Keepin it open, your food diary that is.

Dlenakakis

How do you make it public?? :ohwell:

time2move

I just changed mine to friends only last night. And funny, now I couldn't tell you why Guess I'll change it back to open. I don't care if you see that I had a chocolate cupcake for an afternoon snack. And really, if someone judges you by what's in there... they aren't a "friend" anyway. I like seeing when someone on my friends list is under their calories and typically look at it to see what I could do differently.

live2smyle

I am new to MFP. My food diary is open but I am so afraid of people saying your not eating enough! I am trying as hard as I can to get over that "starve" yourself to loose weight mentality. I am adding more and more calories each day I worry people will judge that...

I can honestly say so far I have liked other people's diary's being open. Never in judgement do I look but its nice to see what everyone is eating, the choices they are making. Lets be honest I didnt get this fat eating right

Please feel free to add me if your looking for more supportive people Were all in the same boat!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

SW 222
GW 145
CW 213
MG1 199 by 02/01/11
MG2 174 Treat myself to a few new clothes
MG3 149 Buy all new undergarmets at Vicky's Secret

Final Goal 145 Maintain for 6 months Buy a whole new wadrobe!

Sheltie4

I don't think anyone would make judgements like that - usually people only seem to comment on these if someone asks for help - not losing or something.

I would never comment unfavourably on someone's food choices - I have enough worrying about my own!

seemichellerun

I've kept mine open since day one. I've had a lot of positive comments from people stating that I've given them good ideas on how to get more protein in their diet and such.

bjshooter

Mines open and I eat some rubbish sometimes.. If i am that worried about it I shouldnt of had it, simple. I love reading other peoples.

jennygurumi

Mine is open. It is very repetitive and also embarrassing at times.

mommamo5

Mine is open to friends but seeing as how I only have about 3-4 friends (lol) I guess I better open it up to all if I want any pointers. I'm new to MFP but I also like to surf the diaries to get ideas.

veggiegirl314

I keep my food diary open, too! It makes me think twice about eating something unhealthy, because I know it will be out there for my friends to see!

fitness63

Wow I never thought of that as I have never looked. Now I will open mine and look for new foods. I have always been honest and I will probably think twice before grabbing the handful of M&Ms off my co-workers desk tomorrow. :blushing:

Jen514

Like another person's post on this topic, I tend to wonder why people have theirs private. What do they have to hide? I have had mine public since day 1. I thought about making it private because I needed my chocolate on some days and felt bad but you know what? I don't care about others judging me. If you are going to judge, don't be on here. I just got started and need motivation to keep my on track. I need "my fitness pals" to encourage me and that is what I have gotten so far (since I joined this past Monday). Also being able to view what others are eating gives me ideas and I think its very helpful. I would never judge. Also keeping it public helps me to stay on track because like others, I log EVERYTHING.

Tomhusker

I opened mine. Please ignore the outrageous sodium numbers. I am working on it. :blushing:

Jen514

Hey Tom, I am working on my chocolate. lol

M_lifts

ive never given it a thought actually. but it doesnt really bother me if people see what i eat. now to figure out a way to open it

debruhf

I totally agree...mine has been open since I joined! Feel free to add me as a friend if you like, as well!!:flowerforyou:

katschi

I have mine open and don't mind if people take a peek and I sure love to go rummaging around in everyone else's.

What I would mind is to receive unsolicited advice or opinions about what I eat and I sure wouldn't offer any to others without them asking for my 2¢.

Like others have noted, it's definitely making me think twice about eating certain foods knowing that I HAVE to log it.
Tonight at work, I turned down a chocolate. Yesterday a piece of baklava and the day before that, cookies.
It's also keeping me from my usual late night after work bingeing.
I just don't want to have to face it in black and white and also have my friends in real life see what a piggy I am. :bigsmile:

and lets face it. It's not like we're advertising our sordid sex lives on here. Just food. :blushing:

PaulC9554

My diary is public. Since starting on here and logging everything I've found myself stopping at times when I go to pickup a 'nasty' when passing through the kitchen. Thinking..."I've got to log that, do I really need it?". In most cases it's worked and now three weeks in I'm finding that my craving for some of the stuff I used to eat is passing. I find it useful that others can see what I eat. When I used to binge it was always in private, now it doesn't seem that way

WEN575

keeping your food log open can also show people what to avoid. I took my kids out to lunch the other day and I ordered the item that was supposed to be the "lifestyle" or lower fat option, when I came home and logged it, I discovered it had almost 1000 calories...in one meal??? I have 1400 calories for the whole day! How is that the healthy choice??? I did a big workout on the bike after that!!!

LiveLife73

My biggest issue is also sodium.. now I observe what others are eating it helps me alot.. thank you..

mamijujuphat

I'm glad to know there's a lot of people that feel that way about people being able to see your diary...I know to each their own but in my opinion I leave it open for my friends to see...& as far as people saying that you're more likely to "cheat" if you make it public because you're afraid of what others may think...I feel that they only "cheat " themselves..because this website is made to help you count your calories and receive/give support..so by doing that they only hurt themselves...I keep mine open to my friends only because they are my support group...& anyone that adds me can see it because..I do have my bad calorie days I have my flaws...but tips from people who have shed some weight are always welcomed...I also get new ideas on how to plan a better meal...& what to do to improve my workout...& if anything sometimes I think twice sometimes what I'm gonna stuff in my face since I'm gonna have to put it on the diary for peeps to see...lol

runningneo122

I think it's silly to keep it private. I Mean, it's not like it's your daily sex log or something...it's just food! We're all in this together, so I just don't understand why keeping something so straightforward and non-offensive private. JMO.

I personally don't like being friends with people who don't open their diary.

I have gotten messages telling me anything from kudos to thank you about what I'm eating. Recipe requests and food choice questions... I agree with doing this together and I offer advice to those in my News Feed. Some say Thanks and try what I suggest and others ignore it. No foul in any case. I've done research on weight loss and am offering suggestions that I think will help them be more successful not to try to run their lives. Some things I get from looking at other people's diaries are ideas for food choices when I get further along and need to make even better choices than I am now. Or from those who are doing intense weight training and are carb/protein heavy. Or long distance runners who are carbing up for long runs.

Just like the internet in general, this website holds a veritable plethora of info right here for the reading.

Simonscat

I love reading what people eat and I love it when they read mine
However I found no one is as encouraging when they look at your diary. You get lots of motivating comments on people's diaries when they have it hidden. But when you show it, no one comments them.

steffie88

I love looking at other peoples diary so I thought it was only far to make mine public aswell

nezeray

My diary's been wide open since I started. I want people to look at it and suggest things that I might like. I am a very picky eater so dieting's been hard. This site has helped me greatly!

James / Nezeray

forgiven4life

I totally agree to. It helps me to look at other people's food diary to see what they are eating to get ideas, not to judge.

ETA: It's so funny that people are saying they have their diary public, but when I click on their profile to check it out, a lot of them are not public. :laugh:

jessieinblue

Mine will always be public, and I love looking at everyone else's for ideas. It's one of the many great things about MFP.

ladyhawk00

I think it's silly to keep it private. I Mean, it's not like it's your daily sex log or something...it's just food! We're all in this together, so I just don't understand why keeping something so straightforward and non-offensive private. JMO.

Mine is open to friends - and anyone who asks, I will accept. I love seeing others' diaries, for ideas.

But, for a lot of people food IS very intimate. Remember that overeating is also an eating disorder. Thus, for many people it is just as "private" as sex. For anyone with an eating disorder, food is "the big white elephant" and the urge is to keep it secret. Hopefully, as they learn better habits and work on the disorder, they feel more comfortable with it.

1113cw

Mine is open. I do check out others once in awhile but for the sole purpose of getting meal ideas. As far as my diary is concerned, I'm not really interested in what others think. I know what I need to improve on and I'm working on it. But I haven't encountered any negative comments but also don't ask for feedback either.

jenX1174

Great post!
This is exactly why I chose to keep mine open, and for many other reasons posted by others previously.

kennedar

I think it's silly to keep it private. I Mean, it's not like it's your daily sex log or something...it's just food! We're all in this together, so I just don't understand why keeping something so straightforward and non-offensive private. JMO.

I am actually on a trying to conceive forum and your daily sex log is open to other couples!! It was a little weird at first, but you quickly get used to it! Obviously if I can share when we had sex, I can share what I ate, even if it wasnt as healthy as I would have liked!