SUCCESS STORY / Amber Beck, 31: From 200 pounds to 143 pounds

Amber Beck, 31, of Atlanta lost 57 pounds
In the photo on the left, taken in May 2018, Amber Beck weighed 186 pounds. In the photo on the right, taken this month, she weighed 143 pounds. (Photos contributed by Amber Beck )

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

In the photo on the left, taken in May 2018, Amber Beck weighed 186 pounds. In the photo on the right, taken this month, she weighed 143 pounds. (Photos contributed by Amber Beck )

Former weight: 200 pounds

Current weight: 143 pounds

Height: 5 feet 4 inches

Age: 31 years

How long she’s kept it off: Started in March 2018 and reached her goal in September 2018.

Personal life: “I live in the Smyrna/Vinings area of Atlanta. I’m a social worker and health coach. After I lost my weight, I went to Emory and got certified as a health and wellness coach (ece.emory.edu/certificate-programs/health-coach) in 2019,” said Beck, who started her own online coaching business in 2019: Queendom Health and Wellness (www.queendomhealthandwellness.com). “We do coaching and have a virtual fitness studio.”

Turning point: “I was getting ready for a wedding; I was the maid of honor and the bride wanted me in this mermaid gown,” Beck said. When the largest gown didn’t fit, she talked to her doctor. “I was on blood pressure medication at the time, I started doing the keto diet ... I really wanted it to be a mindset and lifestyle change,” she said. “... Yo-yo dieting is no fun, and you don’t maintain that result.”

Diet plan: She follows a low-carb diet. Breakfast is eggs with cheese and sausage, coffee with heavy cream and sugar-free flavorings. Lunch is protein with vegetables; dinner is a tuna wrap. She does intermittent fasting, stopping daily after 5 p.m.

Exercise routine: “I work out at least three times per week,” Beck said. “I teach a step class, so that is kind of like a given on Tuesdays Thursdays, and Saturdays. I do virtual boot camp, too, at 6 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. All of these are through Zoom.”

Biggest challenge: “Getting out of the diet mindset and just staying in a place where I don’t want to go back to blood pressure medicine ever again,” Beck said. “I was like 25, and (her doctor) said I would have to be on this for the rest of my life. We were able to reverse that three years later.”

How life has changed: “I have more energy,” Beck said. “I look and feel better, my confidence is through the roof. ... My biggest piece of advice is working on your mindset ... being kind to yourself, and showing yourself grace — it’s a mindset.”

Beck is hosting the virtual Adjusting Your Crown Women’s Conference on June 28 at 5 p.m. (EDT) on Zoom. For more information or to register: www.queendomhealthandwellness.com/adjusting-your-crown-conference


Share Your Success: Each week, Success Stories focuses on an individual’s unique weight-loss journey. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not endorse any specific weight-loss program but includes names and links for the benefit of readers who want further information. Have you lost weight successfully with a healthy lifestyle change? If you would like to share your story with our readers, please include your email address, phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG), and contact us at: Success Stories, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or email reporter Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.