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Women Share The Biggest Downsides To Being Female

Women Share The Biggest Downsides To Being Female

For me, the absolute worst part of being female has always been watching the men in my life get more for much less effort.

A huge part of that came from being the eldest daughter in a Latin family and watching how my brother was fawned over as if he was a unicorn while the girls were given responsibilities on par with our parents.

But just as much of that frustration comes from just ... ya know ... *gestures vaguely at history, headlines, and life in general* stuff.


Reddit user NotPhantomforce asked:

"Girls, what’s the downside of being a female?"

Turns out frustration at a man-centric world isn't the only thing we agree sucks.

Hormones VS Body

"The way hormones f*ck with your body. First puberty. Then childbirth. And top it all off with menopause."

- 629mrsn

"Don’t forget the monthly cycle…"

- Nugat37

"Don’t get me started on the pages long list of BC side effects."

- rohlovely

"I dont have biological children and my hormones are messing with my body. Women are hormonally fu*ked either way it's just so unfair"

- Delaine1978

"It’s also the fact that women are 3 times more likely to get endocrinological diseases bc of our fu*ked up hormones"

- leathersonja

Big Breast

"Big boobs that hurt my back. Tis a blessing and a curse"

- Ash_Lynx17

"Also BOOB SWEAT"

- SlugKing003

"Having to wear a bra in public and even at home when you have people/family around. At least where I live."

- Objective_Sand_8769

"I’ve wished for decent boobs all of my life. I must have been found on the doorstep because the boobie fairy visited everyone in the family except me. 😢"

"That said, seeing the pain, bother, and expense experienced by my sister, aunts, cousins, etc, I have accepted that ladies with a decent bust really do pay for the privilege!"

"Still just the tiniest bit jealous, though! ❤️"

- Jenny_Pussolini

"Having to pay for a decent bra when you have big boobs otherwise you can't walk, sleep or work."

- theGreat-Marzipan

"The things I'd do to get average-sized boobs and be able to go braless in dresses and tank tops....oh to dream"

- ChanelNo50

enhance weird science GIFGiphy

UTIs

"The complications that come with a vagina. BV again? Uti? Yeast infection from the uti antibiotics? BV came back cause of the yeast infection that you got treating your uti? Such a pain sometimes"

- Advisor_Brilliant

"Tight pants? Wore the same pair of underpants an hour too long? Couldn't quite wipe thoroughly enough because the public bathroom didn't have much TP? Enjoy your BV and/or UTI and/or yeast infection!"

- SevenSixOne

OBGYN

"Having to go to the gynecologist. I literally get lightheaded every time I think of it"

- vivalicious16

"The speculum looks like a torture device. It makes me wanna die just thinking about it tbh"

- RomeoLyshitski

"Recently I changed gynecologist. I was in the stirrups waiting for the pain of the speculum aaaannnd.. nothing. There was no pain. For the first time in my life. If you are having pain, it's time to talk to your OBGYN or change OBGYNs!"

- OC*CKazzie

baby i'm sorry GIF by truTV’s I’m SorryGiphy

IUD's

"That to affordably get an IUD in rural BC you can't have any pain relief at its insertion. You're expected to 'tough it out'"

"Edit: I've noticed that this isn't a problem that is just to Canada and to be honest I believed that European countries would offer numbing or something else. I'm horrified to hear that my story of nearly fainting on the table in silence twice is not just my story and I wish they would treat this procedure properly."

"I've read all your stories and I'm sorry for each and every horror one. As for the ones who did manage to get pain relief of some kind, I'm so glad to hear that. I'm glad your experience was not mine (ours: collective of women with stories like this) and I hope that is the future of this procedure."

- Natural_Sir6189

"Wait are painkillers for IUD insertion a thing? My nurse just told me to take ibuprofen and held my hand lol and I'm in NYC"

- lover_of_pancakes

"I’m in the US and on my 3rd IUD, I didn’t know pain relief for that was a thing anywhere"

- Affectionate-Ad3816

"Comments like these break my heart. Maybe it’s bc my GYN is fairly young, but before I had my first IUD she straight up gave me Valium. She was like 'you don’t have to take this, but you’ll probably want to'.”

- Key-Ad9759

Periods

"Having periods"

- SkyBlueGlitter

"I havent had a period in over 2 years thanks to birth control. Am I a little depressed, a little anxious, and possibly other unknown side effects from it? Maybe, but at least I'm not bleeding...so that's something"

"Edit: I am in a same-sex relationship, and I don't ever want kids, so I couldn't care less about it affecting fertility. It's perfectly fine for me to skip all my periods. I'm actually pretty happy with my bc overall. Even cleared up my acne over time!"

- bluezebra_eleven

"I, for one, revel in the total badassery that is Shark Week by imagining that I am a warrior in an ancient world like Game of Thrones and have secured the defeat of my uterus"

"Or I just sit on the couch and complain with a heating pad."

- bopshebop2

Season 2 Period GIF by AwesomenessTVGiphy

The Pain Is Real

"Nobody believes your pain."

"I was in labor with my first son and was dilated to about a 6. I asked for the epidural because the contractions were bad and I was starting to feel faint. They said “oh I bet you can hold off a little longer. These aren’t that bad yet.” Like excuse me??? No, go get the numbing magic. If I say I’m in pain and need help with it, I mean it."

- etlifereview

"My ma gave birth to me on the hottest day of the year and was severely dehydrated. Technically she wasn’t supposed to take in any fluids while in labor but her heart rate would drop super low, which made MY heart rate drop, so they hooked her up to an IV and she went through so many of those saline bags."

"To top it off she was in labor for over 24 hrs, had gone through TWO epidurals, and I just refused to come out. Mom’s sobbing, screaming “get her out” over and over again."

"Doc comes in and take one look at my mom and goes, “I’ll come back and check in a few more hours.” Mom watches as a nurse grabs his arm and YANKS him back into the room and tells him, 'NO. She cannot do this anymore. We need to get this baby out NOW'.”

"20 mins and one vacuum extraction later, there I was! Mom always credits that nurse for saving her life."

- lilcipher

birth GIFGiphy

"My mom went into labor on a Friday night and went to the hospital the next day. A male doctor said everything was okay, and discharged her without taking anything she was saying into consideration. She continued to be in labor on Sunday, and when she called the hospital about her pain being minutes apart another male doctor asked why she hadn’t come in."

"She told him she had the day before and then my dad had to speed her to the hospital, carefully running every red light. Here’s the kicker, because that first doctor ignored my mom’s pain she wound up having an emergency C-section Sunday night. I was born 3 months prematurely that night in 1993. I’m disabled because of that and my mom sometimes still blames herself even though she did everything right. She couldn’t even sue for malpractice because the first doctor wrote that everything was fine in her chart."

- indoor-girl

They Blame It On The Period

"Any time you express yourself, or get upset about something, even if it's something to get legitimately upset about, you almost always get a 'aRe YoU oN yOuR pErIoD?'."

- zuka88

"ugh, YES. The slightest bit of animation or expression in your voice and it’s immediately ‘omg stop taking it so personally, why are you getting so emotional over this?’. And people wonder why I monotone a lot these days."

- kellerae

"As$holes be roid raging 24/7 but somehow women are the emotional ones."

- lalayatrue

"Omg my ex husband said this to me during our last fight! Yeah it’s my period making me scream at you for being rip roaring drunk at noon on a Tuesday. Kicked him out that day, now he doesn’t have to worry about my cycle."

- Sadielady11

"Any engagement from us that isn’t saccharine is taken as anger and it’s irritating. I’ve politely asked men not to do something and even when I was speaking in a calm manner, the response was 'don’t be so upset'."

- pacificaurora

Assumption of being a caretaker

"The expectation of being a caretaker. Kids, ageing parents, it always seems to be expected of the woman to be in this role."

- Mel_Behaved

"I don’t have a maternal bone in my body. This phenomenon drives me insane."

- throwawaygrosso

"My husband is listed as the primary contact for schools and doctors offices because his job provides a lot more flexibility than mine."

"They still always call me first when they need to reach us about the kids. My daughter was going to have surgery and he was trying to handle the scheduling. He would call and leave a message with the nurse line with his phone number and they would turn around and call me and leave a message on my cell, which I couldn’t answer because I was working and unavailable. I would let him know they called. He would call again and the same thing would happen. It was absolutely maddening."

"Dads can manage the kids, too. Stop assuming moms are the only ones who know what’s going on with the kids."

- Moonlightonthelake80

"I work in a nursing home and the children who are responsible for their parent, getting things done for their parent, communicate with the staff, are always the daughters. The sons hop in every few weeks to say hi to their parent and that’s it."

- DamnHotBananas

The Down LOWS

"A couple of the downsides are..."

"• Continuously taking birth control so I don’t have to deal with a heavy menstrual flow and severe menstrual cramping every month. Even then there are times I menstruate/have severe menstrual cramping despite continuously taking birth control."

"• Wasting money buying pads when I could use that money to buy something else that can come in handy."

lone_wolf1580

Southern Drama

"Boobs in the summer in the south."

No_Aside331

"Sports bras are so much nicer now than they were even a few years ago… and so much better in the summer than conventional bras. My southern boobs feel amazing in the south now."

Marlbey

"I'm just begging for separation. At the end of the day the space between them is so itchy, so I scratch. My nails get full of dead skin coming off since it's been marinating in sweat all day. I'm confident this wouldn't work for very long but I've considered cutting up squares of old t shirts and tucking them between for separation."

Plums_InTheIcebox

I Gotta Go

"Y’all saying periods, what about the period S**TS. Correct me if I’m wrong, but even if you get no cramps the poops i get during makes me feel unworthy of love."

UpbeatBite0

"Ah yes the shaking, sweating, sometimes dry-heaving sh**s. Half a roll of toilet paper you can go back to existing for an hour before nature calls again."

Tiny_Parfait

"Yes, and then hearing from the bf 'how is it possible to use that much toilet paper in one day? You don’t want to know.'"

litttlegirlblue

Nunya

"The fact that I do not want children (3 miscarriages later) is appalling."

Hello_Mister-1202

"I’m sorry that people give you a hard time. That’s extremely frustrating, especially because it happens so often. If they ask if you want to have kids you should... 'Yeah and we’re going to name him Nunya' and if they comment on the name say 'Yeah NUNYA BUSINESS.'"

Makes me mad

"I’m not a woman but I’m married to an awesome one. I am floored by the way some people treat her. Mechanics, carpenters, financial advisors etc. they only want to talk to the man and when they have to interact with her they treat her like an idiot. Makes me mad. Especially because she is the brains and the money manager in our relationship."

Mad Season 9 GIF by The OfficeGiphy

"Edit: I’m glad that this post is getting a lot of attention. Clearly, a lot of women have had to deal with this type of behavior. Seems like the car industry is the most common. All I can add is that my parents raised me right and I’m passing it on to my sons. I hope and expect that these attitudes towards women will become less and less common. Until then, keep fighting the good fight, stand up for yourself and spend your money at businesses that treat you with the respect that you deserve!"

DadJokes4713

Look at me...

"People don’t take me seriously sometimes."

violet-ack

"Combine that with having a baby face. I feel like I get talked down to a lot because I look much younger than I am. I’m 22 but usually get assumed to be somewhere between 13 and 17. 18 at best if I’m at a club or college."

13-Penguins

Tools

"I am a woodworker. The amount of time I waste while men in hardware stores digest that is truly stunning. They mostly seem pretty delighted about 'a woman with tools' but skeptical to various degrees, too. And even having to listen to them tell me how great it is that I'm doing what I'm doing (MY @#{replace2}amp;!! JOB, PEOPLE!!) is exhausting. I just want to pick up my materials and go back to my shop..."

"Edit: Wow, a lot of you wonderful people commented on this! I posted it and then left to go camping in the mountains with no wifi or cell service for a few days, sorry I missed you all! Thank you for your thoughts, and I wish you all perfect clamps, eternally sharp tools, and no splinters!"

rabbitskinglue

Truth

"Walking home from work at night and being harassed or followed by men."

portgas_d_lenka

Michelle Obama GIF by Election 2016Giphy

Patriarchy, periods, and pain ...

Yep. This sucks sometimes.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.