Sorry in advance but this may seem petty and nosey?

I can't help but look into other people's shopping carts to see what they're eating and of course, I tie it into their physical appearance. Petty I know? But the morbidly obese really do eat bad food. One shopping cart I saw this morning had 3 large sacks of generic cheese puffs, 3 other sacks of potato/corn chips, 4-5 boxes of highly processed sugary cereals(trix, choco puffs etc), 6-8 liters of soda pop and other sugary Fruit drinks. She was probably around 300 lbs and both kids were heading in the same direction.

Yeah, I feel like a snob but I think back 3 years ago and my cart was similar except I've never been a soda pop guy or liked cheese puffs. Doritos, crackers, Cookies, dips with Velveeta cheese, sour cream, hamburger helper and Pasta were all my vices. Different strokes/vices eh?

My cart today? Two 5 oz tenderloin steaks from the close out bin, one mixed salad bag, honeycrisp apples, avocados, limes, chicken tenderloins, eggs, can of tuna, celery, brown rice, jicama and some cilantro.

My band has changed my life. I still like(no longer love) those old food choices but I respect my band and my commitment to be healthier. When I stray(and I do), I feel like I've cheated on my band. I try very hard not to let my band down. Silly maybe? But I'm OK with that.

tmf

I am glad to know someone else that looks into grocery carts.. I know how mine used to look and what I buy now is totally different.. used to be lots of Snacks, ice cream and unhealthy foods period.. today I try to get vegetables. lean meats and yogurt, eggbeaters (which I never ate before) turkey sausage and wheat thins... I saw a lady the other day poor thing was in a mobile cart or lark hoverround or whatever they call them.. she was huge and I had to help reach something for her. I thought there by the grace of God go I... I was heading for the lark and Thanks for my band I am a fit and healthier 67 year old.. She had so many cakes and Cookies and chips and case of soda in her basket. I thought to myself that her size reflected her choice of foods.

i look and i notice whats inside and whom cart it is also.....

then i look at mine and think its the only one i can contro/help.......myself

but it wasnt that long ago that it was all junk and processed.......

Oh, FOR SURE! I look at the items in people's carts too. And it's weird. I just feel so bad for them. I want to go up and say, "You don't need that stuff! Free yourself! Get WLS! Any kind of WLS!"

I guess ever since I got the band and the hubby and I did a complete overaul of the way we eat, I even seem to notice overweight people more. I wonder what their story is. How they got the way they are. And really I just want to help them. But haha, I can't. Can you imagine a stranger walking up to you and wanting to discuss your weight?

I also notice when people have Protein shakes and I want to ask them if they're having/had WLS. I'm a nut.

One time, I went to the Kroger I always go to and there's this one cashier who's always a little annoyingly chatty. Well, I emptied my cart onto the belt. You can imagine, Frozen pizzas, chips, ice cream, sodas. She said, "You must have a teenager at home!" O..M..G..I didn't know if I wanted to die in shame or give her a good mind-your-own-dang-business tongue lashing.

I could have written that also. I look at everyone, not just grocery shopping. I was once at a Bette Midler concert with my oldest brother, his wife and my husband. During the intermission my brother and I criticized every person's clothes. Our spouses don't give a shit about what's around them.

When I see overweight people and the unhealthy foods they buy, I feel like saying something. When I see obese children, I want to really speak my mind. I have an obese son since he was little. I took him to every program, doctor etc. in Boston. He is now 35 and slowly losing on his own. Still over 300 but it is less than 400 when he was 17. My other son is under 200, same house, same parents. Same height, 6'2".

So to get back to the subject, I look at what i buy for my husband and I think , this is so wrong.

I too check out others carts....thinking back to my days when I was 70 lbs heavier.

Although I made bad choices for myself, and rarely and especially now, DO NOT allow my kids to consume the crap that I did. I am happy to say that my 3 1/2 and 7 year old do not like soda of any kind and the Snacks they eat are healthy/healthier choices. Do they enjoy a mini bag of m&m's on occasion and a chocolate chip cookie....absolutely....but i am more conscious of my choices for them....and that is what it comes down to when you have little children....MY CHOICES FOR THEM....A 3 AND 7 YEAR OLD NEED GUIDANCE!!

I hope to instill in them the ability to choose good foods now so that they will never go through the weight issues I did.

Good post! And you make a good point, I wish my obesity was that simple! Because I used to eat healthy and eat some junk too, I was never a total horrible food eater, I was not a burger and fries,fried foods, ice cream, fattening Cereal, chips loads of Pasta, mac and cheese, and junk type of obese person.

I just ate too much combined with lack of exercise, and I was a stress eater too, I love healthy food, spinach, collards, cabbage, salads, baked chicken etc, I am also a good cook...I write computer code and I will tell ya...I could go through a whole bag of chocolate kisses if I had a difficult problem to solve....so the reason I was fat was a bit more complex...LOL and genetics play a role for me too...I can just look at food and gain 10 pounds...

I've always wondered how some skinny women could sit all day and never enter a gym and stay skinny!!

Edited January 20, 201412 yr by NaNa

Good post! And you make a good point, I wish my obesity was that simple! Because I used to eat healthy and eat some junk too, I was never a total horrible food eater, I was not a burger and fries,fried foods, ice cream, fattening cereal, chips loads of Pasta, mac and cheese, and junk type of obese person.

I just ate too much combined with lack of exercise, and I was a stress eater too, I love healthy food, spinach, collards, cabbage, salads, baked chicken etc, I am also a good cook...I write computer code and I will tell ya...I could go through a whole bag of chocolate kisses if I had a difficult problem to solve....so the reason I was fat was a bit more complex...LOL and genetics play a role for me too...I can just look at food and gain 10 pounds...

I've always wondered how some skinny women could sit all day and never enter a gym and stay skinny!!

Nana .......

DITTO to everything you said.

I was obese for the exact reasons......

NO EXERCISE (I lived most of my life on the couch watching tv)

OVEREATING (I was more about quantity rather than quality

And,

EMOTIONAL EATER too.

I don't really check out shopping carts but I've become very aware that I no longer fear what others think who might be looking at what I'm buying. I was always very aware that my cart showed the world why I was fat. Boxes of Pasta, lots of processed foods, candy, Cookies, ice cream...ugh.

I haven't bought a box of pasta in months..I eat it but in such small amounts that a box will last forever. Now what you see in my cart is fruit, veggies, hummus, chicken, fish, turkey, 100 calorie ice cream, SF jello/puddings, etc.

I've got nothing to be ashamed of anymore including my size.

Lol and I thought I was the only one that did this. As I stated in another post, I love reading what you have to say. I actually wonder what the cashier thinks rather than what I feel another should or should not purchase.

It's hard to NOT have flashbacks from when I attempted to do the same cart trick, despite knowing better.

We all know people do not change easily, and 'the look' at such as shopping cart contents doesn't produce much other than continued determination on MY part to continue buffing up the loose ends of my own behavior.

I have a son who spent a good decade working his way toward his RN degree....and headed well toward that 400# mark despite what HE knows as well.

We've talked about such insanity, and how it grips us like LaBrea Tar Pit gripped beasts large & small regardless of their struggles.

The subtle addictions to which we must all find a way around....

"But the morbidly obese really do eat bad food"....that's the truth....in my own writhing to escape, A thought suddenly hit me, that I was losing that battle because I was trying to feed my body and that wasn't where the hunger was.....

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by Jack

Haha!!! I dont really pay attention to others carts but I usually stock up on things like yogurt, string cheese, etc....the cashier always says "someone likes yogurt" before the band they used to say "im coming home with you" of course my cart then was filled with bad food.

Last week I was at the supermarket at the wrong time ( before dinner) and I was obviously hungry. I had put some biscuists and two bars of chocolate into my shopping cart. Then I noticed an obese woman who was putting the same things into hers..I felt uneasy and the days when I weighed 120 kilos came painfully to my mind. Thanks to that unknown woman I decided it wasn't the case and put biscuits and chocholate back onto their shelf.

Sometimes looking at other people's carts is helpful..