Woman Loses 155lbs To Get 'Revenge Body' After She's Rejected on a Date

Single Heather Floda had been looking forward to meeting her date after the pair met online, but just minutes into their encounter, she left feeling humiliated.

Floda hysterically cried during the whole journey home after being told by her date that he dislikes plus-size women.

While the comment was a tough pill to swallow, it was a step in the right direction for Floda, then 352 pounds, as she vowed never to eat fast food again.

Now, four years later, Floda has ditched her bad eating habits and now weighs 197 pounds.

The bartender from Pensacola, Florida, told Newsweek about the moment her heart shattered during the first date in May 2019.

"So when I finally met this guy in person, he didn't like what he saw. He politely told me he wasn't interested in girls who are my size. I got into my car and burst into tears. I remember crying the whole way home. I felt embarrassed, uneasy, and sad.

"The next day, I decided to get my life together. I was 21 and had never had a boyfriend. I wanted to experience love."

Floda turned the negative experience into a positive one and began walking. She also stopped ordering takeaways and learned how to cook, something she had been putting off for years.

She said she used to consume 4,000 calories per day.

"I have always been overweight and I used to use food for comfort," she said. "Nothing else mattered when I was eating; it made me happy. I used to live off takeaways because I didn't know how to cook but I would never buy just one meal, it would always be enough to feed at least two people.

"A typical order from a Mexican would be chicken fajitas with an extra side of tortillas, large cheese dip and guacamole, an extra bag of chips, and a four-cheese enchilada. I used to spend around $300 weekly on junk food."

'I Did Not Have A Social Life Or Friends, I Kept Myself To Myself'

Floda's size 26 frame caused her self-esteem to reach an all-time low. She lacked confidence and found herself becoming a recluse. She shied away from social situations and avoided mirrors at all costs.

"For most of my life, I have been bullied because of my weight," she said. "I developed a thick skin, but that didn't stop the comments from affecting my self-esteem. I didn't have a social life at my heaviest. I didn't have friends, I just kept myself to myself."

Floda now works out five times per week for three hours. She is preparing for a bodybuilding competition that will take place this summer.

"First I started walking and the weight began to drop off," she said. "I lost 14 pounds in one month, which spurred me to continue. I got my revenge body and couldn't be prouder of how far I have come. Now I can't stop looking in the mirror which sounds vein but I love my body."

Why Do People Treat You Differently After Losing Weight?

Research has shown that men and women prefer a slimmer physique. In 2015, more than 1,300 people from the UK and nine other countries took part in the study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

The participants were shown 21 photos of females with different levels of obesity and the results revealed thin photos were favored the most. As obesity increased above that value, the less attractive they were rated.

The subjects were also asked questions, and it turned out that thinness in females was paired with youth and maximal fertility along with a lower risk of diseases.

'Traumatic Events, Such As A Break-Up, Often Triggers The Desire To Lose Weight'

Newsweek reached out to Everflex Fitness founder Michael Hamlin, who has been a personal trainer for more than 15 years.

"It's possible for a traumatic event such as a break up to trigger the desire for weight loss in some people," Hamlin said. "It's incredibly common to see people in the gym who have had a recent breakup. Being scorned by someone else is an incredibly potent motivator in the beginning. It wouldn't be emotionally healthy to maintain that type of motivation for a long period of time, though. The question for each individual is whether or not they can shift their mindset later on into a healthy one that gives them a sustainable change.

"A breakup can bring you 'back down to earth' and make you realize that you are not in the shape that you or your partner expects. The key for these people is to be able to maintain those exercise habits and to make a shift to learning more about a healthy lifestyle so that they can start to exercise for health reasons instead of 'revenge-based reasons.'"

Update 03/20/22 03:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct Heather's surname.