Closed diary's

AuddAlise

because i don't want anyone to know about my addiction to eating chalk and laundry soap.

You jest sir!
I actually do eat paper and have been known to suck on rocks. I have PICA.

cwolfman13

OP...just because someone has had success losing weight doesn't mean they've made or make the best nutritional decisions. My diary is open now, but it didn't used to be...initially, I was losing a lot of weight, but I wasn't making the best decisions and I really didn't want people a.) judging me, or b.) using my diary as some great example of what to do to lose weight. I knew what I was doing wasn't healthy, even though I was having success losing weight and I didn't want anyone to see that.

Since then, I've come to realize that there's more to being healthy than just losing the weight. I still eat junk from time to time and I do enjoy my adult beverages, but I make much better nutritional decisions in general and I'm actually eating and getting my nutrients instead of eating just a bit and then rounding out the rest of the calories with Vodka and beer. While my weight loss has slowed a bit, I'm actually healthier now and my blood works shows that with about 180* difference from the work done in October. So now, I do leave mine open as I am aware of at least a couple of people that it has helped..though I do get my diary judged from time to time, I don't let it bother me.

At any rate, there are a lot of reasons why one would or would not leave their diary open.

ddewitt048

I am mainly only friends with people on here that I also know in my everyday life. So, I have my diary open, it helps us all hold each other accountable. But, I can also understand why other people don't. I log almost every day, good or bad because it helps me more than anything. I can understand why people go either way. This site is to help yourself, not necessarily put your eating habits on display to help others.

groovyfirechick

I had mine open when I first started here on MFP. I got too many emails and messages about what I should and shouldn't eat and what I was doing wrong. I am counting calories for ME not anyone else so I put my diary accessible with a password only.

ttiiggzz

My boring diary is open. No one really 'knows' me here, my friends and family don't know I have an account here, so it really doesn't matter if anyone sees my diary. It would be rather amusing if someone at work who knows my eating habits came across me here and realized it was me.

Sad that there are people here that spend their time criticizing others' food choices.

cschiff

I think it depends how you are using site. When I started, I had 0 friends and a closed diary! I lost 5 lbs and gained it right back. Now I have a bout 50 friends (most of whom I speak with regularly) and I have a diary that is open to them all but private for everyone else (for the same reason my profile is open to friends but not everyone else).

For me, this is working GREAT. I love that my friends can see my foods and comment and give advice etc and I can do the same for them. However, it seems unnecessary for the rest of MFP.

I do think that some people keep their diaries private if they are using the site for more of their own personal tracking and less interesting in talking with others.

Either way, I guess it's good enough for me to say that "to each his own." I love having my friends see mine and I love seeing theirs, but I also understand that for some people this might be more private and I respect that as well.

Deipneus

People don't like to be judged and often can't take criticism.

I can take being judged and can take criticism... just don't look at or talk about my food!

misspastry

Because it's nobody's business!:devil:

JohnMessmer

This topic should be banned. It comes up at least once a week, and you always get the same responses. On one side of the fence are the "it's none of your business what I eat" and on the other side of the fence it's "I have nothing to hide".

I delete any friend who does not have an open diary, not because I want to inspect every element of their progress and critique their food choices, but simply because this is a Fitness site (if you don't believe me look at the name of this site) and if we are "friends" here it is because we share the same aspiration for success. If I can not see what you are doing then I can not support your efforts or your success. What? Why Not? Well here is why..a closed diary statement of "JohnMessmer completed his food and exercise diary for 03/01/2013 and was under his calorie goal." Does not tell you anything useful. Did I eat a piece of cheese all day long and truly believe that success through starvation is the best method? Did I eat with balance and sustainability? Perhaps I don't know that potassium is the natural anti agent to sodium and when you look at my diary and see I eat a lot of processed high sodium food you could tell me that little tid bit of info? Perhaps not, who knows? What I do know is that I have friends on this site so that I can try to support their goals and they can try to support my goals, it is a mutually beneficial friendship by choice. If you can not see what I am eating, or the amount of Exercise I am accomplishing, then you can not help me at all and therefore there is no need for us to be friends on this site.

Now the type of "help" depends on the person and that is where choosing your friends becomes more of a personality choice then a random friend collector. Personally, I prefer honesty and bluntness. No, you don't have to tell me that eating that Double Meal from Wendy's is not good for me, but when I weigh in on Friday and I post that I am dissatisfied with the results for the week...You should tell me that the Double from Wendy's probably did not help matters. I prefer the friends that say what I already know, just try to make excuses for. I prefer friends that will say "Holy ****, Why Did you Eat so much?" not the BS friends that will say "It's ok, we all need a cheat day and tomorrow is a new start", I have had 43 Years of believing "it's only one meal, one day, one bad choice, and all that has gotten me is obese. Now I believe that it all counts, make no excuses and plan for the worst while hoping for the best, get up , get out, and move, and if you are going to have that birthday cake, ice cream, fast food crap that most of us love...then work harder to be able to fit that bad choice into your established goals for the day. This relatively new thinking has led to 94 pounds of weight loss in the past 6 months, I don't know everything and until I do...I will take the sarcasm, criticism, and at the very least listen to advice from anyone who wishes to offer it, simply because they may turn out to be right, or even better yet, they may inadvertently have led me to discover something I had not been aware of.

One last tidbit to think about; why is it that people that have been on this site for Years are generally the people that have no progress bar and a closed diary? For a year and a half, back in 95, I paid for Gym Membership and went to that gym, twice. Having your diary open, putting yourself out on display, being held accountable by others, it is one of the scariest and greatest motivators there are, and once you are ready to make a change and truly hold yourself accountable for what you do, I don't believe there is a viable reason not to have your diary open to your friends. So what if some ask you questions, or insist on telling you that liquor is drinking your calories away, or that your deep fried Oreo cookies are a terrible choice, "if" that is shocking and upsetting for you to hear then you may have bigger issues then your weight.

ktsmom430

JW, why do some people think a closed diary means lying about what you eat?
I am brutally honest on my closed diary. I have been here for almost a year, and every single day I have been at or under my calorie goal. Learning a lot about nutrition, making healthier choices. Choosing unprocessed foods, as much as possible, but not exclusively. I am lying to no one, especially not myself. I have never during this whole year looked to see what others eat, I really do not need to. We all have access to the same information via the internet. I am not qualified to judge anyone else about their choices, and do not invite anyone else to judge mine. Pretty simple.

caribear1984

I can understand the reasons everyone is offering for both keeping it closed and opening it. Personally I have mine closed because what I am doing is working well for me, and I don't want any unsolicited advice about how I should be doing it some other way. Even though those people usually mean to help, it really doesn't. If I get to the point where I need advice, I will open it. But until then it will stay closed.

holly1283

Every so often this comes up and I for the life of me cannot understand why anyone should care about the ones that are closed. Surely you should have enough of your own friends with open diaries to satisfy your curiosity. I am almost 62,have been on different weight loss journeys, turned bulimic when under scrutiny and am doing well now without anyone else critiquing my food diary.

volume77

i keep mine open because i really dont care whether or not you like what im eating lol/. if someone trys to be rude i just delete them. plus i log everything. the good bad and ugly and i think it helps people . i dont know though... some people are embarassed or ashamed if they binge or some thing but i dont know any of you in real life so why would i give a f$%^

aj445

I don't know if mine is open or not. I don't look at other peoples diaries. What they eat really makes no difference to me and won't change what i eat. hell counting my calories doesn't change what I eat lol. I just know how much of it I've eaten haha

RhodRhod

Mine has been open from the get go. If anybody feels the need to comment on it then by all means do. I don't know everything yet and probably never will so if they have a better idea fine if they are just looking to be mean fine. I'm 48 years old and my skin is pretty tough.

5ftnFun

This topic should be banned. It comes up at least once a week, and you always get the same responses. On one side of the fence are the "it's none of your business what I eat" and on the other side of the fence it's "I have nothing to hide".

I delete any friend who does not have an open diary, not because I want to inspect every element of their progress and critique their food choices, but simply because this is a Fitness site (if you don't believe me look at the name of this site) and if we are "friends" here it is because we share the same aspiration for success. If I can not see what you are doing then I can not support your efforts or your success. What? Why Not? Well here is why..a closed diary statement of "JohnMessmer completed his food and exercise diary for 03/01/2013 and was under his calorie goal." Does not tell you anything useful. Did I eat a piece of cheese all day long and truly believe that success through starvation is the best method? Did I eat with balance and sustainability? Perhaps I don't know that potassium is the natural anti agent to sodium and when you look at my diary and see I eat a lot of processed high sodium food you could tell me that little tid bit of info? Perhaps not, who knows? What I do know is that I have friends on this site so that I can try to support their goals and they can try to support my goals, it is a mutually beneficial friendship by choice. If you can not see what I am eating, or the amount of Exercise I am accomplishing, then you can not help me at all and therefore there is no need for us to be friends on this site.

Now the type of "help" depends on the person and that is where choosing your friends becomes more of a personality choice then a random friend collector. Personally, I prefer honesty and bluntness. No, you don't have to tell me that eating that Double Meal from Wendy's is not good for me, but when I weigh in on Friday and I post that I am dissatisfied with the results for the week...You should tell me that the Double from Wendy's probably did not help matters. I prefer the friends that say what I already know, just try to make excuses for. I prefer friends that will say "Holy ****, Why Did you Eat so much?" not the BS friends that will say "It's ok, we all need a cheat day and tomorrow is a new start", I have had 43 Years of believing "it's only one meal, one day, one bad choice, and all that has gotten me is obese. Now I believe that it all counts, make no excuses and plan for the worst while hoping for the best, get up , get out, and move, and if you are going to have that birthday cake, ice cream, fast food crap that most of us love...then work harder to be able to fit that bad choice into your established goals for the day. This relatively new thinking has led to 94 pounds of weight loss in the past 6 months, I don't know everything and until I do...I will take the sarcasm, criticism, and at the very least listen to advice from anyone who wishes to offer it, simply because they may turn out to be right, or even better yet, they may inadvertently have led me to discover something I had not been aware of.

One last tidbit to think about; why is it that people that have been on this site for Years are generally the people that have no progress bar and a closed diary? For a year and a half, back in 95, I paid for Gym Membership and went to that gym, twice. Having your diary open, putting yourself out on display, being held accountable by others, it is one of the scariest and greatest motivators there are, and once you are ready to make a change and truly hold yourself accountable for what you do, I don't believe there is a viable reason not to have your diary open to your friends. So what if some ask you questions, or insist on telling you that liquor is drinking your calories away, or that your deep fried Oreo cookies are a terrible choice, "if" that is shocking and upsetting for you to hear then you may have bigger issues then your weight.

^^This is great. For YOU. I've been here for years. This is a new accnt because I wanted a new one w/a new name, etc. I don't have a ticker because, aside from 3-4 lbs, I am in maintenance. Don't assume that everyone on MFP is trying to lose weight. Too many assumptions in your post re: other people, so I'll leave it at that.

jeremyw1977

Just a quick observation , I love looking at the success stories . And the one thing that sticks out is 2/3 of the people have closed diary's ? Why is this ? Surely an open diary would help other MFP people ?
Is there a reason why ?

Some people use MFP as a personal tracking tool and think it's nobody else's business what they consume and when?

This.
I use the food diary for my own piece of mind.

In the past, I have had friends who trolled my diary, and then managed to find the one thing to criticize.
I didn't care for it, it made me feel uncomfortable, and it was not helpful at all.

I basically said, "Thanks, I am good enough at beating myself up over my eating decisions (and I don't really eat bad and I under my calorie goal 90% of the time).......I don't need someone else, who I don't know, beating me up too".

BamBam125

I put personal notes about my day in the "note" category. I don't know the MFP users in real life, so naturally I keep those notes (and the entire diary) private as well.

Plus, I doubt my diary would really be helpful to other users. I use it for me, which means I over estimate, I round, I substitute (aka use a database entry from Wendy's when I really made a similar meal from scratch or from a local restaurant that isn't in the database, etc).

Those minor inaccuracies don't bother me a bit, but I don't want total strangers making assumptions about me based on those estimations either.

Marie9301

At the start, I was embarrassed about all the crap (read: chips and alcohol!) I had in it. I log absolutely everything - good bad and awful. It's still not perfect but a work in progress.

CyberEd312

Well for me it is because I am still old school and keep hand journals... I can go back to May 2009 when I started my journey and show you every bit of food and exercise I have done since then but just have a stubborn streak about giving up my journals and I am a Computer nerd (IT networking) so yeah weird I know.... lol.... but Old habits are hard to break...... Best of Luck