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People Share Their Craziest 'It's Not What It Looks Like' Experiences

People Share Their Craziest 'It's Not What It Looks Like' Experiences
sipa/Pixabay

When someone catches you off guard or only sees a snippet of conversation things can get weird really fast. Sometimes these misunderstandings can be mortifying and often they lead to a solid laugh. Or both, you know like what happened between an old roommate and me involving a certain glow-in-the-dark adult item. But let me explain...

At the time I sold adult novelties for a MLM (Passion Parties) we hosted a ladies' night at the house where women got to look at products, try the lotions, and scrubs, and other more adult items. However, one game we played was taking a certain “member" that had a suction cup on the back (and glowed in the dark) and placing it somewhere in the room--first one to spot it during the party wins a body balm sample.



However, the ladies were having fun, and afterward, I was tired and did just basic clean up, dishes etc. I forgot about the game. So the next night I'm not home and get a message from one of my roommates. Her boyfriend found it and boy was he surprised!

After a long day at work was carrying a laundry basket and bent down to grab a random sock or something....he stood up and right at his eye level, jiggling a little from the movement, is an eight-inch, half glowing item starting him in the face. BOING!

Did I mention he was from a conservative small town in Pennsylvania? No? Yeah that made things interesting.

Also, he had no idea about the game, or that such things existed, only that a few ladies had gotten together for a ladies' night in. So he was a mixture of shocked, curious, and a bit concerned. That one was fun to try and explain. Still wish I could have seen his face.

Redditor smol_boi-_- wanted to hear everyone's embarrassing moments and asked:

"What's your best 'it's not what it looks like' story?"

I had been going over to help her up, honest Officer!”

“I was walking along one night with my wife and we bumped hips accidentally. I bumped her again, she bumped me back harder and it escalated from there. For my final victory I timed it just right to knock her into a lamppost so she fell over, laughing. ‘Whoop whoop’ a Police car had come up behind us and only seen the killing blow.”

“She instantly started laughing so hard at the absurdity of it that tears were streaming down her face and they grabbed me to stop me attacking her any more (I had been going over to help her up, honest Officer!). It took quite a while for her to stop laughing enough to explain, longer still for them to believe us...” anomalous_cowheard

Add a shovel and some lye and you've got a party...

Invited my friend on a hike, needed to get my bottle from the trunk. Forgot that I had to move some painting supplies earlier. The face when your tracksuit-wearing Eastern European friend opens a trunk lined with garbage bags, rolls of plastic wrap, and a hatchet in the middle of woods was priceless, but do not recommend. Hard to argue ‘is no problem, just had to move messy things, do not worry’.” NoMickeyMouseBusines

​That was in the other bag...

embarrassed jane levy GIFGiphy

When I was 16 my boyfriend's (now husband's) parents took me on a beach vacation with them. His dad was kind enough to carry my luggage to my room and his face was bright red. I just thought he was hot..."

“But my boyfriend came in and goes 'soo.. my dad says your luggage is vibrating'. I had one of those handheld face washing devices that you put a little makeup remover pad on in my bag and it had turned on. His poor dad thought I had brought a sex toy, so I actually had my bf take it down and show them what it was so they wouldn't think poorly of me lol. We all had a great laugh." Pham-Poet

It's ok he's my dad...

A few years ago I went with my dad and my then baby sister (I was 17) to get a cake and once we did I was holding her while my dad was paying. The cashier called my sister cute and said I looked good for someone that just had a child.”

“Being the genius I am I laughed and said I was only 17 and the cashier instantly went wide eyed assuming something you could guess about my dad and my relationship (he has a good amount of white hair so he looks fairly middle aged in comparison to me). Before I could say anything she was sort of stuttering/avoidingly asking if we were a thing until I explained that he was my father and that the baby I was holding was not my daughter lol.Radhihowru

The forbidden scratch...

My manager was working in the office one weekend and had bad eczema. As no one was around he dropped his jeans and started going to town on his thighs. A cleaning lady walked in, took one look at him and walked out again.”

“What makes it worse is on the Monday, his manager wanted to speak to him about a completely unrelated "sensitive issue" - he thought he was getting fired” appocomaster

​It wasn't fisting...really!

girl fisting GIFGiphy

“FINALLY!!!! I can tell my stupid story. I've suffered from left leg sciatica since I was about 14. Turns out I had something wrong with one of the facets in my lower left hand spine (since corrected with surgery)."

“In high school, I discovered the only way to heal a flair up was to have someone legit dig into my left butt cheek. Instant pain relief as the muscle calmed down and the nerve relaxed."

“Once in 11th grade, I had my girlfriend over to my parents house and we went downstairs to watch a movie. While we obviously messed around down there all the time, this was actually very innocent. I had a flair up and she offered to "massage my a** cheek" to help with the pain."

“I laid Across her lap face down while she went to town. Felt soooo good to not have my leg be on fire. Anyway, dad walks downstairs and in the dark. He immediately screams 'whoa omg I'm sorry!' And runs upstairs. I had to go and explain what was up. I'm almost 30."Awit1992

“Don’t worry I won't tell your mother...”

​“In high school, borrowed my parent's van to take my gf on a date. We went out for dinner and then to a friend's for a bonfire. she changed in the van from a skirt/tights to sweatpants in between.”

“Next day my dad pulls me a side and he's holding her tights. I start saying, ‘it's not what it looks like’ but he cuts me off and just goes on about ‘I want to make sure you guys are being safe, don't worry I won't tell your mother, etc.’” zcmini

People Break Down Their Greatest Accomplishment On The Internet | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Asks me what the hell I was doing, and I get to awkwardly explain...”

Driving back to college from my grandmas house, holding my hand up to my ear to hear myself better as I practice for a choral performance a couple days from then. Cop pulls me over, is surprised to see that my phone is actually packed away in the back seat when he asks me to retrieve it.”

“Asks me what the hell I was doing, and I get to awkwardly explain the thought process behind hearing yourself better when holding a hand to your ear.”

After a long stoic pause I panicked and couldn't think of anything else to say so I went ‘just try it!!!’ And started singing on the side of a two lane highway in the middle of bum f**k nowhere. He let me off with a warning.​“ SynchronizedCalamity

I live in not the best neighborhood in Brooklyn and a few weeks ago I was walking my girlfriends small black 3 legged dog late one night. There's a lot of guys that hang out by a busy corner drinking/smoking on their stoops, one of them went to take a leak by a buildings trash area.”

“He was facing the building with his back to me. So, as he was peeing, Pepper (the dog) decided she was going to be stubborn and just sit down. I kept trying to get her to get up so we could go home. As I was calling her and telling her ‘come on, lets go’ the guy peeing locked eyes with me through a mirror that was in the trash pile.”

"’Ey, yo WHAT the F**K’”

“He couldn't see the dog I was talking to because she was 10 ft behind me in the shadows. He thought I was trying to fight him WHILE I was watching him take a leak. Not at all the case.”

“As he was zipping up and turned around Pepper hopped up and trotted by and broke all the tension. He was like ‘oh sh*t, my bad! I didn't know you were talking to the dog‘. We laughed about it and carried on our separate ways.​“ FlatbushRocknRoll

​Who even does footsies anymore?

“Was playing monopoly with my boyfriend and his friends. All of a sudden his friend yells 'No! No, no, no, no! Nooooooo,' while looking at me in horror. I then respond 'What's the matter,' smiling and trying not to laugh at his randomness."

“He then screams 'STOP PLAYING FOOTSIE WITH ME!' After a really awkward 5 seconds he realizes it was my dog nudging him wanting to get his attention."

Nessi4u

I took out my little baggie of salt...”

“When I was traveling around the Netherlands, I kept breaking out in canker sores. My mom always told me that rubbing salt on the canker sores helps them heal quicker. So as I was traveling, I put a little bit of salt in a ziplock baggie and carried it around with me.”

“Well while I was sitting on the train, I took out my little baggie of salt and started rubbing in on my canker sores. People kept giving me the DIRTIEST looks and months later after telling this story to a friend, I realize it's because it looked like I was gumming cocaine.” ​superrach

Looked like a couple of bears and not the scary kind...

life gamer GIFGiphy

Me and my friend were working on our motorcycles, fixing some electrics. We needed some acid free vaseline for that, to keep them from corroding. We decide to step on our motorcycles and head for the hardware store.”

“By the checkout, 2 25 year old dudes in all motorcycle gear, getting a tin of vaseline, and a 18ish cashier girl. It dawned on us when we got a startled look from the cashier, and after that it was all jokes. Good times.” ZZrenz

​He was just cold...

One winter morning it was laying on my bed facing down watching cartoons on the tv. It was so cold that my hands were hurting, so I decided to put them under my body just below the stomach to warm them up. My dad walked past my room and saw me, I remember he reacted very surprised and came into the room and sat right next to me. Ladies and gentlemen this is when I got the so famous ‘talk’ because he thought i was beating my meat.”

“I was the most confused boy trying to understand why he is talking about touching my PP and women. It was so horrifying i had to explain myself that i was only warming my hands!! He still doesn't believe me. Cheers.” Pure_Statsitician919

Somethings you just can't explain away...

“As a young mechanic in the 80s, I was test driving a customer's car when it stalled and wouldn't stay running a block and a half from the shop. My boss eventually arrived, and I had him go back to the store to get a long piece of vacuum hose and a large can of carb cleaner, which burns like fuel in the engine. I connected the hose to the intake, ran it inside the car, and was able to spray carb cleaner into the intake to drive the car back to the shop without us calling an expensive tow truck.”

“However, when I was almost there, the straw that pushes into the spray nozzle popped out, causing me to spray a LOT of carburetor cleaner into my pants. When I pulled up to the shop the burning sensation was just starting, so I sprinted to the bathroom, dropped my pants, and was splashing water on my junk at the sink in the employee bathroom while making dramatic noises of agony.”

“Suddenly the door opened and I found myself face to face with a diminutive old Japanese man. He took in the scene of me howling and splashing my junk messily, his eyes widened, and he shut the door quickly all in less than 3 seconds. When I came out a few minutes later there was no sign of him.” MentORPHEUS

No, really officer!

“Me and friend 1 went over to friend 2s house. He was still in the shower so we decided to climb in the window by his front porch. As friend 1 made it through the window I made an offhand comment about the people in the car down the street probably think we're breaking in.”

“Two minutes later the cops are knocking on there door. We were just laughing while we waited for friend 2 to get dress and tell the cop what had happened.RonaldMikeDonald1

It wasn't that kind of movie...

OOO!!! I got one for this! I was a freshman in college and some friends of mine (one year behind me, so seniors in high school) were in an English class called Film as Literature where the final project is a student movie. They decided to do an old black and white noir aesthetic but the script was slapstick comedy a la Naked Gun.”

“They needed me to fill in as a police officer to pull over and arrest the femme fatale character because plot. So we slap a green spinning light on top of my car as the siren (remember, black and white movie) and at night had me pull over my friend and forcibly remove her from the car, handcuffing her and ‘arresting’ her by putting her in the backseat of my car (smashing her head on the car door along the way).”

“Somewhere around take 3 or 4 of this, an older lady comes down the road and stops us mid scene. The woman refused to talk to any of us except our femme fatale to ensure she was safe, but the absurdity of why we had our friend handcuffed and were repeatedly stuffing her into the back of a PT Cruiser was a highlight of the film. I think the lady even got a shout out in the credits.” SoCalHomestarmy

“Ah, that's where it went"

“I took the girl I wanted to date and her best friend, who was cute in her own right to a Ren-faire. They both dressed up really well for the faire. They got changed after in the car before we went out to dinner because the costumes were restrictive. All went very well.”

“The three of us had a blast together. A month later I go for a flight review for my pilots license. The instructor goes to sit in the passenger seat of my car but I have a local map book there. He goes to close it up, and my friends bra falls out into his hand. ‘Ah, that's where it went’ was all I could get out to his raised eyebrow.” Starrion

The universe got jokes...

“Late night dinner with the family, we come out to get in my Green 97 Honda Accord. Except it's not my car. It's a bait car. 3 squad cars pull up to "catch" me with 3 kids and my wife. I explain the situation and point out my car a few yards away. Cops look at each other, the kids, and then throw up their hands and walk away. I know I ruined a perfectly good sting because I subsequently lost that car to...wait for it...auto theft..” accidentalpyro

Why are kids so weird sometimes?

​“I had once tied my best friends hands behind his back with packing tape for a walk to the shop. Don't ask why because I don't even know, it was just kids being stupid.”

“As we were walking down the road with him walking in front of us, a police car pulls into a bus stop and calls us over. Of course, my best friend doesn't see or hear this, so he's just wandering away with his hands taped behind his back until we get his attention and call him back to explain we were being dumb.” mikeybinns

“...pants down around his ankles, wearing only his tighty-whities, and a sheepish grin."

Jack Black Smile GIFGiphy

I was probably 14-15 years old and mowing the backyard. As I'm mowing I feel something in the right leg (thought area) of my jeans. I stop pushing the mower and stand still to see if I get what I thought I felt when it moves further up my thigh. I press it against my leg and unbutton my jeans. I manage to reach in with my free hand and pin whatever the hell this thing is against my leg so I can finished getting my pants down on the right side.

My pants fall to my ankles as I grab a huge cockroach off my leg and chunk it. Right after I do and before I can bend over and grab my pants, my mom walks around the corner and stops dead in her tracks.

She was born in Japan, "What you doING?" I told her there was a roach in my pants. She doesn't say anything else, just turns and walks back into the house.

I don't know what she came out there for and if she believed me, but even now I can't imagine what plausible explanation she would have accepted for her son to be standing next to a running lawnmower, with his pants down around his ankles, wearing only his tighty-whities, and a sheepish grin." knobbydaddy

Note to self--avoid public place when you can't help but be awkward. What's your most embarrassing misunderstandings? We'd love to hear them in the comments.

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People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

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

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.