Amber Clay 
"Hey I’m Amber I’m 30 years old! I’ve struggled with my weight all my life. My highest weight was 323 pounds in March 2015. And I’m only 5 feet tall! I decided to take a stance and had VSG November 5 2015. On the day of VSG surgery I was 297 pounds. During the honeymoon phase (2years) I lost close to 132 lbs!!! But I did not sustain the Weightloss or deal with that mental piece I finessed the required psych exam and went back to old habits of over eating.
Over time I became desperate and tried phentermine, yo-yo diets, fasting for days at a time but nothing stuck. The dr did reimagining of my stomach and revealed my stomach is it’s normal size after 5 years. 😩
With that said I regained a little over 55 pounds over the last year.
DO NOT BE AFRAID IF YOU HAVE TO START AGAIN. REGAIN DOES NOT MEAN FAILURE.
Since I realized that my weight was getting out of hand but in the midst of trying to take back my health March 2020 I lost my sister to an aggressive cancer and I was her caregiver, and then the world shut down thanks to the pandemic. It was a dark time. I tried to climb out of the hole I was in. But I kept sinking. I tried a new fitness challenge to get myself back on the mend in April of 2020 and I ended up tearing my meniscus and having surgery to repair it.
This set me back even more. Because I am always super transparent and mental health issues has played a huge portion in my journey. I’ve struggled with depression and mood disorder along with major anxiety. These issues affect Weightloss in a major way.
THIS PAST SUMMER I TRIED TO COMMIT SUICIDE!
It was a trying time for me. I started psychotherapy and I attend counseling twice a week. Along with group therapy. I really came to understand the psychological affects of my eating habits as they correlated with my mental health issues. So now I’m able to use what I’m learning to control my desire to binge eat.
My goals as always been to reach 150 pounds but I’m okay with getting to a healthy size for my body.
How did I restart? Honestly I had to change my mindset first. Cause it’s a mindset thing as I joined a ton of challenges to hold me accountable and I started going to my apartment gym just walking the tread then slowly progressing.
Now I’m working out two times a day fasted cardio and also strength training. You can catch me in the gym daily. Give up on giving up is what I tell people. You have to believe that WHOEVER IS COUNTING YOU OUT CANT COUNT. AND THATS ON THAT.
Trust the process and give yourself time. It’s a journey not a sprint!"
