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People Describe The Real Reason They Cut Ties With Their Best Friend

People Describe The Real Reason They Cut Ties With Their Best Friend

Friendships are one the most important and intimate connections young people make. Friends are the people you are close to, who you grow up with, and who are always there for you when you need them.

A majority of people have best friends. That's the one friend who you trust and love above everyone else. The one who has proven he'll always be there for you and the one you're ready to drop everything for.

However, not all friendships are meant to last. Sometimes, one or both of you will change. Other times, you'll just drift apart. And sometimes, the friendship will end because of malicious actions. Redditors seem to have a lot of those stories!


Curious about what broke apart once strong friendships, Redditor gli-tc-h asked:

"People of reddit what ended your friendship with your best friend?"

Work And Friendships Do Not Mix

"I gave one of my best friends a job at my convinince store when he was down on his luck. He worked in his dad's shop previously for like 6.50 an hour and his dad was toxic so he quit and came to work for me till je got a better job. The inferiority complex kicked in and he started talking down to me and talking about how I was spoiled and a daddy's boy "my dad gave me the shop.""

"I paid him the best money he ever made and he would routinely go off on me for perceived managerial issues or start stupid arguments with customers like not selling kids toy guns because they would be at risk and not selling cigarettes or beer to pregnant women, which I understand is a personal choice but as a business I can't just refuse to sell people sh*t their allowed to buy legally. Covid hit and he became a huge antimasker and I finally fired him after a huge blowout about me trying to establish a mask policy. He's a marine now and got married to a girl he knew for two weeks. We still talk but I've never trusted him since. It sucks because I think he was just like me but from a worse situation. If I was in his shoes maybe I would be way worse."

– joyesthebig

Uneven Investment

"I got tired of always being the one to put forth any effort. Fly across the world to meet up, attend family gatherings, reach out, be patient, make sacrifice. It was good times when we were together. So it was worth it for a while but when she moved close and still never bothered to make an effort, I was over it. Wish her nothing but the best."

– SpoonfulofYou

Not A Real Friend

"When I realized he was a bully. I just wanted his friendship and attention, and then I realized he was using me for kicks."

"I put up with his bullsh*t because I wanted to be liked."

– bananajr6000

Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be

"After 14 years of friendship we get an apartment and suddenly he loses his job as a personal trainer because of a dress code violation (he wore a hoodie to work, allegedly) and then 2-3 months of him not working. Then after he agreed to pay me back eventually, all he ever gave me was $400 from his mom (I paid over 14,000 for the year). So I paid the full year lease and he stayed 8 months total. I never talked to him again also because I found a receipt where he was trying to make a copy of my car keys make and model. F*CK THAT GUY"

– autumnsromeo

Flirting With Disaster

"Every single time that I would tell her I was interested in/talking to a guy, she would try to get with him. She was never successful but it hurt that she kept trying. I confronted her about this in a very nice and civil way and explained to her how I felt about this. She apologized profusely and promised it would never happen again. And then it happened again. I just immediately cut her off after that, no explanation or words needed. She knows what she did. Haven't spoken a word to her since"

– WhiskeyMeAway-

Just Didn't Mesh Well

"Took an international vacation where we realized we hated damn near everything each other did the whole time. Realized year of seeing each other 1-2 times a month made us hardly know each other."

– McJumpington

Me, Myself, & I

"Just made a post about this but she uses me as a therapist but when I try to vent to her, she gives me a few cliche words of support before turning the conversation back to her. It's gotten to the point where we don't talk unless she has a bad day and needs someone to talk to. She'll take days or even a week to respond to a funny meme but then immediately start dumping on me about things going on on her life. I'll invite her out to have fun and within a few hours, I'm being her life coach."

"Also, we just started to grow apart. She's turned into her parents and her parents are the typical snobby surban people that are extremely judgemental."

– Pear_Jam2

Completely Tacky

"She didn't invite me to her birthday party. It was my first time back from college and I would have been able to go. She made a whole Facebook event page and invited everybody but me. I found out through mutual friends, the kicker was no one showed up and she called me crying that this other girl didn't show up."

– ubettawuurrrk69

"A friend did something similar when he didn't invite me to his wedding. He called me years later apologizing when he needed to vent about his marriage."

– tamagotchi____

A Passive Lady Macbeth

"My husband at the time had to step away from his job because he was dealing with pretty severe mental health issues. We had a young child and I was a stay-at-home mom and it was really devastating not only financially, but socially as a lot of our social life revolved around his job and work friends."

"I was really good friends with a coworker’s wife. The coworker moved into my husband’s (higher up) position when my husband had to resign. We had to sell our home since we couldn’t make the mortgage payment anymore. The friend came to help me pack, and while doing so told me that they always knew this would happen because the Lord had revealed it to the husband in a dream several years earlier. They had basically been waiting around for my husband to “fail” so that coworker could “succeed” and fulfill the Lord’s prophesy."

"Yeah no. Said goodbye to her, moved out of state, and never looked back. I won’t tolerate people using religion to be jerks."

– LittleWhiteBoots

...No Big Loss

"He peed in my college dorm room after he found out that I was still friends with his ex-girlfriend even after they broke up."

"He (let's call him P, no puns intended) was one of my first friends in uni and was dating this girl (let's call her N) when I met him. Initially N and I wouldn't talk much, just share a few memes with each other or talk about things pertaining to P (stuff like "hey can you make sure he's awake for this class", or "could you order this cake for his birthday")."

"When covid struck we all went back to our homes, doing nothing. My sleep schedule was pretty fcked up, turns out, N had an equally fcked up sleep schedule too. She would be awake at the same time as I, so we started talking more. Eventually she became more than just my best friend's girlfriend- she and I became friends independent of the relationship I had with P."

"One day P calls me and tells me that him and N broke up. I do my bit in consoling him, making sure he's alright, video calling him every once in a while, the whole nine yards. Throughout all this, I don't stop talking to N- for the very simple reason that she and I were friends now and even though the breakup was a tricky situation, it didn't warrant me ending my relationship with her."

"Eventually P finds out about N and I and confronts me about the situation. I try to explain my side of things to him but he isn't ready to listen. Not wanting to push this man (who has also just had a rough breakup) I give him his space just so he can wrap his head around it. No biggie."

"Months pass, complete radio silence. He removes me from his socials and stop talking to me completely. It was a little awkward initially because P and I were a part of the same friend group, but eventually he started hanging out with the group lesser and lesser. The friend group was aware of the situation and after multiple back and forths with both of us, they understood the situation and (thankfully) agreed that I wasn't in the wrong."

"By this time, N and I had gotten even closer. While the whole P situation was playing out, I had broken up with my long-distance girlfriend and gotten COVID leaving me with a ton of free time. I chose to spend this time with N: we would watch movies on video call, or play a few games online. I enjoyed my time with N a lot and I didn't tell her much about what was going on between P and I."

"When the lockdowns finally ended, we were called back to attend uni offline. A few of my friends and I moved out of the college dorms when we came back, but a lot of my stuff was still in the dorms. I casually mentioned to a friend of mine that I was planning to go back to my dorm room to pack up my old things and bring them to my new place. He pulled me aside and asked me if I had been to my dorm room yet. I told him I hadn't. He asked me to not go. He said, "I was talking to P the other day, and he said he vandalised your room. He also mentioned peeing in it.""

"All my friends found out a week before I was told this. I had no idea how to react. It was f*cked up and disgusting. I ended up telling the warden and having my room cleaned out by the cleaners. All of us in the friend group cut ties with him as he left for a semester abroad."

"A lot of people have since heard this story and the look on their faces when I reach the climax is priceless. As for N and I, we have been happily dating for the past 11 months. She knows the whole story now and we still laugh about it."

– oneandahalfpunjabi

People Really Do Change

"I knew my best friend since 1st grade, we where inseparable, then he became creppy. He started to follow me everywhere i went. In quarantine, we used to play with another kid. We where a trio. A month in, he became seriously toxic, me and the other guy would wait for him so we could all play, but when he joined, he couldn’t resist 5 minutes before starting arguments. Saying lies bout me, telling me i was trash etc etc. We used to insult each other, in a playfull manner. Everyone could insult anyone, it was all cool between us. Each time we hang out he grew even more toxic, so i started distancing myself from the both. In the time i kept off two things happened"

"Other guy asked toxic friend for some hw answers, toxic guy gave him the wrong answers and tattled on him with the teachers"

"He started making up lies about other guy"

"Other guy dmed me saying “hey, toxic guy is going way out of line, think you could help me make a video about him bout how we are kicking him out?” I said, yeah sure!""

"We make the video, it was basically making fun of him for the things he did"

"Claiming i had aimbot cause aim assist"

"Saying i was a spammer"

"He would always camp/ ran away from battle"

"And that he was “working hard” to repay his depts (we had bets)"

"And that he was kicked off our group"

"Also sprinkling in a inside joke that tbh is offensive not knowing the context"

"TWO HOURS LATER"

"My mother calls me asking wtf did i do to him, she was saying that he was crying"

"Turns out, he called his mom, told her we where bullies, her mom got worried (obviously as a mother should) called the school, wich called out parents and shit went nuts. Apparently, he “never insulted us back” wich the lil shit almost got away with because our insults where verbal and none where on text, except for the whatsapp chats, we showed this too everyone, gave our side of the story, and they suspended us 3 for 2 days"

"He tried to apologize, but i shut him down, he tried to “try it again” but i reminded him he was the one that became toxic, i reminded him that we wanted things too cool down but he didnt want to back off."

"Havent talked to him in a year, i have too see him in 3 days"

"(Damm this should go on aita)"

– Automatic_Search_123

Liar, Liar

"She started lying about her life when we got to 7th grade in order to seem cool in front of other people. If i tried asking her why she was lying when others were around she'd either deny it or not know what I'm talking about, but i know for sure that she did those things cuz she made pictures of it and send it to me."

– confused-girl_lol

Lesson Learned

"She taught me the lesson that you can forgive someone, but that doesn't mean you should invite them back into your life. Kinda like being shown a landscape and being told it used to have landmines in it. You should think twice before going in there."

– walkinghomeat3am

MOH-Zilla

"She was my maid of honor at my wedding. Jealousy has taken her over since she wasn’t having a wedding of her own. She started a huge fight at my bachelorette with my sister in law who was tired of her being mean to me and putting me down on my own bachelorette. She then on my wedding day made up lies to all my bridesmaids to get them to hate me / never talk to me again. Which ended up causing a lot of stress for me."

Once I found out what was happening I confronted her (weeks after my wedding) and she tried to blame me. Then we "never spoke again. Good thing too - I hear more and more from people about how manipulative and backstabbing she was. We were best friends for 32 years."

– Jscholtzy

Many Years Doesn't Make A Good Friend

"We had been best friends since high school, half our life. There had been several times where we would get into an argument or disagreement and she would ghost me for some time. The most recent time, she came around after I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Because I was diagnosed while in school outside of my home state and had health insurance in the state I was currently living in, I had to get my surgery and treatment in that state and had to cancel multiple trips home. I didn't get to go home for almost 2 years."

"Well, a few months ago, I had the opportunity to go home for the first time in nearly 2 years. I wanted to surprise my parents, including my elderly father. The reason I wanted to come home was because he had been having some health problems and I wanted to physically see my father. I had some vouchers that were expiring that covered one way and found a really cheap flight, but it would land at an airport nearly an hour away (30ish minutes with no traffic) and in the middle of the night over the weekend. There were no shuttles from the airport anymore and a taxi/uber would cost about $100 (almost as much as the plane ticket). My parents were unable to drive at night due to their poor vision. Before booking the ticket, I asked if she would be willing to pick me up from the airport, and if she couldn't, I would pay the extra money to go to a closer airport OR I just would not be able to go and see my father. She told me "book the ticket, I'll make it work. You need to see your father.""

"4 days before I was supposed to come home, she texted me saying she couldn't pick me up anymore because of her dogs (which I told her she could bring with in the car with her if she was worried cuz I know they're good in the car. Granted the whole round trip would be less than 3 hours and her dogs are alone for 8+ hours a day while she was at work) and she had run club in that morning and it would be "too much back and forth." Mind you, run club is an optional thing, not a mandatory scheduled job. I responded saying thank you anyways but I was disappointed since I wouldn't have booked the ticket if I knew she wasn't going to be able to come get me, especially since she said she would make it work."

"I never heard from her again. She never asked if I made it in to town ok, never asked how my father was doing (this was the whole reason why I was coming home after all!!), never once reached out to me again."

"I accidentally FaceTimed her 2 months later when I meant to FaceTime my dad. It was 3 days before my birthday. As soon as I realized I had FT'd her, I ended the call. She texted me a few hours later asking me if everything was ok. I said yes, it was an accident. Never heard from her after that. Not even a happy birthday, not even checking in. Nothing. Completely ghosted me. After 14 years of friendship. It was my last straw. I removed her from social media, deleted our text strain. Everything short of deleting her number."

"The other thing that always bothered me that she did but I never told her was, when I was getting radiation, I got my partner, parents, and another friend of mine shirts in support of me, with the thyroid cancer ribbon on it. It was to wear on my day of radiation. I was terrified that my cancer had spread and it was important to me to know I had support from friends and family, even if it was by wearing a silly shirt. Everyone else was fine with it and I bought them (didn't even ask anyone to pay for them!!!) and mailed it to them. When I asked for her address, she wouldn't give it to me and said she would make one herself. She never did. It was one of the most hurtful things anyone has ever done."

"So ya, after being friends for 14 years, half my life, I've officially cut her out and honestly, my life is better because of it. I wish her well, but the friendship was over and can never be repaired."

"And wow it felt REALLY good to type that all out haha"

– greenvsblack

Human ATM

"After a few years I became aware that he only wanted to hangout when he was short of cash and wanted me to buy the beer. I realized he didn't wanna see me when he had his own money to spend"

– Lubedguyballa1

Priorities

"I’m a leap year baby, I try to make a big deal of my bday since it only comes every four years. My 24th, I booked a beach house to spend it with my family, my other best friend and her. Told her two months in advanced. Paid for everything and family took care of the food, so all she had to do was show up. The day comes and she said she couldn’t come cause she couldn’t get off work early enough (we were there on a Thursday-Sunday) so I thought she’d at least make an effort to come on the weekends. She never came. Then a week later, she tweets that she’s compulsively took time off work to watch F1. Felt like she couldn’t even make time for me but can make time to watch cars racing."

– kkhhaayyccee

It's never easy or fun to lose a friendship, but it is sometimes part of life.

Sometimes, it's something that will always haunt you, but you can learn from that. And other times, it's just a way of expelling toxicity from your life, and you can find better friends who will enrich your life.

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.