Allanna Jones-Anstaett Lost Weight And Became A Role Model

Becoming a role model, Air Force officer, Allanna Jones-Anstaett, always struggled with her weight. Then she realized that, in order to be a role model, she needed to get fit for life

Accepting the status quo

In the Air Force Academy we didn’t have any choice but to eat whatever they were serving. The meals weren’t always the healthiest. Every Monday was pasta night, and there was dessert every day.

Time to change

I was close to 200 pounds when I realized that I wasn’t being a good role model for my troops. I really couldn’t expect my troops to be physically fit and pass their fitness tests if I couldn’t.

Setting a goal

Fitness competitions had just started getting really popular in the area I lived in. I had friends who were competing, and I followed their progress online. Eventually I thought: “Why not me?”

Fighting the nerves

I made the decision to give competing a shot, and I gave myself five months to lose 50 pounds. I was beyond nervous. I’d never been one to show my body off because I was overweight. Still, I stayed determined.

The first change

I didn’t have a cheat meal or sugars for the five months before my competition. I’m good at taking regular recipes and cleaning them by reducing added sugar and replacing butter and oils with applesauce and avocados.

Fighting cravings

I’m a chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-ice-cream fanatic. I found recipes on Bodybuilding.com to help me fight cravings. I’d make a batch of protein avocado brownies instead of having ice cream.

Overcoming obstacles

It was hard to stick to my meal plan at first because I was embarrassed to take food into meetings at work. I felt like I was constantly being judged but, over time, I stopped caring. I realized other people might be judging me but I need to live a life that’s going to make me happy.

Time management

The hardest part for me was definitely trying to balance training with work and still have time to plan and prep my meals. I had never gone through that planning process before, so I struggled.

Staying motivated

I had to adjust my routine when other aspects of got in the way, so I made sure I upped my cardio the next day to compensate for the workout I had missed.

Team inspiration

My husband was very supportive and I forced him to go along with it. He stuck to the same meal plan as me. He’s definitely gotten more fit, even though he sometimes has cheat meals without me.

Teaming up body parts

On day one of a cycle, I do back and chest. Day two, I do heavy legs. Day three is a rest day. Day four is a group fitness class. Day five is shoulders. Day six is light legs and day seven is a rest day.

Nailing down the specifics

For each workout I did 6-8 exercises using four sets of 12-15 reps on each move. I also warmed-up on the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes in a fasted state to increase fitness.

Helping others

My transformation affected my family and friends by making them want to change their lifestyle. My parents decided that they wanted to clean up their diets, so they asked me to come up with a meal plan.

Find transformation stories and more in every issue of TRAIN for HER.