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Concealed Carry Permit Holders Share Why They've Had To Pull Their Firearm

Concealed Carry Permit Holders Share Why They've Had To Pull Their Firearm
RonBailey/Getty Images

An argument gun owners like to use in the debate surrounding the 2nd Amendment is, "Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." While you could make a slew of counter-arguments against that kind of thinking, the following stories might be the sway the gun owner side needs to defend their ground.


Reddit user, u/Restroom406, wanted to know about those tense moments when they asked:

Concealed carry permit users who have pulled your firearm, what happened?

It's not something you would want to happen, but it does seem like they're ready to go when the s-word gets real.

Rage On The Road

"Road rage inccedent."

"There was a guy in front of me at a red light. Its a long red. It finally turns green. He's busy texting, light turns yellow, then red again. He has a passenger. Passenger is just looking at the driver and yelling. The light turns green again, Im still waiting. This time I tap the car horn, the passenger looks back through the rear window, then opens his door, gets out and starts kicking my passenger side window and trying to get in my car."

"The door was locked but I couldn't drive off because i was too close to the car he got out and there was someone right behind me. He tried kicking my mirror off, missed, got more mad, came to the drivers side, tried getting in again... i was in shock and didn't know what to do for the first like... 5-10 seconds of this happening. More in shock out of disbelief than anything... then I remembered I had my ccw, drew it in the car and the guy held his hands up got back in the passengers seat and then the next green light came and it was over. The whole thing was surreal."

toxic_badgers

A Sale To Remember

"Wasn't me but a friend of mine (we'll call him Nick) was selling his Harley on Craigslist. Someone agreed to meet him at his house to look at the bike and buy it. 2 people pulled up in a car and they started doing the negotiations. He then asked Nick if he could test ride the bike to which he said sure. The buyer rode off with the bike and his friend started to get in the car. Nick is now realizing that their intention the whole time was to take the bike for a test drive and never return."

"As the buyers friend is putting the key in the ignition, Nick points a gun at his head and says, "is it really worth dying for?" Nick says "you're gonna get a call from your buddy here in a minute asking where you are and why you're not at the spot you were going to meet him afterwards." Sure enough his phone rings and it's his buddy asking him where he is. Nick makes him get on his knees and waits for the cops to arrive."

gio_drifts

"Damn. Did your friend get his bike back?"

"What happened to the two idiots?"

JCkent42

"Yeah he got the bike back pretty easily. I mean he was essentially holding the dipsh-ts buddy hostage so he didn't have much of a choice but to return it. As for what happened to the idiots I think the cops came and arrested them but can't remember 100% I'll ask him the next time I see him to make sure"

gio_drifts

Living alone, in this world, is certainly a risk depending on the area you reside in. Fret not: keep a gun in your side table by the bed.

Living Alone But Never Afraid

"My mom conceal carrys legally and she has pulled it a lot of times. She lives way out in rural Alabama. Her driveway is 1 mile long legit. She has no neighbors. Cops are an hour away minimum. She had to pull it on some redneck poacher hunters on her property when they were being [sassy] and intimidating to her. Since they were hunters they already had their guns out. She told them to get off her property and pulled out her handgun-they high tailed it out of there at that point."

"Another time she was driving with my stepdad down a highway at like 4 in the morning or something. They live to travel super late at night/early in the morning. No one else on the road. Some truck tries to run them off the road-she pulls out her handgun and shows it to the truck driver and he takes off and leaves them alone."

"I think in her case I was glad she had the gun. It lets people know if you want to f-ck with her-you may not survive it. and then they think better and leave."

nonailsnodrag

Do You Really Want To Stand Up To A Bear Gun?

"Not CCW,but didn't need it in Alaska."

"We lived at the top floor apartment in a slightly less then desirable area of Anchorage. Not the worst but bad enough. Guy is pounding on my door at 3 AM screaming for Joe to let him in and sounding very angry. I answered the door in my boxers holding my Ruger Redhawk .44 I carry for bears (loaded with Alaska backpacker rounds, 425 grain hardcast). He just backed up put his hands up and said "sorry, dude, wrong apartment". I said "you think?"

Mtcowbou

Making A Choice For Your Loved Ones

"Walking with my disabled little brother near my house when a bulldog charged us. I had it mostly out of the holster when the dog hit the end of its rope. I didn't even see the rope until the dog hit it; all I saw was a blur of a big dog rushing me and thinking about my little brother who can't run."

scapholunate

A Night In Central Texas

"...My wife (then-girlfriend) and I were leaving a theater at ~9PM. The middle of the parking lot was always kind of dark at night, which meant I paid a lot more attention while walking through it."

"This night I notice two teenagers walking towards the theater as we walk away. They're both wearing hoodies and step out from a car that's still running with the driver at the wheel. Mind you, this is August in Central Texas. Nobody is wearing hoodies, even at night. Especially not with the hoods up."

"So these jokers walk past me and my girlfriend is still talking. Completely oblivious to the whole thing. But I'm watching, and one of the kids turns abruptly and I see him reaching under his hoodie to his waistband. When his elbow starts moving back, I decide to pull my gun."

"Whatever this kid was pulling out of his waistband, obviously it wasn't as hot as my Glock 19. Both these f-ckers start running like Usain Bolt and disappear into the parking lot."

"I will add that I'm REALLY glad I didn't have to shoot them. In fact, my Glock didn't even make it out of the holster before those idiots were gone. The optimist in me says it was some teenagers doing some dumb sh-t, and they've learned to not lead that kind of lifestyle. Realistically, they probably just found someone else on another night."

Ovvr9000

All joking aside, the gun industry has trained its consumers to think that there's danger around every corner and at any given moment someone is coming to kill you and everyone you love.

Don't mistake that with the real thought which is there might come a time when a person accosts you, hoping to take your wallet or phone, but it's not nearly as often as you think.

An Intimidating Mat

"I worked at a convenience store. One night the wind had been blowing like a son of a b-tch messing up the liners in the outside trash cans with trash ending up in the cans but not the liners. Instead of dragging each can individually I loaded them up in the back of my truck and backed down the little side driveway to the dumpster."

"As I exited my vehicle I saw someone come around the side of the building towards me. There is absolutely no reason to be back there. I reached under my seat pulled my pistol yelled "Freeze!" and realized I had trained my gun on a plastic mat hung out to dry."

sortakindah

Waiting Until You Get Home

"I had to pick my wife up at the airport one night. We got back to our house at around 2am. My wife had left her pursue in the truck so she went back out to get it. She comes running back in screaming because some guy had been hiding in our bushes and poped out on her as she was getting into the truck. She escaped him and ran inside screaming. I grabbed my gun and a flash light and turned on the guy. He froze and I told him to lay on the ground and held him there until the cops came to arrest him."

"Protip: If you tell 911 you are holding someone at gun point they get there REALLY fast."

IxJAXZxI

"I don't even remember what I was thinking."

"I'm a very petite girl in my late 20s, had someone tap on my window one night while I was at a gas station (they were closed, pumps still operating) in a kind of sketchy neighborhood in my big city (FL). I hadn't even gotten out of my car to pump gas as I was still looking for my debit card. Guy was trying to rob me or steal my car, I honestly don't know cause he had a mask over his nose and mouth with a hoodie and I couldn't hear but I did see he had a gun partially coming out of his hoodie pocket (those middle ones)."

"I felt my heart in my throat but somehow I pulled mine out of my purse and pointed it and he ran like hell. I assume some punk kid with a fake gun maybe. But I cried like hell once I got out of there and parked somewhere safer. I don't know what would've transpired had he had an actual gun. I don't even remember what I was thinking."

BanginBetty

A Face You've Never Seen

"I pulled my firearm in my own home. It was a quiet afternoon and I was lying in bed to take a nap when my home security system let me know an unknown face was at my front door. Not unusual I get packages all the time and my phone always lets me know when an unfamiliar face is at the door."

"Anyway i just wanted to take a nap so I didn't go looking into it I figured I'd just get the package later, then my phone indicated that my front door had been opened. I open the app and see on the video feed two men had entered my home so I hit the send help button and got my weapon when the two men opened the door to my room all it took was them seeing the gun in my hand to run away."

Hella_hoot

A Lion Or A Kitty

"My dog ran away from me while I was on a hike in the woods (yanked the leash right out of my hands). He bolted to chase after some noise I didn't hear. I followed him the best I could by using his barks and listening to general rustling noises in the woods (he is not a graceful pup). As I got closer to where I thought he was the trees were pretty thick and I started to hear a low growling noise that I associated with a mountain lion (I've never heard a mountain lion, to the best of my knowledge at least)."

"I drew my gun then because I suspected that I was about to walk up on this mountain lion eating my dog. I would need it out of self defense. Luckily, it turned out to be a house cat that had perched itself in a tree to avoid my dog. I could have sworn that growl was from something ten times bigger."

DeFactoLyfe

It Is The Age Of Uber and Lyft

"Some guy opened the door and got into the passenger seat of my car while I was sitting at a red light while driving through an industrial area of my town late at night. I had just dropped off a friend at his work on a night shift, so the doors were unlocked (older car, no auto locks) He was going across the crosswalk, and veered off to the side of my car when he got to it then opened the door and got in. I had started drawing my gun as soon as he changed direction at my car, so it was out and ready when he got in. He turned toward me to say something, I was pointing the gun at him, and I said "what the f-ck are you doing?". He stammered something unintelligible, got out and ran off."

"He might have mistaken me for someone else, like a lyft or uber or something but I wasn't about to sit there and wait to see what his intentions were. Nobody got carjacked/mugged and nobody got shot, so it all worked out in my opinion."

baron556

Not Sure What You're Holding There

"I have once and it scared the sh-t out of me. I do hvac and when I started at my current company they were very new and would take all the work we could get so that meant going into some unsavory areas. I was looking at an AC unit for a slumlord we were dealing with at the time when some large dude came into the backyard and had me cornered while screaming about me trespassing and some other unintelligible stuff. He had what I'm assuming was a machete, could have been a lawnmower blade, in his hand and kept pointing it at me. I knew he wasn't the tenant as the property was vacant."

"I pulled my gun from my holster in my waistband and made it very clear that I would shoot him. I don't even know if I would have because I was terrified. I'm a big guy and he could have manhandled me. After what couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes he back backed off and I grabbed my tools and hauled a-- back to my van. Ended up not doing anymore work for that guy. It's a really sh-tty feeling, especially after the adrenaline wears off."

dustinator

"The fact that I'm a 6'2" 250lb male did nothing to discourage him."

"Didn't draw but was open carrying and at the ATM getting money to pay the sitter after a evening out + dinner. So it's dark, around 9:30pm or so. As I started working the ATM, my spidey sense started going off. I glanced left, saw nothing, to the right, and something was amiss. I stopped looking for detail and started looking for movement. I saw a dark silhouette of a person sneaking along the wall."

"The ATM was lit up like the noon day sun. So I took a half step left, made sure that my firearm was plainly visible, and continued my transaction. While paying attention to the guy trying to sneak up on me. When he got close enough, he realized I was armed. His eyes got huge, he bolted away, and every couple of steps, glanced back to see if I was chasing him."

"It's a bad idea to approach someone, in a skulking manner, at night, specifically staying in the shadows. Doing that means you have ill intent. The fact that I'm a 6'2" 250lb male did nothing to discourage him."

"I'm glad I was armed."

MyWorkAccount2018

Do you have similar gun-out-of-holster stories? Share them in the comment section below.

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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.