Open vs. closed diaries

oolou

Open diary, as I found I'm more likely to be honest with my logging with an open diary than with one set to private - which seems opposite to the experience of others.

I prefer friends who also have diaries which are open as I like looking through them for inspiration - which is why I tend to add european/UK friends than american so I'll have a better chance at sourcing the same food.

myssjaxson

Mines closed I'm guessing, if that's the default. Not sure if I'll open it or not, I don't really care lol. If I stop losing or need advice I guess I'd open it if I asked for help so members could evaluate my food intake, but I'm doing fine so far. I am still learning to log all my food and get into a rythm. You'd see like 3 days of logging if mine was open, it'd be "grapes, oranges, salads" then it'd be for dinner "800 calories of chips" LOL. I'm not ashamed of that. I'm learning, I'm trying. And I'm okay with that.

kshama2001

dorkyfaery wrote: »

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.

My husband participates in a program at work similar to this. He's not required to do it, but he does get a discount on his premium by doing so. I don't know if that's the case here, but I think in many situations people have a choice in sharing that information. Some people decide that the discount is worth the extra exposure.

I wouldn't mind sharing my food and activity log with my medical team. My problem is with medical staff not being able to figure out a way to view it other than it being open to the whole world.

walkdmc

Closed because I don't follow a CICO diet plan, don't ask for diet advice and have no interest in unsolicited input.

chaines0145

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.

The diary does have this section. You can click "add note" just like "add food."

jkal1979

I had mine closed for awhile after I found myself not logging certain items because I didn't want to hear any comments from the food police. I have it open to friends now that I have deleted the people that have a habit of doing that.

I really don't look at other people's diaries unless they ask for help. I have one friend that I like to check when I need new ideas for recipes.

Francl27

I had mine open for over 2 years then closed it. I changed my goal to a low goal, knowing I'd be over a lot, but because if I'm not hungry, I'd rather save more calories, and a lower goal helps me to do that (as I see a smaller number, so I'm less likely to eat junk 'because I have the calories for it'). But if I'm hungrier, I eat more, so I'm in the red (even if still at a deficit) and didn't want to see comments about how I'm always eating too much... Plus PMS is insane for me and I didn't want more people judging me for it (because I get VERY hungry).

TLDR - my diary is a tool for me and I don't want unsolicited 'advice'.

cnbbnc

I keep mine open. I like to look at other peoples because sometimes I get ideas on different things I can eat to switch things up since I tend to get into ruts....and vice versa. I don't see what the big deal is. We all eat, so what's the big secret? If anyone criticizes you it's easy enough to delete them.

Asher_Ethan

I keep mine open so other girls can see they don't have to starve themselves to lose weight.

Traveling_Kimw

cnbbnc wrote: »

I keep mine open. I like to look at other peoples because sometimes I get ideas on different things I can eat to switch things up since I tend to get into ruts....and vice versa. I don't see what the big deal is. We all eat, so what's the big secret? If anyone criticizes you it's easy enough to delete them.

Asher_Ethan wrote: »

I keep mine open so other girls can see they don't have to starve themselves to lose weight.

This is what I need since I am new but don't even know how to look at diaries. Lol. How do we do this?

toe1226

Thanks all...loving the diary notes already. I have appreciated people with open diaries, especially people with similar stats or goals- I'm starting to lift heavier and like to peak around and see how many grams of proteins fellow lifters are getting...Also I look for recipe ideas, but a lot of interesting stuff going on here!

chel325

Mine is open, I never go through others diaries and I don't give a *kitten* if someone goes through mine.

Like how would I even know if they looked, I think most people are focused on themselves unless you specifically ask for help.

sshammond598

How do you find someone's diary?

callsitlikeiseeit

if you click their name and go through to their profile, if it is open, you will see a view diary button by the send message and add friend buttons

MelodyandBarbells

Open.

When i started logging, I'd look through diaries to see how people were doing this. It was a bit frustrating that so many were not viewable, so I'm basically paying it forward. In hindsight, maybe not seeing the diaries was helpful because I just continued to search the forums and learn that way. Later on, when I would browse diaries, it wouldn't really give the complete picture, I don't think. How was the item cooked? Boiled, fried, roasted? What condiments were used? How about very low calorie items that lots of people don't log? There are lots of details not contained in a diary log, if the information needed is how to be successful with logging

sijomial

Open.

It might be useful, interesting or even amusing to others - like the day I ate over 5000 cals, including 866g of carbs, and still had a huge deficit.

People are free to judge, comment or whatever - I'm solely accountable to myself so any negative comments would be water off a duck's back.

flabassmcgee

Open. I welcome critiquing of my food. I use the 80/20 method and if that's too much for people to handle, they can buzz off.

megomerrett

Open because I'm honest on there whether it's a good or bad day and I'll post a comment or status or whatever for friends to understand the context. e.g. "Know I'm under today but wasn't well" or "went a bit mad on the wine at my birthday. oops. back on it".

But mainly it's because I see so many people asking advice about meals or how to spread their 1200 through the day. I eat pretty normal and affordable food so I think it's helpful.

I'd also better add that I'm only just back here - I did a long run of logging in 2015 though and now I'm feeling back in the swing of things.

I know it means there is zero mystery in my life!

47Jacqueline

My diary is open to everyone. I have nothing to hide. I log every day, although I may not finish any longer. There isn't anything or any amount I eat that I am embarrassed about.

My profile is also open. My goals and personal information are there as well. If someone sends a friend request and hasn't looked at it, I know it.

Following that, I don't accept friend requests from people with closed diaries, who don't log if they are in weight reduction, who don't have actual profile pictures of themselves, who haven't filled their profile information, and who already have a ton of friends listed (this is not Facebook).

It's pretty simple. I came to this website to lose weight. I found the support I wanted. I stayed because it worked. I don't play games with my health.

cessi0909

Mine is only open to friends. I eat pretty well but not the best and don't mind if others want to check out my diary

jnunez1963

I have mine closed. I track EVERYTHING I eat. Some days, that is a source of great embarrassment for me. I had been on an amazing 45 day streak, until the last two days. I hope to get back on track today.

I figure the day I don't mind all of you seeing my darkest days, will be a major break through for me.

Chaagy

I keep my diary open all the time, and friends should feel free to comment or ask me questions about my diary at any time. Hopefully no judging, but if they consistently judge me, then they would find me quickly and quietly dumping them as a friend.

I actually like looking at other people's diaries from time to time, as it gives me new ideas for what to eat. We're all fairly restricted, so whether your calories are 1200 per day, 1500 per day, or 1800 per day, likely you have a couple of interesting choices in there that I can steal and modify for my own meals. It keeps my own meals varied and interesting, and helps me keep on track.

Feel free to add me if you want. My diaries are always open. I don't mind if you open or close either way. It's a personal choice.

whooRAWRowlbear

Mine is open because my fiance and I eat the same lunches and dinners most days of the week. To save time, he can just copy my meals. And if in the future I want suggestions of what I can do better, it's already open.

dhimaan

Lol. I couldn't give a rat's a s s about what you eat or what you think of me. There are far greater things to worry about.

brb_2013

Its open, I have never had anyone send unsolicited advice regarding my logging but if seeing my plan helps others I want it available to them. Also if I do ever need to ask for help then I don't have that issue where the first 3 posts tell me to open my diary

KittyHeaven74

MsJulesRenee wrote: »

When I first started MFP I had my diary open. I have recently closed it because I feel I'm not 100% honest with myself when it is open, especially over the holidays. Actually lost a couple friends over it... but I have to do what is right for me!

If you lost friends over it, then they weren't really friends to begin with. Go with your gut and do what's right for you!

KittyHeaven74

I keep mine closed. I've only just started with MFP, but I've used other trackers in the past and I feel that: 1) What I eat is nobody's business. 2) I am a private person and I like to limit how much of my personal information is out there in the social media world. 3) How I've set my caloric intake, tracking, and goals is my own personal preference and what works for me. It's not going to work for everyone, and I don't feel anyone needs to critique what I'm doing or try and copy it. Everyone is different and has a different approach to weight loss/maintenance. I don't plan to read other people's diaries, and I don't want them reading mine. I am very honest with myself. In the first few days of tracking I did have a slip-up and I was honest with myself about it. As long as I'm being honest with myself, there is no need to get feedback from anyone else. Just my two cents.

pineapple1989

Mines open, always has been, I often forget other people can actually see in it!

PerpetualGlitch

Closed because I'm pregnant and have been hit with dysgeusia so my oddball food combos would make people question my honesty and/or sanity.

Kimberly_Harper

Mine is open to friends because we often use each other's diaries to get ideas for meals and ideas.

I did close it for a few weeks over the holidays because I hit maintenance at the same time, and that was a tricky thing - learning to eat at maintenance during the holidays. It got harder to track what I was eating for a little bit because of eating things I didn't make myself and didn't really know how to log, so I would either quick-add or leave something off. At that point, one of my well-meaning friends started commenting when I didn't hit one of my macros on certain days, and since I wasn't ready to buckle down and pay close attention to that, I just closed it.

It is back open to friends now, because I'm more consistent and accurate with my logging, so I don't really mind the comments.