Why Would You Keep Your Food Diary Private?

sg1982

I don't want people to know I'm really a zombie and only eat braaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnssss.

:grumble: So, I am. ha!

CorrieJane

i think its good to have it open-you can get new ideas/tips that will help!

kstep88

Mine is open, but I am seriously thinking about closing it. I can't have a large lunch and a small dinner without having people tell me I need to eat more dinner. Can't you have a late lunch and eat more and then have a smaller dinner before bed? If I am late for work and miss breakfast, I hear about it. Then, I feel the need to explain why I ate the meals I ate and when and I feel I have to defend my choices. To me, it is becoming a lot of negative energy. I need positive energy right now.

^^^ It sounds like you need new friends. You need friends who motivate you to do better, but understand when your day goes badly, or you just don't have as much time to eat. Life is different every day, so you food diary will be too.

.

Savyna

Here's what I found funny: someone on my friends list said for us to kick her up the rear if we see her eating things she shouldn't be/if she is eating badly. However this chick keeps her diary private. I've mentioned it about 10 times but she won't open it up and I don't know why. i think after I post this I'm gonna leave a clear post on her wall about it because I don't see how I can be a supportive friend if all I can say over and over is "have you made good choices today?" "did you eat good?" and they never answer at all. -.- I could see how some people are shy about the diary but from day 0 I said I would be honest with my weight loss and own up to what I ate good and "bad" and the diary is open because I've got nothing to hide.

kmshred

less hassle

mtgrandma

I just checked my settings and saw that my food diary was only open to friends so I made the plunge and opened it to the public. I think I will be eating alot different this coming week, lol!!!!

luvnthenewme

Some people on this site keep a diary closed and then you find out they are eating 500 calories a day, and a bunch of people are blindly congratulating them on "staying under their calorie goal."

That is exactly why I don't comment on my friends who have private diaries. There are some of my friends who I know are not open to advice (only looking for encouragement), so in those cases I just keep my opinions to myself.

asia_hanebach

Personally I keep mine private. Mostly because my food diary on mfp is very rarely accurate. I do most of my calorie counting in my head. I've been counting calories for years, so I can do it relatively accurately in my head. The reason that i started using mfp is because I'd sometimes forget about certain foods I had eaten. I would remember that I was at a certain amount of calories, I would go to re-add them up, and I'd come up say 100 calories short. Then I would assume I had mis-calculated, I'd eat that 100 calories, only to remember later on that I had forgotten about a random 100 calorie snack I had eaten. So I use mfp to make sure I haven't forgotten anything, but by the time I get to the point where I have say 300 or 400 calories left, I usually don't bother going through the effort of signing onto mfp just to fill them in. So I think if I kept my diary public, I'd end up getting a lot of comments as to why I hadn't eaten a dinner (when I had) or why I'm only eating 2/3 of my calories, when I really am eating what I'm suppose to.

DaughterOfTheMostHighKing

It is hard, because it's very revealing about who you are... you are what you eat...

wittlelacey

I won't deny that there are benefits of opening up your diary, but my food diary is for me and me only. Have fun with your open diaries, I just prefer to keep it private and it's not a big deal. Everyone has their own preferences.

monicamk1975

Mine's private. I really don't care to hear other peoples comments on if I eat back my exercise calories or if I'm eating enough because I'm breastfeeding. I eat about 1500 or more calories a day. My daughter is 20 months old and eats regular meals....she's fine and my milk supply hasn't suffered. I eat a lot of good fats, lots of protien, fruits and vegetables. And I love the support with weight loss, I just dont care to be told how to eat by people who eat worse than I do, while none of them are experts on the subject.

gaylelynnbell

for me it's not about any of that fear of being judged stuff - I'm just plain not looking for advice or help with my food. =D what I don't get is why it bothers people so much?

Exactly my thoughts. The only person I am accountable to is myself and that seems to be working just fine for me. I don't ask for advice and certainly don't want unsolicited advice and criticism from people I don't know.

anna_love

wheni first in join'd MFP i had it my DIARYPRIVATE ABOUT 1 WEEK AGO OR 2 I OPEND FOR ONLY FRIEND TO SEE ....
I HAD IT PRIVATE CUZ I DIDNT KNOW HOW PEOPLE WERE HERE ABOUT ME OVER EATING OR EATING TO LESS ...
BUT IM KEEPING IT OPEN FOR NOW MY FRIEND BEEN HELPING ME A LOT .. IF I EAT LESS THEN 500 THEY TELL ME I WILL NOT LOSS WEIGH CUZ IM EATING LESS THEN 1,200 BUT IM HAPPY FOR NOW KEEPING MY DIARY OPEN

neverstray

It is hard, because it's very revealing about who you are... you are what you eat...

Or drink.

Pollywog39

Mine's closed.

Case closed

:smokin: :noway: :smokin: :noway: :smokin:

Malrose01

I mean, sometimes I use all my calories in a day on tea and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Generally, I already put a lot of time and effort into planning my meals, weighing stuff and measuring out portions, getting my calorie count exact, trying to drink more water, exercise, and record it all.. I don't need people watching exactly what I eat. I'm watching it enough for everyone.

thinmintme

Mine's locked but if people message me, I'll most likely give them the password to it. No biggie.
Personally, I'm insecure about it. Although, I'm practically anonymous on here, I still feel it's something I don't want to share. Heck, I'd feel self conscious if a family member or a friend went through my food diary because that's just how I am.
I also keep a little exercise diary IRL and that's pretty much sacred. lol!
I think, with time, I'll let go of my insecurities and open it up. It WAS public in the beginning but then a month or so in, I locked it. Ironically, I've been doing better that way as well. *knocks on wood*

marlanc92

I've been on here for a while but I don't know how to make my dairy public..maybe it is i don't know. How do I check to see?

coraliethomas

Im always under calorie.. and I just don't want to hear it.... my food diary is a small portion of my whole day, and somedays I just dont have time to prepare an awesome full calorie meal, so I grub on something small and healthy. It used to be that Id head to macdonalds and grub there instead... Im not doing that anymore, I eat something small and healthy when Im on the run... but people dont see that and get on me about being under calorie. Now I just keep in closed for the most part.

lilRicki

because people are @ssholes and choose to berate you for having sour soothers instead of eating 100% clean like they do...ahem...sorry, that's why I had my diary private, people were getting really rude. But it's open again, and i don't care what people have to say about it. If it's not constructive criticism and you're going to belittle me, I'm going to delete you from my friends list, simple as that.

scribe313

I definitely get the benefits to sharing my food diary... but I'm scared! I feel like that's something I'm working my way up to, and will probably open it up to the public within the next couple weeks. Just got to get that confidence up and really get used to this lifestyle change! Never been so open with my eating/dieting habits before. It's a lot to get used to!

I see where you are coming from. For me, I had a eating problem. I would after work go and buy a meal at a fast food joint, park away from people and scarf it down. Putting my diary as private too me is doing that, hiding. People you care about know what you eat on a daily basis why should a bunch of anonymous internet turds be a worry to you ?

I use to drive behind my building at work and eat a twenty piece wing because I didn't want anyone to know how much I was eating.

Mom0fTwo

I find knowing that other people can see what I eat motivates me to make better choices. . . . most of the time anyway.

this^^

sparkly96

It's a matter of personal preference. I keep mine closed and dont find it difficult at all to be accountable for what i eat or dont eat. I have lost weight successfully before without anyone seeing my food journals and suggesting what i should or shouldnt eat. Keeping my diary closed works for me. Everyone on here is entitled to do what's right for them without being judged and questioning why people keep their diaries closed could be taken as a form of judgement. Why can't this topic just be left alone and let people be and do their own thing, just sayin...

fteale

Why would I make it public?

Phoenix59

I consider my food diary just as private as my personal diary and I share neither with anyone. I'm hard enough on myself as it is, so I can do without the "help" from other people.

WalkingGirl1985

I have mine open to friends. I debated keeping it private..I'd find myself eating a lot of processed foods and less vegs. I was afraid of judgement. If your friends are getting on you, its because they care. :bigsmile:

Aureilie

Mine is open to my MFP friends. I see no reason to make it public.

invisibubble

In short - I sometimes get too impressionable when I go through "episodes". I'd take any misinformed comments to heart and likely end up eating nothing again. Or trying something far stupider.
I lose my sense of rational thought and self at times, and it's hard enough without extra people confusing me.
No, privacy works for me. My fiance oversees me. I know a fair bit about nutrition and my body now, and while I know more than he does about these things, he knows when I'm not myself and therefore how to keep me physically well. It would be highly detrimental to both of us should I open it up to looky-loos and people who think they can "help" or that they know better.

dme1977

I keep mine open to my MFT friends...if they wanna look, go ahead.
the way I see it is, its MY diary and what I eat isnt going to affect anyone but ME. I have nothing to hide and I log EVERYTHING, I dont lie to myself about what I ate because in the end its MY DIARY. . now I did have to adjust my calories up by 100 calories because i saw an overage of 50-100 cal a day and It wasnt that i didnt want other people to see me overaging its that I felt i needed a more realistic goal. .
For other people though, not everyone wants or needs their most intimate diaries read by other people. Maybe when they become more confident in themselves and the progress they are making they will open themselves to others. Until then, its not our place to judge. :flowerforyou:

LenaMena87

Mine's closed.

Case closed

:smokin: :noway: :smokin: :noway: :smokin:

Haha this made me laugh!