I don't check out carts but do end up looking at the conveyor ahead of me. The other day I commented to an older man ahead of me that his meal looked like more fun than mine. He had steak, potato, greens, and ice cream. I had yogurt. He smiled and said "Yeah, but your healthy eating shows". Made my day.
I just think that there is a fine line---we often view our worlds only in terms of our own experiences---if we are food addicts, we normally assume others with food issues are the same. If we know how to cook a certain way, we assume others can do the same. I just feel, that having "been there, done that", I am sure people could have looked at my dinner made from a dollar (seriously), and exclaimed that I could have bought an apple or beans. But, I bought a sausage or meat and a bread roll instead. I just don't want to jump on that bandwagon of blaming people for what we think they should know or how we think they should eat, etc. I would rather have compassion and information, rather than apathy and disdain.
No, you're right. Like I said, there are always exceptions. I'm just playing devil's advocate, so to speak. There are people who will make excuses, and want others to excuse them, but that's not good.
I didn't really do it to be snoopy, but
I just happened to notice this one
VERY thin lady had nothing but
Fit and Active stuff in her cart.
Healthy bread, fruits, health bars, etc.
Then in our cart we had stuff
like instant pizza, loads of meat,
and chips (junk food).
It was very striking to me seeing as
how the only healthy stuff was the
salads and fruits I wanted.
I don't normally although I generally notice what is on the conveyer belt. I also generally don't shop at 'normal' grocery stores so my experience may vary slightly. Anyway, I was shopping for my dogs at a regular grocery store (20 cans of green beans), I'm guessing whoever saw me thought I really loved green beans.
The man in front of me was pretty heavy and he had a couple loaves of french bread, some deli meat and ice cream. I looked at it and thought "hey that is what I used to eat for dinner". Although substitute the deli meat for brie cheese or other cheese.
I don't check out carts but do end up looking at the conveyor ahead of me. The other day I commented to an older man ahead of me that his meal looked like more fun than mine. He had steak, potato, greens, and ice cream. I had yogurt. He smiled and said "Yeah, but your healthy eating shows". Made my day.
He sounds like a cool guy.
Today my cart was odd, I am sure----I had some hostess items, but also fresh fruit and my favorite snack--croutons! Yeah, kind of odd, but what I was craving at the moment.
I do feel uncomfortable when I am in a binge mode and have tons of junk food, and I feel better when I have super healthy food.
I don't get all my groceries in any one place, and I guess neither do the other people shopping there - I mean farmers market type places, or specialty stores.
But we do get some dry goods and paper stuff, frozens etc from a regular supermarket every couple of weeks and I AM guilty of passing judgement (quietly to myself) on parents with carts full of crap....not talking a few "treats" but junk heavy/fresh produce devoid kind of carts.
The fact is many parents are too busy/tired/stressed to prepare food from scratch and I get more peed off at society and the dumbing down advertising we tolerate than I do at the actual people pushing the cart.
The only time i really pay any attention to what people have in their carts is if it is really full, then I think wow do you only shop every so often or does that only last a few days.
Although it was sad the other day. I was at our grocery store getting a salad, and i was being good-nothing fattening at all, it was a normal sized salad. This older guy who is pretty good sized saw it and said that is going to make you fat. I just felt sorry for him. I wanted to go well you shouldn't be buying that fried chicken but i just went we'll see and walked on.
But now that you've brought this topic up, I know i will catch myself looking in people's carts. lol
For the record, you will NEVER see produce in my shopping cart. I get some frozen vegetables at the grocery store, but I buy all my fresh produce from the farmer's market. It's MUCH cheaper, there is a kind of camaraderie with all the people who work and shop there, and if they don't have it in stock, I'm not going to buy it from the grocery store where it's been grown under lights and ripened with chemicals and shipped across the country.
I'm one of those fat moms with a fat kid, and if you looked in my cart you would think we never ate a veggie or a piece of fruit, but you would be wrong.
I'm usually too busy making sure my cart is organized. I used to be a cashier and I disliked when people set things up on the conveyor randomly and left me to organize their bags, while still getting them through the line quickly and efficiently. Now I make sure everything stays together in the cart, and goes up on the belt, in the order I want it bagged in. Frozen w/ frozen, meat alone, dairy together, produce together and on top, etc... It also makes it easier to put things away when I get home. I can look in a bag and know usually the whole bag goes in one place.
I tend to buy a large amount once a month and only return for produce/milk/bread bi-weekly, so my cart is pretty full on big days. I can only imagine what people think. I must have a family of 10!
I remembered this thread today when I went to the grocery store near my bf's house in a poor neighborhood and saw a heavier lady purchasing six sodas and 8 (yes eight family size) bags of cheetos. I was overwhelmed by 8 bags of cheetos. I used to eat cheetos as a occasional snack when my parents bought it maybe once a month when I was 10-13 years old, and I thought a whole bowl was bad. I felt horrible thinking maybe it was a binge problem since I can sympathize with those feelings and behaviors. Then I thought maybe it was for a party. Then I felt bad about myself and made a rude comment to my bf about an overweight woman buying eight bags of chips. Wow this weight loss journey is changing me in ways I don't like sometimes. I feel myself being more cranky and more prone to just plain rudeness. I'm noticing it and trying to monitor my mouth however. I don't want to be a hurtful kind of person fat or thin.
I'm guilty of passing judgement on people who have a cart or two pilled up with junk food such as pop, chips, cookies, frozen pizzas, hotdogs, etc. who end up paying for said groceries at Walmart with food stamps.
No, I am not at all interested in what is in someone else's shopping cart.
I have imagined, however, that if they look into mine, they would see a whole lot of Lean Cusines, veggies, and fruit. They would probably decide that I don't like to cook, and they would be right!
I used to be a cashier and I disliked when people set things up on the conveyor randomly and left me to organize their bags, while still getting them through the line quickly and efficiently. Now I make sure everything stays together in the cart, and goes up on the belt, in the order I want it bagged in. Frozen w/ frozen, meat alone, dairy together, produce together and on top, etc... It also makes it easier to put things away when I get home. I can look in a bag and know usually the whole bag goes in one place.
