A schoolgirl who weighs 18 stone 1lb and more than twice as much as her twin sister drops a dress size in just six weeks in an effort to overhaul her lifestyle before her 18th birthday.
Dominique, 17, lives in Bristol, with mum Sandra, dad Keith and non-identical twin sister Nikita, and appears on 5STAR’s It’s Your Fault I’m Fat tonight.
Nikita, who is also 5″3, weighs just 8st 6lbs, with Dominique admitting that she doesn’t like looking at pictures of the two of them together and feels ‘jealous’ of her confidence.
Dominique loves food but her problem is not knowing when to say no, a habit she has learnt from her fast food-loving parents, with Sandra weighing 19st and battling diabetes, while Keith weighs over 16st, and suffered from a heart attack five years ago.
Using food as a comfort from a young age, Dominique and the whole family’s diet is out of control – devoting an entire cupboard to their favourite treats.
As a last resort the family have agreed to a wholesale lifestyle change. They will go on a specially tailored diet prepared by a registered dietitian reducing Dominique’s calorie intake by half and they will hit the gym two times a week.
Dominique, 17, (second right) lives in Bristol, with mum Sandra, dad Keith and non-identical twin sister Nikita, (second left) and appears on 5STAR’s It’s Your Fault I’m Fat tonight (seen before)
Dominique raids the snack cupboard three times a day for her favourite foods, which include crisps, chocolate, donuts and cookies.
Parents Sandra and Keith admit they have a weakness for junk food too, and regularly order takeaways such as pizza.
‘I definitely take after my parents in terms of my eating habits’, Dominique admits.
‘They snack instead of having proper meals’.
Keith says: ‘I don’t want you to get fat like me, I want you to be slim like your sister!’.
Revealing her secret, Nikita admits: ‘Even though I do eat badly I can say no, whereas Dominique can’t’.
And Mum Sandra even admits that she has to pick out the vegetables for ‘fussy’ Dominique when she cooks.
Dominique weighs 18 stone 1lb and more than twice as much as her twin sister drops a dress size in just six weeks in an effort to overhaul her lifestyle before her 18th birthday (seen after)
Speaking about their poor habits, Keith reveals that he had a heart attack five years ago, and adds: ‘Seeing Dominique the way she is scares me for her health’.
Recalling the beginning of her weight gain, Sandra says Dominique started piling on the pounds in junior school, year four, admitting that people would make fun of her.
According to her mother, Dominique ‘comfort eats’ and at a size 18-20 they are able to share clothes.
Admitting she felt dowdy at her prom, Dominique says: ‘Me and Nikki will go to the same party and I’ll look like I’m going to a funeral while she looks like she’s going to a club. I just want to be able to look at a picture of us and think “we both look amazing”‘.
Later in the show, Dominique confronts her parents about their eating habits, admitting: ‘I’ve always felt a bit jealous of Nikki and the clothes she wears and I wish I could be that confident.
‘I do feel I’ve got my eating habits from you mum and dad. I want us to go on a diet so we can have a better life together’.
Dominique loves food but her problem is not knowing when to say no, a habit she has learnt from her fast food-loving parents
Sandra and Keith apologise for their part in the habits, Nikita vows to help her sister, and the family embark on a healthier lifestyle.
The family indulge in a last 4,000 calorie takeaway before their strict six-week regime.
Personal trainers Alex and Tommy start with a weigh-in of the family, which reveals 5″3 Dominique, 17, weighs 18 stone 1 lbs, falling into the ‘very overweight’ category.
Her visceral fat (fat stored around important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines) measures over 20, with Tommy revealing that the machine doesn’t go beyond that number, adding: ‘I’ve seen it before but not in someone as young as you. It’s the highest I’ve seen – anything above 13 is very dangerous’.
Meanwhile Sandra has a BMI of 46, a fat reading of 20 and weighs 19 stone.
It’s good news for Nikita, who at 5″3 is 8 stone 6 lbs – her target weight.
At the end of the six weeks, size 20 Dominique, who weighed 18st 1lb, has lost 1st 4lbs, dropped a dress size and now weighs 16st 11lbs
Lastly, Keith weighs 16 stone 1 lb, and at 5″4, he has a BMI of 37.5 and visceral fat reading of 18.
Sandra admits: ‘I thought I was going to lose Keith when he had a heart attack. We need to change our ways’.
The family are instructed to start their diet at 8:30am in the morning, with strictly no snacking and five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Nikita will exercise to help the family with moral support, but not diet.
And things don’t get off to a great start, as Sandra breaks down four minutes into their first workout, admitting she feels her blood sugar is low.
But the family’s first post-workout meal is McDonalds – as they argue that their diet doesn’t start until the next day and clear out their snack drawers.
The family are put on a healthy eating regime, cutting their daily calorie intake from 4,000 to 1,5000 per person per day, cooking vegetables such as celery and carrots, lean protein including chicken, ham and mince and seeds replacing unhealthy snacks.
Dominique is seen almost vomiting as she tries a grape for the first time.
Eventually the family get into the swing of things by swapping their takeaway habits for healthy options such as couscous salad, pasta with tomato and lentil sauce, vegetable soup, homemade chicken curry, cottage pie and turkey stir fry
But while she sticks to the diet plan, Sandra and Keith are seen cheating with chocolate and junk food.
Eventually the family get into the swing of things by swapping their takeaway habits for healthy options such as couscous salad, pasta with tomato and lentil sauce, vegetable soup, homemade chicken curry, cottage pie and turkey stir fry.
And the lifestyle change is a success, with the family seeing great results in less than two months.
At the end of the six-week challenge, Keith has lost 13lbs and weighs 15st 2lbs, while Sandra has lost 1st 3 lbs, weighing 17st 11lbs.
Size 20 Dominique, who weighed 18st 1lb, has lost 1st 4lbs, dropped a dress size and now weighs 16st 11lbs.
‘I’m so happy and have surprised myself – I didn’t think I’d do this well. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m so proud of this,’ she admits.
It’s Your Fault I’m Fat starts tonight at 9pm on 5STAR.