My name is Amber and my story begins when I was about 8 years old.I went to a private Catholic school with only 5 other girls in my class. I was a chubby kid who developed fast. I remember a classmate telling me in 2nd grade that I needed a bra and I was fat.I was picked on so much, that my mom transferred me to public school.I even had a family member who I won’t name, who told me I would never be as skinny or as pretty as my cousin.For Christmas she would purposely buy me clothes that wouldn’t fit and diet books.She had issues and needed help herself and eventually got on medicine. I knew she was wrong and that I was pretty, but it still made me believe lies about myself and made me believe I wasn’t pretty or worthy.I believed these lies for the longest time and I still struggle with self-image because of this.

Once in public school I started making a ton of friends, I was very happy and the weight started to fall off and I hit a growth spurt.In middle school (6th Grade.)I was already 5’4” which is my current adult height.This made me a giant compared to all my other 11 year classmates, when I was the already the height of some of my teachers making me awkward yet again.

Come High School I was averaging out a bit more, but gained some weight.I fully believed the lies that I was fat, wasn’t pretty, or boys wouldn’t like me until I got skinny.Then I would be liked.I even had a guy friend who told me “you know you would be pretty if you lost weight.”One guy even called me a gothic fat cow, just because I liked to wear black t-shirts, (Since they are more slimming) I only wore black shirts.I had a few incidents like this throughout high school and comments that stuck with me.

Come college I moved away from my small town in Iowa to Downtown St. Paul.I was ready for a new fresh start and to get away from my small town and make something of myself. At first I loved college but eventually got depressed missing my home, family and friends.I ended up using food as comfort for depression, stress, and anxiety.I packed on the pounds until I moved back home.

Once back home I started going to the gym every day with a friend and started to lose weight again.Fast forward a few years and I started feeling like I would never do anything significant in my life if I stayed at my small home town.We don’t even have a mall and your only job unless you commute an hour to and from is fast food, factory or gas station.I started missing St. Paul and the more opportunities it offered.I thought I would be stuck in my small home town working at Taco bell for the rest of my life.

I eventually moved back to Minnesota, packed whatever I could fit into my small compact car and moved.I didn’t have any furniture or even a mattress just my clothes and whatever I could fit into my car at the time.

A year after moving to Minnesota I met my wonderful husband.I was happy and going out on dates. Eating out all the time, and enjoying life and my soon to be husband. I started putting weight back on.This time it got so out of control, I remember one day driving to work and looking down and being disgusted with how big I was and how it got so out of control so fast.I was only 25 years old and 300lbs.I couldn’t walk upstairs to the nose bleed seats at concerts or events without being out of breath, fit into booths at restaurants and even wanting to do a helicopter ride over the St. Louis Arch but because of my weight was too heavy for even a helicopter!My knees and back constantly hurt and I completely lost my period for 5 years and it was my bodies way of saying I wasn’t healthy enough to even have children because of my weight.

Something needed to change, I have yo-yoed back n forth on weight gain and loss and at this point needed to lose 150lbs to have a healthy BMI. That was half of who I was!!!I knew I couldn’t lose 150lbs on my own with always gaining and losing and losing and gaining I knew that things were too far out of control for me to do on my own this time.On August 6th 2015 I decided to take a huge leap of faith and have weight loss surgery. This was a long process seeing a dietitian for half a year, a 2 week liquid diet with no food what so ever while I was still big and obese was not easy.I have learned so much and it has given me my life back.This is a life style change with healthy eating for the rest of my life.I can no long have cake, ice-cream or soda it forces me to eat healthy. It has given me my life back though and I’m very thankful, I can enjoy walks, go to amusement parks, fit into booths at restaurants, walk upstairs to events without being winded, and I even got my period back and have the possibility of eventually having a baby now.

Dashing Dish has helped me out tremendously.I needed healthy food options (So I don’t get sick) and gain back my weight. My diet consist mostly of protein and protein powder.Our church was having a spring into wellness expo and with my new life style I wanted to go and learn more about health and healthy eating.I’m so glad I did!Katie was there and that’s how I found out about her website.

I believe God let me to stumble on going to that event. To find Dashing Dish.Without it I probably would be back to my old habits again.I needed 65 Grams of protein a day but with only ½ a cup of food per meal.So I couldn’t just eat a steak.I thought I was going to have to live off protein shakes for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner for the rest of my life to get my daily protein needs.Without Dashing Dish I know I would have gone back to the way I ate before, because I would be getting sick of protein shakes.I never even through of baking and cooking things I with protein powder in them now I can have food I enjoy, but a healthy version that doesn’t make me sick and helps me get my daily protein in.

I am so glad God led me to this website.I don’t know what kind of food I would be eating today if I didn’t find out about Dashing Dish though church.Life can change and you can move forward in your life and be transformed. God can make something new and beautiful out of you.