A birthday, all told, is just another day.
Birthdays are just as subject to bad luck as any other day of the year. It feels more personal because it's your day. But it's not--it's just the randomness of the universe making you randomly suffer.
CitrusBay asked:
What's the worst thing that happened to you on your birthday?
Here were some of those answers.
Carmen's Mom... Needs Help
drunk on one GIFGiphyWhen I turned 15 there was a girl who lived in my apartment complex who I'd flirt with from time to time. On my 18th birthday her mom drunkenly tried to have sex with me. While Stacy's mom may have had it going on, I can assure you that Carmen's mom did not.
Just Awful To A Child
Everyone ignored me and quite some people got gifts for my mom, then I sat in my room and cried. I got scolded for crying and everyone told me to grow up. I was 12.
A Sixteen Candles Situation
So growing up we were poor, lived on a trailer, and not white in the south. My tenth birthday was coming up, and I really wanted a party. A real one like you see on TV shows and whatnot. So I invite everyone in my grade.
The day comes and my dad and I go out and get pizza, and cake, balloons, the whole shebang.
No one showed up.
But my mom, thinking she could save it, invites her friends kids, one was seven, one was a kid who just was super annoying. My older sister invites her friends.
The seven year old totally took over the party, even blew out my candles. My sister and her friends just holed up in our room so I didn't even have a place to get away from the annoying kid, so I spent the afternoon trying to look like I was having fun so my dad wasn't sad.
Or when I was 13 my iguana died. Either one sucked.
Def Not Suspicious
My best friend told me he and my GF weren't going to meet me after I got off work because they were going camping for the weekend, just the two of them.
Just A Little Nicer
I tried to arrange a 19th birthday party over facebook. No-one showed. Sat in a pub alone on uni campus feeling like a right idiot.
My birthdays are generally nicer than that though.
Too Much Emotional Labor
Not anywhere near as bad as some of the comments in this post but in new flat that me and a bunch of friends moved into one of my flatmates had a birthday about 3 weeks before me. everyone made a big fuss about all chipping in money to pay for nice presents ($30 each) then we "had" to go to a fancy restaurant for dinner because the birthday girl had been talking about it. in total the 5 people that lived in the flat spent about $120 each to make the birthday happen (we all had decent paying jobs so we didn't mind splurging once in awhile)
I brought up the fact before we committed that my birthday was next and that we were setting a pretty expensive bar for birthdays in the flat and that it may not be sustainable if everyone had one like this. My flatmates assured me that everyone would get a nice birthday regardless.
my birthday rocked up and I never received any gifts, or dinner, or happy birthdays in person. personally I never wanted to make it a thing.
I would have been happy to get some McDonald's for dinner to be honest. as I was going to bed I heard my flatmates I the other room obviously check facebook (though I couldn't see) and see that it was my birthday and that none of them had made an effort. about 30 seconds later I got happy birthday messages from all of them.
it was the last time I put any real effort into helping them with anything.
Externalized Awkward
Excited Happy Birthday GIFGiphyThis happened last year.
I had a huge party, invited about 30 people. At that time it seemed fun but that wasn't even the worst part.
I invited my best friend, I haven't seen her in 2 months at that point. I know that is not that long but before that we used to see each other everyday and then we couldn't meet each other during summer vacations so it felt really long.
I was really excited to see her obviously, I also felt a little nervous. I finally mustered up the courage to go and talk to her, I went to her to talk and she just said "Im sorry, this is awkward" and she walked away. That hurt. This happened at the start of the party so I was pretty upset throughout the rest of the party.
But I don't really blame her, she didn't talk to anyone much at the party as she was going through some tough times. At that time I didn't know that though.
OUCH For Wine
I had a date over for dinner on my 21st birthday this year. We discovered I, not being a functioning adult, lacked a bottle opener for the wine. We then embarked on a several-block walk to Target, purchasing and returning with a crappy little bottle opener.
Alas, it had a sturdy plastic zip-tie which fastened the screw inside.
Again, I'm a schmuck, and could not locate my own pair of scissors. Already being stoned, I resolved to stab the plastic repeatedly with my roommate's butcher knife. I was eventually successful with significant force, but the knife plunged forwards and I bisected by entire left pointer finger, requiring a dozen stitches.
A jagged, to-this-day nerve-sensitive scar will help identify my body in any hypothetical future mass casualty incidents, so I've got that going for me - which is nice. At least six different medical personnel throughout the night joked, "Did you at least get any wine?" My date stuck with me in the emergency room until five in the morning - and I still got laid afterwards.
Search Party
5 years old. My best friend with social anxiety who lived in the next town over got overwhelmed by the large amount of kids at the party. He tried to run away and got in the car with somebody that knew him and decided to give him a ride home. This was before cellphones and gps tracking of children.
My parents panicked and called the cops and like 50 people got in their vehicles to search for this kid. When he got to his house his parents called mine to inform them of what happened. They all moved shortly after. Super weird...
It's A Way To Change Your Friend Group
I was friends with a narcissist for most of my life. Little did I know that one of the extremely f*cked up things they like to do is ruin birthdays.
They do this because they believe they should be the center of the universe and it pains them to see other people happy, because they don't care about anyone but themselves. You having a birthday is stealing their "spotlight."
I've made plans like going out of town only to be ditched. Like they tried to give me some bull about how they "don't feel like going" at the last second when the night before they pretended like they were pumped. Or they just turned their phone off the entire day when they practically invited themselves.
I don't have friends anymore because of this. I got sick of it. I got to the point where if someone tries to ruin my birthday, they're getting beat up.
Sucks
Kim Kardashian Crying GIFGiphyMy parents forgot once. They were under a lot of stress at the time so as an adult I understand. As a kid though, felt pretty bad.
Without Them
I don't live with my parents, only with my grandparents. I am still in touch with them (they are divorced) but they never called or anything like that on my birthday but I got through it. This summer I going to be 18 and I really hope, they realize that and at least message me.
Paid for by....
I paid for my parents birthday gift to me.
Haven't talked to my parents in years, I'm in therapy, getting my meds sorted because growing up like that did a number on my own mental health. Have a kid but kiddo doesn't really know them, and friends parents and other family have been great and stepped up to be surrogate grandparents. I just think I've dealt with everything and then there is that one reddit comment that shows me that there are still things I haven't realized are incredibly messed up.
Can I be 16 Again?
My 17th, my parents picked the day to tell my sister and I they were separating. Mine since have been a card and $25 per parent. They have never even adjusted for inflation! Not once! Ever! (runs off to play My Chemical Romance).
Hey, my 19th was similar! They called to tell me the divorce was finalized. They'd hated each other for years and could have done it any date, but why not ruin someone else's day at the same time?
Over the Years
I got married.
It wasn't a bad thing at the time. It was a joke between me and my future ex wife. She could never remember my birthday, and when we were talking about a date for the wedding one of us (and I don't remember which) said "hey... maybe this will help make the date memorable for a change!"
So we got hitched on my birthday (in Vegas), and everything was cool. Our 2nd Anniversary/my birthday was cool as well.
Our third anniversary was the weekend she moved out. Happy freaking birthday, huh? But it gets worse. She was having an affair (shocking, I know) and in a rare moment of attempted reconciliation she offered to take me out to dinner to smooth over the pain of the birthday/anniversary weekend.
I accepted her invitation. Just about halfway through the appetizers, I asked how she found out about this nice restaurant we were in. "Oh, it's me and (new boyfriend's) favorite restaurant!" Jesus Freaking Christmas are you serious? The rest of the meal was brief and uncomfortable.
Off to England
My parents decided to scoot their trip to England right over my 18th birthday for their anniversary that same month.... their anniversary was 3 weeks after my birthday so I ended up buying my own cake and the dog ate half of it the next day accidentally.
When in China
On my 14th birthday I got stuck in a train somewhere in China during a power outage. No lights, no air conditioning, no flushing toilets, no open windows or doors for about four hours... with food poisoning.
This one should be at the top.
Flames
birthday falling GIFGiphyOn my 5th birthday my hair caught on fire while blowing out my candles, then I fell down the stairs. If you all have better spacial awareness than a clumsy 5 year old, you should be okay. Good luck, and happy birthday!
Oh Well
My parents just forgot, I was 12. After that any birthday was usually forgotten or they just said happy birthday at some point of the day. Can't still celebrate my birthday with my partner it's too much for me. No other reason than bad parenting send me in some bad times when I was teenager. I'm great now though. Sorry I think I just had to let it out here.
Six Flags
old man GIFGiphyMy mom chose the day after my 20th birthday to tell me in exact terms why she and my dad were splitting up. I had thought that I knew why, seeing as I've basically been her therapist since I was in middle school, but apparently there were some things I didn't know. This was on the way to pick up my sister who'd been caught stealing at Six Flags. I don't celebrate my birthday anymore.
Fevers
I got pneumonia. My parents messed up not taking me to a doctor. Coughed up stuff for two weeks straight until my throat and lungs started bleeding after having a really high fever the day of my birthday. Would have been nice to have gotten antibiotics.
Pops
My grandpa died on my 19th birthday.
Mine died 9 days before my 12th. Greatest man I've ever known. Named my son after him. I feel you though.
My grandpa died just 28 days after I was born. He held me once and that was the day before he passed away.
February
My job caught fire.
It was a family business and I worked there for eight years.
This was in February.
See Scared
I was 14 my parents do their usual crap, went out got drunk come back about 5pm started fighting each other, my brothers were scared I was scared. When fists weren't good enough, out came missiles books, ash trays or whatever was at hand, but then my mother pulled her party trick.... the knife. Eventually she rang the cops to remove my father from the house. After this i then got a kicking off her cause I told her my youngest brother was scared. This was to show me what being scared is like.
20 for the better....
I had to work all day then I got a speeding ticket on my way home only to find my cat died... Turning 19 was awful.
Across Time....
I was in the navy and we crossed the international dateline skipping it completely. We crossed at 11pm so the day just came off the calendar and I went to bed on the 2nd and woke up on the 4th.
Whiskers
cats hugging GIFGiphyMy 20-year-old cat died.
My five year old cat died on my birthday last week /: she ate a piece of string and died.
I Love Grandma
My grandma died on my 16th birthday. I knew she had been sick with what we thought was a cold. I called her that morning and thanked her for the flute she had bought me because it was more than my parents could ever had afforded and I really needed an open hole to qualify at all state that year. When I came home from school I was informed she had died and that cold was actually a severe fungal infection in her lungs. The next day I attended an honor choir where we exclusively sang funerary songs from around the world.
Birthdays still suck because my grandma was the person I was closest to in life. She lived across the country from me but I called her twice a week and she sent me a package with little trinkets and books and treats every month and made sure I was able to pursue my musical hobbies. I regret going to all state instead of her funeral. I am thankful the last thing I said to her was "I love you".
Nana rub....
On my 12th birthday I was sick so I was left home alone while my mom took my sisters out for my birthday dinner. Only upside was that my Nana dropped me some vapor rub to help me breathe.
Evil Mom
When I turned 16 my mom told me she was embarrassed of how fat I was. (I was 23% body fat, a competitive swimmer, and I am female.) She canceled my party and forced me to go to a weight watchers meeting. On the way there, someone coming down a driveway lost control of their car and side swiped us on my side. I spent the rest of the night in the hospital having tests.
Everyone Hates Charlotte
I (9f) went to an aquarium with my 6 friends, now i have a very stuck up clumsy friend who i will call Charlotte. Charlotte has caused me many issues through our friendship, but this day i will never forget. We get to the aquarium and everyone is so excited to see the penguins, polar pears etc.
We see them, and everyone is enjoying themselves and is having the time of their lives. Not Charlotte though, the whole time she is complaining that it is " Too cold " and that she is bored. This is itself isn't that bad just very annoying, it gets bad when my Mom brings out the cake she made for me.
It was an ice-aged themed cake, because i was obsessed with one i had seen in a cake store so she remade it for me. Charlotte is furious that my cake is pretty amazing, because apparently her cake at her birthday was just plain and average. So after i have blown out the candles, she proceeds to stick her entire fist into my cake and smash it until it is a big white mess. Then she complains that she got cake all over her and it was my fault. That entitled witch ruined my special day, my cake and she some how decides to blame it on me? Smh.
Tardy Days
One year we all forgot it. I worked all day, my parents both had work, and it was my 17th bday so it was no milestone. It was also in the middle of summer which made the days blend together. We woke up the next day and my mom goes "wasn't it your birthday yesterday?" so we just celebrated a day late.
The American Way
On my 18th birthday, my best friend told my boyfriend to buy me some flowers and bring them to my birthday dinner at a restaurant. He showed up with a half dead potted plant that he bought with his Lowes employee discount. He didn't get me anything else and didn't know why I was upset.
Also, this birthday dinner was at a Mexican restaurant. My grandpa embarrassed us all by ordering himself an AMERICAN hamburger with AMERICAN fries. Everything he ordered needed to be "American." He also told my friend that she was "nice for a black girl."
bad news....
My mom was diagnosed with cancer the day I turned 20. Fortunately, she's cancer free now but it was definitely scary then.
Two years later, also on my birthday, a great uncle passed away.
Off to Disney
Had a hotel at Disneyland, got a call from the front office saying they needed my credit card info. It was like 6am and I was 20 so I didn't think twice about it until like ten minutes after I hung up. It was too late, they had drained my account and I had to deal with the bank stuff and cancel my debit card so I didn't have any money to spend.
Ok bye....
I was in a long distance relationship and had driven three hours to spend my birthday with my girlfriend and her son. We had a nice dinner with the kid before he went over to his grandma's house but my girlfriend seemed super tired and distracted the whole night. Didn't think much of it because I was crazy tired from work and the long drive anyway.
We went home, watched a movie, and had some of the most boring going through the motions sex ever. No one was satisfied and sleep was a welcome change.
I go home the next afternoon and then she calls me about nine that night to break up with me. Yay.
Bad 12....
On my 12th birthday, my mom bought me beige horizontal blinds that I hated for my bedroom windows. And then took out the curtains that I liked to put in the blinds that I hated. The blinds that matched all the rest of the blinds in the house that she had just bought for all the other rooms. Pretty sure that doesn't count as a gift. And my super precious lifelong BFF cat had to be put to sleep the very next day after a battle with cancer. It was not a great birthday.
All by Myself
Happy Hour Reaction GIFGiphy16th birthday. Was living alone, family forgot (no one called), walked to Walgreen's, bought a muffin and 1 candle, walked home, lit it and sang happy birthday to myself, cried, went to bed.
Battling Parties....
My 21st. Was having a party at my house. Nothing big. Just some family and close friends. By 11 Pm only one of said friends had arrived. He kept telling me we had to go around to my friend's house who lived very close by because he had a present for me, but would need my help to carry it. I kept telling him I'd wait a while so other friends could arrive.
Turns out it was his job to get me around to my friend's house where he had organized a surprise party for me, with all my friends and about a dozen people I hadn't invited to my party.
Like my party wasn't good enough?? The friends I had invited eventually came to my house when I refused to go to the other party, but they were all hammered already and I wasn't because I was waiting for my mates before getting too drunk...
So yeah that was a pretty crappy 21st.
Forget It
If anyone bothered to even show up my mom would use some asinine excuse to scream at me. The last party I had as a kid led to months of verbal abuse over a $5 pizza and some soda. The only other times I tried after that no one showed up. I don't bother anymore.
Not so Merry Birthday!
This was back when I was in church, on christmas eve which is my birthday. We were rehearsing for the christmas performance the next day, after rehearsal ended I heard someone singing happy birthday, I turned toward the direction where the singing came from and sure enough there was a birthday cake, for another person who shared the same birthday.
There was also this other time few years later this new friend of mine invited me to a Christmas eve party, and I did not tell him it was my birthday since that's kinda weird. Anyway after the party they brought out cake for not one, but two people whose birthday was also Christmas eve, its super awkward if I say hey it's my birthday too so I just went along with it and didn't say anything. Not a horrible experience really.
Low Quality
I was 21 or 22, I can't remember, and I had booked a hotel room so my then-gf and I could have some quality alone time (we were both living with our parents).
I couldn't get it up. She got insecure and we had a fight. Lots of tears, anger and 50€ down the drain.
Allergic to Happy
A few weeks prior to my 16th birthday, my sister had graduated high school. My dad bought her a car and gave her $1,000 and threw a huge party for her.
He didn't even acknowledge me. My mom yelled at him and told him to do something for me, so he sent me roses, a box of chocolates, and a bottle of perfume.
I'm allergic to all of these things.
He also sent me a birthday card for my 18th birthday..... Six months after my birthday. And told my mom he was happy I was finally an adult so he didn't have to pay child support anymore.
2 in a Row
On my 21st birthday I was on a film set doing free labor after driving 2 and a half hours for the director who was my college professor. He brought along a couple of us students to get real set experience who then promised us paying gigs once the film got picked up (this filming day was for test footage and a trailer)
We spent over 16 hours on this set on this ranch in the middle of farm land.
After that day none of us students heard from our professor ever again and he was no longer working at the college when we went back the following semester.
Then for my 22nd birthday I got laid off from my job at Target with no warning. I finished all my duties for the morning and was about to clock out (I was an early morning shelf stocker). Where they asked me into the office, handed me an envelope of money saying "we're letting you go, here's the money for the days you've worked since your last paycheck, have a good day."
The Loud Day
My parents got into a huge fight (they had started the divorce process about a month prior). Argued loud enough for the entire apartment complex to hear. Both storm off somewhere and leave me and siblings alone.
Guess someone called cops.
Cops just chilling in our apartment until my mom finally comes back.
It was Me
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory Tantrum GIFGiphyOn my 10th birthday my parents set up a treasure hunt for everyone, we had a pretty big piece of land around our house with some notable landmarks around. When we had eaten cake everyone ran outside and found a bunch of clues out of order without the hunt even having started. I was a little witch and started crying and my parents had to cancel the whole thing and everyone's parents had to come get everyone. I still cringe to this day.
Mr. Death
On my 13th birthday, when I came home from school, I was told that a really close family friend had died. And every birthday since then, either someone we know or have heard of passes away. The worst was when Chester Bennington died on my birthday. I feel like an unlucky charm, obviously.
Such Pain
I was in a juvenile detention center for my 14th birthday.
I got a root canal with no sedatives, and somehow the dentist was convinced novocain was a sedative.
Root canal, no pain killers or nerve block. Happy 14th birthday to me.
A Deep Cut
tv land pain GIF by #ImpastorGiphyWent to the beach on my 16th birthday and when I ran into the water my foot was impaled by a piece of rebar sticking out of some concrete (within a bordered off safe zone, ironically), which stopped me in my tracks and caused me to faceplant into the water and nearly drown.
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- People Explain Which Childhood Event Their Friends Still Tease ... ›
- People Describe The Worst Pain They've Felt In Their Entire Life - George Takei ›
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.
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.