never mind, found it! i've got some bags in my cart for when i place my next order

That sounds like a healthy cart by almost anyone's standards.

Now, if you'd had my quart of heavy cream (mine), quart of half and half (husband's), 3 gallons of 1% milk (husband's) several full fat cheeses, real sour cream, full fat cream cheese, bacon (we all use these), frosted mini wheats (husband's), honey nut cheerios (husband's), whole chicken legs (mine), boneless skinless chicken breasts (husband's), whole pork loins (cheaper that way), non-fat plain yogurt (needed a starter for making my own), 3 dozen eggs (they were on sale, dated through mid-june, might as well stock up!), fresh spinach (mostly mine) and other fresh veggies such as mushrooms (all of us), zuchinni (mine), and fresh kale (mostly for the rabbit), frozen brussels sprouts (we all eat these), several bags of cauliflower (mine), etc, they might look at you weird.

After reading this thread today, I couldn't help but notice when I was at the grocery store later on that I really wasn't noticing what other people had in their carts. I tried to notice what other people had for a few moments, and decided I had no interest in it.

I guess a lot has to do with how much of a rush I'm in though, as well as how long I have to stand in line waiting to check out too, because if there's nothing else to do while I'm waiting, I'll be likely to check out other people's carts.

Before I started low carb and lost some weight - I used to worry that people were judging me on what I ate in restaurants. I was worried that if I ordered something seemingly 'fattening' that *everyone* was thinking, "No wonder she's so fat" or something like that.

Funny thing is - now that I'm paying attention to what I'm eating, I'm also paying attention to things that I notice or don't notice - and the big realization here is that no one is looking at what I'm eating and furthermore, I never notice what other people are eating in a restaurant either. But it took some kind of personal awareness/learning about food for me to realize this. Strange eh?

I *do* look at food in the stores (on the shelves mostly), and I'm all aghast at them sometimes. I'll read ingredients lists of products that I no longer buy, and think.."I can't believe I used to eat this stuff...this isn't food!"

And since the pet food recall, I'm reading pet food labels like mad now too...and I'm shocked at the number of unrecognizable things there are on the list of ingredients.

Actually, it's the same with human food - since when do cold, already cooked chicken strips need dextrose in them? And why are there sometimes TRANS FATS in frozen hamburgers?? Some of this stuff makes no sense to me.

What is the point of having corn syrup in a turkey breast that you'll roast at home?

It's amazing, when you really start looking at the labels.

Citruskiss, I think you have addressed the heart of the issue. It is amazing how much folks truly don't notice or even care about "us". Our concerns that we are being watched, judged, and analyzed is most often born of our own insecurities. Once we begin to address those insecurities, the entire world seems to lighten up.

As for product labeling - my high school students used to bring in some amazing examples when we studied this. Two in particular that I remember was one for hand lotion that contained "human placental extract" and another for sausage that listed "pig lymph nodes and snouts". At least those items were recognizable items!

Yup, the "Shrink" world says it is, "an imaginary audience".

I don't usually pay attention to what other people have in their carts. I usually to busy shopping, reading lables or keeping an eye on my children.

Ditto.

Probably the best way to cure being in someone else's business is to be attentive to your own

I enjoy noticing the differences in what people buy based on time of day.

2 weeks ago, Mr. Husband and I were shopping on a Saturday much later than usual & I looked around and it seemed like everyone was getting ready for a party (bottles of wine, chips, 6 packs of beer, large amounts of meat for the BBQ) where we were getting our usual stuff.

Next time, same super-market, a couple of hours earlier - family shopping. So I look sociologically - a guy ahead of me we 10 cans or sardines in tomato sauce, instant noodles, and beer - most likely single.

We get most of our fruit and greenies and fresh meat and fish at the wet-market, and usually go to a supermarket to get things like canned goods, detergents, cat food, pasta [husband & kids do not LC], dairy products & frozen meat at supermarkets. In fact we usually visit at least 2 or 3 because 1 market has cheaper UHT skim milk; another the cheaper romaine, and another has feta.

I must confess, I only look at the person/people ahead of me in the check out line. I am surprised at the number of people (in the area where I live) who have VERY healthy grocery carts. Lots of veggies and meats with cereals and sodas thrown in for good measure. I was actually surprised by the amounts of fruits and veggies in most people's carts. Maybe there is good news for the future?

Since I usually only shop for a day or two during the week (we do the major meat shopping on the weekends), I have had some strange stares when I come up to the checkout with bacon, heavy whipping cream, artichokes, asparagus, eggs and a jar of coconut oil. I have had one cashier make a remark about the amount of fat in my shopping cart and I just smiled and said "I hope it's enough"... LOL!!!

Laurie - who thinks the "guess who is single by their shopping cart contents" game sounds like a fun game to play with the hubby on our next shopping adventure!

I hate the self service, personally. I always feel like I am being too slow for the people behind me. And I like having help when bagging my stuff. At the stop and shop I go to, they rarely help bag at the self serve (hence, the self part)

In the White Mountains in the summer, I enjoy figuring out who is shopping for a family camping trip. Hot dogs, hamburger meat, buns, fruit, chips, Graham crackers, Hershey bars, and marshmallows.....and nothing frozen.

Kay

Even when I was on a LF/HC diet I use to do this. I'm not necessarily judging people, but I find it entertaining to guess the kind of diet or lifestyle people lead by what is in their carts. For example, a cart of frozen lean cuisines exudes a "I don't like/know how to cook, but I care about my weight/health" lifestyle" or a cart of veggies, lowfat cheese, Snackwells, and Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream exudes a "I am going to eat healthier, but not completely deprive myself!"

I also then evaluate my own cart by asking myself, "Does my cart exude my LC lifestyle?" Whatever items don't fit that, I usually put back.

Given my success with LC, I think others probably look at my cart and think the meat is for my husband and the veggies are for me, but he just eats what I make and that is... lots of meats and veggies.

You can 99% tell who the bachelors are:

pop tarts - check

pizza pops - check

ichiban noodles - check check

Taking notes on this for next shopping trip - and wondering what else would work for recognizing a senior citizen bachelor?