I actually told my husband as we unloaded our cart onto the belt on Sunday "this is a nice bunch of healthy food!"
I think the check out people hate it when they see us coming, because they always have to look up produce PLUs for us. Organic red cabbage? Leeks? Sh*taki mushrooms? We make em work for it! I also amuse myself by telling the cashier that loose brussel sprouts are 4550 (I buy them a LOT).
I look at my own cart (and around as well ). When I am in a smooth on plan state, I have cart pride. Fresh foods, few processed goods... Recently I looked at my cart and realized I could no longer claim cart pride. Candies, chips, prepared foods... Now I use my own cart evaluation as a tool to keep track of my and my family's intake...
Yes, this! I love being able to look at my cart and smile at all the healthy food in there. I sometimes have a couple of treats in there for my son, but not a whole cart full of junk.
on the kid thing, my son has never begged for grapefruit but when he was little, he loved those grape tomatoes so much that I would have to let him eat them as we shopped. I got lots of looks for that! lol! Now he refuses to eat them although he is on a broccoli kick and was super excited this morning when I told him I would make some tonight. (I make it all the time but he's never wanted to eat it before now)
I too am a cart spy. For the most part, I'm not judgemental, just curious. The exception is when people have small children and carts full of junk. It just irritates the snot out of me. Especially when the children are obese (I saw a 4 year old who was so obese he could hardly walk... and mom's cart was full of candy, coke, cookies, and a bunch of lunchables. Not a single fruit or veggie. Or anything that wasn't processed for that matter. It made me sad, and angry)
I also feel a bit of comraderie whenever I see another overweight or obese person with a healthy cart- rock on sister friend, Continue to fight the good fight!
Oh My Gosh, YES! But not in a nice way! This goes back to the post about looking down on other fat people. I check out carts of overweight people and then feel superior if my cart looks healthier than theirs. Especially when I see an extremely overweight person wearing her housecoat and slippers in the go-go carts in the store, too fat to walk comfortably. I'm not nice at all. I think, "No wonder you are too big to walk. The pound of bacon, sheet cake, 2 liters of soda, and Sour Cream Onion chips aren't helping you!"
I honestly don't look in thin looking people's carts to see what they are buying! I think it really goes back to disliking in others the flaws I dislike most in myself.
Like I said in the other post about looking down on other people. I do feel badly about it and reframe the negative thoughts to positive ones. It isn't nice and just further perpetuates my dislike of my weight. I am aware of this oddity of my character and stop myself when I realize I am doing it. It is a work in progress.
Last edited by Michelle98272; 05-26-2010 at 11:09 AM.
SouthLake - there was a child waddling (she was too big to walk properly) around wal-mart yesterday with a ring pop in her mouth and her mom had a cart full of nothing but junk - more candy, chips, little debbies, frozen pizza, hot pockets, she didn't even have white milk - only chocolate and strawberry. The child was probably 6 years old and about as big around as my husband or me - maybe a bit bigger. I wanted to hurt that woman. Quite frankly, I think that allowing a child that young to be that obese is a serious form of child abuse and should be treated as such by law.
I sometimes see thin people with a lot of crap in their carts, but I figure they are buying for other family members too or they are the type that don't overeat.
This also could be like my brother in law who at 50 still has the metabolism of a teenager. He is 6 ft 1 and 175 lbs. He eats large meals, breakfast lunch and dinner. He snacks on cookies all the time and ends each day with a huge bowl of ice cream. He has an office job so his daily routine can't account for the crazy burning of calories. He even has a clean bill of health from his doctor as having perfect labs every year. He doesn't exercise either.
His wife on the other hand has a weight problem, diabetes and high cholesterol. She has to watch what she eats to keep her weight even remotely within the realm of normal.
I think there should be medical studies done on people like my BIL and when they find the dna mutation that allows people to eat like that and remain thin and healthy, they could isolate it, replicate it and then make a million on the cure for obesity. I only mean that jokingly, I wouldn't want someone tinkering with my dna just so I could lose weight.
I remember being soooo ashamed of my cart in the past. I knew what I was buying was bad for me, I knew that my cart fit into the stereotype of how I looked, and I just hated it. I would go to different grocery stores for fear that the cashiers would judge me for buying so much junk so frequently.
Now I do have cart pride (actually basket pride, I live alone so only buy a bit at a time--because it's mostly fresh!!! )
I only look at other carts if sometime sticks out, and usually that happens when it's a really overweight person with a bunch of junk food. Then I feel guilty for being so judgemental, because I was once that person. I wonder if they feel cart shame the way I once did.
Even when I was almost 400 pounds my cart looked better than 99% of them out there because I NEVER subjected my kids to my way of eating... I was a nighttime eater and I'd go buy specific junk and fast food to quell the monster within.
So I'm sure people were confused as all **** when they looked into my cart
I don't regularly go grocery shopping, because my husband is responsible for doing that. He goes to two stores each week and he purchases just a ton of produce and other healthy stuff for our family of five. Recently when we were shopping together he remarked that on a number of occasions either a manager or a cashier at the big chain grocery have asked him whether he's a chef, due to all the produce--remarking that "only the chefs" shop like that!
Generally I don't look into people's carts, but that's mostly because I don't remember to. I'd snoop if I wasn't so focused on just getting through the list When I do peek in a basket, it is a marvel how much crap is in the majority of them.
I find myself looking in other people's carts all the time now. If they are thin I look to see what they have....if they are big I look to see what they have. With few exceptions there are striking differences. Sometimes I see large people who like me, must be on a weight loss path because you know they aren't fat from what it in their cart. I sometimes see thin people with a lot of crap in their carts, but I figure they are buying for other family members too or they are the type that don't overeat.
So, do you look at what people have in their grocery carts?
I do look more at the person on the conveyor belt next to me. I will notice if maybe they are buying the not best brand of something, etc. I do feel bad when I see people with a shopping cart full of processed food. Even though it may appear like they don't have a lot of money, I feel like they could buy better food for the total amount they spent on the junk stuff. Don't get me started on blue "juice" in the gallon jug.
On the flip side I do feel upset at times that I cannot buy what I want to, food wise, and that I cannot always eat as healthy as I want to due to money and cooking limitations. I feel a bit irritated when there is the super perky soccer mom who is buying everything organic, wearing designer gym clothes, and talking down to her nanny that is behind her. Of course she is able to stay thin because she just spent like 400 bucks on food that may only last 2 weeks, if that.
I do sometimes focus more on feeling good or feeling bad about the food I have on the conveyor belt. When I have healthy food, then I feel ok and like the person behind or in front of me can't think negatively. But when I am having a bad time with food, like recently, then I do feel self-concious and worry that they will think negatively about my donuts and chip purchases.
I'm a cart-watcher too. Its just so interesting...why is someone buying 10lbs of potatoes and cat litter? What could the person in front of me possibly need with 10 jars of peanut-butter, but no bread or jelly?!
I'm sure I'm a weird mixture too, however. I shop at both a grocery store and costco, so things don't always match. Plus, my cart is often so different from the average 21 year-olds that I must get strange looks.
I'm judgmental sometimes, as well. And like a lot of people, its mainly in regards to parents with children. It just drives me crazy to see parents ignore all the healthy foods to shove yet another tv dinner in front of their children.
I find this fascinating. I didn't know people watched other people's carts!
Having said that, I watch my own cart! I"m proud when I have more veggies, fruits, and other 'pure' foods in my cart and less so when I have more processed foods in my cart. I must be aware deep down that the cashier could be judging me so I always put the 'good stuff' on the conveyor belt first so they get the 'best' impression of me.
I also amuse myself by telling the cashier that loose brussel sprouts are 4550 (I buy them a LOT).
He is 6 ft 1 and 175 lbs. He eats large meals, breakfast lunch and dinner. He snacks on cookies all the time and ends each day with a huge bowl of ice cream. He has an office job so his daily routine can't account for the crazy burning of calories. He even has a clean bill of health from his doctor as having perfect labs every year. He doesn't exercise either. 
