People who don't care about their health

[Crescent Cat]

Okay, I'll admit, I'm something of a health nut. Personally I think health is the most precious gift we have. Some people aren't even fortunate enough to have it. From birth they are cursed with horrid health problems and disabilities that they have to live with and manage forever.

Now, I'll also admit that I eat fast food and unhealthy processed crapola every now and then. Moderation is the key. A Hostess cupcake every now and then is not going to kill you (though personally I'd prefer a bakery quality cupcake than that bullshit but I digress).

It drives me absolutely insane when people don't give two shits about their health. I have a friend that eats the worst, greasiest food all the time. In regards to the horrible side effects of his diet (such as heart disease and diabetes) he just shrugs it off and says "If it's my time to go then it's my time to go." or he says he doesn't care if he damages his health.

His idea is that we're all going to die someday and our bodies are constantly wearing and breaking down as we age, so what's it matter? To an extent he's right, but honestly, he's acting as though any health problem he will eventually face are just part of life - as though it's inevitable.

I just want to smack him and say "Look. If you get heart disease or diabetes because of your diet, it wont' be because "that's how things were meant to be". It won't be because it's just part of getting old or because it was pre-destined that this would happen to you or whatever. It will be because you made the choice to eat poorly and what you're experiencing and the repercussions of the choices you made. This is completely within your control so stop acting like this is inevitable. There's no point in rushing your own death!"

There are plenty of people that live to a ripe old age without getting diabetes or liver disease or what have you. It's not inevitable. You can improve your health immensely with your diet.

In all honesty - and this is the saddest part - I think that he really doesn't believe that diabetes/heart disease/ect. could happen to him. If he really thought that his diet would land him in the OR getting a bypass surgery he wouldn't be eating this way. I know this because at one time he went to the doctor and was informed that he was in pre-diabetes.

Now up until that time he kept saying "I don't care. I don't care. Yadda yadda don't care." Well . . . he certainly cared after hearing that. For a brief time he watched his diet but eventually he fell back into his old eating habits. I wouldn't be surprised if his next trip to the doctor revealed that he did have diabetes.

So many people say that they don't care. "Heart disease, liver disease, cancer . . . whateva."

But when they go to the doctor and find out that they actually do have those conditions they suddenly find themselves caring. A lot.

I realize it's not my place to tell other people how to live their lives, but I just can't stand to see people destroy themselves from the inside out and piss on the greatest gift they've been given.

I also realize I'm going to sound like a colossal bitch for saying this, but I can't find it in myself to feel sorry for someone who treats his or her body like shit then has to deal with the consequences of it.

So, you really want me to cry for you now that you have diabetes even after you've been warned several times that you were putting your health at risk? After all the times you've said that you don't care? After all the times you've yelled at me and cussed me out for having the audacity for showing concern for your health? Now I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?

Fuck that noise. You made your bed now lay in it.

[Mr Slugger]

I hear what you're saying, but at the same time I think it's important to bring up that even being healthy can damage your body.

I'm middle ground. I care a little bit. I'm a bit overweight, and my doctor has said some things, and honestly I don't see his point yet. I'm a little overweight, but I'm not huge. I don't have any signs of pre-diabetes, no high blood pressure, no high cholesterol. The only blip is my good cholesterol is low. My only exercise is working 60 works a week on my feet. But see my outlook isn't that I don't care, although I might say that, it's that I understand that there are pluses and minuses to everything. For instance my good cholesterol is .1 below the normal range. The medication they want me to take causes low potassium, which is a problem for people in my family. My weight is a problem, but my knees are shot (from a car accident). So I try to walk the happy line. I've go no major health problems so to me why worry.

My brother on the other hand has been running since he was 15. He was a real health nut. But the by time he was 27 his knees & ankles were shot. He's now got multiple digestive problems from diets he used to be on. He was a health nut and now he's got tons of issues because of it.

I've got a cousin same thing by 30 her knees were gone, and had to stop running, walking, etc.

Like I said not saying either side is better, but I think it should be mentioned that there are also people out there that care too much.

[Crescent Cat]

Oh believe me, I know about that. I should also mention that it is possible to be overweight while being healthy and fit.

As far as people ruining their GI tracts with diets well . . . I can only wonder what diet they were on. Sometimes dieting to lose weight is worse for your health than being overweight in the first place. I recall a co-worker that was trying to push a "meat and cheese" diet onto another who wanted to lose some weight quickly.

Meat and cheese diet? Oh sure, it works, but do I really need to explain why this is a horrible idea?

Another thing that drives me nuts are people that say "Oh it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you exercise a lot."

Um . . . no. It does matter. A lot.

Sure you can exercise and keep the weight off, but if you're only eating fast food and processed boxed meals you're forcing your body to work off of poor quality food. Food is your energy. Your body needs nutrients in order to function. This is why someone can be obese but malnourished. He or she eats plenty, but the food is void of any nutritional value.

[Mr Slugger]

As far as people ruining their GI tracts with diets well . . . I can only wonder what diet they were on.

Well I know he was a runner, and that some of his diet did include pasta, and he's been told to stop eating stuff with tomato sauce and cheese. Honestly I don't know what's in a runner's diet, but my guess would be that might have cause some of his problems.

Sometimes dieting to lose weight is worse for your health than being overweight in the first place.

My sister has ran into that. Although she had the gastric bypass done. But between the weight loss and the diet (she found out after the fact that she's lactose intolerant) she's having all sort of problems with dizzy spells, blackouts, etc. And other than she lost weight nothing is wrong with her. So her take is while she wasn't happy being overweight she was physically better being heavy.

[jackfaire]

Oh believe me, I know about that. I should also mention that it is possible to be overweight while being healthy and fit.

Could you bloody tell my mom that? She has never taken very good care of herself at all. Always ate greasy food and fast food, etc. Bad diet not very active. Etc. Drank way too much soda.

Now she is dealing with the consequences of her actions and assumes because of my weight that I am worse off than she is regardless of my trying to fit exercise in and watching my diet and how much and what I eat. Soda being a rare diet.

The doctor gives me a clean bill of health. Even tells me that even if I manage to lose a lot of my weight I will always carry some of it.

[gremcint]

I;m going to say this and it may not be popular but unless he asks for advice, complains about his health or makes you responsible somehow then it's really none of your business.

As for regards to exercise sometimes lack of exercise can help you lose wait. When I'm not active I'm nowhere near as hungry as when I am, I can go for like 16 hours without eating and barely feel it, due to this I have lost like 50-60 pounds over the last several months. I'm on a high protein diet (that's just how I eat) I drink sugary drinks (do try to watch that) I don't have stuff that's horribly greasy because I don't really like it. Through this combined with not being as hungry I have lost a lot of weight, in fact I weigh less than I've weighed in years.

[Crescent Cat]

I;m going to say this and it may not be popular but unless he asks for advice, complains about his health or makes you responsible somehow then it's really none of your business.

Sure, yeah, none of my business.

Absolutely none of my business if one of my closest friends - whom I consider a fucking brother - kills himself slowly. None of my business if he has a heart attack, or gets horribly ill, or has a stroke. None of my business if I have to bury my friend because he was too stubborn to change his diet.

Nope, not my concern at all.

Look, I realize that this is his life and he can live it how he chooses, but I have every right to be afraid for his health and depressed that he may be digging an early grave for himself.

[Mr Slugger]

Absolutely none of my business if one of my closest friends - whom I consider a fucking brother - kills himself slowly.

Could be worse I see people that are killing themselves slowly all day long. I work in the liquor business. I've seen people that are yellow coming in buying more alcohol. I see people that have the DT shakes so bad that you'd swear they were having walking seizures all day long. I've had people come in coughing up a lung to buy their daily 4 packs of smokes. I've hand family members that have come in to plead with us not to sell to their family member. And to me it's sad, but at the same time unless they're willing to change they won't and if I didn't sell to them not only is it illegal (unless they're drunk), but they'll just go to the next store and get what they want.

It took my dad his 4th major heart attack before he quit smoking. It took him until he was on dialysis before he changed his eating habits. So I know where you're coming from. But he was a grown adult, so there's not much I could do other than tell him to stop.

[Crescent Cat]

I realize that, and I also realize I can't tell my friend what to do. It's his life and I'm not going to tell him how to live it, but that's not going to stop be from being frustrated about it.

I'm just really afraid that he's going to put himself in a situation he's going to regret, that he will find himself with diabetes and realize that all that "I don't care" talk was bullshit. I don't want that for him, but I also realize that nothing short of actually dealing with the consequences is going to stop him.

[jackfaire]

and if I didn't sell to them not only is it illegal (unless they're drunk), but they'll just go to the next store and get what they want..

It's illegal to refuse service to a customer? Around here if a business doesn't want to sell to someone they have that right.

[protege]

But, some of the "health nuts" just piss me off. Especially those who read one or two articles online...and then feel the need to tell me I'm eating "wrong." Sorry, but fuck that shit. In fact, some of us at work are dealing with a co-worker like that right now. She's constantly going on about how our diets are wrong...yet most of her day is spent either snacking or starving. Oh, and she doesn't exercise either because it's "too hard."

[blas87]

I hear you there. My boyfriend's family and one of my friends drive me nuts with their crazy diets, and especially the hoohah my boyfriend and his mom hear on The Doctors.......*headdesk*

My one friend will crucify anyone who eats fast food......I'm a total McDs freak and I only eat it once (maybe twice occasionally) a week, and she'll berate me for eating hormone injected fake beef......but she deprives her body of vital proteins and other nutrients by refusing to eat anything that comes from animals or is meat, and doesn't really keep up on taking vitamins or suppliments to make up for not getting those nutrients.....

The best part of all is people who preach at me about what I eat or how I diet or work out.....while we are at a bar downing fruity drinks mixed with sodas and sugary juices.

Oh yeah, to our diet! cheers!

[Mr Slugger]

It's illegal to refuse service to a customer? Around here if a business doesn't want to sell to someone they have that right.

Yeah from my understanding and how I read it if a customer decided to press the issue they could actually sue for discrimination. And this is tied to our liquor license. Basically if someone of legal age, sound mind, and without a valid reason for throwing them out comes into our store then we have to serve them. Because they drink isn't deemed as a valid reason. It's so we're not using race,sex,religion as a ways to not serve to people. Unfortunately the way it's written it's left to interpretation.

[Rapscallion]

I'm overweight. Made some good ground against it earlier this year through exercise and better diet, but caused/hastened (no idea which) arthritis in my knees that forced me to give it up, as well as causing me to miss out on manual overtime at work.

I suspect I'm far healthier than I would have been. Happier? Don't know. Will I live longer? No idea, though statistically I will live longer than if I'd done no exercise (though I need to continue it).

I miss and regret not being able to act as physically as I could six months back.

For the most part, I eat reasonably healthily - a touch too much cheese/saturated fats, bread etc - but I can wolf down an astonishing amount of healthy food.

I shouldn't, but I do. It gives me pleasure.

Rapscallion

[Boozy]

Look, I realize that this is his life and he can live it how he chooses, but I have every right to be afraid for his health and depressed that he may be digging an early grave for himself.

The best way to deal with this kind of thing is to say your piece once, and once only. Sit him down, make him understand how much you care about him, and tell him that his lifestyle is a concern for you.

Then leave it alone. Never bring it up again, regardless of what you see him doing. You aren't his parent, and you can't live his life for him.

If seeing him eat junk food is causing you more pain than the friendship is bringing you joy, then you may have to walk away permanently.