A woman has shared her remarkable “revenge glow up” after shedding seven stone in the year since undergoing gastric sleeve surgery.
Amy Salmon, a business owner from Essex, said a painful breakup shattered her self-esteem and ultimately pushed her toward the life-changing procedure.
The 31-year-old mother-of-two posted her dramatic before-and-after transformation on TikTok, revealing that she has gone from a size 22 to a size 6 in just over 12 months.
Amy, who has since dropped an impressive seven dress sizes, said she was motivated to overhaul her life after ending a long-term relationship in March 2024.
Her transformation has stunned viewers, with some saying she looks like “two different people” — and Amy agrees she is now “unrecognisable” compared with her former self.
Before beginning her weight-loss journey, Amy said she was battling binge eating disorder and felt “horrific,” describing herself as “miserable,” lacking confidence, unaware of her own worth and feeling completely lost.
The turning point came when she looked back at photos from a night out and made an immediate decision to break away from what she saw as “unhealthy” patterns.
Initially, Amy attempted more conventional routes, including cutting back on food and increasing exercise, but said those efforts failed to deliver results for her.
Amy Salmon, a Essex-based business owner was prompted to have the life-changing surgery after a bad breakup left her confidence in tatters. Pictured before the transformation’
She was inspired to make the change after leaving a ‘toxic relationship’ in March 2024 (pictured before)
Speaking on her TikTok account, she said: ‘I’d battled with my weight my entire life, I’d tried every way to lose weight. Nothing stuck, had two babies in two years and had a serious binge eating problem due to undiagnosed ADHD.’
She turned her attention to other avenues for weight-loss, eventually deciding to get to Egypt for a gastric sleeve.
‘I had thought about a gastric sleeve for a very long time, I did so much research,’ she said.
After shelling out for the operation, she immediately noticed the weight begin to slip off.
On TikTok, she has shared details of her weight-loss journey, showing off her incredible transformation in a series of before and after pictures.
One photo montage sharing what Amy looked like before losing a whopping seven stone has since amassed nearly 400,000 views with dozens awed at her incredible transformation.
‘Here I am, over seven stone down less than one year post sleeve – best decision I ever made,’ she said alongside a glamorous selfie.
Explaining how she had used a gastric sleeve to aid her journey, she told viewers she was the ‘happiest and healthiest’ she’s ever been.
The 31-year-old, who is a mother-of-two, took to TikTok to show off her incredible transformation, in which she has trimmed down from a size 22 to a 6 in just over a year. Pictured before the transformation
The content creator has also worked to perfect her appearance by investing in Botox and hair extensions. Pictured after her weight loss
One person commented: ‘People not realising cortisol plays a huge part in an unhappy relationship = weight gain.’
A second said: ‘The glow up after you break up from a toxic person is real’ – a comment that Amy liked.
Others pointed out that Amy looked almost identical to Gemma Owen, former Love Island contestant and daughter of one of football’s biggest stars Michael Owen.
Another said that Amy looked like ‘two completely different people’.
One echoed the sentiment writing: ‘Took me a few swipes back and forth to realise it’s the same person!!! Major glow up!’
‘Is this really the same person wow ! You are pretty on both pictures though. But its like two different people ! You go girl,’ said another.
‘When loved properly by a man you glow, babygirl I’m so glad you learnt to love yourself you are SHINING,’ one viewer encouraged.
And her transformation didn’t just end with weight-loss. The content creator has also worked to perfect her appearance by investing in Botox and hair extensions, and grew out her short bob to flowing Rapunzel locks.
Now, Amy admits she looks ‘unrecognisable’. Pictured after losing seven stone
Her description on TikTok describes herself as a single mother-of-two who is in the process of embarking on her ‘healing journey’.
‘Officially in my don’t give a f*** era. I don’t care what you think of me. I’ll do what I want, when I want and no one can tell me otherwise,’ she wrote underneath one video showing her enjoying a concert with friends.
It comes after a dietitian delivered a no-nonsense message about why so many people struggle to lose weight.
Leanne Ward, a Brisbane-based dietitian and nutritionist, is known for her straight-talking posts on Instagram.
But it was a recent one titled ‘Warning: this may hurt… but you need to hear it’ that cut straight to the heart of the issue.
In it, Ward listed the hard truths she often sees behind her clients’ struggles, challenging some of the most common explanations people give for not losing fat.
‘It’s not your metabolism – you’re just not consistent,’ she wrote.
‘A calorie deficit does work – you’re just not in one. It’s not your hormones – it’s the snacking, poor sleep and no structure.’
She continued with more wake-up calls: ‘You don’t need a gut cleanse – you need more fibre, plants and less ultra-processed food,’ and ‘You’re not addicted to sugar – you’re under-fuelled, over-stressed and emotionally exhausted.’
