100 lb. Club - observations during grocery shopping...

Does anyone else peek in other people's carts while grocery shopping? Come on, I can't be the only one!

Anyway, even when I'm not "on plan" the food in our house is pretty healthy. We just don't keep a ton of junk food at any time.

However, I've noticed a lot of thin people have a ton of junk/crappy food in their carts-how do they stay thin eating this stuff? Do they actually stick to the one tiny serving size on the package? I remember one time a woman in front of me at the checkout (who was probably a size two or four) had marshmallows, candy, soda and chips....I had chicken, yogurt, fruit and veggies and cottage cheese.

Sorry to ramble-I just get frustrated seeing thin people buying totally unhealthy food-stuff that's never even been in our home-and they stay thin while eating it! Okay, that doesn't mean they're healthy, though.

Thanks for listening-
Sherry

Speaking as a former thin person (Boy, do I miss "her"!!) - I used to buy the junk -- Ben and Jerry's ice cream, chips, dip, etc. but that was my meals -- while I was thin I'm sure my health wasn't at its best -- I usually had one meal a day which consisted of maybe a pint of ice cream or a trip to McDonald's -- however, I also lived alone and had time to walk about 6 miles a day -- which of course with two kids I can't do now.

Shelby,

I just noticed we had the same starting weight, are at about the same weight (though I didn't weigh in this week) and I'm one inch shorter than you-how funny! We also have the same goal!

Thanks for your answer!

I never ate fast food very much, even at my heaviest. I just don't like it much except for Wendy's chicken sandwich/fries. I haven't had McDonalds since 1989. I do love ice cream, though! We never buy half gallons, though, only pints.

Your kids are adorable!

Sherry

Sherry -- So can we share clothes when we are both thin -- I doubt the height difference will affect our size 10 pants, right??? Thanks for the comment about the kids -- they do seem much cuter in a picture, because there you can't hear them annoying each other :D

Can't have ice cream here -- makes me crazy until I've inhaled it all!! We went to McDonald's today because my goofy husband let the kids pick lunch -- I must be doing something right, I had a grilled chicken sandwich and fries -- and felt horribly grossed out all afternoon from it! There is nothing "good" about fast food!!

I know how you feel. There is this darling girl I go to school with who goes to 7-11 every morning and returns with a sack sull of ****! everything from doughnut, chips, soda, all sorts of candy. She is TINY!
Sometimes it is hard not to resent these cute little things, but then you think about what they are doing to their inside, and their outsides.
We are going to school for esthetics (skin care) and we learn, as well as most of you here know, that what you put in your body affects your skin. After all it is our largest organ.

Strange, All three of us are the same starting weight. You guys are kicking my butt though. I am at 13 lbs since April 9th.

Moxiegirl78 -- You are doing great -- I lost the first 10 last year!! (I actually lost 30 but found 20 of it for a while!!). Maybe we are long-lost triplets??

I've decided to ignore the skinny people around me -- I can either feel like it's not fair that they can eat what ever they want and dwell on that or use that energy to improve myself.

You know, I read an interesting article a couple of weeks ago about how people can be thin outside and 'fat' inside - the headline grabbed my attention in a kind of 'Oh, Come ON!' way, so I read it. It was basically about how dangerously SOME (not many, I'd bet!) 'thin' people eat - eating junk, but not enough of it to actually gain weight - but it raises the level of fat in their bodies (arteries? organs?) to a dangerous level.

I found it a fascinating thought. As a result, the doctor being interviewed moved obesity down the list of risk factors for heart attacks to follow behind smoking and alcohol abuse. Of course, we still don't want to use that as an excuse to be obese, now, do we? ;)

Just thought I'd pass that on.

Heather :D

I agree with Shelby, when I was thin, in H.S. I would eat one meal a day, it could be a bag of doritos( big bag), or some chinese food, but I had the energy to eat it off. I think the people who are thin and able to eat this stuff, either are single, or lucky with great metabolism.
cheryl

Moxiegirl,

Don't feel badly-see my start date at this website-January 2002! I did nothing that year, lost sixty pounds in in 2003 and got down to 196, went through major depression/anxiety, and gained it all back except for fifteen pounds. I'm definitely in the slow lane for losing weight. At least I didn't gain it all back.

Shelby-I hate pants shopping! I wonder if it will get easier. I'm a classic pear shaped-tiny waist , larger hips/thighs so it is so difficult to find pants that fit.

I had read a similar article-it's called visceral fat-it's on your organs and is very dangerous to your health.

Take care,
Sherry

Gee, I could go on at length about 2 different sides of this: the 1st, being philosophical about our "different response" to food, the 2nd, a couple personal incidents shedding light on a "hidden side" of diet & internal fat. I know I'm wordy, but I'll keep it short as I can!

A recent news item was about a "thrifty gene" that as many as a quarter of us have, predisposing us to weight gain. I think it's about appetite regulation, but the big thing is that people with lots of N. Europe ancestry typically have it. Oversimplifying, those of us whose ancestors either survived an ice age, or belonged to a culture which admired very generous curves (check out stone-age "venus" figurines), have inherited this adaptation.... For untold millennia, our forebears fervently wished this on their children (us); we'd look very beautiful to them, AND survive most any famine! (- something to remember, as we beat ourselves up!)

A friend of mine had a congenital heart valve malformation, and knew from family history he'd face surgery mid-life or sooner. He's a computer geek, never very athletic (duh), and knowing the odds he stuck to a high-fibre, low-fat diet ALL his adult life. A couple yrs ago when surgery came due, his blood-work stats were off-the-chart perfect. The cardiologist, used to universal junk-food addiction in otherwise skinny-looking people, swore he hadn't seen stats like my friend's in decades! And of course surgery went VERY well (-they were able to make an auto-graft from his own healthy tissues, rather than install the expected replacement)!

And yours truly also got a full cardio workup (because of intermittent mild chest pain), early '06, including ANGIOGRAM! 3+ yrs ago, I lost my excess weight nearly to goal, and had since gained most back, while eating high-fibre, low-fat; but I had just too much of the "good carbs"! Not many medical staff believed me until the angio; right after, the cardio nurses gave me high-fives and kept telling me they wished they could be sure their "pipes" were as clear as mine! (They often eat in a rush out of snack machines.) I only had a tiny amount of restriction (20% in one outer cardiac artery), which teaches me to continue eating healthy, but not to take too much for granted!

So, gals - at least our blood systems directly reflect our commitments to healthy eating (not to mention vital organs, joints, hormone levels, and most other systems). We'll live so much better as we get older, because we KNOW we have to stick with a healthy lifestyle. It's OUR good luck that we know the results of "cheating"! Also, society's opinions change with the times, and our genetic heritage may even reflect that. If (Heaven forbid! but history is full of these) there's ever a long-standing downturn or massive hardship, our continuing survival & healthy function may win back the respect we've long deserved. And our generous curves may well reset the standard of beauty!

When I see the skinny people with the junk in their baskets, it reminds me of my eldest son. He was "one of those". Ate constantly and everything and was underweight most of his life. But guess what, the closer he gets to his 40th birthday, the more heavy he is getting. Now he's getting real with his eating & exercise. He know there is diabetes in both sides of his family, and he knows what it can do to you. He's a smart guy (gets it from his mom).

The other thing I think of when I see the thins with baskets loaded with junk, is about how I stayed thin when I was younger. Binging & purging. So we never know what's going on there.

My cart contained this the last time I went shopping:

Kale
Rainbow chard
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Red onions
Sweet potatoes
Garlic
Carrots
Mixed baby greens (salad mix)
Cucumbers
Red bell peppers
Spinach
Sunflower seed sprouts
Grape tomatoes
Roma tomatoes
Pineapple
Watermelon
Strawberries
Apples
Lemons
Almond butter
Sprouted grains English muffins (flourless)
Lentils
Tofu
Veggie slices

Is this how I eat even when I am not on plan? Yes! The difference? I eat more starches, some vegan cookies, more oils and rich foods, cereal (oat bran, Wheatabix and so on) and soy milk when I am not on plan.

Go figure! :?:

Well, I do check out other people's shopping carts occasionally, but a little differently than you describe. First off, let me say that Mississippi has more overweight/obese people than any other state in the US, and if the US has more overweight/obese people than any other country, I guess that makes us Mississippians the fattest people on earth. :o When I glance around, I usually notice all the junk food in the buggy and it is usually being pushed by someone like me, someone overweight or obese. I just wish I could bottle some of the motivation I've had over the last couple of years and slip it (along with all of the knowledge about weight loss that is floating around 3FC) into their carts filled with soda, chips, chicken nuggets, pizza, etc.

I never really notice much before I got the disapproving glares from a woman in front of my husband and I in line a few years ago. It actually was kind of funny. We were going to a friend's cookout and we were asked to bring the chips and our own beverage. Since it was a HUGE party, we had maybe six bags of assorted chips and a case of diet soda.

It was funny, because I've never been much for junk food or fast food. I won't say my diet has always been perfectly healthy, as even whole natural foods can contain too much fat and starch/sugar, but I've always eaten my share (and then some) of vegetables and fruit. Large portions and too little exercise has been the bigger downfall for me. Which is why I get so annoyed when even doctors will tell me that all I have to do is cut out sweets, snack foods, and desserts.

Large portions and too little exercise has been the bigger downfall for me. Which is why I get so annoyed when even doctors will tell me that all I have to do is cut out sweets, snack foods, and desserts. This has been my experience too!

I don't really pay attention until one of my kids yells, "Look mom!!! They're buying that crap food to feed their babies!!!". Lovely. Just because I think it, maybe I shouldn't say it until my kids are a bit older, although my 3 yr old and I have discussed BK and McDonalds a few times and why it shouldn't be eaten very often.

Other moms give me evil looks in the store usually. Or make remarks, like "My kid would NEVER eat those veggies", my response is always, "Sure they will, I've never heard of a kid turning down food if he was hungry enough and biological forces will override the fact he doesn't like the look of salad, ya just gotta be smarter than a 3 yr old." The people I tend to glance idly into carts usually involve kids, since thats what I have and my kids are drawn to other kids, its some kind of odd magnetic force. Alot of kids at my kids day-care have started eating healthier since their parents have seen how well my kids eat veggies and fruit, they love it. And Miss Debbie<day care> goes on and on about how my kids are rarely sick and when its time for parties etc, she reminds other parents that they are a gluten free zone since Alannah is gluten intolerant, so other parents are taking some initiative and being creative in gluten-free, party style, kid friendly food.

I guess I have a couple of thoughts.

What a person might have in their cart on a particular day might not be reflective of what they eat on a regular basis. I have shopped for elementary school parties where the kids make crafts out of marshmallows, frosting, candy, etc. and the contents of my cart would make most people's teeth rot out of their heads. But I don't eat that way and the kids don't eat all of that junk (some of it yes, but not daily).

Also, I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted. And then I turned 30. : ) So, some people can eat large quantities of calorie laden food. But they won't be able to forever...not without putting on weight.

Have a lovely, on plan day, ladies!!!

I don't really pay much attention to carts anymore. Two reasons.
1. I'm either shopping with the kids and it's all I can do to keep up with them, get the food I need and checkout in a reasonable amount of time.
2. I'm having to hurry because I've got to go get the kids and don't have time to look around.

I think midwife made a very valid point that you don't really know what's going on in their lives to now if that's a representation of everyday life or a one-time event. Back when I was doing well on weight loss (a few kids ago) I would look at carts of fellow obese people and would be sad when all I would see would be junk in their carts.

As for seeing some skinnier people eat unhealthy, I have a coworker who fits that category...sometimes. I finally asked her how she does it. She eats until she is full, puts her napkin over her plate and pushes it away no matter how much food is left. She doesn't have that urge to gobble every morsel on the plate and go in for more. She does eat healthy most of the time too but when she does indulge it doesn't become overindulgence and that's one of the differences between us is I can't say NO.

My own shopping cart of food probably confuses anyone that is watching. It is always stocked with fruits, fresh veggies, lean meats, skim milk, wheat breads, SF syrup, SF jelly, natural Peanut Butter, splenda. But, then it also has DH's sugared corn flakes, Lays potato chips, his cookies , his chocolate covered breakfast bars, the frozen dinners that my DS takes to work with him, plus Both DH and DS eat tortilla chips and cheese sauce often. They hate my wheat bread, so there is always white bread in it for them. I guess for a person watching mine they might think "well she eats healthy some of the time and binges on junk food the rest of the time". LOL.

I'm such a nosy person, I love to look at other people's baskets! Especially when there's something "differnt" about them: super-skinny, obese like me, walking around in gym clothes, looking really fit, that sort of thing.

And I always compare baskets. I'm sure people wonder how someone who is eating whole wheat pasta, fresh fruits and veggies, and lean fish for protein is as fat as I am, but it's like the others have said: too much of a good thing.

Oh, and of course I judge people. It's horrible, I know, but I say "well, at least I'm not putting x,y,z into my body". Huh. Can you say SNOOTY?!:devil:

-Lynn

I know I've checked out other peoples carts too. A lot of times to see if I missed something yummy looking. Then I have to ask them where they found it! I am also guilty of being too judgemental. One person really sticks out in my mind. Her feet were extremely swollen and she couldn't walk. She was using the motorized shopping cart. She had Hungry Man frozen dinners and ice cream in her cart. I felt so badly for her, wishing she knew that kind of stuff wasn't helping her any. Who knows, it might not have been for her. But that image is stuck in my brain and I do not want to be in her situation!

Folks that look in my cart will see 2 kinds of bread, poptarts and honeynut cheerios for the kids and oatmeal for me. Fruit and snack size pudding! My family is a work in progress! :D

I'm sorry - I didn't mean to seem judgemental in any way. I've also had times I've shopped for things at my son's school or parties and there's been a bunch of junk in my own cart.

Thanks-
Sherry

absolutely i do! - what else is there to do in the supermarket? shop?

especially at costco - i love to see the huge cart things - and all the stacks of stuff.. and i wonder what all that stuff is for ..

then again .. does that mean that people are looking in my cart.. better not! :o

I am a buggy voyeur! I LOVE to see what people are buying. A lot of times I really watch in the produce dept because if they're buying something I don't like or never have tried I'll ask them how they're going to prepare it.

I'm also becoming a buggy SNOB! I love placing my healthy foods up on the conveyor. :)

My husband and I are food adventurers. Ever since a friend introduced me to ethnic groceries in college, I have always loved trying unusual ethnic foods. And my before I met him, my husband had worked as a saucier and sous chef for a couple very fancy, schmancy restaurants, including a four star chinese restaurant.

A lot of what we buy brings on confusion rather than judgement. Living in a large midwestern city with a large asian population, we can find alot of very interesting asian products in all of the grocery stores, but there are also several really nice asian groceries.

With such a large native american and asian population, (especially Hmong, very cool people, sometimes called asian "gypsies," which I don't know if they find flattering, but does capture some of the romance of their history), I would have expected more cultural exchange, but the average "white" person in town doesn't seem too interested in trying Hmong or Native American foods (except fry bread and wild rice).

Even when we go to the asian grocery stores we get a lot of stares. Not only are we HUGE to them (most of the Hmong I have met are very petite folk), but we are apparently among the VERY few white customers. I know are carts must seem extremely amusing, because unlike their usual customers we're not buying groceries, we're usually buying things to try, so the cart ends up full of condiments rather than true foods. The owner is SO sweet, and her english is a little hard to understand, but she is patient and will use gestures to help as she explains how to use an ingredient. She asked if I cooked thai or hmong food all of the time, because I buy large bottles of fish sauce regularly. She laughed when I told her I put it in almost everything, including my chili and spaghetti sauces. It really is great as a replacement for worcesteshire. It gives a rich flavor, without being recognizable.

In the "regular" grocery store, we've had alot of (white) people see the oriental ingredients in our carts and ask us how to use them, so people ARE curious, they're just afraid to experiment.

I think in some ways that explains why some people do buy the "crap." It's what they're used to. If they were raised on it (and more and more children are being raised on convenience foods), there are alot of people who can't bring themselves to cross out of their comfort zone. One woman (a cashier yet, so she sees alot of "unusual" items) asked me about the Ugli or Uniq fruit I was buying. They're grapefruit hybrids (tangerine or mandarin orange, I think), and look like a wrinkled, green and yellow mutant grapefruit. They're expensive (about $2 a fruit!) but I LOVE them. I think the taste is most like lemonade. I told her how great I thought they were, but she said she would never be able to try them because of how they looked. Once you peel them they don't look any different than a big orange or small grapefruit, what's the problem?!

One holiday weekend we bought sushi from the deli (none of the "raw" kind) to bring to a party and several customers behind us, sort of gathered, acting we'd brought our pet unicorn for show and tell. I didn't think california rolls were so "exotic"!

I'm LMAO at the Cali rolls being exotic. Matt is Japanese and English, I'm Native American and Irish. Our neighbours are both Indian, on of the, as they say "red variety one of the brown"*I cracked up when I heard this*. Anyway, between us we have 4 kids, and we'll often go out for dinner together. We love going to the local chinese or Indian and thai places, but what really strikes me as funny is when we ask for chopsticks, we get these weird looks, THEN we all have our kids using the trainer sets. Keeping in mind I'm in small town Kentucky, I've heard some odd things. From, "You'll give them splinters in their mouths" to "How can you stand to stab your kids face with those". We use chopsticks almost daily in our house and the cashiers at Wal-Mart always ask my oldest kid, who is 3, if she can use them and she ends up giving them a lesson in how to hold them. I'm sure plenty of people find the stuff in our carts odd, as they usually ask what kind of fish, fruit, veggie we're buying and how we eat it and how to cook it. The "crap" food comment from my kids, thats what they hear at home. I was raised on boxed foods. My dad's idea of dinner was 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper, pounds of mashed potatoes, bread, peas and carrots swimming in butter and brown sugar. Of course, he's also had 3 heart attacks, a triple bypass and is diabetic. He's 52. Seems to me like his diet treated him like crap. I let my kids eat "junk" on occasion, but they know its a rare thing and something to do in moderation. I don't mean to sound judgemental, like has been said before, we just dont know what all the stuff in the cart is for, but at the same time, I'm pretty proud that my 3 yr old understands that food in a box isn't normal and should, in general be avoided. I'm also in awe of the fact that my 20 mos old turned down a sucker and asked for broccoli.

Angi...your daughter's comment reminded me of something my daughter said. She was visiting up at my sister's house for a few days. My sister was giving her kids vitamins. Alaina asked what they were and Nicole told her. In her most "know it all" voice (Nicole said she sounded JUST like me! hahahah) Alaina said, "Oh, WE don't take pill vitamins. WE get OUR vitamins from the healthy foods that we eat every day!" What a riot! I love the things they say....especially when they repeat what we tell them (in the privacy of our own home!).

I don't know if it's the psychologist in me, or the little kid, (probably the little kid), but I love interacting with kids in ways most adults don't think to. Food is a topic, we have some pretty weird ideas on. I hate when I hear of families having a separate dinner time for the kids, especially when the kids are eating something different than Mom and Dad. How often I hear a woman say she's going to feed the kids mac and cheese or hot dogs and she and hubby are going to have steak after the kids go to bed?! One thing I really give my mom credit for is that we ate together, and we ate what they ate (whether we were happy about it or not).

I find a great deal of sadistic pleasure in proving a parent wrong when he/she says his/her kid won't even taste x, y, or z. Obviously the opportunity doesn't come up very often, but at family social gatherings when it does, I find it tremendously fun. My sister was dating a single dad, who had a "picky" eater. He blamed it on his ex, who ate crap and fed the kid crap.
We were out in a restaurant, and I ordered chicken livers. Now I know these are far from a healthy choice, but I eat liver about once in five years, so it definitely can fit into a healthy diet. I just think it's a a good example in that if you can get a kid to try liver, he will try just about anything (that's my theory and I'm stickin' to it). Anyway, the little guy (about 4) asked what I was eating (I know what he was thinking, smells yucky and looks weird, I hope she doesn't expect me to try it). I whispered in a conspiratory, but excited tone "chicken guts!?, ya wanna try em".

His eyes got really big, and he was thinking about it. I warned him that I didn't like them the first time I tried them, and when I was a kid I liked them only with ketchup. So I gave him a little ketchup, and a chicken liver and I told him to only take a little bite because if he took too big of a bite of something he didn't like he'd want to spit it out, and it's not really nice to do that at a restaurant." So he tried it, didn't like it, but had tons of fun trying it.

The parents at the table acted like I'd done a magic act, but it was just common sense (from a kids point of view). I remember when I was a kid, I loved trying new foods, but I hated being expected to eat "the whole thing" if I didn't like it. If you take away the clean plate club mentality, it's much easier to encourage kids to eat a variety of things and not just their favorites.

My sister is great with her kids. Mom lives close by, and my other sister is still living at home. On one hand, it would probably be easiest to just drop the boys off with Mom and go shopping herself, but it's just as likely that grocery shopping becomes a big family outing. With two or more adults, it's easier to keep the boys interested in the experience. And instead of the "don't touch," approach, they can interact with the kids and teach them about food at the same time (sis is a dietician). Her oldest is quite the little chef, too since he's been in the kitchen with Mom or Grandma since he was old enough to stand on a chair. When he was about 4 he went through a kick where he was always asking to see "the movie about me," a home video of him helping mom and grandma in the kitchen when he was maybe two.

Colleen, I love what you said - probably because I agree! :)

I have always encouraged my kids to try new foods, I've NEVER made them clean their plates...even for dessert. I've never wanted them to feel like they had to eat beyond full just so they could have a treat. They are 2 VERY healthy kiddos! They like a huge variety of foods and they also dislike as big a variety. They both still prefer the junky stuff...if they were to get a choice...but they eat the healthy stuff perfectly well. My son's favorite vegetables are squash and zucchini...my daughter doesn't like them, she loves fresh peas. They aren't expected to love everything I serve them...but they're expected to try it and eat a little of it even if they don't love it and be polite. I don't care if they say "I don't like that" but if they say "EWWWW", they're in their rooms for the rest of the evening!" :D

I've always asked my kids & grands to try new things. Like you guys, they know if they really don't like it, they don't have to finish it. I love fresh asparagus, and eat it almost every day during it's short "low priced" season. My youngest grand was born after I retired, so she has spent a lot of time with me. I was fixing some once when she was there, and gave her a little to try (she was about 3) and loved it. She's 7 now and asks for it every time she's here. She doesn't quite get it that I can't afford it sometimes. :) Anyhow, when you expose them to it without judgement, you get surpised sometimes. I have only a couple of veggies that I really don't like (brussel sprouts & lima beans), but I usually revisit them at least once a year to see if that has changed. So far it hasn't. :p

Revisiting? I like that. When I was a kid, I HATED beets. Mom's rule on beets was we had to eat once slice, if they were served. So usually, my brother and I would take the smallest slice we could find (sometimes I'm sure it drove our parents nuts, as we sifted through the bowl with the serving spoon seeking out the smallest slice possible). Then, we'd try to hold our breat as we chewed and swallowed REALLY quickly and follow it quickly with something to cover the taste.

In my mid-twenties at a family garage sale, we had ordered greek salads that was topped with sliced beets. Mom, took her fork and stabbed a beet on MY salad, because I "didn't like beets." I complained that I should at least be given a chance to decide what I didn't want. I sort of had to try the beet to save face, and decided I really liked them, at least on a salad.

I later read that tastes change periodically for kids and adults, so I passed this information on to my nephew ias well, and used the beet example for him (Allowing kids appropriate ways to laugh at adults, is also healthy in my opionion). So, now he's not only willing to try things, he's willing to try things in different ways and even try foods he knows (or thinks) he doesn't like. I think it's funny to hear him get excited over finding out he likes a food he didn't before or prepared another way.

I wanted to throttle my sister-in-law when she took a carrot out of her 3 year old son's hands as he had dipped it in dip and was bringing it to his mouth, saying "you don't like carrots." I wasn't very tactful in telling her I thought that was stupid. She said that he'd only spit it out. I tried to explain that encouraging him to try things was better than worrying about wasting one little baby carrot. I know it fell on deaf ears, as she and my brother don't like and don't eat vegetables themselves. Enough said, I guess (that they both didn't have weight problems at the time, really irked me too, but that's another story).

Last week, I was in line behind a very fit looking , healthy lady at the grocer. She had sugarfree "skinny cow" brand ice cream sandwiches up on the conveyor. I thought, hmmm, I'll have to try those. So, yesterday when I shopped I bought some. 140 calories each and pretty darn tasty. I wish I'd payed more attention to what else she was buying. LOL.