I have the same problem with diet soda. Everyone knows that young white women are supposed to be so obsessed with their weight that they never drink regular soda. Now, I'm not really a big soda drinker, but every now and again it's nice to have some non-coffee based caffeine. I will drink diet soda in my house, but I feel odd ordering it in a restaurant or buying it from a vending machine for public consumption.

My recent dieting attempts have proven to me that people do judge you on such things. I recently was offered a bagel during my 5-day attempt at the Atkins diet. When I refused and was questioned, the women responded "You don't need to go on a diet". I'll admit that I am not morbidly obese, but I don't see anything reprehensible in trying to fit into your current wardrobe. Incidentally, the woman who told me this weighs about 100 pounds.

The reverse is certainly true for fat people. Who hasn't seen an obese person eating a bag of chips or a candy bar and secretly judged them? (Is it just me?) I had a class last year where there was a woman with the largest breasts I've ever seen. Each one was the size and shape of a ten year old child in fetal position. She was also a rather sturdy gal, and she had shaved off her eyebrows and replaced them with very scary navy blue magic marker ones. OK, so maybe I ended up starring at her for other reasons, but every night in class she would eat a "big grab" bag of Doritos and a coke. And I judged her. Sitting behind her was another women who had a body the shape of a gigantic egg. She'd eat a lot in class too, come to think of it. I judged her too.

They were probably wonderfully nice women. I should feel bad for judging them for their food choice, and I guess I do. I would never, ever go up and say something to them like my 100 pound coworker did (I was scared of the navy blue eyebrow woman, she had a shaved head and looked like she could kick my butt without trying).

Does this happen to men ever? I imagine that it happens to grossly obese men, but I don't think that it would happen to slightly overweight ones. Maybe that's because men aren't as likely to keep a mental calorie tab of people they know.

Why should we feel guilty for trying to loose weight? Aren't we living in the fattest nation on earth? Isn't this what we are supposed to be doing? Then why do I feel a little shameful for doing it?