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People Explain Which Characters Are Wrongly Portrayed As The Hero

People Explain Which Characters Are Wrongly Portrayed As The Hero
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Isn't it interesting, or disconcerting, how the older we get, we start to look back on our favorite forms of literature and entertainment with fresh eyes, only to be spurned by truth? Let's be real, there are a significant number of characters in our best fiction tales that are not the people we thought they were or the people we were taught to believe they were. Ahh to be young and innocent again.

I can't help but love a villain, even if they're supposed to be the hero.

Redditoru/tandyman234wanted to dissect the way we've maybe described some characters in storytelling wrong, by asking:

Who is wrongly portrayed as a hero?

This all started with Tony Soprano. That is the show that taught us about the anti-hero. And that lead us to investigating our favorite protagonists.

Damn Jack

Giphy

"Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk. He breaks into the giants house, steals his treasure, then kills him when the giant tries to get his gold back..."

- RealisticBug5646

Bad Directions

"The Map from Dora. Say what you want buy that lil mf is working with Swiper. How does he always know where Dora is or where she's going???"

- stephen4131

"I hate the freaking map. I'm the map, I'm the map. We GET it! You're doing your job! Get over yourself! I'd use the map as toilet paper!"

- Tomohawk1973

Greg

"Greg Heffley from Diary of A Wimpy Kid."

- OriginalEnding

"Greg literally broke his best friend's hand and never apologized. And just when you think he was getting nicer he does something even worst."

- ToriTheFan

Blank Checks

"People who post in r/MadeMeSmile about their own good deeds, which are actually just basic acts of human decency. Saw one recently, "Found this blank check. I really needed the money, but I found the owner and gave it back." Great congrats dude, you didn't STEAL, which is something people are capable of avoiding everyday."'

- JakeBuseySpaceMovie

The Runner

beycreative GIFGiphy

"The Road Runner, that arrogant little MFer."

- TheGreatCornolio682

"At least the Roadrunner minded his own business most of the time, and didn't try to inflict pain on the Coyote, unlike other characters in chase cartoons (like craps like Tweety and Jerry)."

- lavender_jelly

Mhmmm... Jack really should've left that beanstalk alone. And let's not get into Looney Toons characters, we'll be here all day.

Jurassic Fool

screaming bryce dallas howard GIF by Team CocoGiphy

"Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic world, she was just an a**hole the whole movie."

- Souloftheseas

Like character, like actor...

"Carrie Bradshaw is a horrible friend, a manipulative and flaky partner, and a deeply irresponsible person all around."

- tinyhistorian

"That moment when Miranda throws out her neck and Carrie sends Aidan. Then she brings over the bullcrap bagels to cheer up Miranda but only so she can talk about herself. And Miranda calls her out because she didn't even bring cream cheese. Like it was all superficial. And this being AFTER she cheats on Aidan."

- LightersAndProsecco

People Break Down The Best Purchases They've Ever Made | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Tragic Peter

"Peter Pan. Dude cut off a guy's hand for craps and giggles and fed it to a freaking CROCODILE."

- QueenRatigan

"I read Peter Pan to my 5-year-old, and it's only through the novel that I saw Peter Pan as a tragic figure rather than a hero. It's actually a very deep story despite being for children. Peter Pan was based on the author's relationship with a young boy who died. He imagined him living in a kind of heaven for young boys, never growing up."

- CrushHazard

Not so "Good"

"Glinda the "good witch." She murdered the witch of the East, stole her shoes, and gave them to Dorothy. She then tells Dorothy that if she wants to get home, she should go see the Wizard. After the wizard is revealed as a fraud, Glinda shows up and is all like "You could've gone home any time you like by clicking your heels together."

- Pirate_Green_Beard

How Dare You!

Animated GIFGiphy

"Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) in Mama Mia."

"What kind of sociopathic invites 3x of her mother's ex-lovers to her mother's hotel on the eve of her wedding, without telling her, to try and force a situation where her real father will be revealed? Then she freaking bails on the whole wedding anyway to go traveling around the world. If I was a wedding guest having forked out thousands to get there for a non-wedding I'd be livid."

- GreyFoxNinjaFan

Watch 2 Instead...

"Just watched Jurassic Park 3. The parents... Kidnapping, promising money they didn't have, lying, responsible for the deaths of pretty much everyone in the film, and the mom is terribly annoying. They are portrayed as just super devoted parents, but their actions show no regard for anyone else."

- Acrobatic-Ad6008

Failure

"Jamie Foxx in the movie "Law Abiding Citizen."

- stefan93marso

"Gerard Butler's character absolutely should've won. It doesn't excuse what he did, but who could blame him after the system failed him and his family so spectacularly?"

- ProjectShadow316

"To me he did win, he had nothing left to live for after his family were taken away and 'justice' never came so he set out to prove the system doesn't work/is corrupt/a numbers game and he followed through with that. He'd rather give his life than roll over to the system but not without proving a point."

- yorkspirate

"Give this guy what he deserves"

"J. Edgar Hoover. Anything but a hero but FBI headquarters is named after him."

- LivingStCelestine

"A guy I used to work with years ago had previously worked at the FBI in DC and heard all kinds of stories about J. Edgar Hoover. For one, supposedly when you went in his office there was a hug FBI seal on the carpet, but it was sunken down in the floor, so when you were standing his office, his desk was up above you and you had too look up at him like he was some sort of deity or something."

"Also, one time two guys were called into his office to see him. Hoover mentioned one of the FBI agents who worked under them and said, "Give this guy what he deserves." It was unclear from Hoover's tone of voice whether he meant that they should reward the guy or punish the guy and they were afraid to ask what he meant. They decided to give the guy a promotion, but station him way out in the middle of nowhere so their @sses were covered either way."

- TheBovineWoodchuck

Joe

Guy Grandpa GIFGiphy

"Grandpa Joe. He sat in bed for years, never lifting a finger to help his starving family despite being perfectly able-bodied except when a day of chocolate and fun is involved."

- supernintendo128

Showman

"PT Barnum exploited marginalized people and was not the hero portrayed in "The Greatest Showman."

- jubybear

They villainized the only hero in that film. Jenny Lind was actually a great person and despised PT Barnum in real life. She earned 350,000 on the tours she took with him (10,887,000 in today's money) and donated all of the proceeds to charities. She was also married at the time."

- Laetificans

Hero Nanny

"Mrs .Doubtfire. He was a deadbeat dad and Lost custody. He was given very fair terms to see his kids again. Get a stable job and stock being a passive aggressive deadbeat. Instead he decides to pretend to be an old lady to infiltrate his own house and use that knowledge to manipulate his family."

"Then when his wife dates a Pierce Brosnan, who seems like an good dude and genuinely liked her kids and was willing to be a father figure for them, what does he do. Vandalises his car and knowing gives him cayenne pepper that he knows he is deathly allergic to. The poor guy could have died. But it's okay cause Mrs. Doubtfire is the hero."

- RigasTelRuun

Tink

"Tinker Bell. She's so self entitled, inconsiderate, and a brat. She blames everything on everyone else when it's her fault . She's not some fairy hero, just someone who messes up crap, then has to clean up for it after blaming a series of people. I'm talking about in the tinker bell movies."

"I would like to think she was not just a kid as fairy time is different. I mean she was born, and starts working. I would think they were teenagers. In the first tinker bell movie I can see where you could say she didn't know any better, but in the continuous movies where we could infer that she's older, she still was self entitled and constantly blaming."

"In the movie tinker bell and the lost treasure, she definitely broke the moonstone on her own then blamed Terrence and in the end fixes it and they want us to applaud her? It was her fault. In the Peter Pan movies, Tink was definitely jealous of Wendy and is cruel. So in neither of the movies should she ever be seen as a hero."

- Visual_Safe4060

Just Go!

"Elsa from Frozen. Almost kills her sister twice and is still heralded. Anna saves the day but Elsa gets all the hype."

- wongjbw

"I believe Elsa was originally supposed to be the villain, but "Let It Go" came out such a banger that they changed her character."

- SupermarketSweep

"The Duke of Weaseltown can stay a minor villain, though, but this idea actually *does* play out better."

- thedaddysaur

Oh O!

If You Say So Shrug GIFGiphy

"Oprah, she asked the Olsen twins their clothes size at the height of their eating disorder. She also had cult leaders featured on her show, John of god."

- divinexoxo

Hubris...

"Significant amounts of people think that Walter White was a hero who was willing to go to extremes to provide for his family, completely ignoring the countless outs he had and the fact that he literally admits it was all about his hubris in the finale."

- Dash_Harber

"He was offered an out immediately, but his stupid pride and bitterness drove him to produce highly addictive and destructive drugs."

- IdiotOracle

Gabby...

"Gabriella from High School Musical."

- Capable-Durian1556

"Gabriella was a setback to Troy's potential basketball career. Sharpay was trying to advance it. But I think there is a point to be made, and it's that Gabriela was not as manipulative as Sharpay in her endeavors. Gabriela just wanted Troy, but Sharpay wanted Troy's potential. If you look at the movie now, Sharpay seems to be investing in Troy so she can continue to live a good life."

- whereisshe_

Under the Sea...

"Freaking Spongebob that ignorant fool just can't take a freaking hint like leave Squidward the hell alone."

- imapotatouwu

"In the end Squidward is also extremely jealous of Spongebob, Squidward constantly is attempting to be an artist. He's very rigid in his attempts, and very by the book, Spongebob however is just tremendously care free, and succeeds at almost every artistic endeavour he attempts. Sculpting, the bubbles, the wrapper from the piece of gum, all examples of Squidward simply not understanding Spongebob has no method."

- frozenbudz

And Kelly?

sexy high school GIFGiphy

"Zach Morris from Saved by the Bell!"

- 360Entertainment

"Was anyone on that show not a piece of poop though?

- horsebag

Green is Bad!

"The Hulk. That idiot does more property damage to cities costing millions of dollars to fix than he actually helps out."

- Khanaerih

"To be fair, a lot of times, it's usually caused by other people messing with him (the military, Abomination, Leader, etc). He mostly just wants to be left alone and will go out of his way to be left alone. In the MCU, he literally fled the country until Ross hunted him down, then SHIELD hunted him down again."

- Akihirohowlett

Aloha...

"Maui from Moana. Straight up doomed the world for selfish reasons and attempts to murder a child on several occasions."

- Bdroyle1988

"Maui was definitely portrayed as a misguided fool who was trying to make up for his mistakes in his own foolish manner until Moana showed him the way. Kinda why the movie is called Moana and not Maui."

- Deftly_Flowing

Murky Waters

harry potter what GIFGiphy

"Snape. he had murky intentions at best, and although he sacrificed himself for harry the fact that harry named his child after him instead of someone like Hagrid is shameful."

- flowerpotss

HE'S NOT A GOOD GUY

"Jordan Belfort."

- scarlet_fire_77

"In the same vein as this - the McDonald's guy from that movie "The Founder." It's crazy to me how many of my friends (admittedly a very bro-ish group, but I love them) watched that movie and thought he was a hero. A literal thief. Same thing with Belfort, HE'S NOT A GOOD GUY. I think it's a big indictment on the American mindset that people so easily see them as heroes."

- meowVL

with honest intentions...

"Guy Fawkes. Sometimes referred to as "the last man to enter parliament with honest intentions" and ended up as the face of the anonymous movement. Yes, he was trying to blow up a government that was persecuting catholics but his goal was to replace it with a catholic government that would persecute protestants instead. Also, he wasn't even the ideologue behind it, that was Robert Catesby, Fawkes was the guy (wahey) they hired to detonate their explosives."

- TheHarkinator

For the Unirverse

"Goku is a weird one for me since he is seen as a hero for protecting and saving the universe countless of times yet he always admits that it's never his intention to save the world. He only fights opponents to better himself and to enjoy himself which has almost killed him and endangered the Universe itself, he's a hero in he obviously isn't allowing people to die for his entertainment but he shouldn't be labeled as one because he isn't one."

- TheBeanBagger

Burglar

Happy Merry Christmas GIF by UniversalTVGiphy

"Santa Claus. He breaks into people's houses, steals their food and only gives the rich kids the good crap."

- OverwhelmedGayChild

Carrie Bradshaw is an issue, always has been. There, I said it. And I'm glad we're getting around to Glinda. She was triflin'.

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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.