How Alice boosted her confidence at a resort for overweight holidaymakers featured in an ITV doc to be shown this evening
Alice – who features in tonight’s ITV documentary, The 18-30 Stone Holiday – has struggled with her weight for as long as she can remember.
But at 36 stone, the mum-of-two from Nottingham wants to turn things around for the sake of her kids.
After years of strangers’ nasty comments and dirty looks, Alice (surname not provided) suffers from anxiety when she’s out in public and also worries that she won’t live to see her children grow up.
“Lots of people tell me I’ll die young due to my weight,’ said Alice, 28, who is one of the participants in ITV documentary The 18-30 Stone Holiday, which sees eight obese Brits head to the Bahamas to stay at the world’s only holiday resort built for plus-sized holiday goers.
“People say these things to try and shock you into taking action, but it just sends you deeper into despair. I’ve even planned my own funeral. There’s no fat joke I haven’t heard and I rarely go out, because I feel like people are just staring at me.”
If going out makes Alice feel anxious, the thought of stepping on to the beach in a swimming costume fills her with terror – but that’s exactly what she wanted to do in this one-off documentary.
“I once sat on a sunlounger at the beach and the legs snapped,” said Alice. “I was lying on the floor and everyone was laughing at me. Finding the strength to turn things around is difficult, but if I can gain some confidence I feel that it will have a direct effect on my life.’
With the support of her new friends, Alice hopes she’ll finally feel good about herself.
“I’ve lost two stone since I got home,” she said. “I want to plan my future rather than my funeral, and I can’t wait to take the kids to the beach!”
The 18-30 Stone Holiday, ITV, 9.00pm.
