Why Would You Keep Your Food Diary Private?

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  • stfuriada
    stfuriada Posts: 445 Member
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    It's none of anyone's business.
  • Bobby__Clerici
    Bobby__Clerici Posts: 741 Member
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    I get more wtf how are you eating that and losing weight comments about it...
    I don't care
    Because it is working
    ^^^^^
    Same here; people need to know that one need not go food Nazi to reach optimal health.
    Life is to be lived!
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
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    I get good breakfast/lunch/dinner ideas by peeking at others' diaries!
  • Topher1978
    Topher1978 Posts: 975 Member
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    I think that if you are looking for support from others, or supporting others yourself, you owe it to you and your support circle to keep it open. You also may be helping a lot of people without knowing it. Perhaps you are giving people good ideas. Now, if you are eating like fat you, and you do not want others to know (which is still lying to self) then it is what it is. My .02
  • Mlkmaid
    Mlkmaid Posts: 356 Member
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    I just started and for some reason it seems too personal. I'm sure after I'm here a while and know the ropes I'll be oversharing because that's the REAL me! LOL.
  • Quiggs1982
    Quiggs1982 Posts: 14
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    I keep mine private. The way I eat is based on what works for me. I don't care what other people think about my eating since what I am doing is working.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    cause its usually a lot of alcohol and coffee and I would prefer to be a good example to others. There should be bacon in there too.
  • PicklePlum
    PicklePlum Posts: 192 Member
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    My diary is open to MFP friends, but just turned off the announcement. I feel like I can be more accurate and honest if less attention was drawn to my diary each day. But I don't want to close it off completely just in case someone actually does find it a good read lol. I doubt I'm a good example :drinker: but I'm satisfied with my eating habits.

    I have yet to receive any criticism on my diary. Probably someone deleted me for eating a cupcake...but oh well.
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
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    it's because i eat children, and dog food. ya caught me.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    I keep mine private because I don't want or need any advice or encouragement on my food choices. I don't want to be told "it's okay, tomorrow will be a better day" because I logged a loaded baked potato for dinner and had cheesecake with extra,extra, extra whipped cream for dessert. No, TODAY was a great day because I worked out and planned for the foods that I ate and I was still under calories.

    I know how many servings of fruits and veggies I should eat, how much dairy I aim for, how much protein, etc. and I do a good job of getting those nutrients in and still enjoy plenty of treats. Actually, I'm sure I enjoy way more treats than most people do because my base calorie goal is 2230 and with exercise I can usually go up to 2800+ most days, so I have lots of room to eat lots of good healthy stuff and lots of junk, too. It works for me, it makes me happy, and I just don't like dealing with people who don't understand that, even friends and family.
  • Jenne1979
    Jenne1979 Posts: 29 Member
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    Why? Well because some people think they know it all... I am doing what works for me, and if that means that I have 1 coffee a day and a chocolate before bed to avoid a major bingefest than that is what I will do. I shared my diary at one point and people would say things that didn't fit in withwhat I am trying to achieve. On the other hand I have seen diary entries that are horrible....and kept my comments to myself! :happy:
  • rockangel8907
    rockangel8907 Posts: 429 Member
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    I have mine open and for the most part my mfp friends are supportive, but I do not enjoy nitpicking. If you have to point out one tiny thing I 'need to change' such as my water intake....then I think I'm doing pretty damn good. And please use common sense when critiquing, if someone doesn't log their water but logs every thing else they consume( I don't because it has no impact on my calories in or out) and they have logged only one other beverage all day it's pretty safe to say they are probably drinking water.
  • vicrandom
    vicrandom Posts: 80 Member
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    Judgment about what I eat is deeply tied to my shame/guilt complex about food, so for now, the diary is staying closed. I'm hoping that I can continue being totally honest with myself, whereas if I open it up, I'll want to hide my lower moments... or even worse, have moments I think of as "successes" be criticized as poor choices (I do rock some some "harm reduction" at times).

    In addition, my macros are kinda weird - my calories are coming almost in thirds from each macro, rather than being heavily weighted towards carbs. If I were doing this with a nutritionist's supervision, I'd might be able to shake off any comments about it; as it is, I'm more doing it from a "this is working for me, I feel full after I eat, my bodily experience of high sugar has improved, I'm under my calorie goal, STFU" perspective. It's easy to say now, sure, but but I know I'm still at a point where comments about it could wreck me. And yes, I am planning to get back to a nutritionist/trainer at some point, but again, want to solidify the habits of tracking and portion control so that gentle professional criticism doesn't derail them.

    Hey, I'm not ashamed of my thin skin. I fully intend to share my diary at some point - I have a tendency to hit a motivation WALL and just flip the proverbial desk of my health effort, and I know a few kind/inspirational/motivational words would help when that happens - but for right now, I think there's a greater risk of being derailed by someone's comment than re-railed by it.
  • kluvit
    kluvit Posts: 435 Member
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    Mine is open to my friends who do not judge me for my "all things within moderation" eating style and do not tell me to eat less ice cream and more rice cakes. :happy: In fact, they are happy to learn that McDonald's small hamburger + small fry ~ 500 calories.
  • tikkathyme
    tikkathyme Posts: 28 Member
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    I keep my diary private because i'm not interested in anyone's comments on what I'm eating. That's the short, straightforward answer.

    To expand a bit on that...

    If I was eating the way I think I should and still not losing weight I would consider making my diary public in order to get advice. I just don't want unsolicited commentary on my food choices. I want approval from *me* before I get approval from anyone else.

    I understand that when people make their diaries public it doesn't necessarily mean they're looking for approval; that's just the way I feel when I talk to people about food. Then I feel like I'm giving them some power over me-- regardless of whether that line of thinking makes sense to anyone else, that's where my mind goes with it!

    I got fat because I looked to other people to see if I was worthy or not. I always fell short and then overate to mask my feelings of sadness and loneliness. I feel that in order to get over that issue I need to be fierce about making sure I don't open myself up to wanting validation from others in this arena. Additionally, I have some serious shame problems about food and eating, and I can see how allowing people to make unsolicited comments on my food choices-- good or ill-- could activate some of that stuff.

    Not that I wouldn't want congratulations-- of course we all deserve and need pats on the back and encouragement regularly! But for where I am right now it's just better for me and my success if I keep it private.

    I agree 100% It's personal for me, and I'm not really looking for congrats/advice/criticism from anyone on here. I appreciate reading the message boards and learning from/contributing to the community, but my day to day is my business.
  • Sweet_Pea0107
    Sweet_Pea0107 Posts: 90
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    My diary is private because I don't use it. I never changed the settings I really didn't see the point. When I was logging I found that too many people view their opinions as fact and tried to shove their "facts" down my throat. I will never have an open diaryagain because I am not looking for in put on the way I eat from strangers. I have medical conditions and have to eat a certain way so I can keep from having to take prescrition meds.
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    Never got comments on when it was open so I locked it, didn't get any comments on why it was locked so does it really matter?
  • Cherbear67
    Cherbear67 Posts: 245 Member
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    I use my diary but keep it private.... I am on a program and people from what I seen have all kinds of things to say. What works for one may not work for another.. I have done fine on my own and just started to keep track for myself the last couple of months.. The last 2 years I haven't bothered.. To me it keeps me accountable for MY OWN personal routine.
  • wiltl
    wiltl Posts: 188 Member
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    Because I'm accountable to no one but myself.

    I started using this as opposed to a spreadsheet and Google/paper & pen because of the simplicity of use and I've gotten a lot of great information and chuckles out of the message boards.

    This is an old thread, but I've seen the question come up quite a bit in the last 11 months I've been on here.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    it's because i eat children, and dog food. ya caught me.
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

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