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Restaurant Patrons Demand "Sit Me With Your Hottest White Server"—And The Bar Drags Them

Reddit user mattdacoolcat shared an unfortunately all too familiar story of discrimination from their days as a restaurant host:

It was a group of middle aged guys. They're regulars, but they're annoying as hell, and they always ask for the hottest server. As a host, I usually just sit them with whoever. The last time they came in, I sat them with D, a really sweet black girl who's one of our best servers. They were FURIOUS. They never said anything to me or a manager, but they claimed everything was wrong. The food was too cold. The drinks were flat. She was way too slow. She was rude. They left a 25¢ tip and left not long after.

This time, they specified they wanted a hot WHITE server. I said "okay!" and with a smile, I walked them over to their table. I specifically sat them with the only male server, a tall, black, bodybuilder who towered over all of them. He's a really cool guy, but he can be slightly intimidating to people that don't know him just due to his stature.

They never said a word.

Tl;dr: Buncha pervs asked for a hot white girl, got a big black guy.

Users were understandably upset by the actions of these men, and shared their ire in the comments.

Some responses have been edited for content/clarity.

Forced interaction

Imagine being so inept at talking to women that hitting on your waitress, someone who is forced to interact with/be nice to you, is the best shot you have at meeting someone.

-Xsy

Right of Refusal

You’ve got the right to kick people out for announcing their intention to sexually harass your coworkers btw. I’d suggest using that power.

-Quaperray

Sex Appeal

Why do so many guys just feel entitled to have sex appeal added to their every experience? Next time I go to church I’m requesting only the hot preacher in the slutty priest outfit so I can really enjoy my religious experience. And I’ll slap every male butt I see on the way out. (Side note...why are slutty nun outfits a thing??)

-justagal_008

Giphy

Others disagreed with their methods.

100% would kick people out for this. These people are here to harass someone who is trying to do their job. They should be there to get food, not flirt with people who are being paid to get you food or drinks.

-xXTheFisterXx

I would've asked “Why does she have to be white?" and watch them lose their tounge.

When they finally come up with a diet racist response I would've told them to accept whatever seating I provide or kindly leave.

-Exceon

I know you said it ended up making them silent but I think this is kind of a f**ked up thing to do to your black co worker.

Lol making him serve a group of potential racist dudes. Real nice man.

-Ex_Lives

Yeah, I wouldn't subject a POC to them. This might be funny to you, but they will treat the server badly and not tip.

-mpls123456

And still others shared similar experiences, and how they handled them.

Am a nurse. In school rotations this guy demanded my peer to only let the cutest nurse do his Foley cath. She tells me, a fat 32 year old hairy guy, and I walked in.

"who the hell are you?"

"I'm the cute one."

-Barihawk

I work the bar in a family restaurant. Had a couple guys sit at a table in the bar section while I was bartending. I let them know I’d go grab them a server, like I do to every table.

“Get us the one with the biggest tits hahaha”

I gave them the ‘disappointed parent’ look and told them “I’ll see what I can do” and went and found the only male server, who unfortunately was working on the opposite end of the restaurant. I told him he had a request in the bar, a couple guys looking for a waitress with big boobs if he wanted it. The two guys gave me the meanest look when he came out.

Apparently they just walked out when I was in BoH and the waiter was getting their drink order. Good riddance.

-thenipooped

One time at my restaurant we had three guys come in and sit outside in our smoking patio. The only server outside was a dude who was cool as hell. After he took their order for me they went back to the host stand and asked for a female server. The host told the manager and he told them if they were going to behave like that then he didn't feel comfortable assigning them a female server, and said if it mattered that much they could go to Twin Peaks or Hooters. And they did. Loved that KM. He gave no f**ks and always stuck by us. His philosophy was that if we were sweating, then he was. He would back us no questions asked in front of customers. Great dude. Got screwed by the company but is happily with someone else now.

-parquistador

Alternative Solutions

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this yet. Why not give patrons like this one of those silly queue pucks and just have them wait without actually assigning the puck to the queue? Or, if you have to assign them to the queue make sure you note that they are looking for a server that can tolerate racist, sexist pigs.

-hystericallymad

Pigs

Was a seating hostess. Once I got this elderly couple who came in, and the man commented that he wanted a "pretty, young female" server. He had been joking with me earlier, so I thought he was just joking about that as well. We were on a 30-minute waiting list, so customers generally were sat at whatever table was open next. Just so happened that "Alan's" section was open next. I sat them, let them know Alan would be over shortly, and the guy BLEW UP. I found them a new seat as soon as one became available, but the f**king chauvinistic pig kept threatening to report me to corporate for, ya know, not having a pretty woman available to serve him and his WIFE. F**k that guy. And f**k my manager for telling me that *I* was in the wrong.

-Okapi_MyKapi

Giphy

Black People Can Make Tacos Too

So I work at a Tex-Mex (Americanized Mexican) restaurant, and was the first person on the row of people to put food together for customers. We weren't that busy, so me and the other workers were in the back chatting. As customers came in, I went to put on my gloves so I could make food without germs on everything. While I was doing that, I asked my coworker, who happened to be black, to go ahead and get the customers started, as he had his gloves on already. He got into position, and said as politely as possible, "Hi, what can I get for you today?" To which she responded "I want him to make it" and pointed at me. Now, at this point I had my gloves on, so I stepped up and started getting her food, but me and my coworker shared a glance like "is this b*tch for real?" As she got to the next section, where the same black coworker was, she told him "I told you already I want him to make it." When I told her that that wasn't how the ordering process worked, she demanded to speak to a manager. I went back to the next customers while my coworker got my manager. This woman started YELLING at my manager about how "black people don't understand Mexican food" and how "it's a disgrace to let them work here" and all that fun stuff. When my manager asked her what my coworker had done, she told him, and I quote "n*****s can't make a proper taco". When my manager asked her to leave, she screamed and raised a middle finger to us and stormed out. Sometimes I just don't know why people think they get to just sh*t on people.

-bishwhat04

Why Serve Them?

Serious question, why aren't you guys refusing service to people like this?

-squishysquishh

They probably aren't allowed to. Like only the manager/area manager/head office is allowed to ban people, maybe. Happens with some companies.

-matchstickmirages

Seriously. As a manager, if I was told that this was going on, especially from repeat offenders, I would tell them we aren't serving them. Objectifying my staff and being blatantly racist has no place in a business I work at.

-NotHannibalBurress

Don't Be This Guy

I work as a server and host at chain family restaurant.

So, last night, I'm hosting. It's slow so I'm hanging out in the back. I'm standing in front of the window traying up some food. A new server (She used to be a cook for us) comes up to me.

"Hey, I got this guy at 41... I gave him one shot and he's acting super drunk already. I think he was drinking before I got here. I think I need to cut him off, what do I say?"

I give her the run down, I tell her to be firm but polite. Server says she's scared, that he's been aggressive anyways. I grab our manager and we explain the situation, says she'll handle it.

Well. Not two seconds after my first manger cuts him off, he flags down ANOTHER manager. Just asks for another shot. This manager, not knowing what was happening, gladly says he'll get it going for them. Luckily, we were able to stop him before he brought another drink.

10 minutes go by, and the drunk guy stops one of the hosts, and talks to her for a long time. I'm watching from the kitchen. After she walks away she comes over the headset.

"Hey, elea_no, they guy at 41 is asking for you. He says he ordered a drink and hasn't gotten it. He just keeps asking for you."

So I am confused as hell and I tell the host that I'm not going over there. And that she and nobody else is to serve him. It's not my job to serve him and I have no idea why he's asking for me. At this point I haven't even stopped by the table.

My manager goes by the table again to tell him to quit harassing the staff, we're not going to serve him anymore. He begins yelling "I want elea_no! I want elea_no!" And my manager is telling him no, she's not going to get me. So at this point they ask for the check and get ready to leave.

As he's leaving out the door, he calls my name. I look up, and recognize this kid as someone i went to high school with. We always had classes together. He had always had a huge crush on me. I served him the last time he came in.

"Hey, elea_no, 'mere" we talk in the foyer between the two sets of doors. He says to me "The service f**king sucks here. That dumb blonde manager was a c*nt"

I am so taken aback I literally don't know what to say, so I unfortunately just let him continue. "and, I'm sorry, there's not better way to say this, but that other dumb n****r manager of yours unbelievable. And that Sp*c server is the worst of all, f**king cut me off like that. I only had one shot. F**king bullsh*t."

I'm standing there mouth open. I'm trying to find the right words. He ends his rant with, "But it's not a race thing, it's not. I know I'm wearing a confederate flag hat and sh*t, but it's not a race thing, it's just what they are."

I reply "Well, it's at the servers discretion, if she doesn't feel comfortable, then she has every right to refuse service. She's new and just being careful."

To wrap the mess in a little bow, his departing line is: "Alright whatever it's still bullsh*t, I'm never coming back unless you serve me. I'll see you later. Hit me up on Facebook when you turn 21! We could meet up for drinks!"

Yup. I'd love to meet up with a sh*tty, racist ass for some drinks. Thanks!

He walked out on his check.

-elea_no

I had a table who made some insanely rude remarks. 1. That they were glad they got a female server this time women should be serving and men should be cooking or managing. 2. Asks how many mexicans work in the kitchen. Answer 0. 3. Makes remark that the dishwasher must be mexican or native american. Answer nope college age white girl trying to pay her bills. They got the same no smile response for everyone of these remarks. First of all, cooking, dishwashing, and serving are not degrading jobs. Next assuming that all of these must be held by minorities is just straight up racist.

-Tinabird20

Ugh

I was standing up at the Host Stand watching the door while the host was in the bathroom when I was approached by a 70 something older white Man with a bag stacked with to go boxes.

Me= M OWM= Old White Man

OWM: I need to speak with your manager.

M: Is there something I can help you with?

OWM: I just wanted to let you know that the food tonight was absolutely the worst meal I have ever had in my life.

Looks at to go bag filled with 3 large boxes of food, confusion washes over my face. M: I'm so sorry sir what seemed to be the problem with your meal?

OWM: Everything. I ordered the ribs and they were absolutely disgusting. I come here all the time and the food has always been mediocre but this time it was inedible.

M: Did you tell your server about the food quality? She would have replaced the slab for you. It only takes a few minutes to put the sauce on but the meat is already cooked.

OWM: I couldn't tell her.

M: You couldn't tell her? Like, she never checked on you?

OWM: No. I couldn't tell her because she isn't American. She wouldn't understand.

It clicked to me. He was seated in one of the other server's section who is Asian American. Her parents are Vietnamese, but she was born here, has always lived in the US and has never been to Vietnam. Doesn't have an accent, speaks perfect English. Because she's AMERICAN.

OWM: You know my Aunt owned a restaurant, and once she started hiring international people the place just went to shit and it closed within 6 months. You should really think about who you're hiring.

At this point, this dude has just seriously crossed the line. My adrenaline is pumping, and the dude is looking at me like he's waiting for me to agree with him and somehow validate this statement.

M: Sir, are you implying that your server's nationality had something to do with the quality of the food you received tonight?

OWM: Well you cant trust these international people to do the job like real Americans they don't care about good service.

At this point I'm losing my cool.

M: Sir, your server is American. She was born in America, has lived her ENTIRE life in America, and speaks perfect English. I was going to hear your concerns about the food quality, but now you've insulted me and my staff and I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

OWM with astonished look on his face, started yelling: Are you serious? You can't treat me like this! I didn't even do anything!

M: I'm absolutely serious you need to go.

OWM proceeds to walk out of the door yelling to anyone in earshot about how much of a trash dump my restaurant is and how he'll never come back.

That was the first day I ever cried at work in my whole 9 years in the industry. F that dude.

-zigahzigahhhhh

I work at a higher end restaurant/bar (new American fare, expensive whiskey) in a more upper class but super trashy still, neighborhood of my city.

Two men come to the bar and have a seat. They're a tad drunk I'm assuming, and whispering amongst each other and giggling.

I hand them their menus and as I fill their water glasses, they don't even look at the menu and one of them just says "I guess we're having sushi tonight." And the other burst out laughing and then they get up and leave. Laughing the whole way out.

The server at the pass was just standing there slack jawed as she hears it too. My face felt hot and I wanted to cry.

Sometimes people like that actually make me want to leave the service industry forever.

I'm Asian, btw. Hence the sushi joke. Filipino, not Japanese. But I digress.

-Kaygarthedestroyer

I work in a Japanese steakhouse as a server and we had a table come in tonight (was ~4 adults and 3 kids) that my coworker ended up taking (she's Vietnamese this matters later). Later on when my coworker asked if they needed anything one of the kids who had to have been around 12 went, "Yeah Ling Ling I need a refill" I heard her say it and didn't even know how to react neither did my coworker, then the adults realized what she said and were laughing after my coworker walked away. Didn't end up saying anything about it but felt it was shitty and I wanted to say something but my coworker told me not to. But just your daily reminder some people just suck.

-jpjc-

This took place in a very rich very white small Canadian town. I was working in the dining room of the local casino when an older lady and an older gentleman are sat in my coworker's section. My coworker is named "Michelle" and we'll call the lovely customer "RL".

Michelle is black, originally from the Caribbean, but has lived in Canada since early childhood.

Our kitchen staff is probably about 80% Filippino and Indian people.

Michelle: "Hi, good evening, how are the two of you doing today?"

RL: Long pause in which she stares at Michelle "Fine." The gentleman is silent.

Michelle: "I'm glad to hear it. Can I get the two of you anything to drink to start you off?"

RL: "...No."

Michelle tells me she didn't know how to react to that, so she asked if there was anything else she could get them at the moment, to which RL snarled: "Do you think we're ready to order?? Stupid girl send someone competant over here!"

Michelle, not visibly upset, asked me to take them. This seemed normal to me because she was about to be cut anyway and we frequently did little favours for eachother. She didn't tell me about the earlier interaction until later. I'm white.

I went over and greeted them and they seemed pleasent enough. I got them started with drinks, which they ordered without issue. After giving them some time with the menus I went over to take their orders.

Me: "All ready to order? What can I get for you this evening?"

RL: "Who's in the kitchen?"

Me: thinking she might know someone in BOH because why else would you ask that question? "Oh quite a few people are working tonight, are you thinking of someone in particular? "

RL: "No I mean" she gives me a significant look "who is in the kitchen?"

Me: confused "um... ??? ..." trying to figure out what to say, besides listing off 9 or 10 first names of the BOH staff

RL: "I want to know if there's any" her voice dips low like she's saying a really nasty word "Filippinos in your kitchen."

Me: every alarm going off in my head. Wtf is this I must be misinterpreting her, there's no way she's this blatantly racist

Me: "Well we have a very diverse staff here at (casino), which is something I really love about working here. There are quite a few Filippino people who work in the kitchen."

RL: "That's disgusting!! Touching the food??? I want to see a manager"

At this point I would have kicked her out if I had any kind of agency, but it wasn't that kind of job. I went and got Ravi, my manager. An Indian man with a fairly strong accent.

He approaches the table and asks what's going on.

RL: "You're the manager????"

Ravi: "Yes that's me."

RL threw her hands up in disgust and strode over to the blonde, blue-eyed, 18 year old bartender. By this time most people in the dining room were watching the shit-fit. She demanded that the bartender give her a corporate number. He told her she would need to ask a manager for that. Or she could try the lobby desk. He openly laughed in her face when her eyes bulged with fury. He pointed her towards the lobby desk where three east-asian women were helping customers. RL was literally shaking with rage when she collected her husband and stormed out.

She was a legend at that job, a story we told to newbies. I still can hardly believe anyone is that open about their racism in this day and age.

-forest__creature

​Sometimes, the not-so-subtle racism is coming from the other side of the table.

That's amazing. Good on you.

We had this really rude, racist server at our restaurant that would always tell the hosts not to seat her with anyone that wasn't white or anyone with kids. One time a host was sick so I picked up for her. I'm usually a server, so I didn't know that the other server expected this kind of filtering from me and sat her with a 4 top with two parents and two toddlers.

She tried to tell me not to seat her with any families or "anyone that speaks Spanish". The family had spoken English to me, but I could see she was just being racist.

I would never want to make anyone uncomfortable by seating them with a racist person, but I also wanted to teach this server a lesson. So I sat her with only people of color and people with children all night. I checked up on all of her tables to make sure they were still getting good service.

She was fuming, but what was she going to say to the manager? That I was following rotation? That she wanted to turn down 75% of our clientele and good money and I wasn't letting her? She quit a few months later and now somehow works for corporate at that restaurant. I have no idea how.

-AthenaHyena22

Thankfully, People's Reasons Aren't Always Sinister

Family is in pizza delivery, we had a customer that would always ask for female delivery people. It actually turned out to be completely innocent.

When he asked for a female delivery driver of course we sent out our biggest burliest guy for the first few deliveries because we assumed he was a pervert/creep. Never got to meet the guy. He'd leave a check in an envelope with a decent tip taped on the door and the driver would leave the pizza on a chair on his porch. Still assumed he was a pervert that was gonna snatch the pretty girl we sent out.

One day we showed up when there was a caretaker or family member there. She was a petite woman. She let us know he has MASSIVE agoraphobia and PTSD, and the reason he asks for a female driver is because a big guy coming down his driveway freaks him out way more than a small person (male or female), and women just tend to be smaller (we felt a bit bad about sending our biggest guy each time, but our safety has to be first). Now anyone is allowed to go to his house and people will try to snipe his order because he tips well.

-upsidedownbackwards

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.