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Former Christians Explain Why They Really Left The Church

Former Christians Explain Why They Really Left The Church
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Christianity is a powerful religion. It has infiltrated many regions, cultures, and even politics.

However, as powerful as it is, people in the U.S. are leaving the religion in droves. Pew Research Center says the percentage of Americans who are Christian is down 12% from the last decade.

Interestingly, Pew Research Center reports:

"Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or 'nothing in particular,' now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009."

But, why are they leaving? Well, Ask Reddit wanted to know people's first hand accounts that gives us some insight into why they left the church.


Redditor hollgranty08 asked:

"Ex-Christians, what was the behavior/incident that finally pushed you to leave the church?"

Here are some real examples of some reasons people left Christianity.

Going against Jesus' teachings.

"One time a homeless man walked into our church hoping to be invited in for service, meet people and grab some food. Unfortunately for him, the deacons and pastor basically turned him away they basically said that there was no way they could help them and if he comes back then they're going to call the cops. I found this really repulsive as the bible is basically centered around helping others."

- bbqtenders

"It's interesting how so many Christians do the opposite of what Jesus would do. Did they skip over all the stories where Jesus took the time to help or talk to someone who was considered an inconvenience in society? Many of today's Christians praise the name of Jesus while acting just like the people he constantly criticized."

- Snowbank_Lake

"Too many Christians are taught that being baptized guarantees a spot in heaven, and so there's no real point in doing good."

- AlsoOneLastThing

"I've long said that if Jesus appeared now, the Christians would just see a brown Jewish hippie promoting socialism and kill him again."

"This is also why I have such admiration for Jimmy Carter. He has built his life around helping others. He's one of the few Christians out there that lives Jesus's teachings. He didn't even let brain cancer stop him building housing for the homeless."

- Freakears

Preaching selfishness but surrounded by luxury.

"Seeing how rich the pastors home was compared to the church goers. Everyone seemed blind to the hypocrisy of preaching selflessness and begging for donations week after week when this guys garage had 5 doors."

"They also judged people on the pettiest things having no awareness how the world really is for different people specially younger people."

"I did attend a more hippie church I loved for awhile but those people are rare."

"Too many things don't add up and I've come to understand I don't believe God exist in the way organized religion explains God. I believed it's much more complicated and cosmic to our understanding."

- lovelyaloy

"Yea I have some issues with that too. I had a fellowship leader teaching the lesson of rich people going to heaven is harder than putting camel thru eye of the needle. And we shouldn't like materialistic things to be spiritual. Then after the fellowship, he goes home in his Porsche 911 (expensive car). You will find the most people in church who have cognitive dissonance with what they teach and how they act."

- HawkResident5982

"About the same here. Hypocrites are rampant, and the conservative 'I got mine' mentality really killed it."

"You take a bunch of people wanting to believe, ask them for money, then the pastors brag about their trips and new cars. It is ridiculous, not to mention a lot of them I knew immediately forget or ignore the Bible's messages and go join energy companies."

- drivendreamer

Blind faith.

"I grew up in a split household. Half Catholic and half Jewish. It wasn't long after my first communion - which looking back on kind of creeps me out as I remember someone saying that the little girls were all like little brides - that I really decided which way to sway. My Jewish family always encouraged me to speak up and ask questions.

"After communion one Sunday, I went to the priest and began asking questions. I figured as a mouthpiece for our religion, he could answer some of the questions for me. As my questions became harder to answer, he finally told me that children should be seen and not heard. When I related the story back to Jewish family, they all got flustered, 'How will you learn then?!' It hit me that the Catholics didn't want people to learn or reason or question. They wanted blind faith."

- smudgewick

"This is absolutely true. I asked a priest after mass about a deep topic and he brushed me off. My Dad then scolded me for asking a question. I knew at that moment it was about a hidden answer and I knew the truth. Checked out at that moment."

- ao8520

"Because there is no answer, because the Bible is full of contradictions. They supposedly learn all the scholarly history etc in seminary. I don't think they can really believe what they are preaching. I've read a lot of priests and pastors get stuck going through the motions out of some sunk cost fallacy. They risk losing their entire social community with a nonsense qualification."

- MorrisWisely

"I firmly believe that religion was created to control the masses and the more educated the masses are, the less control you have."

- bluerose1197

Christianity blossomed as a religion when its potential to control the peasantry was realized.

"Blessed are the meek; blessed are the poor in spirit; it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven"

[Bear your burden and don't raise too much of a stink of why your lord lives in luxury and you lavish - you will have your eternal reward in the end ;) ]

- WildBilll33t

"Absolutely agree, this is largely about education. Educated people ask questions. Organized religion doesn't have answers that stand up to any level of scrutiny. Religion is a machine designed to remove money from the gullible."

- OnVelvetHill

God doesn't care where you pray.

"Hearing the pastor preach about how the church needs to raise $1mil so we can build a Prayer Center on campus, basically a big building where people can go to pray. I'm thinking 'God doesn't care where you pray, go out in the field and pray!' And then he said the churchgoers need to pay for this as a symbol of our faith."

- pink378

"Lol, I'm Jewish, and I knew that was BS the moment I read it."

"My family usually does our Shabbat services at home. We go to the synagogue for significant holidays, but that's pretty much it."

"If God is watching you, you don't need a designated place to pray."

- MasterYehuda816

"'Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.' ‭‭Luke‬ ‭5:15-16‬"

- eoscarbowman

"This is exactly what happened to me and my wife. The Pastor and his young adult kids would pull up to church in their Mercedes. Meanwhile, he started a campaign for a huge new church with all the new modern amenities. This was to be built literally right next to the current humongous and modern church."

"The final straw was him insisting on us giving money while I was unemployed and we had a new born child. We only had running water and electricity in our house at the time, things were rough. MF'er didn't offer assistance or help, only that we live by "faith" and offering money to the church every weekend."

"Never again will I fall into that trap."

- xman1102

God loves everyone.

"The utter hypocrisy of being told to love everyone and then listening to the list of people NOT in the category 'everyone.' (Gay people, people of other faiths, people of other races etc)."

"I believe that any God that is as petty, judgmental and unforgiving as we can be is not a God worth worship. Every little church has its own interpretation of the gospel but if you don't prescribe to that specific one then you are not going to heaven."

"I believe in being a good person, doing your best to live a life that does not harm others. In short, I believe in walking the walk, not talking the talk."

"If that lands me in a fiery hole, I'm ok with that, I will be in the company of some awesome people who missed out on that list too."

- Wendellisi

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"I completely agree. My dad's a Christian, my mum was not. My dad is a very difficult person to be around, highly judgmental of those groups you mentioned (even when he says he's not), has a temper problem, speaks to people rudely, amongst many other things."

"My mum wasn't. She didn't go to church or believe in it, but she was the most selfless, compassionate, kind and non-judgmental woman you could wish to meet. I struggle to believe God could condemn such a beautiful person to hell and my dad to heaven. She developed early onset Alzheimer's in her 50s and died a few years ago. My dad started taking her to church when she had Alzheimer's which she NEVER did and also donated £5,000 of her money in her will to the church. It stills gets me he did that to this day. I'm not religious, but I'm sure he'd be real pleased if he got Alzheimer's and I started taking him to a mosque every week and gave some of his inheritance to said mosque when he dies. Hypocrite."

- Informal-Data-2787

"I read a phrase once which [stuck] with me:"

"If 'God' is just, it will not care if you followed his advice, how you lived, etc. He will only care if you were a good Samaritan, and if you did good on others just out of the love on your heart."

"If he is unjust... why would you want to follow an unjust God?"

- Neoragex13

"'Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.'"

"'Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.'"

"'Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?'"

"'Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?'"

"Not sure who said it first; seems to be Epicurus but Britannica says David Hume which might be more reliable. Either way it's interesting."

- Frosty_Mess_2265

They must believe in Jesus.

"When I heard a pastor say with glee that Muslims are going to hell because they don't believe in Jesus."

"How can that concept ever be something to be happy about. Especially when the devout Muslims I know still think that Christians go to heaven..... It doesn't seem very.... Christian.... for want of a better word."

- phangl

"The funniest part about this is that Muslims DO believe in Jesus. At least, as a prophet."

- Dubanx

"Yeah, exactly. Why would anyone be gleeful about the idea that people are going to hell on a relatively minor difference - which is primarily driven by where they are born."

- phangl

"Interestingly, when I stopped believing in god, I had to let go of the idea of someone punishing all the people I disliked and/or disagreed with in the afterlife."

- VapoursAndSpleen

"Yeah, this is true. To be honest, I was never that sold on the heaven and hell thing, in the first place. What actually put me off the church was how much people seemed to WANT there to be a hell. I just couldn't square it with my values."

"I mostly saw god as a checker of my behavior, but still saw morality as a personal responsibility to understand."

"I stopped believing in a tangible god after I stopped going to church just due to a lack of evidence, and the fact that it wasn't being reinforced every Sunday. I still like the idea that I have a responsibility towards something intangible that can't be fooled. I accept it is probably useful, rather than true."

"The problem that I have with pure atheism/antitheism, is that it's very easy to fool/bargain with yourself, and convince yourself you are being your best self. It's harder when it feels like someone knows - for me, at least."

- phangl

The long game.

"For my confirmation, I was given a beautiful white leather bound bible. I read it. Twice. Every word. It left me with more questions than answers, so I talked to my pastor (who was a pretty cool dude), who smiled at me and said 'I knew you would be the one who'd figure it out', gave me a hug and told me that he enjoyed having me in his class. Basically, he admitted that it's all a bunch of bs. Been an atheist ever since."

- darkpixie1

"Holy sh*t. He really played the long game."

- slinky999

"He tried, he really did, but he was also always open to questions and discussions. In the 2 years of bible study (required before confirmation), he never 'preached', he was never condescending, he admitted to not having all the answers. Like I said, he was a really cool dude. To him, it seemed to me, his role as a pastor was more about community and being a decent person than belief. I wish more people of the church would be more like him."

- darkpixie1

"Penn Jillette said that there's no faster way to becoming an atheist than reading the bible."

- AEsylumProductions

"That was a major factor for me too."

- GardenStarling

"He was right. I was only 14 then, so I read it twice to make sure. Didn't change my mind."

- darkpixie1

​Indoctrination.

"Later in life, I've realized that a lot of the Biblical stories make sense to us because they are familiar."

"We all know that Jesus died on the cross to save us all. But it really only makes sense if you know that as a truth from very young age."

"If you stop to think that why would an almighty god need a human sacrifice to forgive the people he himself created to be flawed? There are really only two options: either he just wants a human sacrifice or there has to be an even higher power in the universe who dictates that you need such a sacrifice for forgiveness."

"Otherwise God could forgive us like we forgive each other, just out of humanity and understanding. We don't need blood rituals for that."

"Yet because we were taught from very early age that Jesus died for our sins, it makes sense."

- Pontus_Pilates

"Yeah I'm a Hindu who didn't grow up with biblical ideas and none of it makes sense to me. Why did someone have to die for everyone's sins? Why is everyone born sinful? Why are people who don't believe in Jesus going to hell even if they do good deeds? These ideas are just taken for granted in western society and it's all so weird to me."

"I did try to read about this stuff but everything has confusing words like ecumenical and ecclesiastical and Deuteronomy and whatever the hell else and I gave up. I also did try talking to a priest who was seated next to me on a 19 hr. flight about wtf is all this, and he tried explaining things, but it just got more confusing."

- sensitiveinfomax

"Religion was never pushed on me but my family is religious. Once I stopped fully believing and they'd ask why or whatever, I'd just say if god is really so benevolent and great he would understand my reluctance to believe in him."

"Thankfully I have a good family and they considered this a pretty good response and don't bug me about it."

- andywolf8896

Science and scripture.

"Sitting through an Episcopal sermon where the priest said that mental illness was being possessed by demons. At the handshake door (on the way out), I said, 'You have really f*cked this one up.' He responded with, 'A good Christian holds science in one hand and the scripture in the other.'"

"I knew it was just one priest but I was already on the fence about religion so I bolted."

- 3Suze

"Good call honestly. I grew up in a couple churches that also believed this (which is why I didn't get proper treatment until I was in my 20's. Cause praying MDD and an anxiety disorder away didn't work. That and literally one of the young people in the last church I went to had schizophrenia. When I heard how the pastor was preaching about demon possession and how the congregation behaved in reference to hearing things (that weren't attributed to God- that that was demons), I was appalled."

- USSNerdinator

"I agree a good Christian holds science in one hand and the scripture in the other but sounds like he doesn't have science even in the same building."

- ForgottenForce

The devil is in you.

"It didn't happen to me but my dad. The priest came near him, watched him, and said, 'You have the devil in you."

"Then left."

"My dad has never gone to a church since then Only when family members got married."

- RoberBot

"This reminds me of when my husband told me that when he was a kid and went to church, the priest randomly came up and told him he was the son of Satan because he had ADHD and couldn't sit still. Literally wtf why would anyone say that to a child."

- theflooflord

It's interesting to hear that people are seeing that the blind faith and hypocrisy are not what they want to subscribe to any longer. Even though the faith still has a huge influence on our politics and culture, perhaps we will see that begin to shift.


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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.