The grumpy thread

[Simonsays]

Made a total arse of getting out of the

bath this morning. I managed to twist my knee and then whilst scrabbling around (trying desperately to not crush my balls on the edge of the bath) I then smacked the inside of my knee on the bath.

 

After two lots of previous surgery the knee wasnt in the best of shapes anyway but now its swollen up and hurting like a bastard.

 

Two weeks in a knee brace that wouldnt look out of place in an S&M dungeon and "we'll see how you're getting on"

 

Shit.

[Guest Hooli]

I wonder how many people are actually ovwrweight/obese (to the point of requiring mobility assistance) due to excessive intake of cake and other sweeties?

 

I'd say its impossible to not be overeating if you are that size. Fat doesn't occur from thin (pun intended) air, it's the body storing unneeded foodstuffs.

[Guest Hooli]

There is now plenty of evidence that we live in what's called a toxic food environment. There were lots of photos of 1976 in the press during the heat wave: hardly any of the people in the pictures were fat. People haven't become lazier and greedier in forty years. What's changed? The food industry. You cannot walk along any high street or into any shop without having fatty, sugary foods pushed at you.

 

This is not the fault of individuals.

 

 

I agree with that. However it's quite possible to go 'nah I don't want to eat that shit' and avoid it, but people don't either because they don't care about being fat or are mentally too lazy to make the effort to look after themselves.

 

If more people did then the foods sold would change due to supply & demand. Businesses sell what people buy, it's how they stay in business.

[Talbot]

I'm going to blame my own profession for why (in part) people have got fat over the last 40/50 years. Labour saving devices, and the general engineered world we live in.

 

Absolutely everything can be done by a machine. If you don't want to, you can avoid hard work very easily. Even our cars have gotten that way. Drive a 1960's car, and it's an effort: No PAS, heavy clutch, wooden brakes, gearbox like stirring a bucket of bricks, etc.etc. Compare with a modern car, and you need exert almost no effort at all. That same mindset of labour saving has been extended everywhere, meaning that unless you make a concious effort to gain excersize, then you really can just do very little.

 

The food industry has a lot to answer for too. Fast foods really are very bad indeed, and although they've been available for many years, the content of sugar is just astronomical. Efforts are being made now to reduce that sugar level, but for many decades we've been sold "low fat" food, that has had all the flavour of fat replaced by processed sugar, which is only really now being understood to be absolutely fucking terrible for humans.

 

We're about 20-30 years behind America in that respect. They introduced labour saving devices and high sugar (well, HFCS-laden) foods before we did, and look where it got them.

 

There's an excellent programme on All-4 player called "the men who made us fat", which is a decent bit of investigative journalism, and it rings very true as to the market forces the pushed high sugar contents into foods. And as per usual, it's all about the money. Follow the money and you'll find the real issue.

[Captain Furious]

Well, true, but you seemed to be arguing very forcefully for option 1! Sorry if I misread.

 

Everything is always more complicated than a choice of black or white, of course.

 

Not saying it is exclusively that, but lifestyles are vastly different now to even my childhood, which relatively speaking isn't that long ago.  When I was a kid we never stopped, we'd either be out on the school playground playing any multitude of currently banned games, most of which involved running around like loons, down the park playing football, riding our bikes, building rope swings, climbing trees, generally getting up to no good.  Everyone would be out every night (unless they were grounded) I remember going home for dinner and being forced to sit down for 10 minutes to 'let it go down' before going out again.  I can't remember the last time I saw a bunch of kids playing down either of the local parks, they're always deserted.  Dropped in favour of XBOX's and iPhones presumably.  And then as you move into adult life, everywhere has escalators or lifts or travellators, heaven forbid you have to walk more than 10 paces from the car which you now use to get absolutely everywhere or climb a flight of stairs.  Nobody pushes their own lawnmower or washes their own car or gets up to change the TV channel, everything is ordered from your armchair and delivered to your door.  Its just a less active world, automation and convenience are everything.  But of course, don't forget to post those fitbit stats up on facebook whenever you top 1500 steps in a day.

 

So yeah, i'd say human behaviour has changed fairly significantly in an evolutionary eyeblink.

 

Incidentally I'm no preacher of the fit an active lifestyle, I'm one of the laziest bastards I know, but I can see this going on. 

[dozeydustman]

The point is that people are not being unwittingly led into eating unhealthy food, nobody goes into Mcdonalds or KFC with the honestly held belief that it is part of a balanced and healthy diet.  Its a choice.

 

 

They go there because it's convenient. McDonalds, KFC and the like were always a treat when I was a kid. Same with ding meals. They have their uses, such as the end of a knackering day when you've just moved house or get home from a long and tiresome journey. Even then, there are better options out there, such as a chicken or lamb shish kebab with a huge pile of salad and a pitta bread or a large cod from the chippy with some mushy peas & a pickled Wally (without the chips & leave the batter). 

 

It's easy enough to blame people being overweight on inactivity and eating crap but genetics also play a big part. Since infant school I've always struggled to be 'slim', so have my parents, my brother, my maternal granddad and my paternal grandma despite being very active people. I was always the extra tall but chubby kid in the class photo. Some of my weight issue is my own fault and I don't deny this, but I'm doing something about it. Yet you get these people who are as skinny as rakes, stuff their faces all day with a load of shite, drink loads of beer, don't do much in the way of activity.

[mercrocker]

True about old cars, though.   I used to get loads of exercise from mine back in the day.   Pushing the bastards.....

[New POD]

Missus menopausal perhaps?

 

Not that I'd be the one to suggest it to her.

Oh yes. Almost definitely the cause.

[SierraMikeHotel]

The kids on the estate here are always running about, and the data says kids haven't changed... I think that perception is a bit "grumpy old man" rather than based in fact. We should both remember that anecdote does not equal evidence, however!

 

The series that Talbot mentions is bloody excellent, well worth a look of you can find it. A real eye opener.

[dollywobbler]

There is now plenty of evidence that we live in what's called a toxic food environment. There were lots of photos of 1976 in the press during the heat wave: hardly any of the people in the pictures were fat. People haven't become lazier and greedier in forty years. What's changed? The food industry. You cannot walk along any high street or into any shop without having fatty, sugary foods pushed at you.

 

This is not the fault of individuals.

 

While I'm not a mod, I think perhaps some of the nastier remarks could be curbed. We know from the existence of the Fat Bastard thread that there are people here struggling with the issue and I don't think insults help them.

 

This, I could understand IF absolutely everyone was clinically obese. But, many of us are not. Personally, I think fatty foods and sugary drinks are a bit like light drugs to be honest. People get addicted, because it's enjoyment. Maybe some people don't even know how to be healthy. I don't recall 'healthy' lessons at school, nor 'financial sense' lessons. In 'Home Economics,' we mostly made cake in different forms.

 

In some ways, I think we're victims of our own success. Too much leisure time, too much thinking time and too much temptation to just sit in front of a screen (TV or computer) rather than be more active. I know I'm guilty of that too. I blame our cat.

[Cavcraft]

Food, like many other 'substances' can be addictive, and who knows what goes through people's mind that makes them addicted to it? Maybe it's just better to decide everyone 'fat' or on a mobility scooter is just a lazy bastard and make assumptions about them being benefit cheats/too lazy to work/whatever?

[Des]

It's annoying that lazy fuckers who do nothing but stuff their fat fucking faces to the point they can't walk and don't give a shit are considered in the same way as those who are naturally big, they're very different, usually have a muscle structure to match their size and are perfectly healthy, very unfair how they get tarred with the same brush, if the blob before hasn't eaten it. I've something like a couple of dozen very busy fast food outlets within a few mins walk, and while I've never tasted the shit in my life, I understand how modern times have forced families into ever smaller dwellings at an ever bigger cost causing, in many cases, both parents having to work full time, how are they supposed to organise decent home cooked meals ready in time? Take away is probably the only option for most of the rat race. There's something very off about fast food, other than Chinese and pizza outlets I get a bang of something not right when I walk past the sticky fuckers, it's a smell of death or chemical or something.

[DodgeRover]

There is now plenty of evidence that we live in what's called a toxic food environment. There were lots of photos of 1976 in the press during the heat wave: hardly any of the people in the pictures were fat. People haven't become lazier and greedier in forty years. What's changed? The food industry. You cannot walk along any high street or into any shop without having fatty, sugary foods pushed at you.

 

This is not the fault of individuals.

 

While I'm not a mod, I think perhaps some of the nastier remarks could be curbed. We know from the existence of the Fat Bastard thread that there are people here struggling with the issue and I don't think insults help them.

I think people have become lazier and more greedy (or at least used to a high fat high sugar ready meal diet), many more people sit on their bum all day in an office or at home and the only exercise they get is walking to or from the car and round the supermarket.

[New POD]

Just the missus?

I'm not perfect.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Patient information leaflets in boxes of pills; fucking things get all scrunched up and stop you putting the pills away.

[anonymous user]

Don't like a lot of the back and forth above and as I'm on a bit of a downer (clinically depressed according to the medical profession) taking it a bit personally. Currently stressed to buggery holding down a job I don't particularly want at the moment (I retired two years ago). Since returning to work my happy tablets have been upped, I've started smoking again and my comfort eating (and weight) have gone up. Luckily for me I shall be finishing again in another couple of months so hope to get back on an even keel soon after. Life isn't simple, one size doesn't fit all and I'd like to think that to some degree there is enough of a caring society to help those that can't quite cope on their own. Or should it be that if you aren't up to coping yourself you're on your own?

[New POD]

Ever want to see how fast you can really run, suggest it.

I was going to suggest that i could move out.

[Guest Hooli]

Patient information leaflets in boxes of pills; fucking things get all scrunched up and stop you putting the pills away.

They go in the bin as soon as I open the packet.

[New POD]

It's annoying that lazy fuckers who do nothing but stuff their fat fucking faces to the point they can't walk and don't give a shit are considered in the same way as those who are naturally big, they're very different, usually have a muscle structure to match their size and are perfectly healthy, very unfair how they get tarred with the same brush, if the blob before hasn't eaten it. I've something like a couple of dozen very busy fast food outlets within a few mins walk, and while I've never tasted the shit in my life, I understand how modern times have forced families into ever smaller dwellings at an ever bigger cost causing, in many cases, both parents having to work full time, how are they supposed to organise decent home cooked meals ready in time? Take away is probably the only option for most of the rat race. There's something very off about fast food, other than Chinese and pizza outlets I get a bang of something not right when I walk past the sticky fuckers, it's a smell of death or chemical or something.

It takes planning. Most people have a microwave and a freezer.

Mind you i blame the grand parent's for not teaching their kids to cook.

[Cheggers]

They go in the bin as soon as I open the packet.

Which is the first time you open it, as they're always at the end you open...

[Guest Hooli]

Which is the first time you open it, as they're always at the end you open...

True unless you have the box upside down or front to backwards.

[Richard]

It doesn't matter how you open the box, you always get the leaflet end.

[Uncle Jimmy]

They go in the bin as soon as I open the packet.

Best to anyway as they don't make for cheerful reading!

[New POD]

Best to anyway as they don't make for cheerful reading!

My daughter is a (pre- reg year) pharmacist having graduated with a first class Masters and she suggests that reading the leaflet and asking to Speak with the Pharmacist if you are worried, is better as in safer, than ignoring it.

Unfortunately if you are prone to anxiety reading it might also not help that particular problem.

[dozeydustman]

Don't like a lot of the back and forth above and as I'm on a bit of a downer (clinically depressed according to the medical profession) taking it a bit personally. Currently stressed to buggery holding down a job I don't particularly want at the moment (I retired two years ago). Since returning to work my happy tablets have been upped, I've started smoking again and my comfort eating (and weight) have gone up. Luckily for me I shall be finishing again in another couple of months so hope to get back on an even keel soon after. Life isn't simple, one size doesn't fit all and I'd like to think that to some degree there is enough of a caring society to help those that can't quite cope on their own. Or should it be that if you aren't up to coping yourself you're on your own?

 

 

Liked because not like. I remember another member was a bit like this a few weeks back and I told him it will pass. Takes as long as it takes. There are people out there who can help, even if one evening you ring a mate up and say "let's go to the pub/snooker hall/model railway/fishing/whatevertakesyourfancy". Good chance to let off steam and relax, you may not even have to rant away because you're enjoying what you're doing. Your GP may be able to arrange you a counsellor if not done so already. If you have a trustworthy friend or family member you can talk to, this is a good start. I don't know how to deal with people in a situation of being depressed, even though I've been through depression in the past and still get the odd bout every now and then.

 

I found self help was more use to me than talking to someone about my problems. I tried new hobbies, revisited old ones, started playing rugby again, and found that keeping myself busy and occupied made me less depressed. I soon managed to keep work and play separate, and while I still am aware of what upset me 15 years ago, the doing other things helped me get over it so it's no longer a major issue in my life. Maybe this is a path you could try?

[Uncle Jimmy]

Clipper fag lighters; they used to last for ages, seem to be shit nowadays. Plenty of fuel and a spark but no go...reminds me of certain cars and parts of ones anatomy.

[tobyd]

The metal spinny 'flint' gets gummed up with the sparky copper stuff. A wire-toothbrush scrub usually perks them up a bit. For a while.

[Louise2cv]

My daughter is a (pre- reg year) pharmacist having graduated with a first class Masters and she suggests that reading the leaflet and asking to Speak with the Pharmacist if you are worried, is better as in safer, than ignoring it.

Unfortunately if you are prone to anxiety reading it might also not help that particular problem.

 

Yes this.

 

I shat myself when I read the leaflet in my pills for anxiety: "You must not suddenly stop taking this drug blah blah heart attack" OMG what if I forget one I will die! ...so I took three to be extra sure and turned over the page "Do not take more than the prescribed amount blah blah heart attack"  FFFFFFFfffffffff…..

 

 

Obviously I didn't take more than I should but the leaflet did freak me out.

 

Also annoying are all the ones that you take for something that is then listed in the possible side effects (eg. magic made up anti vomit pill; small print possible side effects may cause vomiting WTF?!).

[New POD]

Yes this.

 

I shat myself when I read the leaflet in my pills for anxiety: "You must not suddenly stop taking this drug blah blah heart attack" OMG what if I forget one I will die! ...so I took three to be extra sure and turned over the page "Do not take more than the prescribed amount blah blah heart attack"  FFFFFFFfffffffff…..

 

 

Obviously I didn't take more than I should but the leaflet did freak me out.

 

Also annoying are all the ones that you take for something that is then listed in the possible side effects (eg. magic made up anti vomit pill; small print possible side effects may cause vomiting WTF?!).

 

 

My wife has to remove them from her parents prescriptions and then summarise what is important.  Also has to remove drugs from their house which they are storing just in case. 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Just discovering the joys of having more than one box of tablets.  I've only ever been on one thing at a time and now my GP has prescribed me two things simultaneously.  How the fuck does anybody keep up with four or five sets of medications?!  I'm fucking useless with just two...

 

To add to it all I'm probably clinically depressed again but have an audition for a choir on Tuesday (thanks, Lady Grumpius - she sweet-talked them into it and she's auditioning too and will wander right in seeing as she's essentially a professional anyway) and hoping that will stave some of the shit.  Haven't sung since I failed an audition for the Hallé Choir back in 2011 because I couldn't sight read well enough.  

 

That last bit isn't a grump, it's more of a grump-preventative.  I found that starting new things tends to help.  I took up ballet in January because I thought it would be a laugh.  Still doing it.  At 29.  And 17 1/2 Stone.  And 6'2".  And beardy.  It's still a laugh.

 

Grump for today?  2 hours mowing my partner's mum's lawn.  They have 1/3 of an acre and it's not level.  And my mower is a bit marginal for it...