A mother of two from Denver has shocked the internet with an incredible weight loss transformation, having spent her entire life wishing she was someone else.
In a post shared on TikTok in July, Ana Alonso, a training manager, explained that before she started her weight loss journey, she was over 450lbs and could not fit on a plane seat without getting “dirty looks” from other passengers because of her size.
But when she got offered a job that put her on a different plane every week, she decided that she was going to make a big change in her life. Not just for herself, but also for her children, with whom she can now enjoy all sorts of adventures without worrying about her size, and make all the memories they haven’t been able to.
Ana Alonso
Her viral post came with a caption that said: “Two years ago I was offered an amazing opportunity. The new role didn’t make me nervous, but the idea of getting on a plane week after week terrified me because I didn’t fit. I started the journey at 450 lbs taking two seats and needing a seatbelt extender. It was embarrassing, people would give me dirty looks because I was so big. But I was determined to one day fit in one seat and be normal.
“Little by little the seatbelt expander had more slack. And then one day… I could clip on the normal seatbelt, no more extender. The day came when I could put the tray down. All the sudden I could ride with my kids and my friends didn’t need extra seats. Now the regular seatbelt has a little bit of slack. I get to enjoy life and the beautiful views. No more being worried, just being a normal person. Forever grateful.”
Alonso told Newsweek: “I was a different version of myself that was not pretty. I wasn’t really living. It was just kind of surviving every day and seeing my life go by, and now I get an opportunity to actually do things with my kids and it’s super rewarding, it just feels amazing.”
Since she first started her weight-loss journey two years ago, Alonso has lost over 190 lbs, thanks to her strength and resilience, shedding almost half of her body weight.
“I lost the first 80 pounds with a high protein low carb diet, and then when I was 370 pounds, I had gastric sleeve surgery and I’ve lost another 110 pounds. My recovery was really good, I was back to work in like six days. I think I was just so excited for this opportunity, maybe that’s why I didn’t feel any pain.”
According to the National Institute of Health, nearly 1 in 3 American adults are overweight, and more than 2 in 5 have obesity, while about 1 in 11 have severe obesity. But not all of the people affected take it as seriously as Alonso.
While her job was among the factors that influenced her decision to lose weight and change her lifestyle, the main reason behind her extreme weight loss was so she could be able to spend quality time with her children without having to feel bad for not being able to do all the things they want.
“My main driver has been my kids and the fact that I wasn’t able to be the mom that I wanted to be. Years ago we were celebrating my daughter’s birthday at Disney. It was a special moment and I couldn’t get on any of the rides with my kids, I felt like such a terrible mom at that moment.
“I had to have my mom, their grandma, on the ride with them and it felt like such a c***** moment. I had worked so hard to save enough money to go on this vacation and it was supposed to be such a special moment, but I couldn’t do anything with them. I think that for me was the wake-up call.”
Moreover, when Alonso spoke to her doctors, they told her that if she didn’t do something soon she may not have lived long enough to see her children graduate, and that was a thought she couldn’t bear.
But dieting and exercising were not the only factors that helped Alonso lose all her weight. She also changed her mindset, and that’s what has allowed her to both lose the weight and keep the shape she’s worked so hard for.
“In my adult life ever since I was in high school I used to be on different diets all the time, and I would lose some weight, once I lost 40 pounds, but as quickly as I lost it I would gain it all back. But I wouldn’t just gain the weight a lost I would gain way more.
“I had to change my mindset for it to work. I don’t have cheat days anymore, I am going to eat what feels good in my body. I’m going to eat dessert because I enjoy dessert, but it doesn’t mean I’m gonna have it every day or that I’m going to have lots of it, I have portions that feel good in my body. I’m not going to have multiple servings, I am just going to have a taste.”
After her incredible transformation, Alonso is now enjoying her life with her children, making all sorts of new experiences with them, but her journey is still not over.
She said: “I think the next stage of my journey is looking into a skimmer. My dad has been fighting cancer for over a year so for me taking care of myself and my extra skin hasn’t been a priority at the moment. I’m financially responsible for him which would make paying for the procedure tough, but I’ve had an amazing community on Tik Tok, that has been asking me for months to create a GoFundMe, so I created one a few days ago, and I have had so much support.
“I’m looking forward to this next stage of my journey and just seeing all my efforts pay off because it’s a lot of skin and it’s heavy, and it’s going to be life-changing when I am able to remove it. I cannot even imagine my life the way it was, but if someone had told me back then that this was going to happen I wouldn’t have believed them.”
The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 346,900 views and 25,200 likes.
One user, Birdie Garcia Yazzie, said: “Congratulations! People do not understand how exciting it is to no longer need a seat belt extender.”
Nadine wrote: “As a complete stranger, I’m so happy for you and so proud of you as well. Just remember you always were good enough before, and you are still.”
Mzgiles11 added: “Congratulations. I know what an accomplishment this is. You will never know how much you inspire me to push more in the gym.”
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