A weight-loss influencer who gained 401 pounds while coping with her husband’s opioid ‘grocery’ addiction has reached out to her followers for help funding surgery to remove excess skin after she died more than had lost 100 pounds.
Allison Clausen, 28, of Arizona, lost an impressive 112 pounds after swapping her favorite unhealthy foods like cheeseburgers and ice cream for low-calorie fare like fresh fruit and lean turkey.
At her peak, the fitness fanatic weighed nearly 400 pounds and spent her days consuming an incredibly heavy diet of ice cream, candy and lots of sugary soda.
In December 2018, Allison’s husband made the decision to “take his life back” and kick his pill addiction — which motivated her to start her own health journey by making lifestyle changes and losing weight.
“I was 401 pounds at my highest weight,” Allison said of her weight gain on her GoFundMe page.
“My husband was battling an opioid addiction and I turned to food to help deal with it. I wouldn’t wish what my husband and I went through on my worst enemy.
Inspirational: A weight-loss influencer who gained 401 pounds while using food to cope with her husband’s opioid addiction has spoken openly about how she lost a whopping 112 pounds
Allison Clausen, 28, of Arizona, has managed to drop her weight to 280 pounds – but has wrinkles of excess skin that she wants to remove with surgery
“December 2, 2018 is the day my husband took his life back. We have decided that we will do it together. He wanted to beat his pill addiction and I wanted to fight my food addiction.’
Initially, Allison’s weight loss journey started on a strong note; She lost 50 pounds in less than a year and by September 2020 her weight had dropped to just 288 pounds.
Allison began her weight loss journey when her husband (pictured) told her he wanted to “take his life back” by beating his opioid addiction
However, the influencer admits she was starting to fall back into old habits and quickly found that she was “gaining back almost everything she had lost”.
So in September 2021, she decided to start documenting her health journey on her TikTok to hold herself accountable and inspire others.
“I was sick of being tired,” she wrote. ‘I’m young. I wanted to LIVE… Truly LIVE. I decided that I needed to make my weight loss journey public to be more accountable. So on 9/1/21 I posted my first video on TikTok tracking my weight loss progress through a pair of jeans. This video changed my life.
By sticking to her diet for seven months and exercising up to six times a week, Allison now weighs 280 pounds — and has never felt better.
“Growing up, I was always taller than everyone else in my class, but it was during my adult years that I gained the most weight,” Allison told Jam Press.
“I had no one to hold me accountable and it was so much easier to eat to go than to prepare a balanced meal.
Before committing to a lifestyle overhaul, the influencer (seen in December 2018) ate fast food, sugary soda, and cookies and gravy for breakfast every day
During the pandemic, Allison (seen in April) relapsed into old habits and started gaining weight again — so she decided to take to TikTok in September 2021 to hold herself accountable
Since the beginning of her TikTok journey, Allison has built a dedicated following of more than 249,000 followers – and she’s managed to lose a whopping 112 pounds
“Life happens, and when life gets tough, I turn to food. I have always.
“I had to make my trip public. I needed people to hold me accountable.’
She decided to upload videos documenting her journey daily to give a realistic portrayal of losing weight.
Allison said: “Representation is so important and I’ve never seen my body type on social media, nor have I ever seen anyone start their journey and document everything.
“I was used to seeing the ‘after’ pictures and the success stories, but felt the need to share everything from start to finish.
“I also knew that a digital video diary would be very helpful to look back on when I’m having a tough day.
“People keep telling me how inspirational I am and how watching me deal with their own problems and change the way they think about weight has helped them.”
How Allison Changed Her Diet To Lose More Than 100 Pounds
ALLISON’S DIET BEFORE WEIGHT LOSS:
Breakfast: biscuits and gravy
Lunch: Two fried chicken sandwiches, large fries
Dinner: Two double cheeseburgers, tater tots, ranch, and a soda
Snacks: ice cream, sweets, chocolate
Beverages: Full-fat soda
THE DIET ALLISON USED TO LOSE WEIGHT:
Breakfast: Lactose-free Fairlife milk, eggs, potatoes
Lunch: Turkey and apple sandwich, protein bar, fresh fruit
Dinner: rice and chicken
Snacks: protein shakes/drinks
Beverages: Gatorade 0, Diet Sodas
The influencer now wants to have an operation to remove the excess skin that she has left over from the weight loss – and finances it with crowdfunding on the Internet
Before beginning her weight-loss journey, Allison regularly ate high-calorie foods like ice cream and fries, but she’s now given those up to focus on slimmer alternatives
“December 2, 2018 is the day my husband took his life back,” Allison explained. “We have decided that we will do it together”
Having lost 112 pounds, Allison now has excess skin and is determined to undergo a tummy tuck, breast lift, arm lift and bra roller lift to complete her transformation.
She has started a fundraiser online to raise money for the skin removal where she has raised $6,752 of her $50,000 goal so far.
She said: “I can’t even begin to describe what it would mean for me to have the excess skin removed.
“It’s hard to see my progress among the remnants of my former life.
“I’m not ashamed of my body – I show it off all over the internet. But I want to see what everyone else sees.
“I look in the mirror and I see the 401-pound girl looking at me.”
Allison has over 249,000 followers on TikTok, many of whom cite her journey as an inspiration.
One social media user said: “You’re killing it!!! So proud of you!!!!’
In the eight months since she began posting her weight loss journey on TikTok, Allison has managed to drop her weight to 280 pounds
Allison is hoping to raise $50,000 on GoFundMe, which will help pay for skin removal surgery
Allison also helps inspire others to shed the pounds with a monthly competition in which she and her players have lost a combined £45,000 so far
“Thank you for being so open! I had no idea what the skin would look like with so much weight loss,” commented another user.
‘Look at you! I was here when you started! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown and succeeded! Proud of you sis,” added another.
A fourth TikToker commented: “Girrrrl! Look at all the work you’ve done! Amazing and such an inspiration.’
A fifth follower added: “Gorgeous! I had to check the screen name because I really didn’t recognize you!!!!!! Got a girl!!.’
Allison also helps inspire others to shed the pounds with a monthly competition in which she and her players have lost a combined £45,000 so far.
She added, “Sharing my journey on social media has not only helped me succeed, but thousands of others as well.”