Woman who lost half her weight maintains her figure with ARCHERY
A 300-pound woman who was left feeling suicidal because of her size has revealed how she shed more than half her body weight – and how she maintains her slim new figure by practicing archery.
Amber Hope, 32, from Los Angeles, California, started her weight loss journey in August 2017, and nearly four years later, she weighs 125 pounds.
She has found success as a personal trainer, professional gamer, and actress and trains with a Mongolian horse bow for around three hours each day.
Then and wow: Amber Hope, 32, from Los Angeles, California, has gone from 300 pounds to 125 pounds after starting her weight loss journey in August 2017
Incredible: Amber fell in love with archery following her transformation, and she now practices for three hours a day with a Mongolian horse bow to stay in shape
But before her transformation, Amber used to comfort eat and binge in the evenings while suffering from depression.
‘I would never eat breakfast and I’d always have a small lunch, I’d always just eat a huge dinner,’ she said. ‘I’d eat close to an entire pizza by myself and drink at least five to six cans of soda each day at a minimum.
‘I never drank water. I only drank soda and energy drinks. I would also emotionally eat. Sometimes I’d get so depressed that I’d eat an entire can of Pringles in 10 minutes.’
Amber only began focusing on weight loss when her depression took her to her lowest point.
‘I was so depressed that I wanted to take my life,’ she confessed. ‘I had an epiphany one day… I got a therapist. I started listing some things I wanted to do. I said I wanted to be a game developer. I wanted to act. I wanted to lose weight.’
Looking back: Amber used to comfort eat and binge in the evenings while suffering from severe depression
Scary time: At her lowest point, she considered taking her own life and sought the help of a therapist
Following her time in therapy, Amber began to pursue her goals relentlessly. Within a year of low-carb dieting, cardio, and weight training, she lost 150 pounds.
‘My diet started out very low-carb,’ she explained. ‘I tried to keep my calories around 1,200 per day. I also went vegan.
‘I actually ended up in a book called The Legends of Change when I went vegan. I did a whole foods, plant-based diet.
‘I’m still 80 per cent vegan, but 20 per cent [of the time] I’ll allow myself fish now,’ she added. ‘I also workout six days a week.’
Her success in losing weight served as a catalyst for her to achieve her other life goals, including working as a video game developer and actress.
Life-changing moment: Therapy made Amber realize all the things she wanted to do, including video game development and acting
Motivated: Amber began to pursue her goals relentlessly, starting with weight loss
Before and after: Within a year of low-carb dieting, cardio, and weight training, she lost 150 pounds
‘Next, I did some work on a survival video game,’ she said. ‘I was part of a game design team and I did community outreach and IT work.
‘Then, I took a chance and joined a PUBG tournament with DeadMau5, Kevin Smith, and the Twitch streamer Shroud. I actually won the competition,’ she continued.
‘After this, I started my acting career and was in a promo for season seven of Orange Is the New Black. I was also on MTV’s Flex on my Ex. Finally, I started streaming my workouts and I started personal training.’
After conquering her goals, Amber’s found a new passion in archery.
‘I shoot archery three hours per day,’ she said. ‘My partner started teaching me in February and bought me my first horse bow in March.
Focused: Amber’s partner started teaching her archery in February, and she developed a passion for the sport
Happy: ‘The sport has become like my therapy,’ said Amber, who recently won her first competition
‘I shoot a traditional horse bow, which is rare. You have to be really strong and stable to shoot it. It teaches you to work on your strength and mental strength.
‘I’m shooting 50-55 pound draw weight, which is more than most men. The Mongolian horse bow is a light bow, and it’s hard to hold and use.
‘The sport has become like my therapy,’ she added. ‘I recently won my first competition.’
Amber said that archery has given her newfound confidence and a sense of achievement that she was lacking when she was overweight.
Now she is focused on helping others achieve their weight loss goals.
‘I thought I was stuck when I was overweight, but you’re never stuck,’ she said. ‘I want to teach people self-love.
‘You can’t be so hard on yourself. You have to go about losing weight without being mean to yourself. If you have a goal, don’t give up and don’t give in.’
