"I was a tubby teenager. I’d always been what was termed ‘a solid kid’," she said.
But a lot has changed since then, and now the 54-year-old is an award-winning bodybuilder, who will be competing in the National Amateur Bodybuilders’ Association Otago Championships at her old school — Taieri College — on Saturday.
Miss Allison got into bodybuilding after moving to the Sunshine Coast, in Australia, in 1999, and admitted she was not enthusiastic initially about the idea of "parading around half-naked".
"I recall I was rather chunky at that time. That is what prompted me to get fit initially.
"I felt I was too fat to join a gym, so I attended aqua aerobics — mainly because I was submerged under water, so no-one could see me."
She progressed to doing mini triathlons and started to get the exercise bug.
So when a work colleague suggested she take up weight training, she joined a local gym where she spent "a couple of hard years" lifting weights and building muscle tone and confidence.
Someone then suggested she look into bodybuilding.
As part of her research, she went to a bodybuilding show.
"I walked away thinking, ‘my goodness, I could never get on stage and parade around in a minuscule bikini in front of a crowd’.
But in 2007, after some gentle cajoling, she started competing in women’s bodybuilding, and for eight years she was extremely successfully at state and national championships.
She regularly achieved top-three placings, and in 2014 she was runner-up in the Australian championships.
"I love the challenge bodybuilding presents. It’s a lifestyle, not a sport, and not something you do for fun.
"The amount of time required is infinite. Nutrition and diet is about 75%, and all meals are painstakingly prepared and adhered to.
"Then there is the time required to attend gym for weights, arduous cardio sessions, posing practice and putting a routine together to music, then the tanning.
"And for us ladies, getting bikini costume-designed, and on the day we get hair, makeup and jewellery done.
"That said, the feeling of being up on stage for a few minutes of glory, showcasing your weeks and months of hard work, is all worth it."
However, it was a very time-consuming lifestyle that was difficult to sustain, and for the past 10 years, other priorities had taken over, she said.
"But I decided early this year to get back into shape with the intention of competing in Australia.
"Unfortunately, my division doesn’t exist and I don’t fit into the other federations’ categories now. So here I am — back in Mosgiel."
Miss Allison will compete against bodybuilders from around the South Island to qualify for the New Zealand National Championships in Invercargill, on October 26-27.
