My Rant on the Over/Under!

mummyzena

I rarely look at diaries unless I know my mfp friend is doing a similar style woe, great way for ideas. To someone who isn't eating low carb/atkins my diary looks horrific (chicken with skin, cream, cheese, full fat mayo) I'm not condoning continuous junk food, however, some woe do allow for fast food to be eaten without the carbs (mcdonalds burger no bun) may not be ideal but it's what they need right now.
As for binge days, I've just had a 4day binge but logged it and wrote a comment saying I was aware it was an awful day. Compassion not judgement works well.

paigemarie93

Get over yourself!!

If I want to eat chips with my sandwich or have a bag of candy who are you to judge me.

If you only want "clean eaters" don't accept friends that eat "crap" then you don't have to get all uptight about OTHER PEOPLE CHOICES!!!

THISSSSS!

psposey

Wow, this one has touched a nerve! MFP has shown me how to make better (but not perfect) choices on what to eat. I like Pizza so instead of getting a Pizza Hut Meat Lovers Pan Pizza and eating 3 or 4 slices, I get a Thin and Crispy with 1 topping at eat 1 or 2 slices with a salad or fruit. I actually like to see a diary that has the person eating a regular meal now and then so I know they are going through the same choices and decisions and struggles that I go through. It inspires me to log in everyday and understand where my calories (good or bad) are coming from. I like the fact that if I put in an hour at the gym or log 4 or 5 miles on the treadmill that I can splurge a bit and not feel guilty.

HotBodUnderConstruction

lol

I eat crap food and stay under because it's better than eating crap food and being over (in terms of weight loss).

Sorry, I'd rather weed out the $h!t slowly to ensure I stay on the right path than cut everything out cold turkey and fail. But whatever...we'll see where I am a year from now.

Dave198lbs

I can promise you 90% of the people on MFP don't eat "healthy" they just "think" they do.

wow...care to offer any evidence of this judgment?

Any grains, aren't good for people, anything that has it's roots in agriculture, isn't good for people, eating dead meat filled with uric acid isn't good for people. Sugar isn't good either(yes the kind found in fruit).

hmmmm...just as I thought...you simply like to argue with your opinion instead of fact.

baycat107

And what's wrong with tacos? Now I eat 2 instead of 3. I get the small fry instead of the medium fry. I get mustard instead of mayo on my Subway sandwich. I cut the cheese on my What-ABurger Jr. To lose weight, a calorie is a calorie. Eat less calories! Along the way, I learn to make better choices. We all know what is healthy and what is not. Our personal goal is ultimately what it is all about. I'm glad I don't have friends like you, who tear me down. I do enough of that on my own.

Not Tacos! I eat those like once a week...homemade...but still. So yummy.

The crunchy or soft shell? the crunchies are best.

I like the crunchy!

stebs1984

I think i'll chime in on this one.... I don't know that you can really say anything about a persons eating and the WTG's they get without knowing that person well. Take me for example, I'm a very picky eater and essentially live off of pizza and tacos (for at least the last 10 years). Its a bad/sad diet I know, but there is something in my brain that refuses to let me like anything else. I'd like to get over it, but its way easier said than done. Today for instance I had a tony's frozen pizza for lunch and ended up meeting a friend at taco bell for supper. I was slightly over my calories for the day, but its okay, I'm still losing weight. Before joining MFP, I was still on my pizza and tacos diet, however, I was eating waaaayyyy more junk than I do now. I had nights where i'd have 7 tacos from Tbell, then put away a big bowl of ice cream, several peanut butter cups, half a bag of chips, and a bag of popcorn (stress eating). Since joing MFP, I no longer eat all that crap at night, and for the most part, stay under my calorie goal or very slightly over, and have upped my nightly walk to about an hour and 15 minutes from 30 minutes. Now maybe I only have 5 tacos instead of 7, and when I refill my drink, its only halfway and only once instead of 2 or 3 full refills. And now I only have 1 can of pepsi with my tony's pizza instead of the occassional 2.

I will say this though, back when I was managing a pizza place 3 years ago, I literally LIVED off of plain breadsticks and marinara sauce and a steady supply of water and pepsi, and during that time, I was at my lowest weight since middle school, maybe even before, Could lift more weight than I can now, and I wasnt starving or constantly hungry either.

Like i said, its a bad diet to have, however, now i'm working on portion control, and lost 12 pounds in a month. I'm 27 years old and currently at 218 pounds, and would like to get down around 160 or so. This all plays part in my long term goal of being healthier, more confident, and hopefully will help lead to a broader variety in my diet and an overall happier lifestyle.

roseymacdoo

I don't know how many times I've seen a diary where the person has eaten like crap all day (candy, cakes, fast food, etc.) Pure crap! But they manage to come in under their calorie count. So the comments from their so called friends are "WTG!", "Good Job!" , etc.

STOP! It wasn't a good day. THEY ATE LIKE CRAP! Call them on it! Sure they kept their calories below 1300. But their only claim to vegetables was their taco for lunch! You aren't helping them by rewarding the behavior. Get past the blurb on the screen and actually look into their diary. It takes time, but they're supposed to be your friend, remember?

And for the bad eater, those so called friends are rewarding poor choices. Drop them like you would an abusive SO. Find friends that will hold you accountable, give you suggestions, and show compassion when you have a bad day or two. Lose the ones that only see the word "under" and think that's the goal. And if you're not sharing your diary with your friends, you're missing one of the best parts of MFP.

Thank you for your attention.

My first thought is "what's it to you how they get their calories?" My second thought is, "big words from a tough guy with a closed diary..."

MFP seriously needs a 'like' button!

ohnuts14

I understand what you're talking about. People don't really look when they congratulate someone on being under their goal. They're congratulating people on being under, without really looking at what they did. I don't want to be congratulated on eating 500 calories, that's not a good day. Having a friend who actually reads ones diary and pokes a little where needed, that's a good thing, and that shows they care. Not everyone likes that, but I think it's nice. I mean, you don't want to go simon cowell on their *kitten* haha, as many people pointed out, someone may have not eaten so well but it may be an achievement in comparison to what they normally do. It's okay to sugar coat things a little, like... way to go on staying within your calorie range, try to eat some more veggies though! You know? Which... I'm pretty sure is what you were saying! I usually avoid commenting on peoples diary completions, because I really don't know their situations, and I'm always afraid of saying something that will offend people. If they complain or ask for advice or help, I will let them know what I think, because otherwise I don't know if they WANT help, and I don't like giving my opinion unless asked, as I'm a scardy cat. However, I admire those who say whatever they think, and always give their opinion. It's a very genuine quality, and it shows they care.

AllanMisner

I understand what you're talking about. People don't really look when they congratulate someone on being under their goal. They're congratulating people on being under, without really looking at what they did. I don't want to be congratulated on eating 500 calories, that's not a good day. Having a friend who actually reads ones diary and pokes a little where needed, that's a good thing, and that shows they care. Not everyone likes that, but I think it's nice. I mean, you don't want to go simon cowell on their *kitten* haha, as many people pointed out, someone may have not eaten so well but it may be an achievement in comparison to what they normally do. It's okay to sugar coat things a little, like... way to go on staying within your calorie range, try to eat some more veggies though! You know? Which... I'm pretty sure is what you were saying! I usually avoid commenting on peoples diary completions, because I really don't know their situations, and I'm always afraid of saying something that will offend people. If they complain or ask for advice or help, I will let them know what I think, because otherwise I don't know if they WANT help, and I don't like giving my opinion unless asked, as I'm a scardy cat. However, I admire those who say whatever they think, and always give their opinion. It's a very genuine quality, and it shows they care.

This young lady summed it up much better than I did.

And my diary is not locked. It is open to my friends list. And yes, I want them to call me on my crap.

sirihermine

I feel like the OP doesn't critisize people for slipping up and eating crap once in a while, he is pointing out that as a friend on MFP, simply saying "good job" when someone is under their calories is just not being a very good friend.
I see that sometimes on my friendlist too, people who have eaten food that's bad for you but still managed to go under calories get a bunch of comments saying"yay" "wtg" etc. While others who is maybe 150 cals over that day, but have been eating a lot of really good, healthy food, getting a lot of veggies and fruit in that day don't get any comments on how they've been doing at all. It makes it kind of obvious that people are not looking at the diary before commenting, and to me the point is just lost then...

(BTW I changes my settings so the notification when I have finished my diary that day doesn't show up. It just felt silly getting all the cheers when I knew I had a lazy day filled with crap food. My diary is open though, so if any of my friends want to see what I eat they can...)