A father desperate to help his daughter lose weight so she could ride her beloved horse again threatened to sell the animal to spur her on.
Chloe, 18, from Southampton, wept in 5STAR’s show It’s Your Fault I’m Fat, as she spoke of how unhappy she was with her weight after living on a diet of stodgy lasagne, chips, garlic bread and sweet treats.
She blamed her father Darren, who tipped the scales at 25 stone with a 62inch waist, for being a bad influence as she’d inherited his unhealthy eating habits – like skipping fruit and vegetables.
At 13st 11lbs Chloe was too heavy to ride her horse Rory so Darren gave her an ultimatum, that it was either lose the pounds or lose the horse.
Vowing to fight the flab as a family along with her mother Anne and sister Lauren, they complete a six week challenge of meal replacement shakes, eating smaller portions and intense exercise sessions, losing six stone between them.
Charlotte (front) and her father Darren are joined by sister Lauren (left) and mother Anne in a bid to lose pounds after bingeing on unhealthy junk food for years
After six weeks of dieting and exercising Chloe loses more than a stone in weight and drops a couple of dress sizes
Chloe explained that her weight made her feel so self-conscious about her weight that she avoids going out with her ‘skinnier’ friends and couldn’t look in the mirror.
The teen admits she and her dad are like two peas in a pod, as they both refuse to let anything remotely healthy pass their lips.
‘I won’t eat anything healthy at all. I won’t eat fruit or vegetables. The closest thing is lasagne because it has meat in it,’ Charlotte says.
Dad Darren has developed a phobia of vegetables claiming he can’t eat them because they will make him sick.
Her overeating has had a devastating effect on her happiness: ‘I just feel very fat and very ugly. I would like to feel more confident in myself, I can’t wear bikinis, crop tops, tight dresses because I’m just not skinny enough for them.’
Chloe cries in front of the mirror as she picks herself apart: ‘I’d like to change my stomach and my legs and make all of it a little bit skinnier, my arms are huge and my face feels very fat as well and I am very overweight. Just looking at myself makes me upset.’
She adds: ‘I am worried I will end up like my dad if I carry on.’
The family from Southampton are given a personal trainer to help them battle the bulge with intense exercise sessions in their back garden
Chloe begged her parents to take better care of themselves because she’s worried about losing them.
Darren choked up and explains that after losing his own father at an early age he doesn’t want the same thing for his daughters.
But he finds it difficult when he learns that after clearing out their fridges, cupboards and cars, from their unhealthy food stash that he’s expected to survive on small meals of meat and dreaded vegetables.
Accused of being selfish by his wife Darren attempts the diet, but refuses to touch a vegetable until he visits a specialist therapist to help him battle his issues.
The emotional feeling technique, which involves tapping different areas of the body, helped Darren visualise eating salad.
And much to the surprise of his family ate lettuce, cucumber and onions for the first time ever.
Dad Darren struggled with the activity in the beginning due to his heavy frame but the family soon found their stride and joined the local gym
Lauren, Charlotte, Anne and Darren after their six-week challenge – they managed to lose six stone between them and have vowed to keep up with their new healthy lifestyle
During a visit to see her horse Rory at the beginning on their weight loss journey, Charlotte’s dad said: ‘We need to sort out this weight loss don’t we. He would love to be out in that field and riding more. But you can’t ride him.
‘You have to face the reality that if you don’t lose the weight then he will go and I will sell him.’
It takes less than four weeks for Charlotte to drop enough pounds to be able to get back on the saddle. and in total she loses 1st 4lbs.
She confesses: ‘It was upsetting when my dad threatened me to sell Rory. I think he would have if I didn’t lose the weight, I know he would have. It did make me determined to lose that weight even more and quickly.’
Meanwhile after struggling with his own food issues, Darren drops a staggering 2st 9lbs in the space of six weeks, and went on to lose another 1st 5lbs when the cameras stopped rolling.
He said: ‘This has brought me back to life and stopped me from being a spoilt little brat.’
It’s Your Fault I’m Fat airs tonight on 5STAR at 9pm