Diet or die! Meet the 80st twins
Twins Brandi and Kandi Dreier have always struggled with their weight. Can they turn their lives around before it’s too late?
With cases of obesity on the rise around the world, it’s no wonder that more light is being shed on how to lose weight and live a healthier life.
Rightly or wrongly, society is often quick to judge people who are overweight, but there can be hidden reasons behind over-eating. Now, a US TV show, My
600lb Life, follows the journeys of obese people, looking at how their weight makes them feel and whether they have left it too late to change their lives for good.
The first super-sized two-hour episode follows the journeys of Brandi and Kandi Dreier, 31-year-old twins from Vancouver, Washington.
It’s clear from the off that the twins are each other’s best friend and support system. They’ve always lived together and even share a double bed.
‘The first few steps of the day are just agony. It’s so hard to do anything,’ Brandi says.
At 41st 13lb, she is more than a stone lighter than Kandi. ‘There are times that both of us want to give up,’ the twins admit. It’s easy to see what a struggle it is for the young women day-to-day.
After showering, they have to help each other apply baby powder to their bodies to stop sores developing in their folds of skin. ‘Life is miserable,’ Brandi says candidly.
At times, it’s difficult viewing, but the women try to explain their food addiction.
‘ We started gaining weight when we were young – as soon as we were able to eat solid food,’ Kandi says. ‘Our biological dad used food as a “babysitter”.’
Brandi heartbreakingly explains, ‘ When we cried, he would dump a whole box of cereal on the table because he didn’t want to deal with us.’
They go on to say that neither of their parents were really around when they were growing up, nor had much time for the twins, because they were addicted to drugs.
‘ We only had each other – and food,’ Brandi says. They also talk about abuse they suffered at the hands of an acquaintance and that the only person they could rely on was each other.
In an environment that they say was dominated by anger, violence and fear, ‘food was a happy place for us, it was comforting’…
By the time they were 12, Brandi and Kandi were already pushing 14st and were bullied. They had a difficult relationship with their mum, Bobbie, who was an alcoholic.
At 16, Brandi and Kandi
‘My weight is killing me, but it’s an addiction and I can’t stop’
were kicked out of home.
Both describe anxiety attacks from fear of not being able to take care of themselves and, despite working, along with some support from their grandmother, Sherry, food was their biggest comfort.
As they got bigger, their anxiety grew and they had to give up work, but food was a constant. ‘My weight is killing me, but it’s an addiction and I can’t stop,’ Kandi says. They say that fast food calms them down, although they don’t like eating in front of people, as they fear being judged.
Both Bobbie and Sherry admit they worry that each time they visit the identical twins, it’ll be the last time they see them alive, knowing one would struggle to survive without the other.
‘ We’re each other’s worst enabler,’ the twins admit. ‘But we’re also each other’s support system.’
The moment their lives change is when their grandmother offers to help them financially so they can see a weight-loss surgeon, Dr Younan Nowzaradan, in Houston, Texas.
It involves moving away from their family and their comfort zone, but Brandi and Kandi don’t want to be miserable any more.
It isn’t easy, though. The surgeon gives the twins the task of losing 3st 8lb each in a month.
By changing their diets and trying to walk as much as possible, the sisters manage it.
In four weeks, Brandi loses 5st and Kandi drops 4st 12lb, but they have to prove they are committed to changing their lives to make them eligible for weight-loss surgery. Over the following months, the twins experience good and bad spells, like when Kandi is told her heart may not be strong enough for the operation.
Brandi has surgery first, admitting she feels like she’s left her sister behind and, for the first time, feels ‘disconnected’ from her.
But, as she recovers, Kandi is approved for surgery. However, she suffers heart failure after the operation.
‘I don’t want my sister to die,’ Brandi sobs as her twin is put into an induced coma.
Bobbie and Sherry rally round to support the girls, and you can’t help but feel for them. Thankfully, after a week, Kandi pulls through, and the twins are later seen attending gym classes together, and counselling to try to work on their relationship with their mum.
After 12 long months, Brandi and Kandi have lost a considerable amount of weight. As they continue their weight-loss journey, you find yourself spurring them on. It just goes to show that anything is possible.