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People Who Have Encountered True Evil Share What Happened

People Who Have Encountered True Evil Share What Happened
Paul Bradbury/Getty Images

Who knows what true evil really looks like when they see it? It feels like more of a feeling, something in your gut crying at you, "Run. Flee. Hide." Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't register with you until after something unfortunate happens.

TRIGGER WARNING: Many stories involve grisly deaths.



Reddit user, KeasMe, wanted the gates of Hades to open up and to see the worst of the worst when they asked:

Have you ever encountered true evil? How?



"All we got in return..."

"Back in 2011 my uncle down in Mexico had got [kidnapped] by one of the cartels. They gave my entire family on my dad's side a [ransom]: $10000 and we would get him back."

"My dad called in people who owed him money and managed to get the 10k. He sent it down to the family down south and they paid the ransom for my uncle. All we got in return was my uncle's lifeless body.

– mojo_cranky

"He had a look of pure joy on his face..."

"There was a kid in my 6th grade class who loved designing his own custom shanks and then stabbing people in the arm or back with them."

"He had a look of pure joy on his face when he saw that he drew blood and caused suffering to another human. He was only suspended for a week the first two times he did this before they finally kicked him out of school after the third time."

– Trunky_Coastal_Kid

"Guess he just didn't have good luck with animals. "

"I worked with a guy in Ontario who was always posting on Facebook that he just adopted new puppy like every 4 or 5 months. He adopted them from all different shelters and people. Had to have about 8 or 9 at one point. We went to his house for some reason and there were no dogs. No signs of dogs, no toys, no food bowls etc. We asked about the puppies and he just off-handedly pointed to the backyard, which we noticed was full of little mounds and said they all were sick and died. Guess he just didn't have good luck with animals."

"The way he said it was cold."

"The CSPCA investigated him and tested the remains. He was putting small amounts of his own homemade poison in the dogfood and conducting his own little LD-50 test."

– Morbido

"...she was a kindergarten teacher no less."

"I felt like my aunt was pretty evil, and she was a kindergarten teacher no less. She pulled my arm out of its socket one time when I was four and she was "helping me cross the road". I visited her when I was sixteen and every opportunity she got she would whisper in my ear "you are worthless. You are nothing." and just keep walking. The visit ended with her trying to strangle me after I took issue with her trying to force feed my brother ginger, and that was the last time my family spoke to her. I remember fantasizing about getting back at her in some way for a while, but then moved on with my life and grew up."

"Years later, she was being her typical self with my uncle (her brother) and berating him calling him worthless and he shot her in the head, killing her. It was a real tragedy for the family as he shot himself afterwards as well, but I certainly have not missed my aunt."

– golden_death

"How do you get expelled from a pre-school??"

"I havent, but I think my GF has."

"She works at a pre-school/daycare. Ages of children vary from infant to ~5. She teaches the 3 yr olds in her part of the building. She told me that there is this one 3 year old girl that is just a heathen. She literally only wants to hurt people. One day she got in trouble for hitting kids on the head with pots and pans (they use these in the sand pit for fun). She brought the little girl inside to talk to her and the entire time she is just not listening."

"Mid sentence the little girl looks at my GF dead in the eyes and says "Can you let me go outside so I can hit more people?" The next day she was expelled because she just kept hitting kids in the head with pots and pans.. laughing about it. How do you get expelled from a pre-school??"

– xJBr3w

"They justify, minimize, blame others."

"In my job I have to interview convicted criminals for court purposes. They have committed all kinds of crimes: murder, domestic violence, child abuse. Some don't talk about their conduct but some do."

"Most have no concept, or show no understanding or acceptance of how evil they are, which is pretty scary. They justify, minimize, blame others. I have an easy time putting them out of my mind after all these years at my job. But I also have to talk to the victims of their heinous crimes and that is the worst part of my job. Hard to erase their pain from my brain."

– Toasteroven515

"...not allowed to have firearms but he has a sniper rifle..."

"I had befriended a coworker, before I figured out that he was a total sociopath, psychopath, whateverpath, the guy was pure evil. He killed a yard dog we had at work after throwing it by the hind legs at a wall, I immediately reported him and he began to stalk me. He confessed to me to killing his wife, after her body had been cremated, he would call or text me in the middle of the night, asking me if I knew where my daughter was (He knew), or he would tell me to look out the window, and he would flash a laser at me."

"He is a felon not allowed to have firearms but he has a sniper rifle (with a red laser) anyway. He said to me "What do I have to do, for you to hang out with me again? Kill someone for you?" Police were notified, interviews held, I moved my family out of the state, and for two years after I still got cryptic texts that could only have come from him. He is still out there. Free."

– iMacYouPC

"These are the high points!"

"Sadly....Yes. My ex-husband was a preacher. IMHO...I believe he was a narcissistic psychopath. I endured extreme abuse during the 9 years of marriage. My life was threatened on numerous occasions. I had a butch knife pulled on me. A gun pointed at my head. He threatened to beat me to death with a night stick. After our child was born he put a hot iron in my face after a C-section a week earlier and it got all infected. He didn't like what I cooked one day and threw it literally across the entire kitchen floor and left the house for me to clean up. He literally grabbed my breast and ripped my shirt."

"These are the high points! Feel free to AMA!"

– beachiepeachie2

"...literally scream at me in front of the principal about how I was trash..."

"My 4th and 5th grade teacher sent me to the principal's office for sneezing, TWICE. No reason, she just hated me. Some kid and I were fooling around during recess."

"Kid falls and gets a microscopic scratch. Blames it on me. The teacher literally grabs me by the arm and PULLS me to the principal's office. She then proceeds to literally scream at me in front of the principal about how I was trash and useless and was a disruption to the class."

"She called me a piece of sh*t in front of the principal. I was 10."

– -wat80-

"...I was cautious around, for a lot of reasons."

"When I was young, there was a kid in my neighborhood that I was cautious around, for a lot of reasons. One day, a few of us were hanging out, and he found a dead, run-over squirrel."

"He started running the tire of his bike over the head, and he took a lot of pleasure in it. When we were in high school, he shot and killed both his grandparents."

– rock1ngch41r

"At some point, this should have been the first red flag."

"Yes, I believe so."

"The last place I lived, was rented from what seemed like a nice elderly couple. The man was very soft spoken, with a timid and pleasant demeanor, while we didn't see much or ever talk to the wife. At some point, this should have been the first red flag."

"When I moved in, it was 3 other people sharing the apartment, for a total of four. All tenants then and later were students. I'd expected everybody to sign a new contract as a previous tenant had moved out, but was informed I'd just sign a contract for my part alone, as everyone else had. No worries."

"A few years pass, every original tenant but me moved. Suddenly and without warning, we're informed the lease is over, and we had 30 days to move (unheard of where i am from, 2 months plus is common). Additionally, I learnt the wife was a retired lawyer, and she was mean. They had worded the contract cleverly, and hid behind the mans timid personality, so as to not raise suspicions, and lull us into a false sense of safety."

"So everyone signing on the contract, was accepting that for this apartment there was no concept of "expected wear and tear", and that once the lease was over, it'd have to be made sure the apartment was in the same condition as when the lease (very first contract, many many years ago) was signed."

"And they hammered down hard on this point. They hired contractors to come inspect the house, and compare to 15 year old photos and expected average wear and tear that we'd be reimbursing on top of actual damages of 15 years of student parties etc. And on top of that they billed us the hourly charge of the inspectors."

"So yes, the evil here is consciously preying on poor students for the ease of access by offering up a malicious lease. Some part of the fault is on us for not taking the contract at face value, but something something nice elderly couple."

– Alarinth

"He gaslighted her so bad that she was institutionalized..."

"My dad. Before he had me he was with a girl who he got pregnant. He wanted her to have an abortion but she did not."

"His solution? He gaslighted her so bad that she was institutionalized by her family and over here, when someone was institutionalized whilst pregnant they were forced to have an abortion."

"He tried pulling the same crap on my mum when she was having me but when he realized it ain't gonna work he just waited until the day I was born when my mum went to the hospital to grab all our life savings and disappear permanently."

"I'd say that was pretty evil."

– YoungDiscord

"Where do you think her remains are?"

"Met a guy who had killed his wife. He owned a local restaurant, and when asked at his trial where she thought her step mother's remains were, his daughter responded "he's a chef and owns a restaurant. Where do you think her remains are?"

"It was a cute little place and I'd always planned on eating there, especially because the daughter was a friend of mine... But I'm glad I never did."

– vegeterin

"I see a lot of crazy stuff with my job..."

"I see a lot of crazy stuff with my job, also go through a lot of court files and because I'm weird I can't help but read them (sorta like this thread!)""

"Two off the top of my head - parents starved two of their three kids, nearly to the point of death. The two they starved were girls, they took good care of the boy.

"Man killed grandparents and their grandson, stuffed their bodies in barrels of acid, then put what was left through a wood chipper."

– AW2007

"...she went on the run with them..."

"My kids went to visit their mom in the UK on a court ordered visit. I knew what was going to happen, but couldn't prevent the visit. Sure enough, rather than put them on a plane back to me in the USA, she went on the run with them & her boyfriend. I got a lot of help from the center for missing & exploited children, the US State Department, and the Scottish Government paid all my legal fees over there."

"During the 5 months she had the kids, she tried to brainwash them. She told them if they came back to me, I would kill them. This was relentless. My son was incredibly strong and refused to believe her or cooperate ( they were 13 at the time), but my daughter was much easier to manipulate. I really don't know for certain that they weren't physically abused, but a lot or the stuff she accused me of, was things she and her then boyfriend ( now husband) did to the children. I had to fly to Scotland to appear in a trial. I walked out of the courthouse at 9pm on a Friday night with the children."

"Normal process for these cases is to have a designated handover 2 or 3 days later, but the child psychologist who interviewed us all was positive that my ex wife would kill the children, and the judge agreed. I got them back in the clothes they stood in. I have no doubt she would indeed have killed them rather than hand them over to me. Five years later, she has no contact with the children ( their choice). they have anxiety and depression, but are doing remarkably well. They are high school seniors now, and they make me proud every day."

– debunkerFL

"I chalked it up to the divorce..."

"A few years ago a friend of mine was going through a nasty divorce. Like really bad. He came to visit me one evening as I was getting off of work. When I sat down with him he just seemed off, like a completely different person than the man I had known before. Blank stare in his eyes, no smiling, anger behind everything he said. I chalked it up to the divorce and just thought to myself that he would get better when everything calmed down. I told my wife when I got home about seeing him and she agreed with my assessment."

"I bumped into his ex-wife and some friends a few days later at another work event. She was actually out celebrating their divorce being finalized I think and she invited my wife and I over to a house party. That would be the last time I saw her. My wife and I ended up not going to the house party but the ex-husband did show up. He killed 9 people, including his ex-wife."

– totspur1982

You Can Look Them Straight In The Eye...

"I've told this story before - about meeting a murderer. Was a journalist on weekend duty. Got called out to a story - guy claims his car was hi-jacked with his 2 year old son in it. I met him at the police station, he seemed devastated. I was devastated - I mean, I'd done plenty of grisly crime stories, but a missing kid is next level awful."

"Next day I had my day off, the regular crime reporter called me - they'd arrested the dad and found the little boy's body at a rubbish dump. He did it out of revenge for his wife cheating. It still bothers me to this day how I could have felt so much sympathy for this man, I shook his hand, I cried with him. I'm usually very good at picking up when someone is "off". Just goes to show you, true evil disguises itself very well."

– NauntyNienel

They Don't Deserve To Be Parents

"My mother sexually abused me for ten years. And my dad watched. And sometimes participated. When I tried to speak out or cry for help, I was strangled, forced to eat feces, had my nose broken against a refrigerator and I was forced to stay home from school while being starved for days. I’ve been in therapy for 5 years now and it’s not much easier."

– Middle-Earthling-

Those Who Fail Should Not Teach

"I guess the teachers on my way through college who would just fail you for fun, just because they could. I hated that. They didn't only make us repeat certain exams but also made us like studying less and less and getting pissed about it. I'm this kinda guy who don't really accept everything without asking questions so I went a few times to meet teachers to tell me what I wrote so badly that I couldn't even pass with a shitty mark but at least positive. Usually the answer was shallow, they pointed out one question I didn't know the answer at (from at least a few questions, sometimes >10) and that was it, they didn't want to tell anything more or even look at the whole thing. It was nowhere near failing usually, it was one unanswered question out of many. Hated those pricks. And somehow most of the time you could say that someone is a prick even before something like this happened. For me this was evil."

– Tango1777

Good Thing She's Gone

"My ex. After a relationship where we were both parasites she assaulted me and spread rumours about me and gotten my friend to hate me. Not as bad as some things on here but she's pure evil to me."

– Dragonist777

She Didn't Learn From Her Mistakes

"Not nearly as bad as most of these, but my older cousin stole my mom's credit card to pay for her wedding when I was 12. No remorse, even when we took her to court (she never paid). Flash forward 16 years and she was just arrested by the FBI for scamming perspective adoptive parents. She pled guilty this week and is looking at only 8 years. What a despicable human."

– hausishome

Those Siblings, Though

"Little brother."

– Oh-Cude

"My sister"

– deadmemesaregood666

Absolutely Evil!

"The default browser at my school was internet explorer. I left that school."

– Alpha_Voyager

"Once someone put pineapple on pizza"

– talentedbilldill

"Does watching and reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Count as I saw Voldemort and Umbridge"

– BraeDrizzt23

"I walked into someone eating Nutella, straight out of a jar. Ever since then I lost faith in humanity"

– HARSNOR

"You know, reading this thread makes me think that maybe Ultron and Thanos had a point"

– Cbrick98

Whew! After all that, we needed something lighthearted!

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.