Why do you care if people have open food diaries ?

Everyone I meet on MFP is for the sole purpose of weight loss. I do not make friends on here to discuss video games or politics. This is a site dedicated to weight loss and I am dedicated to weight loss. Those I friend here should be dedicated to weight loss as well.

I want open diaries so I can get meal ideas and to actually be able to offer good dietary advice to those that ask for it.

Additionally, I do not like the idea of saying "Fantastic day! Keep it up!" to someone that is "under their calorie goal" but only east one twinky a day and that is it while jogging for 10 hours.

I am not one to say "Omg you had a slice of white bread YOU MONSTER" or complain in a similar fashion. I follow macros and overall health choices. So long as they enjoy what they eat, are meeting their goals and desires, and do not feel like they are starving as well as meeting their nutritional needs, then I have no problem with what they eat.

I only care if somebody posts a thread for help, some version of "what am I doing wrong?"

I just started here and have my diary set to public (I think), because I'm fine with anyone taking a look. It's not really a "diary," it's nothing emotional or secret. It shouldn't be for anyone IMO. People are welcome to judge or provide feedback all they want, and I am free to take or not take their advice. Honestly, if someone wants to get mad at me for what I'm eating, hey, free entertainment!


I've looked at a couple of diaries. Just curiosity really. I'm not going to hold it against someone of their diary is set to private.

I don't make it a stipulation of being friends that they have an open diary, but I also do not comment "way to go!" on someone's "was under calorie goal" updates when I can't see an open diary. I have no idea if they're actually doing a good job if I can't see what it is. So really, it's their loss.... because they're not going to get support that way.

I personally like to open my diary so I can get good feedback, share meal ideas, and stay accountable. It's also really helped me not to be ashamed of eating to know others are seeing it, AND to get encouragement about it.

WHY DO YOU CARE IF THEY CARE?

I def don't have mine open, but only because I really struggle with making it 'look good' and was often tempted not to log something. Now it's closed, I'm completely honest with myself and if I have a bad day it's all there and I can really assess the damage.

I keep mine open because I practice what I preach, and I don't really care if anyone doesn't like my diary. I don't really have any food nazis jumping down my throat about it either. The only negativity I get is from people who are afraid of fat, and for those people I hope my results can help quell their fears about dietary fat consumption.

I started with mine open, but then had a bad experience with a "friend" on MFP being very judgmental about a macro-nutrient I wasn't even tracking. When I did look at what she was getting on her high horse about, I saw it was within my doctor's guidelines. When I told her my levels were doctor-approved, she disagreed and said "I won't mention it again" and next day when the macro-nutrient wasn't within her approved level, she de-friended me without even a word.

That was my first MFP friend.

Almost my last.

The odd thing was, that I was eating one item that was (on the chart) consistently putting me over on that nutrient --- if she'd been a real friend, she might have noticed that the MFP listing for that nutrient was incorrect (it was for a double-serving not a single-serving), rather than just give me a private tirade about how I am destroying my health. Since I wasn't tracking that nutrient, I didn't see the MFP error (which I have since corrected).

At that point I decided to close my diary. I'm doing this for me. I know what a healthy diet is. I regularly provide my diary to my doctor, who is onboard with me. I don't intend to provide fodder for the diet-police on this site. I am happy to provide support for others.

Most people here are wonderful and supportive. I just don't want the negative Nancy's to get me down. And, frankly, I really don't want a friend who won't be a friend unless they can read my diary. If, in the future, I need advice, I'll ask for it and gladly open my diary (temporarily). Until then, it's just for me and my doctor.

I keep mine open because I don't really care what other people think. And sometimes I like to "show-off" when people claim that you can't lose weight if you eat _____ . There are no off-limits foods in my diet except for foods that I simply don't like to eat.

Mine is open. Go ahead and check it out if you want.... you might be frightened because I log everything. I like to see what other people are eating for meal ideas and to see where they are spending (and not spending) their calories because maybe it will help me. I keep mine open for the same reason, maybe it would help someone else. I have friends who are specifically my friends so I can see what they are chowing down on. I have friends who have their logs open and are clearly lying, but I don't judge because food is so much deeper than calories for some people. I have friends who have closed logs, and thats ok too. From what I can see, everyone on here gets and gives motivation, and I appreciate everyone regardless of the status of their food log.

Pay closer attention. At least once a week (or sometimes a day) someone posts a thread ranting about people with closed diaries.
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You're probably right... Maybe I haven't noticed cause my focus is constantly on educating myself on weight loss rather than keeping an eye out for pple talking s*** bout others..this is a very popular diet tool that many pple from around the world are using...there's bound to be some bad eggs on here! Who cares everyone is entitled to their opinion

I have an open food diary. For the first couple of weeks it was closed, and no-one commented. I decided to open it to friends because I could see them giving each other good feedback and advice. It doesn't bother me if someone has an open or closed diary, I think having it open to my friends can only be positive.

Oh, see I HAVE to be honest because I know that I am only cheating myself.
So if I am going to be honest and my diary is OPEN then I better eat right, so it motivates me to do better!

I can definitely see both advantages and disadvantages to have an open diary. Personally, I have experienced a lot of judging for people when my diary was open. Certain members sent me personal messages accusing me of having an eating disorder because I was under my calories for almost a week. It's really sad that people would come to such a conclusion when I was not feeling well so I didn't have much of an appetite. I've also had people call me out on slipping on and eating not so healthy food. So what if I chose to eat pizza one night? There's nothing wrong with indulging every once in a while. I don't get why people would get so worked up about someone else eating something "bad" when it's not their body and they don't know the situation.

Holy Crap. Who would seriously go thru other people's diaries to "feel better about themselves and their slipups"? That's pathetic.

I'm nosey. I like looking at what other people that are doing really good put into their bodies. Some lead by example and don't even realize it.