Amber Rachdi – 600lbs to Instagram Star
Growing up, Amber Rachdi was not your average teenager.
While her peers spent days being out and about, Amber’s weight kept her homebound.
Although eating disorders are pretty common during teenage years, Amber Rachdi’s situation was more than serious.
The inspirational teen was only 22 years old when we met her. But her peak weight at that age was a whopping 657 pounds.
This hindered Rachdi’s life as a normal teen as she was unable to do normal things like taking a bath, let alone hang out with friends.
She finally decides to turn her life around by taking part in the weight loss series My 600-Lb Life Season 3.
Amber Rachdi’s results from the show are more than impressive!
Nevertheless, the now fit and famous star refuses to do The TV show Where Are They Now? Episode and her reasons are shocking.
Amber Rachdi’s Weight Loss Journey
Amber Rachdi was born on June 22nd, 1990 in Portland, Oregon.
You will probably know Amber Rachdi now as a social media star.
As glad as we are that she’s now shining brighter than ever, her journey wasn’t an easy one.
Even at the young age of five, she already weighed around 160 pounds.
Faced with anxiety and an eating disorder, Rachdi turned to food and binge eating as her escape as she grew into her teenage years.
Amber sadly admits:
“I have a lot of anxiety and I am at peace when I eat.”
“I’ve tried so hard, so many times, to change the way I eat. But I can’t. I’m already such a failure. Why not just keep failing?”
The over-eating led her to her peak weight of 657 pounds.
Homebound and unable to do normal things like taking a bath, she decides to turn her life around with some big changes.
Amber joined the third Season of the TLC’s My 600-Lb Life when she was 24 years old.
Amber’s 600-Lb Life
Upon joining the show, Amber and her supportive family travelled to Houston, Texas to meet Dr. Younan Nowzardian.
She agrees to make a few big changes in her life and her results are astounding!
With the help of Dr. Younan and her amazing support system, Rachdi not only managed to lose 400-Lbs, but she’s also happier and fitter than ever!
What did she do for her successful weight loss?
Amber reduced her daily calorie intake and increased her physical activity little by little, day by day.
After she lost her first 20 pounds on her own, Dr. Younan agreed to let her undergo a gastric bypass surgery.
However, for Amber this wasn’t just a quick fix for her weight loss, but more like a motivation to get on the right track.
A motivated Amber said:
“I think mostly what it (gastric bypass) does is buy an overweight person time to learn new habits, get into therapy, and learn to make better choices on their own.”
You go, girl!
On top of this, the inspirational star was also seeing a therapist to cope with her anxiety disorders.
However, I’m sure we can all agree that her dedication, perseverance, and tenacity was what got her to lose 400 pounds in total!
Where Is Amber Now?
Despite her impeccable success story, Amber refuses to return for a Where Are They Now? Episode where they catch up with past contestants for each season.
And it’s not because she’s shy.
Amber apparently did not have a good time while filming.
Besides the filming being ‘uncomfortable’, Rachdi commented:
“The experience was very disorganized and jarring and there’s not a whole lot I can say using my grown-up tact. They ran late, reshot difficult to replicate scenes, and really sort of acted like bullies.”
Don’t be disheartened though as Amber regularly posts updates of her life on her social media where she’s gathered a whopping 65,000 followers on her Facebook alone!
From her updates, we can see a beaming Amber who seems more motivated and confident due to her amazing experience.
We hope Amber Rachdi’s journey only goes up from there!
