Top Stories

People Explain How Their Favorite Teacher Became Their Worst Nightmare

People Explain How Their Favorite Teacher Became Their Worst Nightmare
Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

Having a teacher that truly supports you is priceless. But sometimes, our favorite teachers can fall from grace, and through whatever events or circumstances, they become the bane of your existence. It sucks, but it happens quite a bit. Here are some of those stories.

u/Reiders-theaters93jx asked: What did your favorite teacher do to become your worst one ever?



That doesn't make any sense.

Sounds petty but.... In 7th grade. I always made 100% on spelling tests. Always. Hell, they give you the words on a list beforehand. But anyway, I got my test back with a score of 80%. I checked and rechecked and rechecked my paper and couldn't see the error. So, I go up to the teacher and tell her I can't find my mistakes. And honestly, she says to me, "You didn't dot your 'i' right over the 'i'. Huh?

I go back to my desk and ask to see my friend's test. They didn't dot their 'i' right over the 'i' either. I go back up to the teacher and tell her this and she says, 'Well, if everyone else is going to jump off a bridge, does that mean you would too?" By this time, I was pissed and said, "yes, I would."

I got sent to the principal's office. Hated this class after that.

petitenigma

Karen-esque, indeed.

Giphy

My Freshman year of High School, I had this one English teacher who was not only a really cool dude but very good at his job and made great choices in assigned readings (including Shakespeare's more violent plays, like Macbeth and Titus.) As his student, I had a lot of respect for him.

Fast-forward 5 years, I'm taking a year off between High School and College to work a regular job so I can save a little more money. This same teacher walks into my store with a small order, and then proceeds to verbally tear the cashier next to me a new one because the items he "needed for his class" would have to be back-ordered. Like that's somehow the cashier's f*cking fault the distributor didn't ship out certain items to YOUR liking? I was utterly dumb-struck at his Karen-esque behavior.

Lesson learned: Just because someone is good at what they do doesn't mean they're a good person, you never truly know someone until you see them interact with the public.

Egodram

Wow.

I was a student worker in the guidance counselors office. I worked there two periods a day, doing filing, decorating, and generally being a gopher (go for this, go for that). I loved the two teachers/counselors who sat in that office.

And then one day, the fundraising candy box comes up $10 short. That's weird, because all candy is $1, but we assume someone made change and then someone (maybe else) saw a tenner and legged it.

That's what I though, anyway.

Several months later, we're running the book fair. I'm a cashier. One of the tills comes up $5 short. Could be theft, but could be just high schoolers bad at math, or a making-change swindle, or whatever.

The next day I get called into the principals office (oooOOOoohh!) and am told that they know I stole $20 from the book fair, because they also know I stole $20 from the candy sales several months prior, though they couldn't prove it at the time.

If, however, I pay the principal $50 in cash by tomorrow, my parents don't need to be involved.

Well, I don't want my parents involved because that's an automatic thrashing just for being contacted by the school, never mind what they'd do if they thought I was a thief (never mind I worked in the family restaurant since I was 9 and ran the register for years after school without ever coming up short). So I go to my two favorite teachers and ask them for help, because obviously something is screwy here.

Turns out, they're aware, because they told the principal that I had stolen the $20 from the candy box (never mind it was $10), so it seemed pretty obvious that I also took $20 from the register (it was short by $5). Never mind the extra $10, I guess.

Well, I had a job, so I actually had money, and I gave it to the principal the next day and like any honest blackmailer, he never told my parents.

The worst part about the whole thing was the implication of stupidity. Like, I don't much mind being called a thief, but I resent being called a stupid thief that would TWICE steal from his own till.

F you, Elkton High School. Those teachers are long dead, but you're still sh*tty in my book.

shandower

WTF?!?!

Our teacher Mr. A was really cool. We were in 6th grade. He was in his early 20's. He joked with us, made difficult concepts easy, and was easy to talk to since he liked a lot of the same shows and movies that we did.

One day, a girl with Down Syndrome transferred in. Our beloved Mr. A would pick on her and if she didn't know an answer, would relentlessly ask her and say stuff like "you're keeping the class from learning." She cried almost every day. The girl was gone a few weeks later. The teacher still works there.

HAPPY ENDING EDIT: A little Google digging let me know that the girl he used to make fun of sits on the local mental health board and has a full-time job in the community. The local paper had an article on her.

IEscapedWFG

Definitely not always capitalized.

Giphy

Last round of my 3rd grade spelling bee. Word is constitution. "c-o-n-s-t-i-t-u-t-i-o-n, constitution," I proclaimed confidently. My teacher said it was wrong, since constitution is capitalized. Except it's also an improper noun, dumb b*tch. So no one won the spelling bee, despite the other finalists spelling it blatantly wrong.

TrillbroSwaggins

Definitely not the students' fault.

High school English teacher is an all-around fun person, and many people (including myself) chose her for the next grade of English classes. Christmas comes around and the teacher brings up the idea of doing one of those Salvation Army Angel (a gift for a less-fortunate kid in the community you take from one a tree at a store or mall. The class was on board with the idea, but then she insisted on doing two for our class section. It's an honors-level class with a few higher-income students, but we're in a Title I school where the majority of student—including myself—were on free/reduced lunch.

The weeks go by, and as people are dropping a few dollars here and there, the teacher expresses how she wanted to go bigger with the gift. Jackets for both, some toys, a baby doll for the girl, an iPod shuffle for the older boy. "What's an iPod without any music?" "What's a baby doll without some accessories."

Even when she said there was no pressure for us to give if we were unable to give, she began to make passive aggressive about how disappointed she was with the amount of contributions for the Angels. She began taking up class time to address how if we weren't able to fund two, we shouldn't have taken on the responsibility of two Angels. Putting blame on us that she's having to fund these with her own money. It's too late to return the Angel and it'd be our fault they don't have quality gifts this Christmas. As time goes on, more and more people are getting a bit uncomfortable, their perceptions of the sincere, 'cool teacher' start to change, and after a few more unrelated class rants and punishments, one of my favorite teachers goes to being my worst one ever.

gmg1890

That's rough.

TA in college. He ran our labs and was close to us in age so we used to hang out with him socially, play games with him etc. and he would give us extra licenses for software if we asked even though we were only supposed to get 1 each. He could give out Windows Pro licenses and stuff so this was really nice.

Then I missed a lab once because my Aunt was in the hospital dying of cancer. She didn't actually die that day though, so when I made up the lab the next week he marked it late. She died the next week.

ironman288

YIKES.

Giphy

Favorite English teacher my senior year of high school. She let me borrow novels to read, I'd chat with her before first period, she put a coffee maker in her office she'd let me have a cup. She was in her early 30s. Came in one day a frazzled mess and got arrested in class. She was sleeping with an 18 year old student. He had a girlfriend and she was married. She got everything revoked, teaching license, banned from teaching in the state. Changed her name, got divorced, ran off with the kid. I was devastated. I really connected with her and the sub replacement was a b*tch.

Admirable-Cat

Well that sucks.

Had an amazing biology teacher who I really looked up to both as a teacher and as a strong female role model, until final year when one day in class she started on a rant about how gay people were abominations and were going straight to hell. I had found out a year earlier that my older brother was gay and was going through hell after being disowned by my dad. I lost all respect for my teacher right there and then.

wooden_cupboards

Ew.

When I was about 7 I thought my swim instructor was the coolest dude ever. One of the last things we had to do in the summer course was to dive down and touch the bottom of the deep end of the pool (8 or 9 ft) while he's also at the bottom to make sure if you made it or not. I hated opening my eyes underwater so I had no idea how close I was. Apparently I was within inches but I panicked and started going back up. He grabs my f*cking ankle and I lose it and started thrashing around until I surfaced. His excuse was that "I was so close".

That was over 20 years ago but I still remember. I know he was probably just some high school lifeguard with a summer job but it went from idolization to betrayal in an instant.

iBelieveInSpace

"Truly sorry."

Giphy

Over reacts sometimes. I mean, she was sweet and kind but sometimes she overreacts over nothing.

I had a habit of saying "Isn't it suppose to be..." over something where I thought it was one way but thought it was another.

Apparently, she took it as an act of me "commanding" how an answer should be and got upset over the word "suppose".

One day I said it and she had already been upset with me, but later she gave us our test results. I walked up to her saying she might have given me a wrong mark, I was ACTUALLY telling her to lower it not increase it but I accidentally missed two points. She got upset that I suggested she was wrong, so instead of praising me for my honesty, she was going to send me to the headmistress. She said "I'm very sorry I had to do this," and I wanted to tell her that if she was truly sorry she WOULDN'T do this.

BTW, I was 9.

Author1999

Yikes.

My current Chem teacher has no respect for students. She seems nice but I've broke down many many times in class sobbing. She's been standing right next to me watching me like nothings the issue. And when we had two students pass away this year (one due to medical reasons the other to suicide) she gave the message to the class in the most disrespectful way ever. You could tell that in her mind it was just a disruption.

kalechiwps

That's an oof from me, dog.

It's gonna be hard writing this since the terms don't really correspond to the international norm, but bear with me.

So I'm taking university courses in Economics, majoring in Statistics and Economic Forecast, lots of maths, algorithms, statistical analysis and all. Last year we were supposed to choose our coordinating teachers for our degree thesis, and I chose the baddest badass of them all (or so I was told), simply because hearing that he's rather tough implied that he's a good professor - and a strict one, which gave me the impression that he'd get the best of me. We were supposed to choose between econometrics and statistical survey as practical methodologies for our thesis and I chose econometrics since I'm a lazy ass and didn't wanna go around asking for people to take my survey, also I like econometrics and data analysis a bit more.

So first meeting with my prof and my colleagues (we were 5 students who chose this prof as our mentor for the thesis), he seems like a really nice guy, immediately liked him and his attitude, kind of a careless guy with lots of knowledge to share and lots of willingness to share.

Fast forward to the beginning of the third (and last) year of our studies and we finally have classes with this professor. Oh boy, was I wrong.

To say he was rough was an understatement. From the nice guy he ought to be, his attitude shifted between being nice and careful and gentle to shouting and yelling and berating students, calling us names and threatening us with failing his class, which meant we'll have to come back for another year to take his class. Not to mention that he was that type of man, in his 40s, divorced, single parent, highly unattractive, not really relevant to our studies, but you could see that his frustration was affecting his performance as a professor and co-ordinator, mainly focusing on girls in our group.

A couple weeks ago he kind of confessed to his frustrations, when while grading our papers, he randomly started talking about how women leave you no matter how good you are, how nice you treat her, she'll always leave you for a better looking guy, or a rich one, or both. He went on with this for like 10 minutes. Me and a girl who I get along with would always joke about this before his rant, we always suspected he acted the way he did because of some frustration towards women, mainly because we knew his wife left him. He was also very temperamental, and taking grading and evaluation criteria decisions based on his mood, contradicting himself and making up his mind about grades. He was also very personal when evaluating us. It's sad that I really liked this professor, he really got me into studying and enjoying my studies, then disappointed me as a student.

Sorry for the long read, I had to get it out.

ManofMayhem323

That seems uncalled for.

Giphy

This happened in high school. I was going to the bathroom during passing period between I think 5th and 6th period. The urinals were kinda occupied, and guy rules dictate that I cannot go there, so I take a stall at the far end. I then pee and get out to wash my hands, but am immediately intercepted by a teacher. The teacher may not of been my exact favorite, but he was certainly close. He was my World History & Civilization (all one class) teacher, and that was my favorite class discounting teachers, even after what is about to happen. The teacher tells me I cannot leave or wash my hands or anything, and after another kid leaves the stall, he takes both of us out into the hallway. We are ordered to empty our pockets, and we do, then he looks confused. The teacher then just leaves.

As me and the other kid go back in to wash our hands, I ask him why we were just searched. Apparently, one of the kids in the stalls was vaping and the teacher must of saw the vapor. Keep in mind there are only three stalls in the smaller, upstairs bathroom where we were. The teacher searched the two of the three who weren't vaping. I had a real life smh moment, then went to my class.

After 6th period, lucky me had World History & Civilization class. I figured once there, he would apologize for wrongfully pulling me over and making me look stupid in the hallways. But no, the entire class he just ignored me completely, even when I raised my hand to answer questions he asked. As far as I know, that idiot never even caught the actual kid vaping. Like, seriously? I was acing his class and being a smart kid before that, but I would stop participating from then on out.

The class was still easy and I still aced it, but no more answering questions the others didn't have an answer for. No more laughing at your references only I get. Have fun getting everyone else to do something.

Jmanuiop

That's not a good teaching method.

I had a pre-algebra teacher who I thought was fun but she ended up being really annoying. I thought she was fun because she had a squirt gun to tease the kids with. But after a while she became just another one of those teachers, and she yelled at our class for not being able to solve problems in literally five seconds.

She kept saying things like "it's only going to get worse" and "you guys need to be spoon fed answers" constantly. It got so bad I had to leave pre-algebra and do normal math.

gamesandmemesEXP

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.