I spent £4,000 a year on takeaways and was eating myself to death – but now I can’t wait to wear crop tops after losing 7st with gastric sleeve surgery
- Ashlie Foster, from Aintree, Merseyside, tipped the scales at 17st at her heaviest
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A size 24 junk food addict who feared she’d ‘eat herself to death’ guzzling £4,000 of takeaways a year has shed more than 7st – and now can’t wait to flaunt a belly piercing on her new trim tum.
Ashlie Foster, from Aintree, Merseyside, who tipped the scales at 17st at her heaviest, said she’d been big from a young age and that every shopping trip ended in tears in the changing rooms.
Caught in a vicious cycle, the 5ft 4in 25-year-old struggled with a binge-eating disorder where she would mindlessly devour crisps, chocolates, and chocolate dessert pots for comfort all day.
The speech and language therapy student also forked out £80 a week on takeaways alone, consuming large portions of Chinese, Indian or pizza twice a week.
Ashlie found herself constantly yo-yo dieting, which would result in even more weight gain after each attempt, but when she hit 17st she knew things had to change.
Ashlie Foster, from Aintree, Merseyside, has shed more than 7st – and now can’t wait to flaunt a belly piercing on her new trim tum
Ashlie tipped the scales at 17st at her heaviest, and admits she was ‘eating herself to death’
Now a slinky size 10 Ashlie feels ‘on top of the world’ and can’t wait to sport crop tops to show off her new figure
After feeling like a ‘bad mum’ to her three kids, she forked out more than £3,000 to jet off to Turkey for a gastric sleeve op last January [2022] and dropped to 10st 6lbs.
Despite her weightloss Ashlie felt ‘low’ about her loose skin so plumped for a body lift and breast lift in April to trim off almost a stone of loose skin, leaving her at 9st 8lbs.
Now a slinky size 10 Ashlie feels ‘on top of the world’ and can’t wait to sport crop tops and finally get her belly button pierced.
Ashlie said: ‘Life before weight loss was really hard. It was probably the lowest point of my life.
‘I just felt like a really bad mum. That was probably the biggest drive.
Despite her weightloss Ashlie felt ‘low’ about the loose skin she was left with around her stomach
Ashlie was still unhappy with her body after being left with a pouch of losse skin on her stomach (left). She underwent a ‘360 body lift’ and breast reduction surgery to get rid of skin on lower back and on hips (right)
Fashion lover Ashlie is also now enjoying being more adventurous with her wardrobe after working hard for her new physique and says she feels ’empowered and confident’
‘I just couldn’t do the things with them [my kids] that I wanted to. I knew that I wasn’t a fun mum.
‘I wanted to be here with them for as long as I possibly can. I knew that if I carried on I’d eat myself to death.
‘The thought of them losing me young actually broke my heart. It just snapped inside of me one day.
‘I couldn’t even walk up the stairs without being out of breath, run around or keep up with them.
‘ I wouldn’t be willing to even join in with the activities and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it.
‘I didn’t want to go out anywhere, to the park or to be around other mums.
Ashlie in hospital before her 360 body lift surgery in Turkey
The mother-of-three said she loves her glamorous new look and also has the energy to run around with her children
‘I’d have much rather stayed in, which wasn’t fair on them. I was very conscious of how sweaty I was and how I looked.
‘In my mind I thought it was better for them to not be seen with me because it was embarrassing but in hindsight that was never the case, they loved me regardless.’
Ashlie said she knew that the only way to stop her binge-eating would be by ‘physical restriction’, as she felt like she’d exhausted all other options.
Ashlie said: ‘I had a binge-eating disorder and food was my comfort. I’d use it to feel better but it’d end up making me feel worse.
‘Each time I lost weight, I put it back on. Every time I put it back on, I’d be bigger than the time I was before. It got worse every time I went through the cycle of it.
After feeling like a ‘bad mum’ to her three kids, she forked out more than £3,000 to jet off to Turkey for a gastric sleeve in January 2022
Before Ashlie’s gastric sleeve surgery (left) she struggled with binge eating. Right: Ashlie now loves going shopping for new clothes and says that she’s ‘cried happy tears’
‘I knew that there was no way I was going to come back from my binge eating disorder by myself and keep it off.
‘[When I’d binge] I’d eat absolutely everything in sight. I didn’t eat out of hunger, I just ate because it was there.
‘I’d eat to the point of feeling sick and I just wouldn’t stop myself. It was absolutely insane the amount of food I could eat.’
After weighing up her options, Ashlie opted for a gastric sleeve operation in Turkey.
Ashlie’s diet before
Breakfast: Two bowls of Coco Pops
Snack: Crisps
Lunch: A footlong Subway sandwich, drink, and cookie or Greggs pasty, cake and sausage roll
Snack: Large bar of Galaxy caramel
Dinner: Two portions of homemade lasagna with cheesy garlic bread
Dessert: Chocolate pots and more chocolate bars
TOTAL CALORIES BEFORE WEIGHT-LOSS OP – 4,000 CALORIES A DAY
Ashlie’s diet now
Breakfast: A child-sized bowl of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes or two toasted bagel thins with cream cheese
Snacks: Protein bar or mini cheeses
Lunch: A wrap or soup or sandwich thin, or sometimes leftovers from the night before
Dinner: Home-cooked chicken stir-fry or cottage pie
Dessert: Fruit or a protein yoghurt
TOTAL CALORIES AFTER WEIGHT-LOSS OP – BETWEEN 1,400-1,800 CALORIES A DAY
Ashlie found the drastic change in how much she could eat difficult, only being able to manage four forkfuls of food in one sitting.
For the first fortnight after surgery she was on a liquid diet before moving onto puree and eventually soft solids, like cauliflower cheese.
Ashlie said: ‘It took me a long time to learn my body’s signals and learn what actual hunger looked like and felt like.
‘I always felt like I was hungry, but I wasn’t physically hungry.
‘I had to learn what feeling full and satisfied felt like without feeling full to the point of feeling sick.
‘It was quite hard to unlearn the behaviours I’d known for so long. It felt like I was a baby again, learning the skill for the first time.
‘As time has gone on, I do eat a lot more now than in the early stages but, I still can’t eat a portion size as a normal person would, never mind anywhere close to what I used to eat.’
Since reaching 10 stone 6 lbs in December, her weight began to plateau.
Still feeling low due to loose skin, she underwent a ‘360 body lift’ and breast reduction surgery to get rid of skin on lower back and on hips.
Now 9st 8lbs, Ashlie is dedicated to her healthier lifestyle through exercising regularly and is still mindful of what she eats.
Ashlie said: ‘With clothes on, I felt amazing. I felt so good. I started to take on new hobbies that I’d never had the confidence to do before losing the weight. I’d put myself out there more in social situations.
After slimming down to 10st 6lbs, Ashllie said she still looked bigger because of the excess skin on her stomach
‘But when the clothes came off, I still felt really quite low. I felt like I’d tried so hard and should be happier than I was.
‘Without clothes I felt like I had the body of an older person because my skin elasticity wasn’t great.
‘It was all on my tummy so I knew that I was a lot smaller than I appeared, but that you couldn’t see it under the skin.
‘Now that it’s gone, I just feel on top of the world to be honest. I can’t even describe what it’s done for me. I look at myself and think ‘who is that?’.’
Fashion lover Ashlie is also now enjoying being more adventurous with her wardrobe after working hard for her new physique.
Ashlie said: ‘I genuinely like what I see for the first time in my life. It makes me feel so empowered and confident.
‘The concept of liking my reflection was always so alien to me. Now that I do, it’s been quite hard to wrap my head around but really enjoyable.
‘Shopping was never a happy experience for me prior to weight loss. It always ended up in tears in the changing room.
‘Nothing would fit and if it did I hated the way it looked on me. Now, it’s very much the opposite. I really like going into the changing rooms and wearing things.
‘I’ve dreamed of wearing belly tops since I was a child. I didn’t want to wear them because I knew I was bigger and knew my belly would be hanging out.
‘I’m going to get my belly pierced soon, I’ve wanted it for so long.
‘I like being who I am, I’m not jealous of anybody else or want to be anybody else. I feel so grateful to both surgeons, they’ve changed my life and it makes me quite emotional.
‘I’ve cried so many happy tears.’
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