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People Who Live In Rural Areas Describe The Creepiest Thing They've Ever Experienced

People Who Live In Rural Areas Describe The Creepiest Thing They've Ever Experienced
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Nighttime is a little scarier no matter where you are, but there is something especially eerie about the silent pitch darkness of unpopulated rural areas.

The unknown sights and sounds that lurk in the deep dark are enough to make one's skin crawl. A sudden shriek or a piercing light can make the blood run cold.

Perhaps curious about what life is like in those rural spots, Redditor catarpillarfu**er asked:

"Rural folk, what is the most creepy thing you've seen or experienced?"

Many people talked about the sounds. There is something so unnerving about unexplained noises coming from unexplained places, all in the dark.

Final Cries

"The blood curdling scream of something being killed by coyotes, then all of a sudden it stops and there's dead silence."

"Just a few weeks ago just had a black snake wrapped on my outside door knob when I opened it! I guess it was trying to get to the nest of fly catchers beneath the porch roof."

-- TNClodHopper

Dads Can Nope Too

"I live in rural Wisconsin. Surrounded by corn, marsh, the works. I remember I was in my teens, outside at dusk with my parents but we were all doin' our own thing."

"Suddenly a woman's voice yells 'HELP ME' from the woods beside our house. Just loud enough to hear, but quiet enough for me to second guess what I heard. My mom and dad both turned to look at me like 'you heard that too right?' "

"Mom starts screaming 'DO YOU NEED HELP WHERE ARE YOU' It's moved from dusk to pitch black now and the hair stood up on my neck because it got TOO QUIET."

"Mom wanted to keep yelling, but dad just got up from his chair and said "inside". I think that's one of the only times I've seen her listen to him."

-- DoNotUseOnHumans

Misleading Exterior

"Australia has a reputation for scary animals, but people don't ever talk about the sounds you hear."

"The cutest, most fluffy, sweet-faced little animals make demon noises in the dark. Our birds scream, possums sound horror movie noises, koalas sound like giant monsters."

"All of these are completely harmless. Generally the dangerous animals are, coincidentally, the ones you can't hear."

-- JackofScarlets

Not as Sly as We Thought

"Grew up in a very rural area of Kentucky on a property that was about 75 combined acres of woods and empty fields out a dead end, one lane road. One night when I was a kid I was sent to take the trash out to the dumpster after dark."

"The dumpster was already at the bottom of the driveway. About the time I reached the dumpster I heard the most blood curdling scream I have ever heard. Like a woman was being brutally murdered right in my ear."

"I flew back to the house and had a full on come-apart, crying and telling my dad to get a gun. Fox screams will make your blood run cold."

-- Rangylil13

Unseen Lips

"Live out in the country, realized one night that we never got the mail that day so I walked out to the road to get it. No moon that night so it was pitch black, just the sound of crickets and tree frogs."

"As I'm walking back up the driveway, I hear my husband whistling, from the direction it's coming from it seems he walked out the back door and was coming around the side of the house towards me."

"I didn't know why and didn't bother to ask, I just went up on the porch and back in the front door. Just then my husband CAME OUT OF THE BATHROOM. I still get freaked out a little when I think about it. It was 100% a human whistling a tune and both humans were in the house."

-- twizzlerbreath

Hot and Heavy in the Woods

"I live on a road very far away from town. I have neighbors but I can't hear them or see them from my house. My back deck overlooks a field before mikes of woods. One night I'm out back having a smoke and most likely stoned. I'm just chilling in the dark w a little bit of candle light and the light from inside when I hear a sound that scared the hell out of me."

"It was a deep low breathing/snorting sound. It came from the field but it sounded like it was right next to me. It gave me chills and I thought there was a monster in my back yard. It's pitch black and I can't see what it is, not that I really wanted to. I went back inside, locked the door and googled the sh** out of it."

"It was a deer. During their mating season a male dear can make sounds like that."

-- cptnsaltypants

There All Along

"A friend of mine lived in a semi-rural area growing up. One night the cops knocked on her door and warned her that they were looking for a possibly violent fugitive. Told her they'd check her property and that she should lock up and be wary."

"It wasn't until some time later that she found out the full story. The fugitive had been caught sexually assaulting a horse in a local stable. In the ensuing panic, the horse's leg was broken and the man got away."

"He was found two days later hiding in a stormwater drain."

-- bornwithatail

"I live in Ireland there are a shit ton of stray cats that farmers just let roam around to cull the local rat population, recently they've started coming further and further into the village and now every night it sounds like someone's climbing around outside my window..."

"my god the first time I heard it was at 2:00 am, they were tapping on the window and everything trying to get in, keep in mind they weren't meowing our making cat noises, it was just one cat walking around on my roof and tapping the window that leads to my room. It was terrifying I legitimately thought it was a person"

-- Hollowhowler100

People Who Made A Lot Of Money From Something Totally Random | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

For others, it was all about the things they saw. There are some images they just won't get out of their heads anytime soon.

Two Runners

"I used to live in the desert for a year, and on nights when the moon isn't out or there are clouds blocking out the stars and moon it's almost pitch black, you can't see more than ten yards ahead of you..."

"...one night I was driving down the highway going home and then suddenly in my headlights I see a guy running on the side of the highway full on sprinting, I'm going 70mph so it's only for a second or two but I'm like what the hell was he running from?"

"I hope he's okay because I'm not pulling over lmao but then maybe a minute later I see another guy in my headlights only he's walking on the side of the highway, and I swear to God it looked like the same guy, two separate guys in the dark walking/running on the side of the highway?"

"What possible reason could explain that, I didn't see any cars on the side of the road that might've broken down, I was so weirded out I just had an uncomfortable feeling the entire ride home"

-- santichrist

Unexpected Closure

"Used to live in rural Philippines in a tiny fishing village in Tinambacan. Right next to our house was a fenced-off lot that had been overgrown and a really broken down house. It always looked REALLY creepy at night and kids in the neighborhood told me it was haunted. From our rooftop you could look into the lot."

"One night I was looking at it, and I saw a strange blue glow coming from inside and shadows moving across the windows. I couldn't place it at all and didn't hear any noise, no people speaking or any indication of what was causing it. Really scared me."

"I brought it up to my family and they told me drag queens were squatting there overnight so that they could attend a nearby disco. So… that was relieving."

-- drekia

A Fixer Upper

"Grew up spending a ton of time in the Colorado Rockies. In college a friend and I were on a weekend backpacking trip up in national forest land, about three hundred yards off-trail, when we stumbled across a mostly-buried bunker someone had made."

"Think a 20-foot-long Tuff Shed, buried up to it's roof. We only noticed it because sun glinted off one of two small windows in the roof, which had been deliberately covered with brush/tree litter. Looking through the windows, we could make out a cot, buckets and tubs of food and supplies, etc."

"Found the door (concealed/partially buried), which had a heavy padlock securing it."

"Noped out of there with a quickness, didn't want to run into whoever had built the place."

-- Gray_side_Jedi

No Need for Supernatural

"Something else that happened in rural CO: this is my friend's story. Dress rehearsal for our school play would run a little late sometimes. My friend ended up being one of the last people there. She walked to her car and got in, something in her rear view mirror caught her eye."

"She looked through her back window to see that a mountain lion was a few yards away. It wasn't the first instance of a mountain lion being on the school grounds. The middle school was just down the hill from there, and I remember when it locked down because there was a mountain lion outside. Good 'ol nature lol"

-- CreativeScarcity

Horrifying Realities

"I used to live 30 minutes away from where I am now in the Philippines, and back then there weren't any convenience stores or supermarkets nearby in my village. It was just all grass, trees, and vines---perfect if you wanna hide mutilated or sacked bodies. One day, my parents and I drove home from my pre-school. Suddenly my dad went silent and told me not to look"

"i was stupid enough to disobey, and saw someone hanging from the trees with their neck. We learned later on that people were killing themselves because of destitution and personal conflict."

-- DistortedDiamonds

In Unison

"One night I grabbed my son's toy night vision goggles to see if they even worked. If they did, maybe we could see what was making all the weird howling noises in the woods for the last 2 nights. So I looked across the yard into the woods and there were so many eyes."

"So. Many. Eyes. They were everywhere. In one case there was a grouping of 3 eyes. I had myself convinced it was just a opossum with it's baby and I couldn't see the other eye, but then they all blinked at the same time."

"I have never ever used night vision to look in the woods again. Whatever deformity was there can have it's space."

-- 1D0ntKn0wY0u

A Warning

"When I had just gotten my first car I was driving home one night around 10pm, I came around a corner on a very dark backroad and my headlights shined onto a large stake that someone set up on the curve with a deers head shoved on top."

"I was nervous the rest of the way home after that."

-- PlzComeGetMeAliens

The Great Orb

"My friend and I were driving across a rural stretch of highway with very little traffic at night. We were having an involved conversation while he drove. Suddenly I saw something extremely large looming in the distance, right in the middle of the road. It too dark to make out but looked like a huge boulder or round object, at least 10 ft high and just as wide."

"I screamed and pointed at it, my friend hit the brakes and swerved hard around, thankfully missing it. No other cars were around and as it was a one way, we could not turn around to investigate. My first thought was a giant Boulder but we were in flat desert, nowhere near a mountain or hills. We called the cops to let them know but about sh** our pants."

-- Emmalema_dingdong

So if you're thinking about upscaling to a big house out in the country, beware the mysterious that may lurk there.

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From Your Site Articles
rural

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

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

woman wearing mask
Photo by Sandra Seitamaa on Unsplash

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!

weird traits

People Who Actually Died And Were Revived Share Their Experiences

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.

back from the dead

People Explain Which Overly Hyped Foods They Just Don't Understand

Pesto salad bowl
Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash

We all have our favorite foods, food preferences, and even foods that we don't like.

But there are some popular foods out there that just don't make sense. Nonetheless, we keep seeing them advertised, included in movies and TV shows, and of course, our loved ones ordering them while we look on in confusion.

Curious about others' food preferences, Redditor YarnSpectre asked:

"What's one food everyone seems to go crazy for, but you just don't understand the hype?"

So Much Sugar

"Nutella. It’s just okay."

- Former-Finnish-4653

"Way too sweet for me, I’d probably love it with one-fifth of the sugar."

"Unfortunately that's true of a lot of desserts, though. Most would benefit from a cut of at least 25 percent of the sugar."

- Mindful-O-Melancholy

Not-So-Chocolate Cake

"Red velvet cake. I've had ones that were supposed to be excellent but it's just red cake."

- dedmuse22

"Most red velvet cakes are just s**tty vanilla cake with red food coloring. Get one (or make one) the correct way with non-Dutch-processed cocoa powder, buttermilk, and vinegar. It's an incredibly smooth, very different type of chocolate cake."

- whiskeyclone630

Mastery Makes a Difference

"Those multicolored cookie things that everyone was making into cakes or something for a while? Macaroons? Macarons? I don't think I've ever had one that tasted good. They're pretty, but that's it."

- TensionShift9576

"Macarons. I never cared for them either."

"I had one yesterday at a potluck, homemade ones. They were seriously something else, with some sort of butter cream and jelly inside. Never had anything quite like it. Now I wish I had grabbed a few to take home."

"I still won't eat store-bought ones, though."

- Totally-A-Banana

The Wrong Kind of Spice

"Hot Cheetos or Takis. Anything with the artificially colored spicy powder."

- jadziasonrie

"Takis texture is my issue. They’re like semi-stale rolled-up Doritos."

- addvalue2222

The Sugar Cookies of the Midwest

"Those dry-a** Walmart sugar cookies."

- ComiNotub

"They taste like play-dough cookies came to life."

- Significant_Potato29

For Garnish

"I mean, people go crazy in both directions, but cilantro. There’s the whole 'does it taste like soap or not' thing, but it’s usually presented as 'people either think it tastes like soap or they find it amazing.'"

"I am neither. It doesn’t taste like soap to me, but I also don’t love it. Meh."

- Whiteums

"I don't think it tastes like soap, but I do think it tastes weirdly metallic. I don't go out of my way to avoid it in pre-prepared food, but I usually leave it out of things I'm preparing myself."

- caffeinated-tea

Fancy Decor Only

"People like how fondant LOOKS. I refuse to believe a single soul wants to EAT it."

- sorandom21

"It's like eating a candied raincoat."

- BlueShirtGuy

Back for a Limited Time

"Every time it comes back, I’m SUPER excited for the McRib at McDonald's. I bite into one and then… the spongey texture hits me and makes me remember why I don’t need to buy it ever again."

"Then, somehow, McRib season rolls around again two years later, and there I am in line…"

- the_yellow_jello

"I'm convinced this is why they only bring it out every once in a while. Nobody actually likes it, but they wait just long enough for you to forget that it's no good and then hit you with a combo of nostalgia and 'limited time only' FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)."

- FiveAlarmFrancis

A Seasonal Tradition

"Pumpkin spice. It’s fine, but absolutely not anything to make a fuss about."

- AdMaterial9419

"There is a car parts place in a small town I drive through to visit family, and last year on their reader board, they had: 'THEYRE BACK! PUMPKIN SPICE BRAKE PADS.'"

"And now I can never see anything pumpkin spice and not think about it, might have been my favorite reader board sign ever."

- deadcomefebruary

Pure Caffeine Addiction

"Energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster."

- DishIntelligent5645

"I'm an avid Monster drinker, but I totally get it. I'm always trying new and interesting energy drinks I see, but so much of it is just garbage."

"The white Monster tastes like 90s Fresca to me and is the only energy drink I love."

- broniesnstuff

Overly-Complicated Drinks

"Can it be a beverage? Because I kind of hate IPAs but everyone else seems to love them. And I like beer, just not IPAs."

- AngelOvTeOdd

"I have nothing against people who want complex beers. It's just not for me. I want an easy as f**k to drink fizzy yellow beer for when it's hot out. And a nice smooth stout for all other times. When I want more complex flavors, I'll go for wine or scotch."

- I_will_be_me_Arsenal

Just Too Expensive

"What about lobster? I can dig it with drawn butter and I ain’t mad at it. But f**k me if I’m gonna pay $29.99 for a lobster. I’d rather eat shrimp."

- nosaj23e

Questionable Value

"Truffles. I paid $60 this weekend at an Italian restaurant for eight slivers on my pasta shaved in front of me. I barely tasted anything. I don't get the hype."

- heybuddy

Improved Gut Health?

"Kombucha."

- Tiny_Wasabi2476

"Ah, yes, dirty pond water."

- meteorguy

Rich Tastes

"Caviar."

- malYca

"Everyone goes crazy for caviar? Most people seem to dislike it."

"Though admittedly, people who do like it tend to like it a lot."

"That all being said, I really don't like it, either."

- Heathen_Mushroom

When it comes to food, to each their own, but it was interesting to see some undeniable fan favorites like pumpkin spice hit this list.

It just serves as a great reminder for a larger picture idea: Don't be unkind about the things that might bring someone else joy.

popular foods

People Who've Lost Weight Break Down What Surprised Them Most

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.

health