We have been socialized to be obsessed with our bodies, how we look, and how we're made to feel when we're subject to criticism based on our weight.
Body shaming remains a cruel form of bullying and our responses to it can lead to making unhealthy choices in an attempt to force a change in the way we look to boost self-confidence.
Or, some of us set realistic goals to improve our overall health by treating our bodies better, which could lead to impressive results with a wild transformation.
On the other hand, life has other plans for those predisposed to certain conditions in which they are unable to control an undesirable outcome.
Curious to hear examples of nature's cruelty, Redditor Hydrated_and_Happy asked:
"What drastically changed your body?"
Some people had goals to achieve and pursued them.
Hitting The Gym
"Starting strength training. It wasn’t just about getting fit, but seeing how much stronger I could get each week was wild. Plus, the mental boost from feeling like I could actually lift heavy things was a game changer."
– KrischaCookie
"This exactly for me. I was always fit because I run (a lot), but always had a scrawny runners body since I was a kid. I am not a big gym guy, but about 2 years ago I started basic core and body weight exercises (push ups, pull ups, abs sets etc etc) as well as using a few weights and it has made a massive difference for me personally."
– railwayed
"I lifted for roughly a year, maybe 2/3 years ago now. Due to life and stuff I wasn't able to keep with it, and I dropped back down to the same weight I was before I started."
"However, lifting changed my body composition, and even thought I'm the same weight and weak again, I still look vaguely muscular. My chest doesn't look uncomfortably sunken like it did when I was young, and generally I look decent. Strange, but glad I did it."
– Adeptus_Bannedicus
Getting Physical
"Sporting 3x a week. Went from the fat fumbling fool to feeling like im worth something. Also setting an alarm to wake up. Gave me rythm and better sleep. Reducing my hours in videogames from 8-12 hours a day to below 4. Actually started to want to live again."
– GrumpyTigra
People were afflicted by various health problems which contributed to sudden changes in their appearance.
Neurological Disease
"ALS…"
"I used to be a 280 lb. Bodybuilder and, since being diagnosed last summer - a mere 6 months ago, I’ve lost most of my muscle mass… ALS is nefarious disease. 0/10 - would not recommend."
– TheLuckieGuy
"I’m so sorry man. I can’t even imagine, especially with previously being a bodybuilder. We lost one of my friends to ALS a couple of years ago. Hang in there."
– hannahhnah
"Yeah, it’s pretty tough when I was benching 315, deadlifting 4 plates and curling 100 pound dumbbells not more than a year ago and today I can’t even lift something more than 5 pounds."
"I’m very sorry to hear about your friend and how that must’ve been for him/her as well as you. This disease shows no mercy."
– TheLuckieGuy
"Multiple autoimmune diseases. After spending years trying to get back to my ‘normal’ I’m realising that looks very different now for my body."
– likewildpeaches
"Same here. I went from having no chronic health conditions and being in the best shape of my life, to skin cancer and two autoimmune diseases (and currently awaiting results to see if I have a third) in the span of 5 years."
"It's been really hard to come to terms with. You are so right about the waiting to go back to normal, and realizing this is normal now."
– red_freckles
"A stroke at 28 years old. That totally changed me. Then heart surgery the next month. Those were hard times and lots of learning things over. I still deal with the side effects of it daily."
– surveyor2004
Melancholia
"Depression."
– CastlesofDoom
"Oh god yeah… I’m covered in stretch marks because who knows if I’ll have the overeat depression or the starve myself depression."
– weatherforge
"same, gained 50, went on antidepressants, can't lose it no matter what I do. I work out every day, I eat very healthily, I've tried fasting, and I've even starved myself. lost at most 3 lbs, then it goes right back up."
– Lion_share
Others went down a dark path.
Hitting The Bottle
"Alcohol. Lost my body and sense of self in the last year. 1 week without a drink and working on getting myself back."
"My best advice: stay away from the booze."
– EggsoticBacon
"Same. Over a year here sober after 15 years of daily drinking and all day drinking. Let me tell you after a month the difference is night and day. Everyone will notice before you do, but after they say something, you'll see it too, and it only goes up for there."
"One week is huge. Keep it up, soldier, you got this."
– T1NF01L
"That was my answer too. Stopping drinking made me able to lose a ton of weight as well (with regular dieting and exercise, down 95lbs so far). But the biggest thing is I feel like myself again… that’s nearly just as addicting."
– happilyeverhotwife
Eating Issues
"eating disorder recovery. i have an eating disorder and was in the throes of it from age 11-18. i began my recovery at 95lbs 18yo. my lowest was 83lbs at 17yo. my nails were brittle and breaking, same with my hair. i bruised at a poke and was winded walking between two classrooms."
"i cried at every meal. during my recovery and now my remission i have managed to maintain a healthy weight of 130lbs for about a year now (i'm 23). i have gone through phases of accidentally putting on too much, losing some that i probably shouldn't have, falling in love with food and the gym, and learning my body anew."
"i still struggle some days, but my body thanks me for putting in the work. I now have strong, healthy fingernails, and long, shiny hair, and I can run a 15-minute mile (and getting better!!). I only cry at meal times about once a week now! mostly, my organs are no longer struggling to keep me alive!"
– AngelBun19
"Go you, that’s a hard hill to climb. I grew up in a family with eating disorders am struggling now to not fall headlong into one. The hardest part for me isn’t the eating/restricting/binging cycle; it’s the mental flogging I do to myself when I’m not in control of my calories."
"It is this awful self hate and it is so dark and painful. How do you kick the mindset to start turning it around? I feel like if I work hard enough I can get the eating under control (and I feel stable if I’m not doing the whole 600 calorie/3000 calorie yo-yo), but mentally the fear of hurting myself in this way is scary and not me, like it is someone else. I wouldn’t treat me this way."
"Anyway, I am working with a therapist. How did you do this part?"
Substantial_Low_3873
This is so mother.
Pregnancy
"Having kids. My body looks like a church candle that’s been left on a windowsill and has slowly melted in the sun."
– Naughtyspider
"Having a baby was actually the best thing I could have done for my health. I was diagnosed with GD so I had to eat a very healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. Also not drinking for 9 months did wonders. After giving birth I was down 56lbs from when I got pregnant."
"That said, childbirth absolutely shredded my lady bits. They said second degree tears but I swear they were 3rd. It’s been two years and sex is still uncomfortable due to scar tissue. I miss being able to be spontaneous and not feel discomfort. It actually makes me want to cry thinking about it."
"So yeah, childbirth really f'ks you up."
– discoqueenx
"I really loved my body before I got pregnant. I knew it, recognized it, felt like it was mine."
"Now, already two years postpartum, and I recognize the upper half of my body as mine, but my lower half is just not...me."
"Everytime I look at myself in the mirror, I just get disgusted."
"And yes, I know, I did a really miraculous thing by making and carrying a whole human from scratch. I get it. But when I look at my lower half, I don't care how miraculous it was because I don't feel like me anymore there."
– rivlet
"Menopause. As a woman, even after having 3 kids, nothing has been as crazy as menopause. It’s like all the craziness of adolescence going on in your aging body without any of the benefits."
"If anyone has ever felt alone in their body transformation journeys, good and bad, the examples above demonstrate that no one goes through them alone."
– Leoliad
There is always a support system if and when you need help.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
