Closed Diaries?

JSheehy1965

I keep mine open to stay accountable to my friends and also to get some advice if needed. Constructive criticism is always welome!

Kayley

My food log is public and I try to complete it everyday. It motivates me to make better food choices knowing that people will be checking it out when I'm done for the day. :laugh:

LauraSmyth28

Well I keep mine open even though I've been told a million times I eat too many carbs.

But hey, I've lost 29lbs so I must be doing something right.

I wouldn't keep it closed because I don't really see a point in filling in a diary if I'm the only one who sees it. Why not just write down your calories on a piece of paper? I've nothing to be ashamed of in my diary and neither do the rest of you.

paxier

You have been on this site for almost a year and have to ask this question? Apparently you must skip right on by all the nasty hateful posts. Good for you! Site must be super supportive then for you...for others not so much.

W.O W !!! Yes i did sign up a long time ago, but in fact have only started using/logging my foods 2 or so months ago. GEEZ!!!

yes good for me!! thanks.

paxier

I'm such a *****. I just locked mine up in honor of this thread. LOL!
[/quote
haha you rebel! :laugh:

sullykat

There are plenty of people that leave pretty nasty messages for some people's diaries. I now will only leave my diary open to my friends.

Hmmm haven't seen that in the time I've been here. Why do you care what other people say? MFP is your personal health journey to success. Negative comments push me to try harder. If you only hear the good what do you gain and why do you need friends to stroke your ego?

Negative comments don't have that effect on everyone. For some people it just discourages and depresses them. And it's not a matter of needing to have my ego stroked or wanting only good comments. As far as the food diary goes I don't particularly want ANY comments, negative or positive. I know what I'm eating, and whether it's healthy or not, I don't need other people offering their unsolicited opinions on what I eat. And I don't even have friends who would make negative comments, I just don't care to have everything on display for anyone to poke their noses into.

Agreed! Women (I am aware I am generalizing here, and DO NOT mean ALL women, or just women) tend to be a little more sensitive than men are. I noticed this at the gym, and talked to my trainer at the time about it. My boxing coach was a man, and he thought that if he told me I was doing terrible, that it would make me want to work harder... WRONG! made me want to give up. My female trainer said that with more experience as a trainer, you get to know that more than 50% of the time, women do not respond well to that kind of support, but men do.

messyinthekitchen

Not everyone is here for support though. Some people are here only to track their calories and log their exercise.

Nikki_42

People that complain about not losing weight and are asking for help on the message boards should have open diary's. Otherwise they don't really want help, they just want to complain.

Outside off that, the only reason a diary should be open is so I can still ideas.

Nikki_42

Not everyone is here for support though. Some people are here only to track their calories and log their exercise.

Agree. But it's such a great support system they should be using it fully.

holly1283

I don't understand the concept of not being supportive because you can't see thier diaries. I'm supportive of all my friends and have no idea what they eat. If they want specific help that is one thing and they usually ask. I would only open it to people I trust explicitly. And since I know no one that well on here, I'm closed.

KelseyDawn84

Not everyone is here for support though. Some people are here only to track their calories and log their exercise.

Agree. But it's such a great support system they should be using it fully.

What? That's quite the assumption about what I need. There are other ways to gain a support system. And frankly, sometimes this one sucks.

mwest11

I have my diary CLOSED. I am here to record and track calories and hold myself accountable, not let someone snoop in my diary and let me know what I did right or wrong. If someone were to see my results down the road and then ask about my eating habits I might share or I might not. It's my business and I think it's pretty weird that you think it's so important...

dvisser1

Not everyone is here for support though. Some people are here only to track their calories and log their exercise.

Exactly. This is why I'm here. MFP has been an excellent tool that I use to log what I eat and what exercise I do. It keeps me being honest with myself about how much crap I'm eating. But this journey to get healthy is a personal journey for me. What I'm doing is working for me, it may or may not work for you.

If you want to know what I'm doing to get ideas, ask me. Don't be some creepy stalker or troll.

Ihatechokos4eva

Mine is Private purely because I know I won't be honest if it was public. I'd skip logging the little things. And we all know it's the little things that add up! :blushing:

sizzle92

I also closed mine because I was worried an AA sponsor was going to come knocking on my door. :laugh:

Nikki_42

Not everyone is here for support though. Some people are here only to track their calories and log their exercise.

Agree. But it's such a great support system they should be using it fully.

What? That's quite the assumption about what I need. There are other ways to gain a support system. And frankly, sometimes this one sucks.

I wasn't trying to offend you. But you're right, I am assuming. By the time a person decides to track every single calorie on a public internet site, it's probably safe to assume, even if only a little, that they are looking for some type of extra support they didn't find anywhere else.

HeidiHoMom

Because I don't want to be judged when I have a day of McDonald's...

This!

Mine is open but I don't care if other people's are closed. And if someone started wagging their finger at me to not have a treat every now and then or offer other unsolicited advice that would bother me.

Also, why do you need to congratulate them? Maybe they don't care if they get random congratulations from people.

chachadiva150

Not everyone is here for support though. Some people are here only to track their calories and log their exercise.

Agree. But it's such a great support system they should be using it fully.

What? That's quite the assumption about what I need. There are other ways to gain a support system. And frankly, sometimes this one sucks.

I wasn't trying to offend you. But you're right, I am assuming. By the time a person decides to track every single calorie on a public internet site, it's probably safe to assume, even if only a little, that they are looking for some type of extra support they didn't find anywhere else.

Nope. Maybe the online tracking tools are just a bit easier than tracking on paper. That's why many people use MFP. I don't need the "support" of strangers.

HeidiHoMom

Some people are just private or sensitive...they don't WANT your remarks or input. I don't know why that's so hard to understand??

thanks I DO understand. however do they not want SUPPORT either from their MFP buddies?

I don't consider telling me what to eat/not eat SUPPORT unless I have asked for help.

Support me by congratulating how many days I have logged in, or that I did exercise or that I tracked at all. OR NOT.
Personally, the "friend" thing on here doesn't motivate or support me. My family and IRL friends support me. The diary tracker for me is a tool.

ProjectTae

i don't like closed diaries, it defeats the whole purpose

I don't necessarily agree, my diary is open but I don't mind closed diaries, I think it's each individuals choice as to whether they want their diary closed or open, the purpose is to lose weight not share recopies, and as someone earlier stated there are plenty of open diaries to get ideas from (and a whole forum dedicated to that very thing), but we all have that nosy nature, (or at least I do) and like to creep friends diaries every now and then

coliema

I keep my diary open for a few reasons. I like feedback from my friends on here on what I've been eating, and if they have any suggestions. I also like the fact that I can open my diary up to others that need help with low calorie or healthy meals, they can ask for the recipe and I can give them it It's gives them a chance to see what other options there are out there. I love being able to see my friends diaries to see what they are eating, to ask their opinions on certain foods, etc.

mici0427

Coming from having an eating disorder I have a hard enough time eating food let alone having others pick at it. I don't look at others' diaries because I eat what I can, they eat what they can, and everybody is happy. I haven't had any of my friends complain about it. We're a mix of open and closed.

Tzippy7

If they stay within their calorie limits, why are you concerned about what they're eating?

because after initial weight loss a calorie is not just a calorie. All calories are not created equal. Sodium is also something people often eat to much of and then wonder why the scale reads a higher number.

bikinibeliever

Mine is open. I just wish I could see the looks on some peoples faces when they read it.

It's comments like this that make me go look. :laugh:

Mine is open to friends.

tlc12078

Honestly, I keep mine closed cus I really hate eating breakfast. I just dont want to hear it, I am doing fine and have tons of energy. Just if I eat in the morning, the whole day, for some reason I am weighed down, you can criticize now, I wont listen, it weighs me down, no energy for the rest of the day. Think what you want, you know? SO I work out in the morning, eat a small lunch, eat a good size supper, adn exercise some more n have a descent snack. I only like advice when I want it.

Tzippy7

Because I don't want to be judged when I have a day of McDonald's...

This!

Mine is open but I don't care if other people's are closed. And if someone started wagging their finger at me to not have a treat every now and then or offer other unsolicited advice that would bother me.

Also, why do you need to congratulate them? Maybe they don't care if they get random congratulations from people.

I like when people call me out on having a bad day, and knowing that I cant keep my mistakes a secret makes me not want to make them. I think accountability is one of the best parts of MFP.

texasheathers

My diary was closed for a long time, because I was using MFP for logging only - not looking at forums or for support. Now that I'm using MFP for forums - I've added some friends and made my diary friends only. Now, if I had someone on my friends list annoying me or making snarky comments - I'd just delete them. But, everyone I have met here has been super nice so far. Who wants to analyze your food diary anyway?? Good grief - to each his own!! If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all people!

rachelbethany

I made mine closed to people who aren't my "friends" just because I got paranoid that people I know in real life were checking to see what all I was eating. I know. Body issues. But that's probably the same reason other people hide their logs entirely. Sometimes being honest with YOURSELF is all that's really important.

silhouettes

Mine is closed because I want to concentrate on my own needs and not have everyone else pointing and prouding when I do something wrong. I do have a lock key on it though so those I am close to I let see it. I just don't feel like EVERYONE should be able to see it from the beginning, I don't want advice from someone that doesn't have a clue, won't listen and thinks everything they say is right and that happens more than you'd think.

lucythinmint

Because I am on here to lose weight for me, not for other people to complain that they can't see my diary.

I go back and forth between open and private. Even if it is open, I won't "finish" so that it gets posted. I lose my weight my way, I eat what I want and it works for me.

I am in my 8th month of being ED free and the last thing I want is someone on a high horse telling me how or what I should be eating. Or if I had a bad day and didn't make it to my calories, or I had a great day and ate everything I saw. It is no ones business.

And people can be jerks. A few harsh comments to someone who is doing everything they can to get healthy can be devastating. I keep my friends list low because I don't want the drama that comes with people who feel entitled to see what I ate.