What are the reasons behind a private food diary?

Mrs_McFadden

There are people on MFP that think wanting to have different levels of privacy on our friends list is reproachable FFS!
Basically- there are people that I consider ultra gung ho that I want nothing to do with regarding my friends list, my diaries, my blog or anything. I'm a damned Libertine..I'm going to have some dark chocolate and wine I don't need anyone b itching about that. I'm a freaking grown WOMAN - I feel like half of this is just nosy neighbor syndrome.
I know that *some* of my own friends would be great to have in my food diary because I respect them and trust them to be kind and great with me but I'm not going to deal with fools trying to pick at my eating habits. This place lends itself to obsessive paranoia..

anubis609

Damn. I put the open invite out there laced with all types of goodies. Really? No one? I should've done it sooner.

*Sadly walking away.... with the line still attached to the bait*

partcho

I agree with the original post - and if I may give you my insight... I have my diary on public, but have been noticing that since I've been slacking lately I haven't been logging at all. It is a form of embarrassment. It's also a form of lying to yourself. I just drank a whole bottle of wine by myself and ate a bunch of crap. Perhaps the wine is what is making me so honest right now, because believe me, it's hard. So there you have it. It's not easy, and I'm so happy that so many people are having such great success and positive experiences. But for me, I'm having a very hard time.

FearAnLoathing

Hmmm I log everything,the good the bad the really really bad.mine was open but I found that some people on this site think they are experts on everything since they dropped a few pounds and are really good with the copy paste ,and I got sick of messages about what I should be doing in their eyes

kelika71

Mine's open but I caution anyone about criticizing my choices...unless they want to foot the grocery bill.

I merely opened it if anyone wanted ideas or to see what I'm doing. I know I sometimes can't figure out what I want to eat and get ideas from others.

RussianLynx

My food diary is viewable to my friends on MFP. Is there some horrible secret I'm keeping? No. My food diary isn't public because I'm a private person in general. Why would a complete stranger want to read it anyway?

Not everyone is so gung-ho about sharing personal things on the internet.

omgitsgarry

I just count calories, so there is no need for anyone to see just a bunch of quick added numbers. My blood work has come back perfect every time I have gone to the doctor since I started getting blood work done, so I really don't need to watch any other area's besides my calories. I also don't need people to keep me honest, like what a lot of people say who are against keeping it private, my scale does that for me.

Losing2Live69

I keep mine viewable to my friends only. I have nothing to hide and all my friends know that. I had my diary public at first. When I started getting rude comments and harsh criticism from people I am not even friends with, people I don't correspond with, and people who don't know me from Adam....I had enough! My diary is good. I stay within my limits every day, however, I don't need somebody telling me what I should and shouldn't do. Those who are my friends do so in a friendly, non-condiscending way. If I have a friend that starts in with the insults and finger pointing...then that is what the delete button is for.

pickle41

How do I make it viewable to everyone??? I have asked this before and have gotten no results. Thanks And you are right, that's probalby why I'm not losing is because i over eat and noone sees it...

GinaJ2006

Although a lot of people are probably embarrassed as you said, mine was private for a long time because it was the default and I didn't know. Even after I had heard people talking about making diaries public, it took me a while to get around to figuring out how to change it. Maybe some people don't even realize their diary is private.

reneeot

For those seeking advice on how they are eating then I'm sure a person will make their diary public. If not then its not important to them to have it public. It does not automatically mean they are overindulging and want no one to see. Who's to say a person's diary that is open is actually entering everything they ate.

Public or private is everyone's own decision.:bigsmile:

purplespeckle

Hmm I'm not really sure But some people think that mine is private and it's not I just don't log food I do track my food But just not online Time consuming

Painten

I think it's quite typical of this site for people to assume everything is about cheating. I don't understand it. People can be quite harsh on this site, not always as supportive as you'd hope.

My dairy isn't public, it is viewable by friends though. I'm doing this for me and i'm not interested in critism from some people on this site.

SortaBadass

How do I make it viewable to everyone??? I have asked this before and have gotten no results. Thanks And you are right, that's probalby why I'm not losing is because i over eat and noone sees it...

On your upper toolbar, go to "My Home" > "Settings" > "Diary Settings" and it's at the bottom of the page.

swiftgirls2

Well, I started this site and my new "way of life" (i.e. not a diet) on January 3rd. I have consistantly lost and have NEVER really overindulged. I consistently stay under my 1,200 calories per day and have also lost consistently. However, my diet journal is private because there is no reason why I need to have someone else "keep me in check", as I do a perfect job of it myself. Actually, it was a little offensive that you assume people are doing something they should not be doing or "not being honest" with themselves just because they do not make their journal available for others to see and comment on.

grumpyswife123

Maybe some people aren't aware that it is set to private?

I was not aware until recently that it could be public or private. I guess MFP sets it to private by default

mlb929

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.

Ditto!

Mine is private. But for the most part, everything about me online I maintain is fairly private. I only disclose the part of the country I live, not the city or town, photos of myself are not posted online, or other personal information about me. I'm very accountable to myself and log EVERYTHING in my diary, but it's for me and my use only. I work in the legal field, and you'd be amazed what I can do with information about people I find online in the middle of civil, domestic, or criminal trials.

The funny thing about it is, I think the same way about people that are so open, I can't believe people have photos of their kids, what cities they live in, where they work. I've seen public facebook pages with personal phone numbers and email addresses. I work with registered sex offenders, murderers, and other people that don't fit into societies norm, I don't want anyone knowing I eat at a certain restaurant every Tuesday, or that I'm out of town because I can figure that out by someone's food diary.

Not for me, but it's not because I cheated on what I ate, ate badly, or lied to myself on what is on there. Its simply a means of keeping me accountable to me - and knowing what I'm doing to maintain the 35lbs I've lost and to keep it off.

Example: Yesterday there was a post on here, where a "friend" had posted someone's food diary for the past few weeks and wanted a call to action to help this "Friend" not be in starvation mode - it broke my heart this woman's information was no so public and the means of a cyberbullying by a "friend" on MFP. It was not appropriate and had her diary been private it never would have occurred.

tea76

totally agree! if i have foods i shouldnt and put it out there to make myself accountable!
and its been working and i have nothing to hide! we all have are bad days

swiftgirls2

I feel the same way. Well said and well done!

FitRodr

Viewable to friends only. I do my best but it really does help when someone else can give constructive opinions. I have the best circle of friends and they have taught me a lot. I don't stalk their diaries... but sometimes I get great ideas.

Heather75

Mine is set to private a) because it is the default b) because I can't think of a single reason why people I have never met would care what I eat and c) because it is nobody's business

If someone asked me what I had eaten on a given day/week/month, and I felt they were asking for a legitimate reason, I would have no problem letting them see, but that hasn't happened yet, and until it does, I will keep it to myself.

dlaplume2

some people just feel the need to be private.

Mine is public, but just saying everyone has their own preference.

zarala233

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:

LMAO!! I love it! I'm a 100% honest with myself & I'm proud of my choices. I zig-zag my calorie intake & keep info. on the ""Today's food notes" box that is for my eyes only. That's why mine is private.

newuser111

I just count calories, so there is no need for anyone to see just a bunch of quick added numbers.

Me too. I'm not using iphone / android / blackberry so I can only log it at the end of the day when I get home. It really is pointless for anyone to see a bunch of quick added numbers.

ksloop00

I didn't know mine was private. It's fixed now, lol.

CalorieNinja

I have mine private because a person decided to take my diary and post it all over the bulletins saying I had an eating disorder. I just hadn't logged all my food, my friends that have been around a while know this but a new friend may not. So, it will be kept private and certain people have the key so that crazy people don't have access to it.

nmfisher

I will vouch for the "didn't know mine was set to private" crowd. But I think this tool is all about enabling people and if they need to keep their diary private to keep themselves honest, then that is more important than owning it publicly.

jacolyncoker123

I am wondering why some people choose to keep their food diaries private? The only reason I can think of is that when you have a day you "overindulged" it may feel embarrassing to tell the whole world, yes, I ate 5 pieces of pizza and went over my calorie goal. We are all human and have "bad eating days" but aren't we here to support each other? If you can't be honest and open with those who are in the same boat and trying to help you achieve your goals, I highly doubt you are being honest with yourself. I love having mine to share with my friends so that I can get advice or just to keep me thinking during the day, "do I really want to put that I ate a huge bag of M&M's for dinner?". I also enjoy reading others for ideas to help my own meals and ways to keep my calories down. So, maybe it comes down to each individual person, and I respect that, I just feel it would do more good to make the food diaries public to keep you in check but maybe I'm missing something!?

Because the only reason I'm on this website is a tool to count my OWN calories. If I don't eat enough, I don't need to people lecturing me, and if I eat too much I don't want anyone to judge me.
I obviously already have self confidence issues, so why add to it by stressing myself out thinking "I wonder what they think of my food diary!?"

Why do you care anyways?

rharris86dc

When I first started, I was unsure about letting other people in, especially a bunch of strangers. I joined this site for myself, and losing weight or maintaining is a really person thing to many people.
Slowly, as I started taking advantage of the community tools, I have decided to open my diary to the friends I have made on here. They help to keep me accountable when my judgment falters. But it definitely took me a few weeks to get comfortable with the idea of letting other people see everything that goes in my mouth, and what type of exercise I am doing.

elizwelshman

Well, I started this site and my new "way of life" (i.e. not a diet) on January 3rd. I have consistantly lost and have NEVER really overindulged. I consistently stay under my 1,200 calories per day and have also lost consistently. However, my diet journal is private because there is no reason why I need to have someone else "keep me in check", as I do a perfect job of it myself. Actually, it was a little offensive that you assume people are doing something they should not be doing or "not being honest" with themselves just because they do not make their journal available for others to see and comment on.

I agree.