Do people look in your grocery cart?

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  • Let me start by saying immediately: I don't think they're being mean or judgmental. I don't think people look at me, think "she needs to lay off the junk food" and then look in my cart to see what I'm buying.

    But every single time I'm at the grocery store, at least 4 or 5 people look into my cart as they walk past. I don't even notice them looking at me. There just always seems to be people curious about what I am buying.

    The first few times it happened, I thought "hmm....maybe they see a chubby girl and think 'wow, she likes to eat. I bet she knows some good things to buy here.'" but...that doesn't seem to be the case.

    Am I the only one? I don't find myself looking into the grocery carts of other people, and I never noticed it up until recently....the past couple of months or so.

    Or is it that I live in an area with a bunch of really curious people?
  • People can be just plain nosey!

    Being the size that I am, I get quite a few stares at the grocery store. And God forbid I buy ice cream or something. Look out! LOL

    But in your case, probably just catty women. Because you don't really seem all that heavy. Just sayin'.
  • I look into peoples carts but it's not intentional. I do it all the time at Costco and see things that I wouldn't think to buy and then ask people where they got those items. I'm absolutely not judging anyone. And honestly at a weight of 142, I doubt anyone is singling you out as a chubby person that needs to watch what they eat.

    I would also add that I'm naturally a nosy person but I don't mean any harm.
  • Hmm I may be guilty of this myself! I wouldn't be analyzing a trolley's contents but I do find myself just glancing to see what other people are buying. I wouldn't consider myself nosy, I just have a genuine interest in food! I had no idea people could find this offensive, it's more of a subconscious thing I guess. I would never be paying any attention to the person who actually is pushing the trolley, but that's just me!
  • Oh - I love cooking so I'm always looking in people's carts and wondering what I could make with those things. Sometimes I see things that I forgot to get when I meant to and sometimes I see things that make me go get some because it's either brilliant, or I've never tried it.
  • I get paranoid like that too. I think people are looking and judging because I am larger, especially if I have less healthy things in my cart. On the flip side, I'm constantly checking out what other people in line at the grocery store have in their carts too. Standing in line is boring and there isn't anything else to do !
  • Quote: I look into peoples carts but it's not intentional. I do it all the time at Costco and see things that I wouldn't think to buy and then ask people where they got those items. I'm absolutely not judging anyone. And honestly at a weight of 142, I doubt anyone is singling you out as a chubby person that needs to watch what they eat.
    ^This! I do it all the time when I'm shopping. And it's just because I'm nosy. There are times when I see certain families with food piled in their carts higher than the cart itself! It's like a mountain! I wonder how a family of 3 or 4 can eat that much in a week. Then I look at my sad cart and my 3 bags of produce and 2 packages of ground turkey and some seasoning. Then again, that's probably my own insecurity. AND I completely agree with ChickieBoom. I know you're 5'1" and us shorties wear our weight noticeably more than those taller, but at 142, I'm sure you're gorgeous!

    All in all, don't worry about what you're buying. If you know you're on track and you're happy, screw them!
  • I don't know and I seriously don't care.
  • Thanks for the thoughts.

    Like I said, I'm not offended and I don't think they're judging me. I just notice it more and more (sometimes it's like they're craning their necks to look in!) and I'm kinda like....uhhh....see something you like?

    It stands out to me because so many people do it. Multiple people within a half hour-long trip to the grocery store.

    Oh well. I was curious to see if it was just me. :-P

    And I know people didn't mean offense, but calling me paranoid hurts my feelings a little. I specifically said in the first post that I do NOT think they're judging me. But I am not imagining things -- they're definitely looking in my cart. *shrugs*
  • Quote: And I know people didn't mean offense, but calling me paranoid hurts my feelings a little. I specifically said in the first post that I do NOT think they're judging me. But I am not imagining things -- they're definitely looking in my cart. *shrugs*
    I apologize...I just meant that maybe you're projecting your own thoughts onto other people. I find that people are in their own world when shopping and a glance in your cart most likely doesn't have much meaning behind it. I know I look in other people's carts and until your post, it never occurred to me that someone might think anything about it. I assume that's part of the reason that the carts are see through. But like I said, I'm definitely nosy.
  • Once shopped with a friend who mentioned she had a habit of looking at other people's carts. That sorta put it in perspective. It's just something some people do. They're probably wondering what they forgot to buy or needing ideas for dinner.
  • Quote: I apologize...I just meant that maybe you're projecting your own thoughts onto other people. I find that people are in their own world when shopping and a glance in your cart most likely doesn't have much meaning behind it. I know I look in other people's carts and until your post, it never occurred to me that someone might think anything about it. I assume that's part of the reason that the carts are see through. But like I said, I'm definitely nosy.

    Thank you. I appreciate it. I know you didn't mean it that way...I'm probably overly-sensitive right now. Thanks to TOM.
  • I guess there's a plus side to have a kid with autism that is really triggered by the grocery store - people are too busy judging my parenting to judge my eating habits. LOL

    Honestly, I couldn't tell you if people look in my cart. The only time I notice what other people have in their carts is if they have a zillion of the same thing or they're obviously having a party. I might glance at someone's cart, but that doesn't mean my brain registers what's in it.
  • When I am waiting in line I look at what others have and try to figure out what they are going to make with what they have. Or I try to guess how many and what kind of pets they have, or I wonder what they are going to do with multiple packages of Kraft Mac and Cheese. I don't think I ever look at the people behind the cart.
  • I look at people's cart while waiting in line. I don't judge, but I get kind of upset when I see overweight kids and a cart full of crap. Making you child unfit/unhealthy should be consider child abuse (but that's another subject...)