'My 600-lb Life': Dominic blames absconding father and abusive family members for being overweight

Dominic Hernandez is 37 years old and weighs over 600 pounds. He lives with his brother in a van and blames his overweight on being homeless as his enormous frame restricts him from doing anything. 

His life revolves around eating as much as possible as only food helps him deal with all the troubles. He and his brother spend all the money on food, although they have a minimal income. Still, Dominic manages to feed himself four to six times a week. 

He and his brother save up and rent a hotel once in two weeks to clean themselves up and Dominic needs a handicapped shower. He calls bathing an exhausting task and says each time it's getting harder as he is also suffering from lymphedema. 

Size has always been an issue for Dominic. Growing up, his family loved to eat. He says some of his best memories were that of his mother's tortillas. Food was a big deal for all of them. However, things started to change when he grew up. 

His parents started fighting and got separated when he was 9. He was left devastated. He was already over 100 pounds and the weight kept going up as he got older, especially after his father left them for good and never returned to see his children. It's been 27 years since Dominic saw his father but he still hasn't gotten over this. 

When both his parents abandoned him, he started living with his relatives. Family members who were little older than him started abusing him. To cope with it, he turned to food. He was over 150 pounds by the time he was 15. 

Although he didn’t have to go back to living with his abusive family members, his addiction to food stayed. He was the big kid in high school but he just couldn’t control eating. He isolated himself and food was his only friend. His weight increased to over 400 pounds by the time he finished high school. 

Dominic had to quit his first job owing to his obesity. He was just 23 when he started having trouble walking. 

He lost his mother when he was 34, which has left him devastated. Dominic and his brother regret not learning any lesson from her as she also had eating issues. 

Following the death of their mother and grandmother, Dominic and his brother lost the maternal house as they couldn’t afford to keep it and they have been living in the van since. 

Dominic is now worried that he can’t go on this way any longer and continue being a burden on his brother. He wants to change his life before its too late, hence he is counting on the weight loss surgery to save him. 

‘My 600-lb Life’ airs on Wednesdays on TLC.