WHY keep your food diary hidden?

alapoint89

i totally agree why do you do it because i would think that it would be more motivating to a person if someone saw how horrible or how wonderful they ear because it could go both ways like im humiliated or could be more like what now!!!

Justien_c

I think your food diary is a way to stay accountable to yourself. If everyone is looking at it and judging what you ate, good or bad, you would be less likely to 100% honest. Do I want everyone to know if I ate half my daughter's cookie? Do I want to be able to look back and see why my weight has gone up or down with wondering if I fudged the details at all? It sounds like a great idea to be accountable, but I think your weigh-ins and the posts about your exercise and being under calorie goal are more than enough. I don't need someone else to approve or disaprove of what I eat. I need to know what I am putting in my body to do my best. Seeing what someone else ate won't help me, either. I like that it is a choice. If it will help you to know people could be checking up on you then have your diary open. If you know you would not be 100% honest if you were plagued by the thought of judgment then keep your diary private. I personally don't have the time to check up on other people's food logs, but I do make time for my sister so I can give her helpful hints on how to change her habits.

Ang5669

I think the question should be why do others feel the need to look at peoples food diaries??? Unless of course that person asked them to. I use this site just for me...I havent added friends nor do I creep others profiles. I do read some of the forums obviously but thats about it. I find some good recipe or food ideas on there so I dont feel the need to look at diaries.

cariliz

I have my diary open to friends.

I guess the pros and cons include the following:

PROS:
- Keeps you accountable
- Positive comments from others (when warranted) keep you going!
- Negative comments from others (when warranted) keep you going!
- Allows you to encourage others in different ways (e.g. they can see that you can be disciplined sometimes, falter other times - its what you do most of the time that counts - and how this impacts your results)
- Encourages others (particularly friends) to open their diaries (which is very helpful as you too can see what they do to get results)

CONS:
- Some loss of privacy (particularly in relation to "comment" type entries) - this is particularly an issue for some who post sensitive comments.
- Negative comments from others (which are not warranted)
- Temptation to "cheat" by not properly logging calories if you are having a bad day/week etc (personally I like logging cheat days and "bad" days as once again, it keeps me accountable)

All in all, I believe that the Pros outweigh the Cons. However due to some loss of privacy, I have chosen to make my diary available open to mfp friends only.

Having said all of the above, I don't judge friends who have a closed diary (although appreciate all those with an open diary).

When making "comments" in my diary, I always remember that others may be reading and therefore don't include overly sensitive details

Also imho information stored in "the cloud" is never 100% guaranteed safe irrespective of settings. Therefore I would still not store overly sensitive information in comments even if my diary was kept "private".

Well stated Steven.

FearAnLoathing

I think some people don't like the idea of disclosing something so personal; it's a way to avoid judgement (which of course wouldn't happen here, but it's a valid concern). Some people probably don't know how to make their diary public.

Actually the judgment here happens ALL THE TIME

v_addison

I have mine open to friends only. I have no desire for someone to push their ideas of what a diet means on me. I have seen too many others criticized (without asking for opinions mind you) for their choices. If I ask for help, then I will open it up and expect criticism. But unwanted, unsolicited advice pisses me off, so I keep it locked except to those I have grown to know and trust. My two cents.

This.

smitty328

WOW...some people need to relax, it was just a question. I personally like mine open to my pals...if they want to complain about what food choices I make then.... there is always a delete button. It helps me a bunch when I can see what others eat, it gives me ideas for myself.

Mrs_ALM

I have it open to friends right now. Basically I can do without the judgement from others who don't know my entire health history and why I choose to eat or not eat something. I also cannot stand when people tell me I don't need to diet when most of the time my goal is to be healthy, but if just looking at how I watch calories, some automatically assume I'm dieting & trying to lose too much weight when it's not the case.

smashatoms

Mine is set up so that only my friends can view.
I do consider it something very personal. I like when my friends call me out on my bad days, but that's because I trust them to think of my best interest. I don't really trust non-friends to go about it that way, make sense?
Also, recently I set my diary to private (it's now switched back) for a brief time because I found that I wasn't be honest with myself. I wasn't logging EVERYTHING, doing myself a disservice. So I made it private for that short time until I could own up to my own failures publicly.

Gwen7121

Two reasons:

1. Because it's very personal. I don't need people I don't know judging me and you know you do. It's like at the gym when people look around as they are waiting to do their next set or as they are running on the treadmill and size others up. We shouldn't, and probably say we don't, but we do.

2. My dad used to say, "Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one." Unless you're a professional nutritionist, trainer or whatever, I really am not interested in hearing how you feel about what I'm eating or not eating. If I want an opinion, I'll ask, but otherwise, what makes you qualified to give it? You may have done really well at dieting and/or exercising, but what worked for you is not necessarily the answer for me. I used to constantly ask people's opinions on what I needed to do, but when I started listening to my own body and quit listening to others' opinions based on their own, I lost weight for the first time in years.

This ^

3dogsrunning

I love how people got so defensive.

I think keeping it open to friends not only keeps you accountable but gives other people ideas of what to eat. Or they can see how sometimes you can mix bad food in and still have an okay day. Or How you can have a slice of pizza and control yourself.

I love how some people jumped to the conclusion that because it is private, you are hiding stuff, lazy, not working hard.

dakitten2

I keep mine open to the public. My friends have proven to be very valuable in offering suggestions/changes as I go along. I also send my food diaries to my dietician.

As far as others go they can feel free to look anytime they want. I feel like I am always learning and helpful suggestions are appreciated. I enjoy reading others diaries for ideas on food that I havent thought of or that I want to try.

cPT_Helice

My diary, like my profile, is open to my friends. I could care less if someone wants to keep their diary private. However, don't comment on mine, if I can't even see yours. Fair enough, I think.

myak623

WOW...some people need to relax, it was just a question. I personally like mine open to my pals...if they want to ***** about what food choises I make then.... there is always a delete button. It helps me a bunch when I can see what others eat, it gives me ideas for myself.

^^This

JennieAL

Mine is open to my MFP friends only because I don't really care to share with people who aren't interested in keeping up with me. And I don't look at the diaries of others if they aren't in my friends list.

chefkev

I keep mine private because I eat a very, very strange diet and people have blasted me in the past for what I eat.

I was a diabetic (type 2) and I have a crazy metabolism. My diet is 60% fat, 30% protein, 10% carb. It has stablized my blood sugar and helped me lose weight. People read what I eat and tell me I am going to kill my self eating like this.

Um, I was dying eating a "balanced" diet.

My cholesterol is 155 now. my BP is excellent. So, this works for me!

cariliz

I went through an unhealthy cycle of eating very few calories and then binge eating... MFP has helped, but I still see that cycle present in a lot of my food diary entries. HOWEVER, this month I decided to make my journal public (to friends) to help keep me accountable. Having their support will hopefully demotivate my binges, and push me toward healthier eating. Honesty is key though! I pledge to be honest when I log my foods, no matter how embarrassed I can sometimes be about them.

That’s terrific. I’m glad you are working through your obstacle. I’m not here to judge.

mukamom

Don't know if mine is hidden or not....*shrugs* Look if you can and you will see I allow for beer everyday :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :bigsmile:

tanyacc

I have mine open to my friends, I find it really motivating for me when they acknowledge the good foods Ive eaten for the day. It keeps me going for another day. I havent come across any judgemental people yet, just the occasional bit of advice which I dont mind at all. I like to look at other peoples diary as well, so I can encourage my friends.

myak623

Don't know if mine is hidden or not....*shrugs* Look if you can and you will see I allow for beer everyday :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :bigsmile:

Beer everyday is awesome! Or wine if you so choose!

Hambone23

-raises her hand- I got trashed on a forum thread based on some stranger going into my public food diary and deciding to tear apart everything I ate. I think I'd been on MFP for merely a few days. It went to friends only then and there.

k7n2w3

.

JayneWilson1963

What I put in my body is my business. I am MORE honest with myself than with anyone else, so having a private diary works for me. If I am ever struggling and need advice, I will open it to my friends, but that isn't the case.

This to for me! Mine is private and I will keep it that way. It's been working for me and I don't see the need to change it.

zeeeb

i don't fill it in. i fill in a paper diary... it's much quicker than doing it on here. and i don't count calories that closely. i use MFP for tracking my exercise and weight, not my food.

ReverendJim

I am very open and very accountable. I am my own taskmaster. I had mine public, but started getting naggy, ill-informed and non-constructive criticisms from some people who had to nit-pick every little thing. I have a health condition that really limits what I can and can not eat. I got tired of dealing with it.

ReverendJim

I am very open and very accountable. I am my own taskmaster. I had mine public, but started getting naggy, ill-informed and non-constructive criticisms from some people who had to nit-pick every little thing. I have a health condition that really limits what I can and can not eat. I got tired of dealing with it.

doornumber03

I agree.. i think its because they don't want to be held accountable...or to me are they being completely honest?

could not disagree with this more. I know people who have public diaries that do not log everything they eat because they don't want people questioning it. I've found most of my friends have private diaries and they are 100% honest with themselves.

HeatherMarie1174

I love how some people jumped to the conclusion that because it is private, you are hiding stuff, lazy, not working hard.

Amen

bio_fit

My diary is for me to track my calories. I am happy with my diet and happy with my progress, I don't want or need unsolicited comments, however well meaning. For the first 4 months of using MFP I didn't even realise there was a 'community' board!

HealthyEscape

Mine is hidden for now. I find that with it hidden, I log EVERYTHING I eat and enjoy logging. When I have it open, I tend to not log on my "bad days" because it gives me anxiety which leads to not logging everyday. So it has nothing to do with "being accountable" as some have said, at least not for me. It's a personal preference and it works for me right now.