What are the reasons behind a private food diary?

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  • bzmom
    bzmom Posts: 1,332 Member
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    I have mine only for my friends to see it. I avoid trolls that like to linger.....
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    I used to have mine private because I didn't want other people looking at it. I didn't need the accountability or support from others. This is my thing to deal with, not anyone else's. I don't like it when my husband asks if I'm going to the gym, I certainly don't need other people asking the same kinds of questions.

    I eventually opened it because I realized I didn't care what other people thought. I'm not perfect every day, but I'm always honest in my diary.
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
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    Mine are viewable to friends only. Some random person on this board that is eating 500 calories a day in celery is not going to understand my 1,700 calories. I don't want their viewpoint.
  • WanabeHotMama
    WanabeHotMama Posts: 102 Member
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    These are all great points! I'm thinking about making mine private but viewable to friends. Thank you to everyone for the feedback!
  • jdrop
    jdrop Posts: 24
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    I don't know why but I would assume it's the same as a private blog entry or a private section of Facebook. Sometimes people just don't feel comfortable sharing all that with the world, only themselves and a few select people.
  • heidiberr
    heidiberr Posts: 643 Member
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    I understand what you are saying, but there are people who are extremely critical of other people's food diary and try to push their views (whether it's veganism, clean eating, etc, etc) at someone.


    Plus if I'm holding my own self accountable, why I do need someone else prying into my diary?
  • WanabeHotMama
    WanabeHotMama Posts: 102 Member
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    Mine are viewable to friends only. Some random person on this board that is eating 500 calories a day in celery is not going to understand my 1,700 calories. I don't want their viewpoint.

    That's a great point too! I guess I have yet to experience a negative MFP friend! I'm on the lookout now! ;)
  • kettlewitch
    kettlewitch Posts: 277 Member
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    I got a bit fed up of people saying I wasn't eating enough. I'm not getting into the "eating my exercise calories" thing but I do what works for me and that's enough for me ( and my doctor) I eat about the same every day regardless unless I feel like I need more, or indeed less.
  • WanabeHotMama
    WanabeHotMama Posts: 102 Member
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    I got a bit fed up of people saying I wasn't eating enough. I'm not getting into the "eating my exercise calories" thing but I do what works for me and that's enough for me ( and my doctor) I eat about the same every day regardless unless I feel like I need more, or indeed less.


    Good for you! You definitely know your body best and I understand your comment! I want helpful advice, not advice that sounds like criticism. ;)
  • brandicockrum
    brandicockrum Posts: 121 Member
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    I have mine viewable to friends. There have been a few times I was so ashamed of what I ate that I regretted not setting it to private. But I think it's okay to show that it's okay to have a bad day. Not every day is going to be perfect on Calories, Fat and everything else. That being said, I'm sure there are some people out there that are very private people that just don't share anything really.
  • WanabeHotMama
    WanabeHotMama Posts: 102 Member
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    You make a point, but... I too do not like unsolicited advice and it was like yesterday that I saw someone copy and past the calorie totals froma friend's diary into a post to get folks to try to help her with her "eating disorder." There are days I don't log, days I go over, and sometimes I eat a cookie or something. I'm not interested in hearing other people talk about it unless I ask them to and invite them to see it.

    Oh my gosh that's horrible! Like I said before, I guess I have yet to see the "other" side of MFP friends, so far I've had a 100% positive experience! :)
  • HOPEful27
    HOPEful27 Posts: 56
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    I read a post one day on here from someone who wanted to know why people don't put any pictures of themselves on thier profile. She, like you with the open diary question, offered her own opinion as to why any one would not want to put pictures of themselves up. Maybe the thing to think about is, why do people care what anyone else here does? Everyone here uses this site to get what they want to out of it. I myself did not create my page & think oh I better do something one way or another to please anyone but myself.:wink:
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I just think it helps to keep us all on track & be really honest with yourself! :)

    You are projecting your feelings on a bunch of other people. You mean to say it helps YOU stay on track and be honest with YOURself. I am sure plenty of others are like me and are 100% honest with their diaries and keep it private. I am sure the world is not worse off for not knowing that I had Whole Foods brand 1.5% milkfat cottage cheese for breakfast this morning.

    I am here to get ideas, answers to questions, and offer my advice if I feel I have something to say that is helpful. I don't care about using this site with a newsfeed a la Facebook or trolling through public food diaries so I never bothered making mine public.
  • brattyworm
    brattyworm Posts: 2,137 Member
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    i have to say i put mine back to being private just recently because i am embarrased at what i've been eating. I've been logging it.. but i really dont want anyone to know i've been extremely awful in my eating and to assume its not cause i am not serious or whatever.
    I know why i'm eating bad.. its emotional.. however, show me someone who has their spouse leave to the other side of the country for a year that doesn't have some kind of emotional issue. Doesn't mean I think someone will be mean about my eating or anything like that. It just I dont want to have to explain why i'm having such a tough time bringing it in right now.. which i guess i just did... but thats the entire idea behind why I have mine private.

    your thoughts are good though. everyone is here to help and support so let them help.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
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    Well I keep mine private for the reason that what I eat is my own business. I'm totally honest about recording what I have eaten during the day but there are some people who will give their opinion whether it is asked for or not.

    For me: the food diary is a bit like a kitchen. I don't walk into somebody else's house and start looking in their presses and refrigerator to see what food they eat and I wouldn't like anyone else to walk into my house and start peeking around to see what food I have to eat.

    (I'm staring to sound like I'm having a rant) :laugh: :blushing:
  • manymuses
    manymuses Posts: 162 Member
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    For a long time I kept my diary private. I honestly feel that it is my personal information and it is not necessary to share it with anyone, really. I think many people assume that those who keep them private have "something to hide" but that was never the case with me. I am doing this for me, not for anyone else. I log every single thing that I intake, good or bad. I have no shame about anything that I log, because it is a record of my choices and what my body needs at a given moment in my life.

    I changed my diary to public for my MFP friends when I began to lose weight in earnest because I see that my choices can be a positive aid to others who are in a similar place as I am, just as my the diaries of my MFP friends have helped to inspire me to stay on track. Still, I respect when people choose to keep that information private. It's your food, it's your diary, it's your life.
  • bbygrl5
    bbygrl5 Posts: 964 Member
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    You make a point, but... I too do not like unsolicited advice and it was like yesterday that I saw someone copy and past the calorie totals froma friend's diary into a post to get folks to try to help her with her "eating disorder." There are days I don't log, days I go over, and sometimes I eat a cookie or something. I'm not interested in hearing other people talk about it unless I ask them to and invite them to see it.

    ^ this! I have mine open for friends, but have had it locked when I've wanted to have it locked. A person should set their diary to whatever is beneficial to them. It's great if they can help other people by giving food ideas, but they need to do what's best for them first and it's not always having it open in everyone's case.

    I've gotten really good help before. Someone told me I needed more iron in my diet and I wasn't even paying attention to the fact that I wasn't getting very much and I was feeling low energy a lot of the time, increasing iron intake seemed to boost me up again, so that really, really helped me. I like helpful comments, but there's a fine line when judging someone's food diary and comments can become inappropriate quickly. Eating habits is a touchy subject, even for healthy eaters. I think the solution is everyone needs to set it to what's useful to them and no one else should question it. :)
  • cbirdso
    cbirdso Posts: 465 Member
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    I read a post one day on here from someone who wanted to know why people don't put any pictures of themselves on thier profile. She, like you with the open diary question, offered her own opinion as to why any one would not want to put pictures of themselves up. Maybe the thing to think about is, why do people care what anyone else here does? Everyone here uses this site to get what they want to out of it. I myself did not create my page & think oh I better do something one way or another to please anyone but myself.:wink:

    I agree with this. I didn't even have friends for the longest time. Not that I am against sharing, etc. but I am very self motivated.
  • jteammom
    jteammom Posts: 173
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    I keep mine private because I know what to eat and what not to eat. I am on this website to keep track of my calories and exercise. Someday I will no longer be needing to be so meticulous but in the meantime, for me this site is basically about the calorie counting and exercise recording tools. The friends I have made, the topics I read, the things I learn, the comments I make and receive are all bonus. Simple as that.
  • ceebs9
    ceebs9 Posts: 511 Member
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    You make a point, but... I too do not like unsolicited advice and it was like yesterday that I saw someone copy and past the calorie totals froma friend's diary into a post to get folks to try to help her with her "eating disorder." There are days I don't log, days I go over, and sometimes I eat a cookie or something. I'm not interested in hearing other people talk about it unless I ask them to and invite them to see it.

    This!!!!

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