Poll: YES or NO? Saying "Great Job!" On Your Diary

mgpage

And I absolutely hate getting that PM that says ... "Whoa! A little too much wine today." or "You went way over on sodium today good luck ever having abs." <--(it happened) ....I logged it, so trust me, I know

Oh I know! I was in my first week of logging and I got some of those critical comments and I'm thinking, who asked you to be my police? And I wanted to ask some questions on the forums, but I saw how people jumped so harshly on others and decided to stay away.

I like straight shooting, but I'm making good progress and am in good shape so anyone who is consistently critical without either a) being a good friend already or b) my asking their opinion gets X'ed off the friends list.

So, what do you want from your friends? No, GREAT JOB, when your diary looks like crappy but you managed to stay under or at goal. And NO, pointing out the BAD things you should be doing in moderation, that caused you to be over goal. If your MFP friends never commented, what then? Would there be a post to whine about that?

I am thankful for all of my friends and there comments, regardless if they have read my diary or not. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, or wanting to be supportive but unable to read everyone's diaries. We have all have a life outside of MFP.

Not angry, just confused about what is wanted here?

Smiler106

Rule your world as you may ... But don't encourage poor choices from others. :huh:

Wow, you are so judgemental it's unbelieveable. You must be a clairvoyant as well as a nutritionist.

mo_is_here

My diary is set to private. I only congratulate friends on their work out or weight loss not on their diary. I dont care or have the time to read everyones diary. Im not the food police.

Dilfster

i'll take any comment...good, bad, whatever... at the very least, a response (no matter how bad it might be) reminds me that other people can see what I am doing.

Wileyjoe

I don't have any friends, so I just leave messages to myself like "WTG!","Great Job!", "LMAO!"

RunHardBeStrong

I don't reply on a diary post unless I've actually looked at their day and it was a good day. I don't reply at all about a bad diary unless they ask for advice or come on the next day and complaining that they just don't get why they feel like crap and can't seem to lose any weight. Even then they usually don't take any solid advice (not just mine as others say the same as I do often) and keep going on the same way then the next week it's the same exact post. "I'm sick again, feel like crap and my scale hasn't budged." SMH!

elenathegreat

There are so many different opinions as to what's the right thing to eat, I don't think you would get a stright answer. Personally I don't post my food journal (when I do) to be judged.

you are taking all the fun out of judging others....

PHATmommy68

I really feel that what one person does is no one else's business! I am a healthy eater but have an occasional sweet tooth! As long as I am under calories and doing my work out, I'm happy! That happiness isn't your business!

therealangd

I don't reply on a diary closing post and I don't close my diary.

PHATmommy68

I don't reply on a diary closing post and I don't close my diary.
I agree with you!

legacysh

Personally for me, when I throw out a generic great job -- it's for actually logging, especially when I can't see the diary. When I first started, it was soooo hard for me to consistently log, so (to me) logging in itself is worthy of support. It's a start, especially for those at the very beginning. Besides, who am I to judge the quality of the food they are eating...I am certainly not perfect in my own choices.

On the other hand, once I have a friend that I know well and who is consistently logging, I'll be sure to give more specific praise when they deserve it. If they have a crappy food day, I'll be sure to give them a "tomorrow is a new day" or something like that. Personally, I never critique unless specifically asked ... because we are all here for the same reason because we've had the same struggle. And I absolutely hate getting that PM that says ... "Whoa! A little too much wine today." or "You went way over on sodium today good luck ever having abs." <--(it happened) ....I logged it, so trust me, I know :drinker:

I agree, I actually am commenting on the fact that they logged their food and completed a diary...I do not judge others, I offer support for their daily activities. I am not a nutritionist and even though I know what is good for me, I am not qualified to give opinions on others diaries.

vs1023

I dont understand people congratulating other for eating crap yet coming in under cals. or congrats for 800 cal days. This tells me that either people dont read the food diaries or that they have no idea what healthy eating is

Yes this. If i'm going to comment on it saying they were under calorie goal or even if they weren't I check the diary to see. There are days I was pretty under and would write a note and people on my friends list would often say "Sorry you were so busy to get enough cals in, or exercise" etc. So i know they read it. I think it's pointless to just be a robot and comment just to comment, but that's me. It's like message boards where you have journals and someone posts "My dad died" and a couple posts later someone says "Hope you had a great weekend" because they didn't bother to read up.

JanieJack

I think it would be cool if your friends got notified if you'd stayed within say 5% of your daily calories, whether over or under.

I love this idea! I think it's a shame the system makes you feel penalized for going 10 calories over. Then again, part of what I love about MFP is when I see that, I go get on the treadmill for a minute, so I'm not complaining :-)

SkinnyShadow

I don't post my diary, ever.
I don't complete my diary every night because I think it's really personal and don't want anyone's opinion unless I ask for it. I post my exercise and that's it. I think people who complete their diaries but don't post, just want encouragement without being judged, and those who do post their diaries are open to criticism. I check the diaries more often than not - but sometimes if I see a bunch of way to goes I'll just follow suit cause there are a lot of diaries to check and I don't have time to bother. I don't think it should be taken so personally if someone gives praise for someone being under their calorie goal even if that person ate crap food etc, because it's just showing that that someone is trying to give some encouragement.

cmriverside

I don't get why people even have that in their feeds. I never comment on food. Rarely comment on exercise.

But then I have super smart friends who know exactly what they are doing, and who rarely complain or seek validation.

JanieJack

I dont mind if I get congratulated for eating crap even when I am under my cals, at least I was under Right !

Me neither... especially since I travel a lot and sometimes my choice is Jack-in-the-box or not eat for 12 hours. Since I already fast til 4 two days a week, I REALLY don't wanna "not eat" when it's an eating day. Momma gets cranky with no food, lol!

And I think it's great when folks congratulate me (well, except for the time I was sick- I appreciated the thought though), but I admittedly was feeling kinda bad for not reciprocating when the reason is because I just haven't had time during this last trip to really read everyone's diaries.

qtiekiki

I never comment on the diary because I don't look at them. I comment on the exercises and updates only.

JanieJack

I agree, I actually am commenting on the fact that they logged their food and completed a diary...I do not judge others, I offer support for their daily activities. I am not a nutritionist and even though I know what is good for me, I am not qualified to give opinions on others diaries.

I like this

Scott613

I prefer a WTG and imagine my mfp friends doing this when they write it.

dionfox2004

Ditto!

kdelost630

I don't comment on people's diaries unless I actually open them up and read the food/calorie intake. I hate when people comment on my diary when it wasn't good.

secretlobster

It's tough. Sort of like congratulating someone on being pregnant when you don't know her :P

Unless I knew the person well enough for them to involve me in their weight goals, or they made a comment themselves about what's going on with them, I'd probably refrain from posting.

NYCDutchess

I personally think it's fine. I do appreciate when people look and offer advice. But really, even logging in is a challenge some days so doing so every day is something to be proud of be it whether you go over or under.

greeneyedredneckangel

it is not my place to judge how someone eats i do read the diary but i also understand people have their days and it does no good to just withhold encouragement . encourgment can come from a you will do better tommorrow if they are over or if they are under your body needs those calories so dont be afraid to eat to your goal some sort of encourage ment goes better than none even if you dont agree that is how i say it we are all in different stages and we all have different opionions all of us needs different nutriants for our bodies no one is the same if you dont agree with there diary then make a general observation but be supportive

DreamiJeani

Since I rarely have time to read people's diary I try to only comment if they have an explanatory statement in their comments. That way I know I'm not congratulating someone on eating crap! However, I feel weight loss (if intended) is worth congratulating on, even if sick.

I dont have my diary open cause Im just not ready to be that open but I sometimes make a note about what exercise I specifically did, or if my eating was good or bad. I need to do it more often as a compromise

WalkingGirl1985

I feel the same way, I only have a few rare friends that do that too..I normally shrug it off and think maybe some of them are crunched on time.

TrailRunner61

I guess I'm a positive kind of person but I like to compliment everyone. If you read their diary and it's nearly empty, it doesn't mean that is all they ate. Or maybe they had a bad day like I did while my hubby was in the hospital the other day. I could NOT leave his side to go eat. Period. I also didn't log some stuff that I eventually got to eat. Encouragement and feeling like you're doing a good job towards your goals is important, even on bad days. However, being a recovered anorexic, I would not encourage or cheer someone on if they were purposely eating way too little or too much and proud of it. I'd probably stop commenting after saying I don't think they are eating enough.

PinkEarthMama

I'm an avid diary reader! And a commentor.

No open diary? Not commenting.

Got close to your calorie goal, but was over by a bit? Great job. You can bet your behind I'm going to say something.

Didn't get anywhere near your goal because you were working and were WAAAAAAAAAAAY under? I'm going to say something. Usually " Could you fit in a bedtime snack? "

Came in 1 calorie under, hit all your macros, and I see chocolate on your diary? HIGH FIVE

kaetmarie

And I absolutely hate getting that PM that says ... "Whoa! A little too much wine today." or "You went way over on sodium today good luck ever having abs." <--(it happened) ....I logged it, so trust me, I know

Oh I know! I was in my first week of logging and I got some of those critical comments and I'm thinking, who asked you to be my police? And I wanted to ask some questions on the forums, but I saw how people jumped so harshly on others and decided to stay away.

I like straight shooting, but I'm making good progress and am in good shape so anyone who is consistently critical without either a) being a good friend already or b) my asking their opinion gets X'ed off the friends list.

So, what do you want from your friends? No, GREAT JOB, when your diary looks like crappy but you managed to stay under or at goal. And NO, pointing out the BAD things you should be doing in moderation, that caused you to be over goal. If your MFP friends never commented, what then? Would there be a post to whine about that?

I am thankful for all of my friends and there comments, regardless if they have read my diary or not. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism, or wanting to be supportive but unable to read everyone's diaries. We have all have a life outside of MFP.

Not angry, just confused about what is wanted here?

My entire post (the original PM comment was taken from me) was not really about people supporting me, but rather how I support others. I think everyone starts somewhere and it's certainly not a bad thing to encourage those who take positive steps in the right direction. Some have said, why say good job for someone eating 4 donuts and a big mac (paraphrase...can't remember the actual quote)... well, maybe they started eating 6 donuts and a big mac and fries...THAT'S PROGRESS!!! I think sometimes people forget that this is a journey and we are all at different points in it. I personally would never give criticism to what someone else ate unless someone specifically asks for it or I know them well....that being said, I don't freak out when I get someone telling me everything I'm doing wrong. I find it annoying and irritating, but I don't get hurt or upset by it.

My diary is open, so feel free to tell me that I'm over in sodium and fat today and that I didn't eat enough carbs. I logged these things and I realize that. The reason I'm logging is to help better understand what I'm eating and to make positive, sustainable changes. Maybe once I know everything there is to know about healthy eating, I'll feel differently ...but for now, I think a person who logs their food (even "diaries that look like crappy") deserves a little encouragement!

robot_potato

I always make note of how well I ate that day. It bothers me when people congratulate me for coming under my calories if i've eaten crap that day. I like friends who keep me accountable, andi always look through my friends diaries, I will cheer them on as some really do need that, some are just starting out and being under calories is a huge deal for them, who am I to take that away?