Top Stories

Women Share The Most Foolish Thing Men Have Said To Them About Their Reproductive Health

Have you ever had someone prove to you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they have absolutely no effing idea what they're talking about?


Women in particular get comments about their anatomy and reproductive health so often that it's almost commonplace. Those misconceptions can be so prevalent that they even make their way into potential law.

That's how we end up with proposed laws for things like "relocating" ectopic pregnancies when that procedure literally does not exist.

Reddit user ReallyQuiteRude asked:

Women of Reddit, what is the dumbest thing a man has ever said to you about sex, reproductive health, menstruation, etc.?

The lack of understanding of how basic female reproductive health is truly staggering. Maybe we should stop separating children in sexual education classes (and actually teaching those classes with medically accurate information) because this is ... a lot to process.

Choosing The Sex

Giphy

"My ex was convinced that he could consciously choose the sex of any children he fathered. He'd heard (presumably in some science class) that the sperm "decides" the sex of a baby, which is cool and all. But he got hung up on that phrasing and wouldn't listen to logic."

- ActualGuesticles

We Wish

"Just pee out all the blood and finish your period"

- sebaskinny

A Disease Now

"My best friend was having sex with her new boyfriend and unexpectedly got her period. She was embarrassed because they had just started dating, and instead of comforting her his response was to disgustedly say "am I going to get a disease now or something?" he's an ex-boyfriend now."

- er_bear

Breaking Up Sooner

"My ex asked me how I knew my period was over. He was 21 at the time. Now, that wouldn't have even been that bad, but I started to explain how the flow gets lighter until it eventually stops and he cut me off. Said it was gross and he regretted asking."

"He also thought any pubic hair on a woman was gross. I get wanting it tidy, but he thought all women should be shaved/waxed all the time. And no, his pubic area was never hair-free."

"My only regret was not breaking up with him sooner."

- MadamNerd

Missing One Period

"My friend's husband thought women knew they were pregnant by missing just one period and that it started again the next month. It gave me a giggle."

- PancakesXBacon

Stretch First

Giphy

"Before I understood how periods work or what period cramps are, I remember there was a day in middle school PE where the class was running laps but two girls were not participating and instead walking slowly around the outside of the track. When someone asked them why they weren't running they said "we have cramps" and my dumb self, assuming they both somehow got leg cramps or something from trying to run, said something to the effect of "that's your fault, that's why you need to stretch first!"

"Later on after learning some stuff, I remembered the incident and their silent, shocked confusion at my response made perfect sense."

- Boreas907

The Exact Moment I Realized

"My creepy older boyfriend when I was 18 made a comment (in front of friends) about the first time we hooked up."

He said: "When I hit your g-spot, your legs clamped down on my head like a vice."

I said "You never hit my g-spot. The g-spot is on the inside."

He responded in a condescending tone, "You have more than one g-spot, dear."

If I had to pinpoint the exact moment when I realized I was dating an idiot, it'd be right then.

- h0lythr0wawaybatman

Reschedule 

"I once used my period to get out of a date with one guy and he seriously said, "can't you reschedule it or something?"

- trashwhenawake

Anemia Treatment

"Cant you just stop the anemia by injecting your period blood back in?"

- loveallmyrolls

Wrong On So Many Levels

"He was CONVINCED that it was impossible to have twins, as "the uterus only produces one egg per month". He also thought women could ONLY get pregnant on their period, because "the sperm swims up the blood". When I told him it's the complete opposite, he said "Oh, what does the sperm swim up then. The piss?" I then explained that women do not piss out of their vagina. He then exclaimed "wait, there's two holes???"

"I officially lost it when he told me that the vagina is in the same place as a mans penis, you know, "bellow the belly button".

"Let's just say I'm glad i never ended up dating this guy."

- frogminded

Immoral Women

"Someone once complained about how, "Women are immoral because having a period is equal to having an abortion." Luckily this was a teaching moment and he learned something that day."

- Careless_Hellscape

Like A Chicken

Giphy

"I once got asked by my ex if I ever saw the egg cone out during my period"

"He thought the reason girls had cramps was because they passed an egg like a chicken would or it was at least like passing a kidney stone."

- MoretelleTSpears

Women Don't Poop

"Stop lying, you don't poop. Men do."

"Actual ex boyfriend who was a high school football player who GRADUATED."

"When he finally asked his mother (yeah...) he was so disgusted, I thought he was kidding but he really wasn't."

- slampons

Unlocking Your Female Power

"Girls can control their periods and bleed whenever they want to." This fool was the only boy with probably eight girls at the table. It got bad when he INSISTED he was right and got angry as eight other girls repeatedly told him no. He tried to explain how the female body works and how if they tried they would just stop bleeding, like they could just "unlock" this female power inside them. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. Mind you this dude was your typical creepy low IQ rude virgin. (I think, or I hope he was a virgin. He went for the really quiet small freshman and all the other girls warned everyone not to date him. Big ugly rude mass of a dude.) No idea why those girls allowed him to sit at the table. I see him wandering around the mall all the time circling the food court and I always remember this period instance."

- MaidofLight

Night Pads

"I went over to my dad's place, and unexpectedly got my period. I was sitting on the toilet, panicking because I only had a leftover tampon from the last time my sister was here, and I use pads. So I begged my dad (who was about to come home) to please go to the store and pick up "night pads" for me (I always use night time pads because I have a heavy flow), and told him I didn't have any pads at all with me, so I really needed him to buy some."

"Well... He came home, I thanked him a lot for picking up the pads, and he said: "Wait, I didn't buy them. They're night pads and it's still daytime. We have time."

"I had to explain to him WHY I specifically asked for "night pads".

- _Valkyrja_

All Boys School

"My partner saw a midwife friend on his Facebook post a status about a 'bum breech' baby she had delivered. He thought it meant the baby breaches it's mother's vaginal wall on the way out and ends up being born out of the mum's bumhole. I explained breech birth to him and it made more sense, I think his explanation is pretty funny though (probably not for the mumma in that situation.)"

"He also thought you could cause injury to your unborn baby in the womb if you have sex while pregnant - as in the cervix and walls were so thin you could poke the baby with your penis. He was therefore adamant if I ever get pregnant I wouldn't be getting any D until the coast is clear. I had to show him an anatomy diagram from Google for that one."

"You probably won't be surprised to know that this particular big dummy went to an all boys school. He's my big dummy though."

- RedBedHead94

Pleasurable? 

"I was talking with a few female friends about tampons and pads and which we prefer (we were sleeping over at a friend's and a few of us were on our period) and my male best friend was shocked that I didn't like using tampons. Turns out he thought that inserting a tampon was "supposed to be pleasurable, just like having sex." I cried with laughter for what felt like ages."

- hotdatechai

Brain Damage

Giphy

"Guy here, once knew a guy who thought that any time a guy ejaculated in a woman, the sperm would stay in their body, and eventually swim up to their brain, giving them brain damage."

"As such, it was his duty as a man to be willing to commit to taking care of women he slept with because every time they had sex she would become a little bit dumber/less capable of living without him and eventually nothing more than a mindless shell."

- Aazadan

That's Not What Curves Mean

"That having sex makes a girl fully develop. My ex-husband truly believed that if a teenage girl had curves, it was evidence that she was sexually active."

"He also believed a pelvic exam and inserting tampons caused arousal."

- Ultra-PowerfulCutex

Not From The Vagina

"The worst offender was an old coworker (who really liked bringing up sex all the time) because absolutely flabbergasted that pee doesn't come from the vagina. He swore up and down I didn't know WHAT I was talking about, that that's 'the only hole it can come out of' and wouldn't listen to me until I googled a diagram to show him. At which point he was grossed out."

"The guy was like, 40, and I was no older than 22 at the time, which I guess is why he thought he knew better, but still guy. Yeesh."

- Perscoot

Condoms And Hymens 

"It did not happen to me but to many female friends of mine..."When you have sex for the first time, you should not use condom. Otherwise, you cannot break the hymen".

- memmoria91

We clearly need better reproductive health classes!

Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.

People's Wildest 'WTF Is Wrong With You?' Experiences

Reddit user nekorei2023 asked: 'What did the person do/say that made you go "what the f**k is wrong with you?"'

We all have that moment where someone we know says something so completely absurd, the only response we think of is 'WTF is wrong with you?'

Sometimes, it's something woefully inaccurate that you can't wrap your head around the fact that someone believes that.

Othertimes, it's something completely offensive and you regret your association with that person.

My college roommate was a girl I knew from my high school. I didn't know her too well, but we had some big things in common, so I figured it'd be fun to live with her.

This girl was half-Korean and talked a lot about racist people. At first, I let her rant, figuring maybe she or someone in her family faced some racism. I faced some myself, and I agreed with most of the things she said about racists. Eventually, however, I realized she was equating the word 'racist' with the word 'white.'

I spoke to her once, telling her she can't use 'racist' and 'white' interchangeably. She agreed to stop doing that, but within a few days, she started doing it again. She was a very bright girl, so I was a little concerned about this, especially since her own dad was white and was possibly the nicest man in the world. Not to mention, this made her and her siblings half-white too. Did that mean they were all half-racist?

I stuck by her for a while, but when she started saying things about what she wanted to do to racist people (once again using the word 'white' instead of 'racist'), I realized I couldn't be around her anymore. She couldn't talk about anything else after a while, and every time she spoke, I wanted to say, 'WTF is wrong with you?'

We did not room together the next year.

Redditors have stories similar to mine (and some even crazier), and they are eager to share.

It all started when a Redditorasked:

"What did the person do/say that made you go "what the f**k is wrong with you?"

How To End A Friendship

"In college I used to kill time between classes hanging out with a guy who was from the same redneck county as myself. We didn’t really have much else in common, but he was nice enough and seemed eager to socialize so I figured why not. I wasn’t overly social myself and didn’t know a whole lot of people."

"One day we decided to go somewhere off-campus, and he drove us. While driving, on an interstate mind you, he proceeds to show me his handgun that he kept in his truck - not in a menacing way, but in a “Ain’t that cool?” way."

"I was not immediately frightened, but I respect firearms enough to recognize we are going like 60-70mph on an interstate in daylight, and nothing good can happen in this scenario. I calmly asked him to put it away because I was not comfortable in this situation at all. He then tells me “Oh it’s not loaded” and presses the gun to his head before pulling the trigger."

"Thank f**k he was right, but still it was a wild and frightening display of reckless disregard for his own life and mine for that matter in the event that he’d accidentally killed himself while driving us. I didn’t hang out with him much after that, certainly didn’t get in a car with him."

– omjf23

"“It’s not loaded” famous last words of many an idiot."

– GloInTheDarkUnicorn

The Worst Kind Of People

"When my dad was in the nursing home, they weren't running certain expenses, like ambulance rides, through his insurance. When I took over his financials, he was tens of thousands in medical debt that shouldn't have ever been charged to him in the first place. He was in numerous collections, and his credit score was tanked."

"When I complained to the nursing home director, he said, "Well, it's not like he's going to be buying a house or a car!" Then he laughed."

"My dad was paralyzed from the waist down and needed lifelong care, so he was never going to leave the nursing home. Even though he was technically correct, I gave him the "WTF is wrong with you look." Then I complained to HIS boss and he got canned a couple a weeks later. My dad's insurance was fixed pretty quick, too."

– MNWNM

"“Sorry, what was funny about that? Could you please explain.”"

– v3n0mat3

...Seriously?

"MIL told my wife she should divorce me bc I googled whether a lasagna should be covered with foil while cooking."

– Struggle-Silent

"This is my first laugh of the thread lmao wtf."

– koreantrvp

"It actually ruined this entire trip. It was at my BIL’s wedding, which was only close family (siblings + parents) and they had the caterer make a lasagna for an evening dinner."

"Father of the bride was gonna pop it in the oven and asked if it should be covered. I googled lasagna cooking instructions and said yes it should be covered and cooked at this temp. MIL said absolutely not!"

"Me and the father of the bride kinda gave each other a look and he covered it. MIL was furious and texted my wife that I was an a hole and she should divorce me before we had kids."

– Struggle-Silent

Hostile Work Environment

"Boss at old job told the team we needed to ‘get used to a healthy level of conflict, fear and anxiety in the workplace.’ I dipped so fast after that."

– Prestigious-Energy69

"Similarly, a boss told me that I owed him my loyalty because he was paying me."

– Kylearean

How To End A Relationship

"A girl I was with while we were still together just looked at me while I was driving to her house and said.” You know I would get over you faster than you’d get over me” I was like …… Tf did you just say?"

– omega91301

"Huh. And just like that I'm over you."

– Pineapple_Spenstar

"Honestly, that would absolutely do it for me. When I was younger, I would be stupid and hurt and argue. I'm past 50 and I got no time for that nonsense."

– Terpsichorean_Wombat

There Are Other Ways To Stave Off Boredom

"I was DD for some buddies who wanted to go to a particular dance club in Baltimore. They're all hammered, it's too loud and we've been there for several hours. Casually an older woman next to me chats me up and notices my eyes are nearly crossing from boredom. I explained what I was doing there and casually (stupidly) mentioned I'm a bit bored. This psycho BITES ME on the chest! Afterward says "Well ya ain't bored now, are ya??""

– Mike7676

"Well, were you bored after that?"

– DontWannaSayMyName

"I must say, I was not!"

– Mike7676

That Goes Both Ways!

"I'm a man who works with kids, and when I started this job, I was talking to one of my old coworkers about how every once in a while I'll get weird looks for being a man working with kids and my coworker said I deserved it because some men can't be trusted with kids. I was shocked and she went on to say that I did it to myself and deserve to be questioned about it. I immediately stopped talking to her."

– Dolhedew

"What? What in the actual f**k? Doesn’t she know there are women who can’t be trusted with kids?"

– Anonymoosehead123

That Escalated Quickly

"The lady that accused my kids of cutting the line. (They hadn't, I was watching). When I went to ask her what was wrong, she told me to go back to my own country with that sh*t. (I was born in Massachusetts.)"

"The line was to pet dogs at a Renaissance Fair."

– pasafa

Everything All At Once

"While alone with a coworker, he told me that "women in the work place will lead to the decay of the fabric of society" to me. A woman. He also asked me out, got an attitude when I didn't say yes and continues to walk around with huge incel energy. He always complains that he has no one to go home to yet refuses to look at himself as a possible reason."

– Nopeferatu31

"Sounds like they should learn something from the phrase, "if you meet one a**hole, they're the a**hole. If everyone you meet is an a**hole, you're the a**hole.""

– tmpope123

Ouch!

"I told a coworker my wife had died."

"Her response: "You're one of those bald middle aged guys with a dead wife.""

"Me: "Yeah.""

– WalrusCello

"I want to think this was a wholesome thought that came out wrong. An awkward attempt at dark humor."

– ThisUsernameIsTook

*Cringing*

"Had an otherwise normal co-worker who was completely convinced windmills will cause the earth to stop spinning."

– Shadowmant

"WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! GOOD NIGHT!"

– Torvaun

These are all crazy 'WTF is wrong with you' stories, but that last one blew my mind in 'how is it possible people think that could be true' sort of way!

black and red tool box

Tekton on Unsplash

One of the possible wonders of adulthood is home ownership. But homes come with so many things that can break.

And the last thing you want is a nonfunctioning furnace when temperatures dip below zero or no water when you're covered in dirt and grime.

That's what routine maintenance is for—to make sure things work when you need them.

Keep reading...Show less

One the strangest and most perplexing things about being a human is the fact that we can only experience what's going on inside our own bodies and minds. Sure, we can ask someone questions, we can listen to their accounts, and technology is increasingly closing the gap, but there's still nothing like a fully immersive experience.

For this reason, it can be easy for us to think that we're the only one having trouble with something, like the only adult who can never seem to keep their laundry pile caught up, but on the reverse side, it can also mean missing something that's abnormal.

It's, quite frankly, shocking how many people live with some kind of physical abnormality while assuming that it's normal.

Fascinated, Redditor amistakewasmadehere asked:

"What did you think was normal about your body until someone pointed out that it wasn't?"

A Double Uvula

"I have a double uvula. That little hangy thing in the back of your throat... Mine looks like a ballsack."

"I thought that's just what they looked like, because how often do you look in people's throats? I remember seeing cartoons as a kid where they'd zoom in on a character's mouth when they were screaming or something... And I just thought the artists were lazy, drawing a simple droopy line. But no, that's what most people's look like."

"When I was in my 20s, I went to the doctor for something unrelated, and she checked my throat and just said, 'Huh, you have a double uvula. Neat!'"

" I went home and told my roommates and they all had to look in my mouth. I thought they would think the doctor was the weirdo but they were all shocked..."

"I'll never forget one saying, 'You've got balls in your throat!'"

- xx2983xx

A Popping Jaw

"My jaw pops whenever I open my mouth. I thought it was normal for your jaw to just "unhinge" because how else could you open your mouth wide? Turns out, nope."

- PikaBooSquirrel

The Wrong Number of Organs

"The first year of menstruating, I had intensely painful periods and severe constipation. The periods would last two weeks, with two weeks in between each one."

"Everyone told me things would calm down and even out."

"Then one night, at a friend’s sleepover, I was in so much pain that I was sobbing on the bathroom floor. My parents rushed me to the hospital."

"Everything I was describing, pain-wise, made it sound like I was in labor. But I was 14 and still very much a virgin."

"After a week of tests and painkillers, they finally figured out the issue; I then had surgery to open up my second uterus and cervix, which had been sealed shut by a membrane."

"I had been having periods for a year and had built up like 2 liters worth of old blood in my sealed second uterus. So once that was drained out and I was put on major antibiotics, I got to go home and tell all my friends that I had two uteruses."

"I was also born with one kidney. Not sure if that’s related, but I sure am a mess down there, lol (laughing out loud)."

- SM0KINGS

Heart Flutters and Palpitations

"I used the phrase, 'You know when your heart does that fluttery sensation and it’s like you can feel it beating for a few seconds?'"

"Apparently not everyone does know that; in fact, most don’t and my colleagues looked at me like I’d lost my mind."

- The_Sown_Rose

"Mine does this. I’ve mentioned it to my doctor but it didn’t show up on a heart tracing (I wore one for 24 hours)… Some days, it will happen multiple times, and then nothing for a month or two. It’s really odd."

- Gremingtonspa

Shark-Like Teeth

"That I had eight wisdom teeth grow into the extra space in the back of my jaw (two for each side, top and bottom) that all grew in just fine after 20... Only to find out on my last trip to the dentist that I have eight more growing in sideways..."

"The normal amount of wisdom teeth is four. Not 16."

- Rathewitch

"Some of the women in my family grow a third set of teeth in their 30s. My great aunt had a nearly perfect set, only one came in crooked, but my mum's sister had hers come in next to her adult teeth, so she has two rows in some places, like a shark."

"My mum got a couple extra, but they were pulled, and I haven't gotten any yet, though I got to keep all my wisdom teeth and they didn't."

- foxtongue

Transferable Eyesight

"I’ve got ‘alternating exo,’ the eye doctor called it. I can choose which eye I can see out of and can switch as I please, and whichever eye is not picked 'turns off,' and I don’t see out of it since I chose the other eye."

"Since I've been able to do it all my life, both of my eyes can operate alone, so if I lose one, it won’t be as bad adjusting. Pretty nice actually but the ‘exo’ makes me hate selfies cuz whichever eye isn’t picked drifts outward, which is noticeable to me at least."

- Nez_bit

Precordial Catch Syndrome

"You know when you’re breathing like normal, and suddenly when you inhale you get this sharp pain in one side of your chest, at the ribs behind your pectoral muscle? And every time you try to inhale further it comes back, then goes away entirely after a few minutes?"

"Yeah, that’s called Precordial Catch Syndrome."

"Doctors don’t know exactly what causes it, but the running theory is that a nerve near your ribs occasionally gets pinched when you inhale and it takes a few moments for your body to dampen the signal from that nerve. It’s very common, and does not indicate any underlying or dangerous medical issues."

- ScrembledEggs

Literally a Large Head

"I have a big head. I've never once found a hat that fits. Not even a toque."

- Grant_Ham999

"So, when I joined the army they didn't have a hat big enough for me. I was the only person out of 60 of us without a hat. Drill sergeants I had never met would run from across fields to yell at me for walking outside without my hat."

"When I explained that they didn't have a hat big enough for me... they cracked up and called me Charlie Brown. It took two weeks of that before a hat arrived big enough for me."

- mighty1u2

The Tensor Tympani Muscles

"I can activate my Tensor Tympani Muscles (they make that roaring in your ears when you yawn) at will."

"For some reason, they also activate when I feel a sudden pain, even when there’s no sound or noise involved."

- ShinyIrishNarwhal

"Wait, this isn't normal?"

- Pratius

Secret Asthma

"I thought I was bad at running because my throat would seize up and get painful whenever I ran for more than a minute. I mentioned this to my doctor when I was 30. Turns out I have asthma."

- PachinkoBiloba

Dermatographia

"Dermatographia. I have really sensitive skin with an overactive histamine response. When I’m gently scratched with a blunt object, I get a hive in the shape of the scratch. I can write my name in hives on my forearm."

- BriCMSN

Temperature-Inspired Itchiness

"I get itchy as soon as I get overheated. Like an all-over body itch. There's no rash that pops up, I just get very, very itchy."

- f**kf**k9001

Unexplained Abnormality

"I once took part in a study as a paid participant. The doctors used ultrasound probes to examine the blood vessels on my face."

"They commented on how strange my face's blood vessels were, they struggled and puzzled a little while examining my face."

"Then they handed me more cash and asked whether I would be willing to donate my body after I died to a medical study."

"(They were polite and respectful throughout the whole process, just seemed excited?)"

- breakdancing-edgily

Restless Leg Syndrome

"I constantly have to flex my muscles. Not in the douchey 'check me out, ladies' kind of way, but in a more frustrating, 'I need to move this muscle in the next three seconds or I will feel like I am being tortured' kind of way."

"I'm constantly rotating my shoulders, flexing shoulder blades, neck, arms, wrists, ankles, legs, wherever. It makes it hard to sit still or sleep."

"I only seriously noticed when I slept with my first partner, who was very confused as to why I wouldn't stop twisting and flexing for at least two hours before falling asleep. I just figured everyone got that feeling."

"Being under a weighted blanket or feeling my arm or leg fall asleep, both feel like utter torture and will make me scream and writhe about. I would love to know what the h**l this is and how I deal with it, because so far, I have no clue."

- DeviousFox

"It sounds like restless leg syndrome (which can affect your whole body, and not just your legs). Have your iron levels, specifically your ferritin levels checked. RLS is torture, but there are treatments!"

- SenseiKrystal

In Need of Glasses

"I thought I had great vision until I tried glasses and found that everything was so much sharper and more vivid! Apparently, my left eye has a vision defect, but my right eye learned to compensate so I never realized!"

- LLAA00

It's amazing what we can go decades living with, even when it technically is not the norm. In many of these cases, there are even treatments or tools to improve them!

This just goes to show how important it is to ask questions if you have a concern, and if one doctor is not willing to properly discuss it with you, perhaps try talking to another one.

Person about to bite into a burger
Szabo Viktor/Unsplash

Most restaurant menus have caught up with the times to offer plenty of options to patrons with various dietary restrictions.

Vegan dishes tend to be a top priority, with gluten-free options being a close second.

Thanks to these options, groups of family and friends can dine together and not be limited by restaurant choices.

But when there's a sudden break in routine on the next outing, it can be jarring when the vegan in your group suddenly orders prime rib or a juicy burger that is not a plant-based patty.

What the whaaat?

Curious to hear from those who did a dietary 180 after routinely nourishing themselves with food grown from the earth's soil, Capital_Brain2676 asked:

"Vegans that started eating meat again, what happened?"

Some people were told what's good for them.

Point Made

"I know someone who was a vegetarian for 13 years simply because someone told them they couldn't do it. I guess he figured 13 years was enough to prove a point and went back to eating meat after."

– ottersandgoats

"I feel like 2-3 years would be enough though??"

– WebBorn2622

On A Dare

"I knew a girl in college who did that. She was dared in middle school to become a vegetarian and... she just stuck with it. More power to them."

– ComplexWest8790

Some people were left with no choice but to ditch veganism.

Thanks, Mickey Ds

"Got cancer. Ate whatever my body would take without throwing up and that just happened to be chicken nuggets."

– BratS94

When Choices Are Limited

"Homeless and pregnant = eat what I was given."

– anon

"I’ve always wondered this actually. If a homeless vegan eats what they’re given. I’ve given homeless people subs in the past because of veggies, protein, and carbs (all necessary things) and wondered if they would eat it if they’re vegan. I’m sorry you’ve been on that road. I hope things are better for you now."

– Saltwater_Heart

The Saying Goes

"There is a reason for the saying 'beggars can’t be choosers,' you give what you can/have and you can’t always accommodate the person you are giving it to, don’t think too hard about it. Also, hope OP is doing better."

– Reikotsu

Certain medical conditions prevented these Redditors from sticking to their restrictive diets.

Cooking For Two

"I still eat mostly vegetarian food and have done all my life. However my husband was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and coeliac which means that a high fibre/lower iron diet is not an option and a lot of the substitutes aren’t gluten free. More often than not when he has meat I’ll leave it or have the veggie equivalent but there are just not enough hours in the day to make 2 separate lasagnes and sauce etc."

– Chanel-Chic

Troublesome Ailment

"As someone who has UC, that's very cool of you to cook a more UC friendly diet. I dated a woman for 6 months who was a pescatarian. Every time I cooked, it was something we both liked and could eat. Every time she cooked, she focused on what she wanted and it didn't seem to matter whether I could eat it or not. She was nuero divergent and had it in her head that veggies = good regardless of what it did to my insides. For anyone who doesn't know, UC is inflammation due to my immune system attacking the lining of my colon. So it's inflamed (unless you're in remission, which a fair amount of people aren't). Large amounts of fiber makes the food sit there longer and get more packed, which hurts like all hell being tight up against inflamed tissue. And certain ones create gas of an unimaginable magnitude and strength."

"Anyway, a fair amount of the time, I had to order delivery or takeout because otherwise, I would have been farting or sh*tting my brains out overnight. So I appreciate what you've done like you wouldn't believe."

– Wishilikedhugs

Bye Bye Veggies

"My gastroparesis diet led me off my vegan diet as well. I can’t handle legumes, leafy greens, and most vegetables. Hard to be a healthy vegan without any of those."

– Jefauver

When Vegan Ingredients Turn On You

"Yup. Crohn’s Disease ended my 17 year vegetarian stretch. I’m in remission now and don’t eat red meat but I am sensitive to several vegan friendly ingredients like garlic, onions, cauliflower family and now I can avoid them without starving."

–friscodayone

Cooking For A Full House

"Back when COVID had everyone in lockedown, myself and my roommate's family would take turns cooking dinner and it was fine. Then my roommate went on the NOOM diet, her daughter was diagnosed with GERD and couldn't have anything acidic, and her husband was diagnosed with celiac. Oh, and another family member disliked potatoes. I finally had to bow out. It was way too much of a pain in the @ss to cook a meal that met all of those restrictions."

– panda388

Sometimes, you just gotta have meat.

Costco Chicken

"Not my story, but a good friend of mine was vegetarian, very nearly vegan for over 10 years. One day she was in Costco and walked past the rotisserie chickens. Without thinking she put it in her cart. When she got home she stood over the sink and ate it with her bare hands. She had no idea what came over her. Her telling me this story is still one of the funniest things I've ever heard. She is still very plant forward in her eating, but she won't hesitate to order a burger or a steak when she wants it now."

– NotAlwaysGifs

Ravenous

"I went on a weekend backpacking trip with a girl who had been religiously vegan for a few years. It was a pretty physically intense trip, and the last day heading back was in pouring rain the whole way, so by the time we got back to our car, we were absolutely exhausted, filthy, and starving."

"There was only one restaurant anywhere nearby, one of those highway diners. We get there and I notice she's got this kind of crazy look in her eyes. I ask if she's okay, and she just says 'I need a steak.' I laugh, but she goes 'I'm serious. I can't help it. I need a big greasy piece of meat right now or I'm going to die.""

"Sure enough, she orders the biggest steak on the menu, and wolfs it down in minutes, and the crazed look goes away. After that, she went right back to being vegan like nothing had happened. The look in her eyes was a little scary to be honest."

– AxelShoes

Unless it's a matter of life or death, there's no way I can survive being a vegan.

I don't have a strong enough will power to avoid eating meat.

So if that day ever comes when I'm forced to make a major change in my diet that won't include red meat and you're around me all the time, apologies in advance for my perpetual state of being hangry.