Went grocery shopping last night. I'm waiting in line at the checkout, my little cart all full of salad mixes and veggies and meats - happy happy happy...

I watch the lady in front of me loading her groceries onto the belt - Low carb cereal, low carb ice-cream, low-carb bread, low-carb flavoured coffee cream, a gazillion bars & shakes, I swear I think I saw a low-carb ham!!! There was not a single "pure" natural item in her cart (seriously, no veggies, no cream, no cheese... I want to know, WHERE WAS HER CHEESE??? ).

So I wondered to myself, "Self, does she honestly know what she's about to put in her body?" I wondered, does she really know about low-carbing and about those products? Has she just lost 100 pounds and is using these products to maintain after sitting down and studying it, making a well-informed choice as a consumer and integrated them into her eating, and was just picking up some stuff?

Or has she just heard all the low carb scuttle, that it's good for you, here buy this cereal and this ice cream and these chocolate bars and strawberry shakes and vanilla coffee flavouring and salad dressing and ketchup because it's all low-carb and it's good for you and buy it buy it buy it...

It was all I could do not to tap her on the shoulder and talk to her, but my momma raised me old school south, and one does not assume or interfere in a stranger's business (people we know, it's OK ).

I'm afraid all this crap is really going to give this wonderful way of eating a horrible name. There have got to be ramifications somewhere!

HOW COULD SHE HAVE NO CHEESE???

LOL!!!! "HOW COULD SHE HAVE NO CHEESE???"

My mom tried Atkins (even read the book) but wasn't eating whole foods. She was eating a TON of splenda in about everything.

I think people are trying "Atkins" but aren't committed to really change their way of life or the things they are eating. They want to continue to eat the same garbage but think because it has a LC label it is alright.

I have seen this with any WOE. People who eat low-fat consume nothing but the sugar-laiden snackwells and pretzels.

HOW COULD SHE HAVE NO CHEESE???

My DW is a transplanted Cheesehead (Wisconsin-ite) and I could just hear her asking me the same question!!!

Eggggzactly. I remember the days of fat-free muffins - about a zillion calories each, too!

People see the commercials & buy the junk, expecting better health and weight loss, but know nothing about true low carbing!

I'm still in shock, literally. I console myself by imagining that her fridge is chock fulla cheese, so she didn't need to pick up any more.

Maybe she's allergic to dairy?

K, maybe not, I just noticed she had LC ice cream in her cart.

LOL~ Beckster.....

I remember having a cart like that myself one time. GEESH, never again.

Maybe she buys her meat and dairy at another store.

Frankly, I got enough to do to worry about my own diet, I don't really care what some stranger chooses to eat.

I've been doing the low carb thing since 2-1-04. Bought my first packaged low carb products on my lunch hour today. Soy tortilla chips and 2 Atkins bars. I am afraid to open them. Afraid that I will like them too much and want more and more and more. Got some Oil of Oregano too. Still toying with that idea.

LOL - I know exactly what you mean. I sometimes go into a little store here in Columbus that is a dedicated low carb store. While I was waiting for it to open one Sunday, a really sweet 80-year old woman (she told me her age) waited with me. She was going in to buy the low carb chips because they are sooooo much better for you than regular chips and just absolutely had to have her chips every evening.

I bought a loaf of lc spinach bread & was at the checkout when she walked up. I know the woman who owns the store so we were chatting about how our gardens have changed since we are both low carbing. I swear, that sweet little lady just stood there with her mouth open and gawked. I don't think she has a clue as to what the lc wol is really all about.

shortstuff

lc spinach bread sounds devine. I'm going to look for that when I go back. I wish I had more time in there to look at everything. Boy, does that Oil of Oregano kick in fast!!

OMG.... Now I'm paranoid Who's looking at my cart! My cart always has eggs, meat, cheese (I can't live without it) tons of veggies and usually 1 or 2 boxes of the Keto Go Nuts Ice cream sandwiches (2 if they're on sale)! Geeze I hope no other low carbers are looking at that one box of ice cream and thinking I'm not really doing LC! Oh yeah and sometimes I even buy the Garcia low-carb tortilla chips, which are fabulous with guacamole! Especially when I feel like I can never have "real" mexican food again!

For me having those treats around has saved me from going high-carb when I've been desperate for something sweet. I don't often have those cravings, but thank god I have them on hand when it does. It would be so easy to walk to the store and buy a candy bar, but I don't have too!

I lose the same 1 pound a week whether or not I have those treats, and yes I have given them up for a month or more at a time and darn if I don't lose 1 pound a week. So for me a treat now and then is ok.

I gave it some thought, and that person could have been ME. Granted I do buy whole foods and the great majority of my diet is whole foods. Sometimes I make special trips to special stores for some Zcarb bars, shake mixes, Hood products, LC tortillas, LC bread ect. You see, I don't eat the bread and ceareals and such. These make good substitutions for other family members who do not need to loose weight. I would rather my son chug down the choc carb countdown than the sugar loaded variety. Plus from time to time, treats are nice. I HAVE learned how to eat, whole unprocessed foods, and I LOVE to cook with whole foods. I do believe that whole food is best.

You know, I have felt the eyes on my cart before. Like when I was fat. I hated the feeling of being judged. I am starting to feel this way again. I have a great figure now. I get cross looks from strangers in the LC isles.
I think to myself, "what do they think a person looks like after all the hard work".
"Do they actuall believe that I should go back to eating high carb things?"
No. I am just at a different stage than they are. Putting these type of things in my cart should not cause such judgement. I feel the same way when I was fat than I do now slim. When will it ever stop?

I don't think the occassional treat is the problem ... I think it is when their entire diet is made up of those foods.

I have a bar or shake periodically and have lost. I agree with Cindy ... I wouldn't have made it without them ... when the sweet tooth calls ... IT DEMANDS!

LOL. Nice catch.