By Liana Jacob
MEET the sexy Irish twins and former professional dancers who have gained over a stone-and-a-half each in just five months after realising they were underweight.
Personal trainers, Aoife and Ciara Tabb (21), from Cork, Ireland, who have their own business, have danced professionally since they were four. Throughout their dance careers, they toured 35 cities in China, dancing in shows six nights a week.
This extensive schedule saw their weight plummet to 7st 3Ibs and a UK size four to six, despite consuming an average of 1,800-calories a day. This left the pair feeling insecure and paranoid and made them change their daily routine.
Aoife and Ciara are now 8st 13Ibs and a UK size eight to 10. They now consume between 2,000 and 2,300 calories a day.
“We were at our lowest weight when we returned from working in Portugal as Irish dancers and singers for three months last summer,” they said.
“We were dancing in a show six nights-a-week and doing some bar work, we were also walking everywhere which resulted in our major weight loss.
“When we returned home, we weighed ourselves and both burst into tears. We couldn’t believe how much weight we had lost, and we did not want to be this skinny.
“We felt so paranoid, like everyone was talking about us as we were never known to be underweight. We felt so weak and we were so motivated to get back to a healthy weight.
“We both hated the way we looked; we were qualified personal trainers and wanted to look strong, fit and healthy. We knew we had to make a change straight away.”
Instead of getting a personal trainer, Aoife and Ciara decided to get themselves a nutrition coach, David Young, who checked up on them weekly, and then they got started on a 16-week weight gain and muscle-building programme.
They also did resistance training five to six days-a-week and followed a training routine; each session being one to two hours long.
“I have never felt so happy in my own skin and I am happy to say, I love my body. Of’ course there are a lot of things I don’t like about my body but nobody’s perfect; you always want what you don’t have,” Aoife said.
“I have so much energy and I am fuelled for my training sessions. I also have such a good relationship with food. I allow myself a treat when I want one.
“There was a time when I wouldn’t allow myself a treat, but I believe that having a balanced lifestyle is key.”
“I am feeling the best I have ever felt in my own body at the moment. I will never want to go back to the way I was feeling last year,” Ciara added.
“I am proud of all the positive changes I have made to my life. I am not afraid of food anymore or gaining weight; I see food as a positive to my body.
“I allow myself to go out for food with friends and family, I also enjoy treats when I want them. I believe everything in moderation leads to a healthier and happier lifestyle.”
The diet change was the hardest part of the process for the twins.
“We found eating all the food difficult at times. Preparing and eating all of the meals was like a full-time job,” they said.
“The good thing was that we love our food but when our calories increased to three-thousand eight-hundred a day, it was tough.
“We would say, don’t give up if you don’t see results right away. Patience is key. If you can’t do it yourself, get a nutrition coach or personal trainer to push you.
“Compare yourself to you and no one else. Take progress pictures and don’t focus too much on the scales.”
For more information visit:
(Aoife): https://www.instagram.com/aoifetabb1/
(Ciara): https://www.instagram.com/ciaratabb1/
Business page: https://www.facebook.com/Tabb-Twins-Fitness-1843870459180064/
