I've never gotten any comments from cashiers, but I have from other customers. A couple Saturday mornings ago, at the tail end of a migraine, I went to the grocery store and picked up a potato, some meat, and coconut milk ice cream. (After migraines, I indulge a little to soothe my head; after all the barfing that goes along with them, I figure a little food happiness is ok.) The guy behind me in line said loudly, "Ice cream! At this hour? Isn't it a little early for ice cream?" I smiled sweetly and said, "It's never too early for ice cream." (Wanted to add that he should shut his pie hole and mind his own business.)
I had 3 different 24 hour shops within 2 minutes walking distance of my house at one point.. I went to a different one each time but I didn't think too much about it because a lot of stoners lived around there so I wasn't the only one buying lots of junk. There was also a 24 hour supermarket where I would buy those huge bags of onion rings/bacon fries. They probably just thought I was a stoner too though
It doesn't embarrass me when i go to the store at 6:30 in the morning and buy 4 slices of cake to binge on, because i still look relatively thin (i don't look like i eat 4 slices of cake for breakfast) so i do it with confidence on the outside, even though inwardly i know this is just so, so wrong.
I know how u feel about having a bunch of binge food at the register. I always assume the cashier wonders what it's all for. I usually say, I'm going home to watch movies with my family and I wanted to get snacks. Lol. Why in the world am I lying to someone I don't even know? This whole obsession with food and need to hide consumes me. Tomorrow's a new day
I have this ridiculous fear of people judging me when I buy junk... I feel so uncomfortable and like people are judging me when i walk down the Candy isle and WalMart! One thing my friends hate about me is i refuse to drive through fast food restaurants because i'm afraid the cashier will think that I'm fat!! I especially hate seeing people I know at the store or at a restaurant.. I get so self conscious. I guess for me, its a mental issue.
In binge mode and a trolly full of junk foods, sometimes I pretend in my mind that I am preparing a party for children with lots of treats. It's really silly thinking, because it's not like I am actually explaining this idea out loud to anyone, it's just a little lie I make up in my head to make it all seem cheerfully innocent. Only once did a cashier ask about a packet of biscuits, whether I liked them or not and I replied "I didn't know, but the children like them!"
I was at the cinema this time last year a month before I started my journey and I went to get a scoop of icecream and the clerk asked my bf "Has she fallen off the wagon again?"
I can't remember what youtube clip/documentary maybe it was one of those Jamie Oliver in America things but they were in a supermarket asking shoppers about their groceries and everyone was having a party that week can you imagine, usually a mother with her children and the trollies were stacked to the top with junk food, I know how sad I came from a family who did that used the food in their house as entertainment or a safety net. which then in my teens lead to buying one binge item every couple of weeks, sneaking out there when it wasnt busy blocking out the chasier as I put through my litre tub of icecream at 9 o clock on a friday night
I do let myself have bad stuff but nothing that is triggering, I had a triumph the other day I usually never got mcDs unless my friends were there and Id always get a large fries with something else... I went in the other day and ordered just a small fries, took my time and did not feel hungry afterwards, I got over my fear of being hungry and needing to eat as much as possible at every excuse.
Up until recently there were two grocery stores I would go to that were a little ways away from the store that's closest (where I'd go to buy things I really needed) just to buy binging foods. Nobody ever made any comment to me about what I was buying. But my paranoid mind always thought I was being judged. I had two stores to go to so that if the employees in one store got to see me to the point where they could remember me being there just two days ago, then I'd skip that store for a while and go to the other one.
it amazes me how common this feeling is. i thought i was the only one!! I worry what the cashier thinks but more I worry about what others are thinking of me..Ive seen people look in my cart..But Im realy weird I drive myself dizzy cuz I try not to even look people in the eye for fear of even seein a glimpse of disgust on there face. I avoid the candy and chip aisle (and if I do happen to want something so bad, I make up my mind super fast and grab and literaly run out of the isle like Im lost) Its such a terrible feeling though..You'd think to resolve it we wouldnt even buy that food. Im glad Im here though and starting on a new journey to be healthy..But the thoughts of this will always be in my mind when I go shopping..
I know you guys already know this rationally, but cashiers really don't care. Heck, we don't even take notice most times.
In any given day I sell:
-cigarettes to women with oxygen tubes in their noses.
-pregnancy tests to miserable looking teens.
-beer to homeless people who pay with bottle return money.
-enemas.
Its possible I'm just horribly self-involved...but I really don't spend mental energy on what people are buying/if I think they should be buying it. You'd have to bring up something really odd for me to give it a second thought.
That said, when I go to Wegmans at 3am to buy cheese and rolls...I never considered how odd that looked. Huh..That "horribly self-involved" theory is looking a bit more valid..
Last edited by tinneranne2; 07-31-2012 at 12:33 AM.
I worked as a cashier through high school and university and I agree with Tinneranne - most of us really dont care what you're buying at whatever hour of the day. We just want the work day to end! LOL!
That said, and knowing that, I try and buy my junk food from stores that arent in my neighbourhood and stores I know I wont frequent for fear of being judged. That stems from childhood - we used to live above a convenience store and whenever I'd go in there to buy junk [usually chips], the owner would tell me how fat I was and shouldnt be eating them. He still sold them to me though...
I was just thinking about this thread this morning! Today when I went to get gas, I ran inside to pick up some gum as well.
I hate running out, so I usually stock up on my favorite flavors. I grabbed 4 packs of gum total, and when I got to the register the woman let out this big exasperated sigh and said "Ohhhhkaaaaay... do you think you have enough gum here?"
WTF business is it of hers? Seriously? The woman behind the counter who has forgotten how to shower and evidently also how to brush her teeth is judging me on my gum purchase? I should have offered her some! This woman was a mess head to toe, meanwhile I came in bright and early before hitting the gym to buy 4 packs of gum and I'M THE WEIRDO?
Jerk.
So, yes, some people do pay attention and some judge, even when your items are totally normal.
Oh, my, yes (well, almost ). I'm not the kind to go out at 10 o'clock at night anywhere, even to the corner store to buy junk food, but I do feel embarrassment when I got to the grocery store across the street and buy junk food. Until recently, I was doing that almost every week. I always carefully plan the shopping, making sure I put in a few items that are "normal" (like bread, vegetables, etc) so that it looks like I'm just buying the junk food as part of my normal shopping and not for binge purposes. I'm sure I'm not fooling anybody, though!
To make it worse, I'm living in Israel right now and people here tend to be much more direct and open (read: tactless) about what they say and do. So it's entirely possible to have some idiot in the store commenting on the amount of junk food I'm buying (luckily, that hasn't happened).
I think it's really tied in with the shame and secrecy that comes with binge eating.
I'm proud to say that I've been binge-free since July 20th and I plan on staying that way!
I'm always really embarassed when buying lots of junk food. I usually go buy it with my husband and we get enough junk food to last a week. I'm always wondering what the cashier is thinking.
). I'm not the kind to go out at 10 o'clock at night anywhere, even to the corner store to buy junk food, but I do feel embarrassment when I got to the grocery store across the street and buy junk food. Until recently, I was doing that almost every week. I always carefully plan the shopping, making sure I put in a few items that are "normal" (like bread, vegetables, etc) so that it looks like I'm just buying the junk food as part of my normal shopping and not for binge purposes. I'm sure I'm not fooling anybody, though!
