Food dairy, why don't more people make them visible?

Purecity

I don't make mine visible because I'm not asking for advice on it.

This.

Double this.

PrincessStubbie

I share mine with my husband as he shares with me his diary, but we eat the same meals so it's no big deal. We are each other's accountability in food and exercise. I am not using MFP for anything more than a tool to help me change my food relationship. I personally don't care what anyone else eats, honestly. And that is not being rude, its honest. Its my business to keep it private as it is yours to make yours public. What business is it of anyone to spend time and energy worrying about other people's diaries. That's my 2 cents worth...LOL

Watch_Me_Shrink

I cant believe some people can be so rude to comment that they were “shocked“ to see someone ate wendys! We all need a day off sometimes, if you dont have anything nice to say keep it to yourself!

xalligator

Mine's open because I like to use my diary as an example when introducing MFP to IRL people who don't have an account, for school projects, etc. It beats having to hunt down some random member with a public diary.

I don't particularly care what people have to say about my eating/exercise habits, good or bad I've already committed to it and won't change. And it seems that lots of people want to see others' diaries to get an idea of what to eat, so hey, why not.

Leola2011

I think it's silly to expect for people to expose their food journal. Mine is open to my friends, but I absolutely reserve the right to shut it down if I see fit. I understand the issue of accountability, but we're not talking about criminal behavior or active addiction here. And if someone is battling food addiction/eating disorders (and right many people are on this site), it's STILL up to him/her to be transparent about it.

If your stuff is open, expect comments. If you don't want comments, make your journal private. Either way, do you! But don't sweat it if someone else choses to keep their diary private. People live longer minding their own business.

HMonsterX

I think having it private makes it more likely you will be honest with yourself and log everything. If it's public adding that treat or that takeaway will be much less likely, in case people see it :noway: , and judge you on it.

I subscribe to the "calories in < calories out", and not "quality of calories". I dont want messages every day telling me to eat less snacks and eat more veg, fruit, grains, nuts etc, which seems to be all some people think about!

nortiekeeks

I eat well and don't have anything to be ashamed of in my food diary. That being said, it's nobody's business what I eat and if one of my friends on MFP started complaining that I don't let them know every single bite I put into my mouth, I would find that creepy. You don't need to know what somebody is eating to be able to support them in their weight loss and there's an entire subsection of the message board devotes to recipes if you need new food ideas.

...what she said!! ;P

Barneystinson

I made it private because I'm only accountable to ME.

I've never had any negative experiences with others commenting on my choices, but I think I've gotten away from the social aspect of the site and just want a purely mathematical model to give myself a view of what my food choices do to my weight - both good and bad.

CindyCountingCalories

I don't make mine visible because I'm not asking for advice on it.

This.

Mine was, (still is) open, for 5 months it was great no problems, but I was thinking of closing it today, but decided to keep it open and just change my settings so it won't show on the news feed when I end my day. In that way I can't get any weird comments, but those who are interested in viewing it still can, win-win situation

So if I WANT advise I can ask...

RMuske

Mine is friends only... I am not really great at eating the way I want to so I kept it private for a long time.. I guess I just figure who needs to know other than my friends who are there to support me..

strawberrie_milk

Mine is open. I think some people just don't want others commenting on their eating habits, so that's why they keep it closed.

Panda_1999

I keep mine closed because I joined just to have a place to track the foods I have been eating (and to have records that are easy for my Dr. and nutritionist to review). I am an insulin dependent diabetic, so my meal plan is meant for my personal condition not as an example to others.

Besides this diary is not complete record of my life, sometimes my blood glucose tests too low and I need to eat a correction (sugar in some form is the fastest) before I can take my next insulin dose. All you would see in my diary is that I had some candy/juice as a snack, not why. Or if I had a cookie (limited treats are allowed by my health professionals), my diary doesn't show that there were cinnabuns in the frig that I didn't eat (there are other people in my home).

I am close to the weight I am supposed to be after a long illness where I ended up down to 85lbs, just skin and bones on me so I am slowly rebuilding the muscle I loss. While many are here for weight loss, there are many other reasons people may need to track what they eat. So not everyone needs or wants weight loss advice, even when it is well meant.

seal57

Mines closed and if you want to know what I eat, then you are most welcome to join me for a meal sometime......I don't even tell my 2 bestest friends what I eat so why should my virtual friends know........:drinker:

aproc

Because not everybody wants others trying to advise them or comment on their diet. It's just a personal way to keep track of everything for some. I use my diary as my way of keeping track of my macros and wouldn't really like it if someone else started giving me tips without my asking. I know what I should be eating.
Mine is viewable by my friends though. Maybe public to everyone. I really don't know.

megsmom2

I have nothing to hide....but my diary is a tool for my own use. There are too many trolls out there. I don't troll anyone else and prefer the same privacy.

MoreBean13

Mine is open. I am for the most part proud of my diet and constantly striving to make it better, so I'm open to constructive criticism. I would probably close it if people started nagging me about something that's their personal crusade- like the anti-vegetarian crowd or the soy police or the milk nazis.

hbaby08

For a while mine was totally private, then i changed it to just firends. I never thought people would be judgemental towards what someone ate (and I wouldnt tolerate it as others have said). I understand both sides (private vs. public) But i like the idea of only having a group of people with similar goals/ are friends/ etc being able to view it. I dont make it a habit to look at others diaries, i may to get some meal ideas or how they spread out their meals, or the sucess stories message board and they give me motivation, but never to judge. And if its not visible and i just really have to know, i'll send a message to that person...simple

RunHardBeStrong

Sometimes people have personal notes they keep on their notepad at the bottom, Everyone can see them if they open their their food diary. They may want to keep those notes private.

This is exactly why I keep mine private. It really gets to me seeing people jump to conclusions stating that people keep their diaries closed because they must not be eating well and are ashamed of it. That's a pretty broad, uncalled for assumption.

rose313

A few months ago I made mine public because I had no idea what I was doing wrong or how to eat and I was welcoming suggestions. I got a lot of great advice and am now eating a lot better. I recently made it private again because I don't need constructive criticism anymore. Also, I drink about 12 cups of water a day at least, but I don't log my water. Some people have incorrectly assumed that I don't drink any water and asked me about it...not a big deal but I'd like to avoid those little discrepancies.