WHY HIDE YOUR FOOD DIARY ??

langsyne

I am not sure why people hide there food diary as advice can help and lets be honest if your fat and overweight like i was you need to be honest with yourself.

This might seem harsh but come on people I found being honest with myself one of the biggest steps. I use to lie how fat I was to people and myself.

As long as we're saying things that "might seem harsh," you'll forgive me if I don't take advice from someone who doesn't know the difference between "your" and "you're." You may think I suck because my food diary's private, but I think that a grown man spelling things phonetically is a worse crime -- I guess we all have our things that drive us nuts.

Dont forget "there" and "their" - pet peeve of mine.
I use the food diary to help me track what I am eating. I don't choose to invite the whole wide world to see it. End of story.

rainbowbow

CAUSE IT'S NONE OF YOUR DERN BUSINESS WHAT THE EFF I EAT!

Edwardo27

I see both sides of the argument….

I think having them unlocked is a good idea. I know for me example, it stops me going overboard, I don’t want people thinking I am greedy!! (Only friends I have made on here see mine – it is no public) Plus I personally look at people diaries to get tips on how and what people eat. I would NEVER question or criticize anything on their diary, or even speak about it for that matter – that is bad manners.

However I also see why some people just do not want other people to see this – as long as they are being open and honest to themselves it doesn’t matter.

Maggie_Pie1

I explain in my profile the reasons why mine is locked:

My food diary is locked and will remain that way for a couple reasons:

1) I eat reasonably healthy, but I won't hold my diet up as an example for anybody else to emulate.

2) What I'm doing works for me and I really don't care what anybody else thinks of it.

I certainly don't claim to be any kind of expert and don't have degrees or certifications to back me up, but I've got a decent handle on nutrition. I'm accountable to myself, and don't want or need people who've chosen to starve themselves, eat in a manner different from me and/or who arbitrarily exclude foods (or entire food groups) from their diets trying to tell me how evil my diet is and why I should change it. As SideSteel alluded to above, I don't want/need commentary or accountability to others. I'm 100% responsible and accountable for my efforts and have just never been into the cheerleader/group support mentality. It works for many people and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - it's just not my thing.

OTOH, if we're talking about people who come into the forums to ask advice regarding their diet, why they're stalled, why they're gaining, etc. - then they should certainly open their diaries so people who are inclined to do so can look at them and offer relevant suggestions.

This. And by the same token, what drives a need in people to look at strangers food diaries and give them feedback?

Aviva92

I judge people on the misuse of your and you're and their and there and they're as well. Can't help it. It just doesn't seem that difficult to me to use those words correctly.

Then I get paranoid about messing it up myself, so I usually don't state my judgment.

megsmom2

Because I have enough trolls in my life. I don't need anymore. But if a position opens up, I'll let you know.

KenosFeoh

I can understand why people close their diaries. I've been attacked by someone "all you ever eat is processed junk," which somehow managed to ignore the 3 servings of fresh fruit I'd had that day, and is old fashioned oats and natural peanut butter really processed junk? Just yesterday someone made a snide remark about my less than 1200 calories per day over the past week or so, but I've been sick so meh; no appetite means not eating much - don't we all do that?

But my diary is still open.

megsmom2

I judge people on the misuse of your and you're and their and there and they're as well. Can't help it. It just doesn't seem that difficult to me to use those words correctly.

Then I get paranoid about messing it up myself, so I usually don't state my judgment.

Amen.

Aviva92

I can understand why people close their diaries. I've been attacked by someone "all you ever eat is processed junk," which somehow managed to ignore the 3 servings of fresh fruit I'd had that day, and is old fashioned oats and natural peanut butter really processed junk? Just yesterday someone made a snide remark about my less than 1200 calories per day over the past week or so, but I've been sick so meh; no appetite means not eating much - don't we all do that?

But my diary is still open.

If my friends started making comments like that to me, they would probably be defriended.

aftergypsies

It would be different if people gave actual advice but from my experience, I had people NAG ME about how I was 200 cals below my daily intake and the day wasn't even over yet.... Aside of that, I don't need help with it. I follow the guidelines the site gives me and I am good with that. I don't care about random people giving me their opinions.

penrbrown

My diary would bore the snot out of everyone.

Manually entered calories.
Manually entered calories.
Beef and noodles (homemade recipe).
Manually entered calories.
Coffee.
Manually entered calories.

That's what my day looks like. I only rarely properly enter things. Mostly I just manually enter the calories because it's quicker and more convenient for me (I eat clean. Cook all my own foods).

penrbrown

PS: I don't necessarily trust MFP's food entries so I tend to find the calories elsewhere and then manually enter it here. *shrug*

Lwoodslim

I tend not to log everything when my diary was public to avoid hurtful comments from people and their "advice". When my diary is private, I am more inclined to be honest with myself. I'm here for me, and I know when I have had too much, or made poor decisions. To get the most from this site I prefer to have my diary private. It is a personal choice we each make. Some people are motivated by making their dairy public, others, like myself like to keep that to ourselves. You choose who you associate with here and in the rest of your life; choose people with similar outlooks, or respect that others have different battles and strategies of attack

Pixi_Rex

Hidden from the general public... sometimes from my friends.. simply because I do not need to be told "eat less carbs, more protein etc." I am an adult, I can make my own decision on what I am putting into my pie hole. Also eat more... yeah uh.. some days I am just not hungry so I don't eat all my exercise calories back, other days I am starving so I eat way more than usual. It all works out in the end but I just don't need to be nagged.

If I ASK For advice that is different if I do not ask... do not offer. Thats how it works for me anyways.

elsinora

I lock mine because I've lost 150lbs by myself and now train heavily in marathons and triathlons and I am on here for support or to support others but not necessarily ask for advice. When I seek or look for advice on here, it's mainly about the fitness or exercise questions I have, not what I am consuming.

I'm always honest with myself and unless I explicitly ask for some help or a look at my diary it's my business.

naner61

Because no one on here is a professional and should not be giving me advice about how I eat, and when the day comes that what I am doing no longer works for me then I will seek the advice from a professional and not people on a online community. Plus the less I open myself up to some very critical and hurtful people on here the better. I just use this site for calorie counting, portion control and making sure I get the right amount of fibre, protein and fat.

lisa9803

I appreciate when people open their diary. I understand that on this site, most people are not health care professionals - I mean, we're all here for a reason. I have good days, and bad days, and I know that my friends do look at my diary, and I appreciate any constructive criticism they may have...I mean, that's what I'm here for isn't it.

I don't necessarily agree with opening my diary publicly. People are on my friends list and stay on it because I can count on them for honest support, so I don't mind them seeing my diary at all!

If you join this site looking for support, but want people to give it blindly - to each their own, but I find that a waste of time.

However, the person that posted the original comment didn't have to be so rude about it......

Aviva92

I lock mine because I've lost 150lbs by myself and now train heavily in marathons and triathlons and I am on here for support or to support others but not necessarily ask for advice. When I seek or look for advice on here, it's mainly about the fitness or exercise questions I have, not what I am consuming.

I'm always honest with myself and unless I explicitly ask for some help or a look at my diary it's my business.

In this case, you might be doing your friends a service by making your diary public. It sounds like you have been very successful. Instead of looking for advice, why not make it public in order to help out other people who need advice themselves?

hughtwalker

So which bit was the sarcasm?

You know, if you lot in The Colonies had just drunk your tea like good little boys and girls all those years ago, you might still be able to tell the difference between irony and sarcasm.?

chevy88grl

I am 100% honest with myself (if I wasn't, I wouldn't be maintaining my loss 2+ years later). I don't need anyone else to hold me accountable for what I eat. I hold myself accountable. What I eat isn't really anyone else's business. I am a very picky eater and eat basically the same exact things day in and day out. What I eat may not work for someone else, but it works for me. I don't need nor want to hear someone's comments on what I eat. I may ask for fitness advice, but food advice? No, thanks. I'm too picky, too particular and have texture issues people don't seem to understand.

THAT is why my diary is private.