When you are too embarrassed to make your diary

its_betty

Some people may be motivated by what other people think. Or they may be asking for specific advice on their eating habits. Both good reasons to make your diary public.

Personally, I'm using MFP for me. Some days I'm over calories, some days under. Some days I eat healthfully, some days I don't. I never want to give what I eat or don't eat so much importance that I feel embarrassed. I'd rather feel empowered that I KNOW what is driving my weight gain or loss, my feeling of energy or tiredness, my healthy glow or not-so-healthy appearance.

I like having all the data available for me to review. I would not like having someone I don't know remark on my eating habits unless I specifically asked them for their opinion. So I keep my diary private.

gothicprophet

If someone wants to view mine, they can add me as a friend.

Basically, this.

I even sometimes ask my friends to review my diary and give me an "attaboy" (or similar expression) if I've made good choices, or tell me that thing I thought was kinda healthy is really just fat in a can, but often times I don't.

It's called a diary for a reason though. When I hear the word diary I don't generally think of that as a public record. Maybe if it were called "My Food Log" or "My Food Record" or "Hey, See what I've been eating!" I'd understand people being a bit touchy about others diaries not being 'public.'

As for why mine isn't Public and set to friends only... Well it's quite simple, this is the internet and if you don't apply even a small measure of filtration, you're likely to end up dealing with trolls all day, and who needs that kind of stress when we're already trying to get fit and change our life styles? Isn't that stressful enough?

freerange

Gee people, she said “when you are to EMBARRASED to make your diary public, something is wrong with it. She DID NOT say IF YOUR diary is not public something is wrong with it. Holy cow people need to lighten up around here.

myiceisonfire

I'm not even sure what mine's set on lol. Either MFP friends, or MFP people in general.
I like when I can see other people's diaries because it's given me a lot of healthy ideas on what to eat. Or if I don't know what's for dinner, it helps me decide!

It also helps to keep me in check if my friends can read my diary too. I've had friend tell me to add "Sodium" so I can see how much I'm getting each day, and I've had ppl tell me to eat more because I'm under 1200.

To each their own.

infamousmk

Should I call you Rachel or OP?? lol.. how about Rachel - I don't judge your latte ... And especially not since I know you're going mountain biking. IMO the whole purpose for burning MAD calories is to have things like lattes or margaritas. Why else would I bust my *kitten* like that? (I mean, there are loads of reasons, but you know...)

When I am closer to maintenance, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be making choices about my activities with relativity to how many beers, lattes and double cheeseburgers I want to eat. (not that I don't already, but I do hope I'll get a little more leeway at that point)

_CHRISTIE_

I think for me, I could care less what others think about what I am putting in my mouth... I mean really think about it...Why do you keep a diary? It's so that you can see what's working and whats not...if i have a week where I don't lose then I'm going to go back and re-evaluate my week and try to figure out why...now with that being said, if I go over, I go over...and if my friends see that I had pizza and ice cream then ohh well, if they say something to me about it, I know that they mean it out of love and concern and I'm not going to let it make me mad... I say all that but then also I have been extremely embarassed to put on there when I ate the ice cream and pizza... but more so b/c it makes me realize what I'm doing to myself...if that makes any kind of sense.... hah...

Rachel congrats on overcoming your embarassment and GREAT job on the biking! I completely get that this post was about you and not meant to offend anyone... :-) and who cares if you had a latte!

I also really like looking at others diary's to see what they are eating to get ideas...i've never been a healthy eater...ever...and I'm a really picky eater...so anytime I can look at others and gain ideas from it, then I will take it! To each their own...and if people are hiding it b/c they don't want others to know how much they are really eating...then in the end its only going to affect them... if it's just b/c they are a private person then so be it,

DahnaLane

Good OP question.

I currently keep my diary open to friends, but had it private in the beginning.... but thought "?.. If I can't be honest with myself & others, what's the point?"

Also IMHO I figure a diary with results (exercise / food) could be a good tool for someone looking for pointers & encouragement.

In my case, I choose to live (la vida) low carb. So my friends encourage each other to peruse the diary for ideas, recipes & more.

Find what works for you ( in the diary aspect or otherwise) and go with it. :happy:

Cheers to you all!
Dahna

SueInAz

Should I call you Rachel or OP?? lol.. how about Rachel - I don't judge your latte ... And especially not since I know you're going mountain biking. IMO the whole purpose for burning MAD calories is to have things like lattes or margaritas. Why else would I bust my *kitten* like that? (I mean, there are loads of reasons, but you know...)

When I am closer to maintenance, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be making choices about my activities with relativity to how many beers, lattes and double cheeseburgers I want to eat. (not that I don't already, but I do hope I'll get a little more leeway at that point)

I get asked why I exercise (I don't have a lot of weight to lose, really) and my answer is "I work out so I can drink beer." :drinker:

Thriceshy

Disagree. My diary is open to my friends. If I feel I need help with my dietary intake or find myself plateaued or otherwise stuck, I'll open it up to all for the purpose of gathering input and advice. Otherwise, I have no reason to. And judging from my weight loss and the great way I feel these days, I don't think there's anything wrong or shameful about it. It's just not anyone's business unless I choose to make it so. But I'm not embarrassed--just a somewhat private person.



Kris

Barneystinson

Mine is now public. I add my workouts as notes and eat at a fixed calorie level. If anyone actually cares...lol.