What are the reasons behind a private food diary?

Crowhorse

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.

Exactly!

significance

Ah, the old "if you're not doing anything you're ashamed of, you don't need privacy" argument. I'm not ashamed of what I eat, but I don't want to broadcast it. I'm not ashamed of going to the toilet, but I don't want you to know the details. I'm not ashamed of the contents of private emails with friends, but as a matter of basic courtesy, I don't publish them on the net.

spaboleo

Food diaries exist since the first people struggled with the overweight...
Even if try to track mentally how much you have eaten a day is some kind of diaring.

Mine stays private. The community of the friendstream is pressure enough...
I hate every step I do being tracked...

CaroseH

I agree with the poster who said some people are just on here to track their calories and for the information. Not everyone uses the site for the same reasons, mine are just to keep track of my personal calories and to read about questions and get information and guidelines about how to eat correctly. Having people looking at my diary is just not a factor that keeps me either "more accountable" or "less accountable." I eat for myself, and am only responsible to MYSELF for what I decide to eat and when, so there just isn't any reason to have my diary open for others to view.

shelleyrose

I don't know how to change it to make it public. How do you do that?

Karleyyy

Can't we support each other without seeing food diaries? If we wanted people to know we can choose to express it. Why do people make their profiles private? Why is it necessary to know?

knittnponder

I keep mine private because i know how I need to eat and don't really want any unsolicited input. There are so many different ways of eating (high carb, low carb, high fat, low fat, "clean" all the artificial stuff are staples and so on!) I don't need advice from well meaning people who just don't get how "I" am eating. I don't mean to sound snarky! It's just taken me a long time to finally listen to my body instead of the 8 million voices out there telling me how I "should" do things and I don't want to go backwards.

I keep diary on here so I AM honest with myself about what I'm consuming but my diary is for my own personal record. I track everything as I have a "you bite it, you write it rule". I even track the bad days. I track the "absolutely horribly painful to type this in" days! And then I learn from them and move on. Initially I didn't even know it was an option to make the diary public or private.

naebear99

I chose to keep mine private because, while I like the feedback of having a food/exercise diary, I really don't want to discuss with others the days I choose to have the Love It! sized Cookie Doughnt You Want Some in the chocolate-dipped waffle cone. I think I'm frankly more likely to cheat if Im going to have to explain my food choices. By keeping my food diary private, I find it easier to keep it honest, since I'm otherwise only lying to myself. I'll be honest - I've been tempted a couple of times to lie to myself and fail to log something. The fact that only I know has helped me face my own failings, look baldly at the impact, and go forward and do better.

In the month I've been doing it this way, my intake has actually gone down fairly steadily. Meanwhile, the system automatically shares my good news - every time I exercise, every time I stay under my calorie goal. That means I get to look at what I'm doing right (and occasionally get praise for it from other nice people). In short, the default settings are the optimal combination of keeping me honest, and sharing information, allowing me to succeed more readily than I ever have before.

monocot

There are a tons of people who don't come near there calorie goals, I've only once reached a 1000 Calories in one day.
Who wants to be nagged about the importance of starvation mode.
I use this site to just make sure i don't go over my limit, it's alot harder and take alot longer to take the time to record it in a book
I keep mine open cause I don't care what people think of me.
But there are alot of people who care what people think. They hate being judged. Even a glance from a person makes them wonder what they person is thinking.

Pandorian

Mine's open to friends, I had it private but was easier to just share it with the friends I've got on here rather than having to tell them what I ate they could just go look.

But for the privacy stuff, it depends on your security consciousness. My MFP user name is a totally unique, to me, name that I've never used anywhere else and never will, no one username across all the boards I frequent to be able to piece together this and that about my habits.

Facebook etc drives me crazy with adding new features and the default is oh here's a new feature you're wide open on this new feature until you change it, I've got friends on there that update every little thing of their day, "oh I took down the box of kraft dinner, oh I opened it because the waters boiling, it's in the water... " in the end, who cares! I don't, they also post every time they go out of town so anyone that knows who they are / where they live.

I log everything here, if I ate it it gets logged, good or bad, and it's working, I'm losing weight, which is what I signed up here to do.

MakingAChoice

Mine was set to friends only before since it is the default. I changed that a couple weeks ago because I too thought there was no reason why anyone shoudl not be able to see what I am logging. If I have a day of poor choices, so be it. I am not going to hide from those choices, I made them and take responsibility for any of my choices.

watermelonstarfish

i have mines set to friends only, just to have trustworthy eyes besides mines viewing it. I do no have it set to public. I'm very aware of the flaws in my diary and am working on it at my own pace. For someone random to point out a bad choice to me is just stating the obvious. The sky is blue. Blood is red. duh, ty captain obvious.

eveunderground

Facebook etc drives me crazy with adding new features and the default is oh here's a new feature you're wide open on this new feature until you change it, I've got friends on there that update every little thing of their day, "oh I took down the box of kraft dinner, oh I opened it because the waters boiling, it's in the water... " in the end, who cares!

lol not to turn this thread into a facebook rant but I think the exact same thing!!! what is wrong with those people who update fb every time do anything...sheesh...do they really think people are that interested in their every move? It drives me crazy, I've taken numerous breaks from facebook because of all the lame updates...it has become so boring (to me anyway).

paroxysm

Mine's private. I don't really feel like being judged and most people on here are on low calorie diets and I am on a maintenance - bordering on a gain diet. I eat between 1900-3000 cals daily (sometimes more, sometimes a touch less depending on activity/hunger)
I'm underweight, hungry, and active and I think on a 'weight loss' centered site I'd probably be harassed for 'going over calories' haha or sodium or fat or carbs or or or or or.
I love MFP but people on here get very judgemental if things aren't done their way.

abyt42

I don't care if anyone sees my bad days,but when I get unsolicited advice ... it gets on my nerves.

My diary's open, but this is why I've played with it. It's just weird for me when someone looks at my diary then comments about it to me. Particularly if it's for a day when I log after I eat (rather than the regular "log the day in the morning" method I prefer to use.)

cynusps

idn't realize it wasn't. So I found out where to change it. You are right we ae all humna and going to fall off the wagon occasionally. Then we just pick ourselves up and start agan.

angela828

I keep mine private. For me, keeping a calorie count is something I am doing just for me. I rarely look at other peoples diaries. I know that I am eating healthy and can see what areas I need work on (sodium!!) and I feel I don't need anyones "approval". If I have a bad day, oh well.. I usually post a status saying I'm having a bad day anyway.

Also, i have seen how rude people can be on this site to other members.. especially about their food diary. I don't feel like dealing with rude people, especially on the sensitive subject of food! I like to eat one "bad" snack a day.. that is a WW ice cream, or a fun size candy bar, or like today I have a little baggie with chocolate chips to curb my chocolate craving. I feel like people will read that and focus only on that.. rather than the 800 cals I burned exercising, the 10 glasses of water I drank, or the healthy low cal salad I ate for lunch (and dinner).

Honestly, I think it's your choice - if you make it public, good for you! If not, good for you too! While I like the support I get from my friends on here, this is also a site I check for my own personal journey.

Syreeta6

Amen!! Now let me check my profile to be sure mine isn't private. LOL

LOL!!!

Agreed

Lexie71

I keep my food diary private because part of what got me to a point of being so overweight was the "Food Police" which caused me to stop trusting my own body. I don't want anyone's input on what I am eating. It's my decision. I no longer believe in dieting. This works for me. I will share my diary with a few individuals when I am telling them about "Am I Hungry?" so they can see that you can lose weight in a healthy way in an "all foods fit" approach. Other than that I don't want someone to get only part of the story (by looking at the food journal) nor do I want to hear what they think of my choices.

WarmDontBurn

I haven't read ALL the post but I keep mine private because IMO what I eat shouldn't matter to anyone and half the time if I view someones diary 9 times out of 10 most items I have never even heard of or have access to any of the foods listed. I keep track of my food for me so there is no need for others to view it. Not sure if friends can see it or even if they would want too...lol. I admit I may not make the best choices but at the end of the day they are my choices. I get my motivation and support from exercise and keeping under my calories.

lisafrancis629

You know, I disagree that it keeps us more honest. I think if you know people are checking it out and judging you are more likely to "forget" that cookie you tasted. Mine is private because I don't care for random advice, which people have mentioned. Mine is also private from "friends" because I have a lot of randomly selected friends. A few people I know in real life too, but most I don't.

Honesty with myself is exactly my reason. I had mine open to friends only for a while but I found myself "forgetting" to log that candy bar. It's the character defect I have thinking I have to be perfect and if I'm not, people will judge me. So it's for my own good that mine is private. Everybody has their own reasons but in the end, it just comes down to what works for each of us.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Not in my case. I eat relatively few calories and i don't want going on about "starvation mode". I think the "reasons" given in the opening post say more about the OPs mindset than about those who keep their food diary private.

What is OPs mindset?

IsMollyReallyHungry

I keep mine private. For me, keeping a calorie count is something I am doing just for me. I rarely look at other peoples diaries. I know that I am eating healthy and can see what areas I need work on (sodium!!) and I feel I don't need anyones "approval". If I have a bad day, oh well.. I usually post a status saying I'm having a bad day anyway.

Also, i have seen how rude people can be on this site to other members.. especially about their food diary. I don't feel like dealing with rude people, especially on the sensitive subject of food! I like to eat one "bad" snack a day.. that is a WW ice cream, or a fun size candy bar, or like today I have a little baggie with chocolate chips to curb my chocolate craving. I feel like people will read that and focus only on that.. rather than the 800 cals I burned exercising, the 10 glasses of water I drank, or the healthy low cal salad I ate for lunch (and dinner).

Honestly, I think it's your choice - if you make it public, good for you! If not, good for you too! While I like the support I get from my friends on here, this is also a site I check for my own personal journey.

Well said. I will add that I keep mines pass word coded because of many of reasons already mentioned and many do not know a person goals, so they make judgemental comments.

I also have seen people asking ppl about starvation mode. Well starvation mode is something a lot of people do not believe in and if you are morbibly obese starvation mode is not even applicable. But people will ask are you eating enough food, etc.

There are plenty of ppl on here who share their diaries so should be sufficient for those looking for helpful suggestions. When someone asks me to look at my diary I will give them access in a heartbeat if I know it is not to critque every morsel I eat. Like someone previously mentioned. No one is looking for a food police and some of the comments lend themselves to exactly that. For me if someone is struggling already and having a hard time they know it they do not need others to reinterate that they had a bad eating day. We know it already.......:-)

Most of us know how to eat healthy already, it is a matter of implementing these good habits and if I feel I have to feel guilty about putting down exactly what I eat then it is not serving me well to have it public. If having your public is helpful to you good and having it private is helpful to you good too. I have seen some horriable comments and those ppl are no longer active either.

Nailrep

I hide it because of all the nasty remarks I've seen regarding peoples diet diaries.

I will be the first to admit that sometimes I eat less than 1200 calories, I rarely eat my exercise calories, and I eat a skinny cow ice cream sometimes instead of a healthy snack like carrots! I'm also 44 years old and don't need anything but encouragement!

:flowerforyou:

tammy200678

I have mine private because I go lower than recommended and people feel it is there business to tell me that i need to eat more when i know my body better than them so i keep mine private i feel there is no reason for people to know what i eat and when u r done logging it will show if u were under or not

elainegsd

I have mine private because I am only accountable to myself. If I choose to eat something completely unhealthy, that is my choice and I live with the consequences. I know others like to learn from food diaries, and there are plenty of public ones out there for that. They don't need mine too.

That said, my friends can see mine.

avenathus

I would imagine that some people don't view this website as a social thing... it's more of a tool just for themselves and their own reference, and they don't really want to share with anyone. I was using this site that way up until recently. Sometimes I just don't feel like being social! :P

treetz1979

I keep mine private because I need encouragement from a "get up and move your *kitten*" perspective. Not a "you ate what??" perspective. :bigsmile:

I am honest in my diary and I really don't pay attention to what other people are eating. I joined MFP because of their fantastic tools for tracking my calories and excercise goals. I also seek encouragement from a few fellow MFPeers and feedback in the forums. Honestly, the people who are most supportive and provide the best constructive criticism are my real world family and friends.

So my diary is just that...my diary...and I use it to help me learn about my choices. And, as many others pointed out, I also like to avoid any catty comparisons or nit picking. Point out that I haven't exercised in two days but I am not interested in hearing any input about eating a bowl of ice cream every once in awhile or that I had a few beers on the weekend.

However, what i am struggling is posting my weight....that's where I think I am fooling myself the most. But I just have not stirred the gumption to share it yet. To each their own - that's the beauty of freedom :drinker:

glittersoul

We're all here for our own reasons. Who cares what the next guy eats or doesn't eat. We all have different goals/values/tastes etc and in the end the only thing that matters are results. It's rude to assume that people aren't being honest w/ themselves just because they aren't being open to everyone. This is not different in my eyes than going to peep through the neighbors window to make sure they swept their floor today. When someone has a serious question about their eating habits I'm sure they will ask.

aschultz9

Mine's private from everyone, cuz it's really nobody's business what I eat. I'm tracking for myself. Believe me, I'm perfectly honest with myself..if I wasn't I might be more likely to share it.
I could give a rip what anyone else on here eats either..I don't look at food diaries.