Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allison Jacobs. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Allison, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I have 2 projects that come to mind that I am so incredibly grateful to be a part of! The first is an ongoing mission to raise awareness about a disease I was diagnosed with thanks to social media and my incredible community. I would t have known I had it if it was for my followers reaching out and suggesting I look into it. After the comments and DMs became daily occurrences, I couldn’t ignore it. In 2021, Inwas diagnosed with stage 2 type 2 lipedema.

Lipedema is connective tissue fat storage disorder (often associate with Ehlers Danlos and autoimmune diseases). It literally translates to swollen fat. This disease is chronic and progressive. Onset of the disease is often puberty, and it commonly progresses during hormonal stages of life. Think puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and any condition that impacts hormone change.

While lipedema is a rare diagnosis, it is NOT a rare disease. It almost exclusively impacts women. While the disease was identified back in 1940, and 1 in 9 women are impacted, the majority of medical professionals have never heard of it. As the disease progresses, the diseased fat often becomes painful and it severely impacts mobility and quality of life. Many women end up wheelchair bound and go through their entire lives thinking their body is their fault.

Because doctors are unaware of the disease, they tell women to diet. To move more and eat less. Lipedema fat does not respond to diet and exercise however. So many women will undergo bariatric surgery, lose normal fat, yet the lipedema fat remains. As one can imagine, the psychological impact is significant.

After my diagnosis and decision to have surgery, I sought a physician that was not only extremely skilled, but also willing to spread awareness with me and share my surgical journey on my platform. It is my mission to show people that the procedure is not cosmetic, rather it is surgically necessary. Because the only way to remove the fat is via a very specialized form of liposuction, insurance companies and the general public assume it is a made up disease. In reality, the surgery has been life changing and I am grateful to be able to show the improvement in my mobility through dance…the heart of my platform!

My second most meaning project took place last month (April 2024), and it was a partnership with Dove. It was in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their Real Beauty campaign. With this project, Dove researched the impact of Artificial Intelligence and how it is impacting our social feeds and mental health. They used a brief clip of me dancing in their full ad. Working with Dove is always meaning to me, but this campaign was so special. I remember in the 90s seeing the Real Beauty campaign. It felt so validating to see real women. Now, 29 years later, I get to be a part of that movement. It’s beautiful and means so much to me.

Allison, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up dancing competitively. I was in the dance studio more than I was at home. I LOVED it. But, as I got older, my body changed. At the time, I had no idea it was lipedema. My thighs just kept growing. No matter how much I dieted or exercised, they kept getting bigger. As you can imagine, my mental health was suffering. I put myself on crazy diets (like 3 oranges a day). I developed what I now know is atypical anorexia. Terrible things were said to me by the adults in my life. Dance became toxic and I quit just before I turned 16. I got severely depressed and attempted to unalive myself.

I went decades not realized I had an eating disorder. I just thought I had to eat a certain way to fit the beauty standard. Even though I was consuming 500 calories a day or less, bc of the lipedema, I never looked sick. All of that restriction led to my next eating disorder, binge eating disorder. I gained 80 pounds in two years. It was rough.

After that I went to college and wanted to reinvent myself. I began to restrict again. I lost a bunch of weight. Never looked sick though. This led to a binge and I felt so defeated. That prompted my 7 year battle with bulimia. No one had a clue.

I bounced between these disordered ways of eating for 30 years. It was until 2019 that I started seeing a therapist for unrelated issues, and he just so happened to specialize in women’s health. It didn’t take long for him to pick up on my fixation with food and body image. Finally, I learned what atypical anorexia was and my recovery journey began.

I had been a little over a year into recovery when the pandemic hit and when we were kicked up in the house, I feared for my mental health. It was then that I decided to download TikTok after I saw my friend dancing with her family. I thought that looked like such a joyful way to move my body (which is huge in the recovery process)! So I gave it a try! It was so much fun! So, I made a deal with myself to learn and post a dance everyday. It was solely for me! An online journal to hold me accountable. I never imagined ANYONE would be interested in watching me dance around my house in my pajamas!

People resonated with the joy I felt! It had been decades since I danced, but being able to dance on my terms, free from all of the BS that it used to come with, man was in an incredible feeling!!!!! Never could I have imagined that it would lead me to where I am today! To say I am grateful doesn’t begin to scratch the surface!!!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Wayyyyy back in the day, I wanted to be a beauty influencer! Before kids, I was a regional makeup artist for a cosmetic line. While I LOVE makeup, it didn’t really capture “me” and as a result, it didn’t really resonate with people.

When I started dancing online, even though I had zero desire or thoughts about building a following, I think it was people seeing me…really seeing me, that made the difference! I think leaning into our insecurities is so powerful. Whether we can see it or not, everyone has insecurities! As human beings, we can all relate to feeling insecure and when we share those insecurities and vulnerabilities, a community is born.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I just want people to stop holding onto their insecurities so tightly! We all feel so isolated when keep it in. Why not share that burden? Is it scary, yes! Do you need to list it on the internet, no! But talking about it with people we trust makes such a difference! We are all human beings and what motivates me is the desire to normalize talking about the internal struggles we face.

I want to de-stigmatize the idea that perfection exists! I want to remind people that most of what they see on social media is perfectly curated and, as a result, not real!

I want to keep things real!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/allison.jacobsss
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theallisonjacobsss/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@allison.jacobsss
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@allison.jacobsss

  https://www.today.com/health/disease/dancer-details-lipedema-surgery-rcna133525