Saturday: Calorie target slightly under maintenance, protein at target (typically 1.6–2.2g per kg of bodyweight), carbs and fats fitted to lifestyle.
- Saturday: Lighter day. Higher protein, lower carbs and fats. Helps build a small reserve before the Sunday meal.
- Sunday: Eat fenkata. Don’t track every gram. Enjoy it.
- Monday: Resume the normal plan. Don’t compensate by eating less than usual — that often creates a binge spiral by Wednesday.
The total week ends up in a moderate calorie deficit. You lose fat consistently. The fenkata is part of the plan, not a deviation from it.
Other Maltese staples worth keeping
A short list of foods my clients keep eating, and how:
- Timpana. A baked pasta with meat ragù — calorically dense but high in protein if it has properly cooked meat. We work it in once every 7–10 days for clients who love it.
- Ricotta-based pasta. Lower-fat than cream-based; the ricotta brings protein. Easy weeknight meal.
- Pastizzi. Honestly: best treated as a treat, not a habit. The pastry is what does the damage. One pastizz with a coffee is fine; three for breakfast every day is not.
- Aljotta (fish soup). One of the best low-calorie, high-flavour, nutrient-dense meals on the island. We use this a lot.
- Bigilla. Bean dip — protein-dense, fibre-dense, satisfying with vegetables instead of bread.
- Hobż biż-żejt. Bread with olive oil, tomatoes, capers and tuna. Surprisingly balanced if the portion is honest.
What doesn’t usually work
A few patterns we steer clients away from:
- “Healthy” smoothie breakfasts that aren’t actually keeping anyone full. Better to eat a proper meal and skip the smoothie.
- Low-fat versions of traditional dishes. Often replace fat with sugar; rarely satisfy. Eat the real thing in a sensible portion.
- Skipping lunch to “save calories” for dinner. Reliably leads to overeating in the evening.
- Cutting out bread entirely. For most clients in Malta, bread is the social food. We find a manageable amount and protect it.
The Mediterranean diet, locally
What gets sold internationally as “the Mediterranean diet” — olive oil, vegetables, fish, legumes, modest meat, modest wine — is roughly what most Maltese grandmothers were already cooking. We’re not reinventing anything. We’re just making sure the modern version isn’t accidentally bulked up with the cheap pasta and processed snacks that crept in over the past three decades.
What this means for your plan
If you train with us, the nutrition plan I write for you starts from what you actually eat. We look at a week of your real meals, talk about which ones are non-negotiable, and build the plan around them. If fenkata Sunday is your family ritual, we keep it. If you genuinely don’t care for it, we use the calories elsewhere.
This is the part that doesn’t scale: knowing what your week actually looks like. It’s the part the apps can’t do for you. It’s also the part where the work actually starts.