Open vs. closed diaries

jennismagic

I keep mine closed. I used to have it open to friends, but then decided that I don't owe anyone anything after an MFP friend ranted about diary privacy, so I closed it up entirely. What I eat is my business, and I'm not interested in being judged or questioned about it.

Also, when I first joined MFP, people would automatically look at my open-by-default diary and comment on my nutritional exploits whenever I asked for help. That is such a violation of privacy, and when I changed the settings and still asked questions, folks would comment and say no one could help me since they couldn't see my eating patterns. My questions never required being able to see what I eat on a daily basis. Meh.

daniwilford

toe1226 wrote: »

This is all great info!

It makes me think about how it would be great if the diary had a little comments section like "felt sick today, couldn't eat much." or WHATEVER, not just for others, but for ourselves.

There is a space like that on the exercise page.

Mine is open to friends. The critique I would get would be the whole not weighing in grams showing up. I have a conversion calculator in a spread sheet, for other measurements to grams, so I get some pretty strange looking diary entries. For example if 1/2 cup weighs 59 grams, then I will weigh out 29 grams, log it as a .5 serving, but the diary listing will show 1/4 cup. I weighed it in grams but that is not reflected in the diary. It is not exactly perfect but then neither am I. I also never complain about not losing when I think I should have.

I rarely look at anybodies diary. I have only commented negatively on one friend. I have literally known him since birth, because we are related. He would think I was mad at him, if I didn't give him crap!

malibu927

Mines closed because I've been dealing with problems bingeing and not logging lately, so it's holding me accountable. Also, because I don't like random strangers (not on my friends list) criticizing my diary because I eat "junk" on occasion (and yes, that has happened to me).

tristen_leigh

Closed. I'm more accurate and honest with myself if I don't feel like there is any kind of judgement from anyone else.

williams969

I'm not super active in the forums anymore, but I keep mine open. My eating habits are pretty boring, but I personally am avid about eating my proteins with food vs. shakes, bars, supplements, etc.

Other folks' diaries have helped me find high protein foods I can sustainably work into my life. And the "how can I get more protein" question seems to be a common problem for others. I'm just quietly paying foward the helpful tips I've learned.

Lounmoun

My diary is open. People may or may not look at it.
Starting out here I often looked at other people's food diaries so I didn't feel right having mine closed. I was always glad to see diaries with food like I would eat. Since I do not follow a special, restrictive diet or use shakes/supplements my own diary may help someone to realize you can eat fairly normally and lose weight.
I don't care what other people think of what I eat or how I log. It is just food. I'm not trying to win some award for perfect weight loss journey. I'm not emotional or guilty about my eating habits. I'm just living my life.
.

canadjineh

I keep mine open and public because who cares... and it helps my new GF friends when they can't figure out what to eat.

Keladelphia

I keep mine open to friends only. Though I don't really think it's anyone's business what I eat, I want my MFP friends (especially noobs) to see that though I eat typical nutritious food 95% of the time, I have Chipolte for lunch and wine and ice cream for dinner sometimes (yeah, yesterday) and still come close to my macros/goals.

beemerphile1

My diary has been open for ages because I don't give a *kitten* what anyone thinks of it and it may help some.

Need2Exerc1se

I've had mine closed and open. I think it's closed right now, but I'm not sure without checking. I don't log regularly anyway so it doesn't really matter.

ki4eld

My insurance carrier requires I keep my diary public so they and my medical team can monitor my intake without them requiring a MFP account and me having to friend twenty dozen people. The same applies to some of my info on Fitbit. Open is easier for us all. If not for that, I don't know if I'd have it open or closed. Probably open, because I don't care.

lemurcat12

Mine's closed because I don't log regularly. I usually open it when I start logging again.

prettysoul1908

toe1226 wrote: »

I am noticing that I have friends with open diaries, friends with closed diaries, and friends who have their diaries open sometimes, and closed other times. Right now my diary is open.

My question for you all, is, what motivates you to keep your diary open? Does it scare you or make you feel uncomfortable that people may judge what you eat? How much or little you eat?

Why do you keep your diaries closed? Are you worried someone might think you eat too little? Too unhealthily? Or do you just thing it's nobodies dang business (wouldn't argue with you there! though mine is open now)

For those of you who have your diary open sometimes and not other times, what determines why you decide to keep it open or closed?

Mostly just curious about what's going on in people's brains.

Great question. My diary is closed. It takes off the pressure of feeling like you have to set a good example. I'm brutally honest in my diary and one of the reasons is because no one can see it but me.

Need2Exerc1se

ki4eld wrote: »

My insurance carrier requires I keep my diary public so they and my medical team can monitor my intake without them requiring a MFP account and me having to friend twenty dozen people. The same applies to some of my info on Fitbit. Open is easier for us all. If not for that, I don't know if I'd have it open or closed. Probably open, because I don't care.

How interesting. Is having a Fitbit and an MFP account a requirement to keep the insurance? Is that some sort of deal to get a reduced rate for those who are overweight?

glassyo

I keep my diary closed because I log for myself and not for anyone else.

I'd theoretically open it for people wanting ideas for meals or foods to eat but I'm not a good example AT ALL of someone who eats meals or healthy foods so no reason to.

Except for the forums, I pretty much keep to myself on mfp. Hell, I don't even acknowledge friend requests (sorry, cool people who asked. It wasn' t you. It was me. )

marilaz1

New here and wondering where these diaries are? Is it an app? I would LOVE to have one and to also read some of yours who are successful. I am not loosing as well as I though on this diet and I would love to see what successful people are doing so I can copy.

I try and keep to eating 16:8 and also find LCHF really easy in that I am never hungry. I sometimes get a craving for something else but that would be nuts or fruit or something. The biggest problem is that I don't think I eat as much as i need to 6 cups of salad a day! and that slows down the metabolism I think?.

rankinsect

Mine is open. I used to have it closed so nobody could see how much "junk food" I eat, now I leave it open as proof you can eat what you like and lose weight.

kristen6350

I've been a member of this site since 2012. My diary has always been open. The good, the bad and the ugly. Sometimes it doesn't get filled in (have been maintaining since May 2015), but it's open. I'm back again to log for a few weeks to get past the "Christmas Crap". What I like to call the "different" eating I did for a month...oddly enough, I didn't gain any weight since Nov. 23rd (my last check in) but I feel like the "Christmas Crap" made me feel "blah". Logging makes me keep things real...LOL

nyponbell

Mine is closed. I think it's a combination of a fear of people judging me for all the chocolate (though I don't judge other people and even if someone did check my diary out why would they care how I eat?) and someone getting "concerned" (I use quotations because it would feel false to me) if I'm being healthy and "eating too little" (even though I am). Mostly it's a fear of the judgement if people knew I ate pretty much the same things every day - and that I often eat large amounts of chocolate even though I know it will bring me way over my allowed calories.

I might open it up one day when I've found a good balance though, but I don't see a problem (with my friends) with me keeping mine closed.

Raynne413

I keep mine closed because I am recovering from an eating disorder and don't want anyone's judgement besides my own, worrying if people will think I eat too much, or eat too much junk, or don't eat "healthy" enough. I'm more honest with my tracking if others can't see my diary.

mysteps2beauty

It varies for me. I started with it closed cause it was the default setting, then someone who I wanted to friend asked that I open it because it is the barometer that the used to decide if I was serious enough about being on MVP. Now, I may close it once again because there are days that I just put quick calories in for various reasons (eyeballed the calories instead of taking the time to accurately measure something, or it's an item of food that I enjoy eating and don't want to give it up, yet don't want to be judged about it cause I eat it almost everyday of the week, etc.).

I am evolving into a new person this year, no promises but a dedication to healthier eating than when I was logging every day for over 2 months. Now I am going to use this to be accountable to myself without the need for other's people's assessment. Kind of like weight watchers etools, no one can see it but myself, so I will be more truthful and diligent when it works for me, and when I don't feel like, I won't. Just be kinder to myself instead of being critical.

MrsSylvie

"'My question for you all, is, what motivates you to keep your diary open? Does it scare you or make you feel uncomfortable that people may judge what you eat? How much or little you eat?"'

no real motivation, i just keep it open. i guess its partially because in the beginning of my weight loss and learning how to make better food choices, i use to look at other's diaries to get brand/food ideas for areas i lacked (like fiber & protein), it helped me a lot, so i keep mine open for others to peek at too, although lately its probably not that helpful..

nope it does not scare me or make me feel uncomfortable that some may judge me. i loss my excess weight and feel a lot healthier even though sometimes i ate too under, sometimes too over, sometimes ate healthy and sometimes ate not so healthy at all and even though i don't have many mfp friends, i do keep diary public and no one has ever judge my ways.

Pawsforme

Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I know how to lose, maintain and gain weight. It's not rocket science, and I've spent the past 28 years educating myself. The food diary is there for my own benefit, and I use it quite effectively albeit perhaps not in a way that would be easily understandable by others.

glassyo

Pawsforme wrote: »

Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I know how to lose, maintain and gain weight. It's not rocket science, and I've spent the past 28 years educating myself. The food diary is there for my own benefit, and I use it quite effectively albeit perhaps not in a way that would be easily understandable by others.

See, now I have to ask. how do you use your diary?

Lazz5k

I have mine open. I am sometimes embarrassed but it keeps me accountable. I love checking other peoples diaries to get recipe and food ideas. It makes me research certain things and see what foods we may both enjoy. I DONT JUDGE. Hell, you can go back and see my miller light intake sometimes takes up majority of my feed and people aren't messaging me about that.

jandw122912

Mine is open. (I think. It might just be open to friends... I can't remember. Lol)
#1- It's my diary! I'm going to tract the way that works for me and I'm going to eat what I want! IDC what other people think of my choices... I know I can eat the things I love and still lose weight...
#2- I like looking at other peoples diaries for ideas. Someone might look at mine and get an idea for a good snack or meal... Who knows?

kshama2001

ki4eld wrote: »

My insurance carrier requires I keep my diary public so they and my medical team can monitor my intake without them requiring a MFP account and me having to friend twenty dozen people. The same applies to some of my info on Fitbit. Open is easier for us all. If not for that, I don't know if I'd have it open or closed. Probably open, because I don't care.

I'm frankly shocked at this due to privacy regulations (which I realize don't currently cover MFP and activity tracker accounts, but still). All your health care team would need to do is create one shared account.

But then, I'm the sort of person who doesn't use my real name on FaceBook due to their history of privacy abuses.

neohdiver

Mine is open. I'm eating a low carb diet to control blood glucose levels - so it is open to let anyone with similar health issues see what one diabetic person with normal (not diabetic normal) blood glucose levels used(es) to get there.

jkwolly

I have had mine open always, and never had anyone criticize is ever. Nor would I care if they did!

missblondi2u

kshama2001 wrote: »

ki4eld wrote: »

My insurance carrier requires I keep my diary public so they and my medical team can monitor my intake without them requiring a MFP account and me having to friend twenty dozen people. The same applies to some of my info on Fitbit. Open is easier for us all. If not for that, I don't know if I'd have it open or closed. Probably open, because I don't care.

I'm frankly shocked at this due to privacy regulations (which I realize don't currently cover MFP and activity tracker accounts, but still). All your health care team would need to do is create one shared account.

But then, I'm the sort of person who doesn't use my real name on FaceBook due to their history of privacy abuses.

It's a little off-topic, but I recently read that fitbit data was being admitted as evidence in litigation. One instance was a guy using his fitbit data to show a decline in activity after a car accident, and another was in a divorce to show that the other person was "active" when they claimed to have been sleeping.