Locked Diary..Why?
ACanadian22
Posts: 377 Member
For people here with a closed diary, why do you do it?
I do it because I have a very big fear I will be judged not only for the days that I eat too much but for the ones I eat too little too. Add to that, what I eat is pretty junky some days even if I make my cals
I do it because I have a very big fear I will be judged not only for the days that I eat too much but for the ones I eat too little too. Add to that, what I eat is pretty junky some days even if I make my cals
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Replies
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MFP is one of the most judgement free zones I have ever come across. Whenever people's diets are discussed, it's more about what's helpful, than about what's right or wrong.21
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It's the default. Unless someone chases down how to unlock it, then the diary is locked.11
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Because it’s nobody’s business what I eat50
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I've tried both and find it easier to be honest with myself when I know I'm the only one who can see it. Not that people are queuing up to see what I had for dinner
It's mostly a mental game. 14 -
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I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?15 -
cmriverside wrote: »I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?
I'll admit I make more of an effort to eat 'well' so my diary looks better if other people can see it. Should I do that anyway for my own health? Of course! Do I care too much what other people think of me? Definitely. I don't need the self-induced stress so I keep mine private now.
I have days where nary a fruit or vegetable makes its way into my food log, other than maybe some tomato sauce on my pasta or lettuce & tomato on a burger.5 -
cmriverside wrote: »I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?
I like to have some friends who have open diaries as it gives me ideas for some different food combinations (although meals from across the pond occasionally leave me bewildered). Because of this it is only fair that my diary is open. I trust my mfp friends to not judge - after all most of us are here because we ate too much! If someone abused that trust I would remove them from my friend list (no-one has yet) I do welcome constructive comments/ideas/ suggestions as I am still learning.5 -
kommodevaran wrote: »MFP is one of the most judgement free zones I have ever come across. Whenever people's diets are discussed, it's more about what's helpful, than about what's right or wrong.
When someone asks for help, yes.
I have for sure seen diary shaming here on the boards though. Mostly of a person who advocates a WOE to which the shamer does not subscribe.8 -
I've tried both and find it easier to be honest with myself when I know I'm the only one who can see it. Not that people are queuing up to see what I had for dinner It's mostly a mental game.
See, I feel the exact opposite.
If I know people can see it, I am more likely to "fudge" to make it look better. When mine is closed I tend to log more honestly.8 -
ACanadian22 wrote: »For people here with a closed diary, why do you do it?
I do it because I have a very big fear I will be judged not only for the days that I eat too much but for the ones I eat too little too. Add to that, what I eat is pretty junky some days even if I make my cals
I don't even think people read my diary despite being open. I don't see the need of closing it, if you're undereating for example, wouldn't you want someone to point out your mistake??? But then again, most of the time, when you close the diary, people just click "Like" and not read it at all.
PS I've had days where I went over by 1000 calories and I still wouldn't get any replies, so I highly doubt someone would judge you big time.1 -
ACanadian22 wrote: »For people here with a closed diary, why do you do it?
I do it because I have a very big fear I will be judged not only for the days that I eat too much but for the ones I eat too little too. Add to that, what I eat is pretty junky some days even if I make my cals
I don't even think people read my diary despite being open. I don't see the need of closing it, if you're undereating for example, wouldn't you want someone to point out your mistake??? But then again, most of the time, when you close the diary, people just click "Like" and not read it at all.
PS I've had days where I went over by 1000 calories and I still wouldn't get any replies, so I highly doubt someone would judge you big time.
I never close my diary, since no one can read it anyway and the 5 week prediction is behind ridiculous.
I don't 'like' anyone else's without reading it though. I'm not going to like someone routinely closing out a 900-calorie day, for example.5 -
I eat pretty boring day to day, so I don't want to inflict my eating choices on others
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Mine is open if you are a friend. Feel free to friend request. If you look normal, I'll approve. Not big on approving guys who have only a dozen female friends, as that seems sketchy to me.
I'm slightly interested in keeping a shred of privacy, so I don't just open my life up to everyone. It probably doesn't matter truly, but let me have my delusions. 8 -
cmriverside wrote: »I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?
The short answer is I have nothing to hide.
We have some reasonable expectation of anonymity. When I ask a question or post an opinion, it can give context if someone wants to go look. Of course, I could have made up the menus and the weigh ins along the way so people could still choose not to believe me if I tell them I mix in a lot of sweet junk food, lost 65 pounds and have been maintaining the loss for over 4 months.
As far as head games about logging honestly or not depending on whether or not people see it, to me that shows a lack of commitment. Either it's really important and you log accurately or it isn't that important. I can't control what people think if they do or don't see what I eat.
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cmriverside wrote: »I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?
It's not like you have personal or banking information shown to the public. But then again, maybe it's just me. I don't see the big deal. It's only food.2 -
CarvedTones wrote: »
As far as head games about logging honestly or not depending on whether or not people see it, to me that shows a lack of commitment. Either it's really important and you log accurately or it isn't that important. I can't control what people think if they do or don't see what I eat.cmriverside wrote: »I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?
I know for me, it's not a matter of commitment or logging accurately (I always log accurately regardless of whether or not my diary is open) but more about the mental pressure I place on myself. No one needs to be actively judging me; in fact I've never experienced that here. I struggle with perfectionism in other aspects of my life as well. Part of dealing with that is finding ways to make myself more comfortable and accepting of my own perceived failings.
I wish I could have an 'I don't give a *kitten*' attitude, but that's just not how I'm wired.3 -
MFP is a tool that I use for my own personal benefit and I have no idea why anyone else would want to know about my dietary choices, tbh. Perhaps it comes down to each of us using this particular tool in ways that suit us and our goals. For some people that means an open diary, accountability, sharing ideas, and making connections to keep on track. And for others of us it's just an online, personal food diary with a forum that is fun to pop into sometimes. And that's okay.8
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The added accountability helps me, so I keep mine open. But to each their own.2
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cmriverside wrote: »I would ask just the opposite:
Why would someone need/want to have an open diary?
When I started here I looked at diaries and it seemed like if I was going to look at someone else's diary mine should also be open for people to look at too. I also opened my diary so people could see someone eating normally and managing their weight without extremely restrictive dieting. I don't know if anyone ever looks. I have not gotten comments.
It isn't a big deal to me either way.2 -
I don’t want people to know my secrets of how to lose weight and lose more than me!🙈
Joking mine is open 😊 as said already, you shouldn’t care about what others say, if it works for you and your healthy do what you like 👍1 -
ACanadian22 wrote: »For people here with a closed diary, why do you do it?
I do it because I have a very big fear I will be judged not only for the days that I eat too much but for the ones I eat too little too. Add to that, what I eat is pretty junky some days even if I make my cals
I find keeping my diary public to keep me honest and on the wagon. Plus I think it could help others to see how the people use the food diary to track their food intake.
I have yet to be judged on my diary. (MFP has a lot of nice people all with similar goals)But if it happens, I would not hesitate to report it and block the user.0 -
I keep a locked diary. I don't have a reason why one way or the other, it's just simply a choice I made when I got the app. *shrug*0
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I have always had mine open. It is not the healthiest though. I am in the UK so sometimes it is helpful for other UK people to see what's on offer.1
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I am a private person. I feel the same way about someone looking over my shoulder and asking me what I'm eating...or reading.
For most people, they just have it set to closed by default.4 -
I’ve logged all my food for 6 1/2 years. In that time, my diary has been open, closed and currently is under passcode.
The people of MFP are a well meaning but opinionated bunch who really like to give advice. I think it comes with the territory. Most are somewhere along a path to health/fitness and feel like sharing the knowledge they have gained on that “journey” is a great thing. And it is. That’s how we have the forums full of so many contributors.
But when it comes to a food diary? A low day means you need to eat more. A high day means you need a pep talk, “tomorrow is a new day” or I need to consult my eating disorder treatment team because clearly I’m relapsing. A low carb day means you need a talk about how you don’t have to go low carb/keto to lose weight. A “clean” day means you need to include more treats so you don’t feel deprived and binge. A treat-heavy day means you need to make sure you’re getting adequate nutrition and need to focus on fruits and vegetables. Are you using the recipe builder? You need to enter recipes and not use random entries in the database. Do you need that much coffee? Have you tried this root/seed/concoction I read about on Pinterest instead?
I don’t actually need any of that (except the coffee-and I have 57 pages of recipes so that’s covered too). And it’s well meaning and kind, but also exhausting.
Maybe it’s all under control and like all people, my food intake ebbs and flows and my diet perfectly fits my nutritional and training needs as well as my hunger and satiety preferences.
So my diary is under passcode and the people who are involved in actively helping me meet my training and food/weight goals have the code. Life is less exhausting that way. Less exhausting is what works for me.
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Food insta accounts bore the daylights outta me. Eating for the insta, showing off manicured nails over the top of the food, eating some gloppy food up against a wall, food stacking with sweet potatoes or lettuce leaves, zoodles, cauli-rice, a bowl of lettuce leaves with ground turkey or chicken with a spritz of some fancy sauce. Who gives a rat's...we haven't got the time. Eating the same foods day in and day out, I would rather watch paint dry. There are those here with a great sense of humor, if they showed us what they were eating it would be very amusing.
Gummy bears, hot tamales on top of Old Smoky all covered with snow. I can think of several who could pull it off. I like being brutally honest with myself. I don't want anyone reading my diary here or anywhere. I've tossed out years of written diaries because I shared true feelings about everything and everyone. Oy vey. Rereading what I said about specific relationships literally makes me sick now. I've not read anyone's food diary.7 -
kommodevaran wrote: »MFP is one of the most judgement free zones I have ever come across. Whenever people's diets are discussed, it's more about what's helpful, than about what's right or wrong.
Wow, you must have missed the thread where people in grocery stores thought it was ok to judge other shoppers.
OP, I keep my diary closed because I don't think anyone cares and I don't need to account to anyone else anyways. I know when I'm cheating myself or not.9 -
I keep it closed so that the "evangelists" of all types don't make judgemental comments.6
This discussion has been closed.
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