Miss USA contestant reveals how she lost 170 pounds after a humiliating theme-park incident

Tonight, Michigan representative Amber Uhler will take the stage in Miami, Florida, to find out whether her name will be called among the winners of the Miss USA national pageant.

The image is strikingly different from who she was five years ago. Back then, Uhler weighed around 300 pounds, and a doctor warned her that she was heading straight toward “an early grave.”

After taking those alarming words to heart — and experiencing a deeply humiliating ordeal at a trampoline park — the 41-year-old Uhler decided to lose the excess weight once and for all. Today, she proudly shows off her remarkable transformation.

“I know, I’m crazy,” she admitted in an interview with People. “I signed up to go on television in a bikini right after losing about 170 pounds.”

Five years ago, Uhler was living with obesity and was on the verge of developing prediabetes.

Her doctor bluntly told her that, given her condition, she might not live to see her children graduate from college. Just days later, while spending time with her kids at a trampoline park, she found herself completely stuck in a pit filled with foam blocks.

“It never even crossed my mind that I might not be able to get out. I didn’t realize just how much my weight was limiting me until I was waist-deep in that pit and completely stuck,” she told Canvas Rebel.

“Three strong, athletic guys tried to form a human chain to pull me out, but even they couldn’t do it. They were already talking about calling the fire department,” she added in an interview with People. “I have never felt so humiliated in my life.”

Like many women, Uhler struggled with the dramatic physical changes that followed pregnancy. She had three children in just four years and found herself living “half a life,” unable to even climb the stairs in her own home.

That visit to the doctor ultimately “saved her life.” Uhler realized that drastic changes were necessary.

“I knew I needed to lose a crazy amount of weight, and I understood that I needed an equally crazy goal to make it happen,” she said.

That ambitious goal became competing in a beauty pageant.

“I knew it was going to take incredible discipline, structure and a willingness to keep going even when I messed up. There were hard days — you wake up in the morning and there are a dozen doughnuts sitting in bed. But I had to pull myself together and start over.”

Uhler eventually realized that intense fitness would never become something natural, enjoyable or genuinely fun for her. Still, she gradually incorporated simple physical activity into her daily life, including walks with her children and active games at the park.

The biggest key to her transformation, however, was changing her diet.

After trying various programs, including Weight Watchers, she eventually settled on Jenny Craig. Having ready-made, portion-controlled meals delivered every two weeks eliminated the guesswork from cooking and helped prevent the overeating that had previously been a serious problem for her.

She maintained that lifestyle for three and a half years, during which she lost 170 pounds.

In 2024, she won the title of Mrs. Florida Universe.

In 2025, she was crowned Mrs. Universe USA.

This year, she was named Miss Michigan USA and is now competing for the crown at the 75th annual Miss USA competition.

At 41, she is the oldest contestant in this year’s competition. But after everything she has overcome, Uhler says her “confidence has skyrocketed.”