A woman who says men dumped her for being “too big” has revealed how she’s now the one doing the rejecting after losing a staggering 180lbs.
Heather Floda started her weight-loss journey after being turned down following a first date with a man she met on a dating app.
At the time, the now 28-year-old weighed 355lbs and admits the constant rejection “hurt deeply”.
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“It hurt because I know what I bring to the table,” Heather, now an online fitness coach, told Need To Know.
“And I remember almost every date, being told: ‘You’re beautiful, I just don’t date bigger women.’
“I would go through a drive-through and binge.
“That was my coping mechanism.
“But how can I expect someone to love me if I don’t love myself first?”
That moment, she says, was her turning point.
She said: “At the start of my weight-loss journey I felt like I had no other choice.
“I had to learn to find time to cook meals and get my steps in.
“I was a full-time college student and worked full-time, so I always tried to make excuses about why I couldn’t cook a meal at home.
“I found exercise tiring to begin with.
“I remember when I first joined the gym I didn’t know what I was doing and people would stare at me.
“I cut out all fast food and started to focus on eating whole foods.”
Heather began drinking more water and portioning her snacks into little bags of trail mix and popcorn for the week ahead.
She said: “At first it was hard to adjust but it got easier.
“I’ve done it all completely naturally, just changing my diet and focusing on getting 10,000 steps a day.
“I didn’t join a gym until I was 80lbs down.”
After three and a half years of hard work, Heather had shed 180lbs in total.
She said: “After losing the weight I had a tremendous amount of self-respect for myself, something I never had before.
“I also had confidence that I didn’t know I had.
“Confidence is truly a muscle that you have to train.
“It was also so satisfying being able to reject the people who were mean to me previously because of my weight – 100%.
“Those men think that I did this for them.
“When in reality I did it because I wanted to see what I was really capable of.”
And she says some of those same men have even tried to crawl back.
Heather said: “I’ve had so many exes texting me or sliding into my messages.
“I even had friends I’d cut ties with trying to reconnect.
“It’s really crazy to see how many people want to be in your life when you’re doing really well for yourself.”
Now, Heather says her weight loss has changed her everyday life too.
She said: “I remember the first time I was on a plane since gaining the weight and I booked a first-class ticket because I knew the seats were wider.
“The flight attendant came to my seat as soon as I sat down and passed me a seatbelt extender. I didn’t even ask for it – she just gave it to me and assumed I needed it. I did.
“It just felt like I was being judged.
“Now after losing the weight I can fit comfortably into an economy seat and everyone is so nice to me.
“Doors are held open by random strangers, people look at me passing by and tell me ‘You’re so beautiful.’
“I never got that when I was 355lbs.
“I feel like the world is more accepting now that the weight is gone!”
Today, Heather, from Tampa, Florida, is engaged and expecting her first baby.
She said: “I met my fiancé in a bar and I felt very confident on our first date.
“We went to the beach and I was wearing a red bikini, and I never let the loose skin or the stretch marks get in my head.
“To this day he makes me feel like I’m the most beautiful girl on this planet.
“He loves me without makeup, with bed head in the morning – he loves me for me, not for how I look.
“I had to choose how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.
“I knew if I kept gaining weight and eating foods that weren’t good for me, I would have a very short life.
“And I’d never get the life I wanted – which is a family.
“Because I chose to do the hard things and face my fears, I now have the family that I always wanted.”
And to anyone else wanting to follow in her footsteps, Heather shared a message.
She added: “Just start, and start now.
“There’s no perfect time and it’s very scary.
“But every day you wait is another day you could have gotten closer to your goals.
“I can confidently say if I never lost the weight, I would not be where I am today.”
DAY OF EATING BEFORE
Breakfast: Eight eggs, full pack of bacon, one bagel, Diet Coke or two sausage and egg McMuffins from McDonald’s, one sausage burrito, one hash brown and a large caramel frappe.
Lunch: Large Big Mac meal from McDonald’s and a Diet Coke.
Dinner: Family size frozen lasagna or takeaway chicken fajitas with extra tortillas with a large cheese dip and salsa.
DAY OF EATING NOW
Breakfast: 150g egg whites, three slices of turkey bacon and a bagel.
Lunch: One serving of grilled chicken bites.
Dinner: Ground turkey or chicken breast, taco bowl or high protein pasta.
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