WHY HIDE YOUR FOOD DIARY ??

1…468910

Replies

  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    I shop, cook, eat, and track food in order to achieve my own goals. Not anyone else's. So far, I seem to be doing quite well, so I don't need opinions or input from strangers on those things. In the event that I did, I'd certainly consider sharing my food logs with all the terribly concerned people out there.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    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.

    +1 I don't take advice from people who can't write properly. It indicates to me either a lack of education, a lack of intelligence or both.

    As for your question, I value my privacy. I'm honest with myself; that's all that's necessary.

    And as we all know, those who aren't as well-educated or intellectual are actually sub-human. Third World countries should be severed ties with immediately, only given dictionaries and thesauruses to fend for themselves. Only when they can recite the entireties of these books with ease, shall we bring these formerly ignorant countries back into communication with us "proper" humans.

    excuse me but did you just called people of third world countries ignorant?

    looks like someone doesn't understand sarcasm here.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    You asked for honesty, heres the honesty.

    I don't want weight loss advice from fat people. It's my diary. I don't want unsolicited advice about weight loss from every kid on the internet.

    Also, are you creeping up on peoples diaries randomly? Because that alone is a pretty good reason to close your diary.

    PS. People can hide their diaries so that its not public but only their friends can see it

    YES! my friends can see my diary, i have no problem with it... i dont need to keep it open for strangers to be creepin on it. why, so i can have vegans tell me to stop eating animals, and no carbers telling me too much bread, and pro anas telling me i shouldnt go over 600 cals a day, and so on? no thanks, the friends i have on mfp have somewhat similar goals as i do, and im happy with them being able to view my diary, and thats it.
  • MeDoula
    MeDoula Posts: 233 Member
    Mine is closed because I don't need judgement and unsolicited advice regarding my food choices. When I need input, I'll ask for it.
  • verdancyhime
    verdancyhime Posts: 237 Member
    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.

    Some people do not want feedback from others. This is not the same thing as "not being honest with yourself" in all cases.

    I will give you one example: I have a friend with an eating disorder. She does not like to be ridiculed by people who truly do not understand her battles. Locking her food diary prevents this.

    I'm sharing this with you for context. You may need accountability or commentary. Other people may not, and that's not a bad thing.

    Pretty much this. I debated a lot before sharing mine. I tried to get healthier and lose weight many times before this and a lot of the reasons I failed were psychological- Basically my problem isn't underestimating the severity of the things I do, but overestimating them. I assume that if I screw up at one meal on one day that it's because I'm a failure and I'm no good at anything I try and I suck and I should just give up right now because I'm just going to embarrass myself.

    Being honest with yourself is different than being honest with total strangers who only know what you ate this week and don't know anything else about you.
  • Dani_Davies23
    Dani_Davies23 Posts: 86
    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.

    :flowerforyou:
  • jillybeanpuff
    jillybeanpuff Posts: 144 Member
    I keep mine closed because I write things in the notes section that I don't think anyone should know or want to know. Its a personal choice, just let it be :)
  • nuttyfamily
    nuttyfamily Posts: 3,394 Member
    Because I can!
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    I thought it was only fair to open it up to friends only since I can view most of their diaries and my profile is kind of empty otherwise. I would not open it up to the entire forum though in order to invite scrutiny if I'm disagreeing with someone in a thread. Seems like it would just give haters ammunition in those cases.

    I like reading others diaries in order to get ideas of what to eat.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    I'm pregnant and it is hard enough to be adding weight right now, even for a good reason and having to add more to my diet to stay healthy. I don't want commentary right now on what I should/shouldn't eat and how much. I might make it public again sometime after birth.
  • langsyne
    langsyne Posts: 106 Member
    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
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    CAUSE IT'S NONE OF YOUR DERN BUSINESS WHAT THE EFF I EAT!
  • Edwardo27
    Edwardo27 Posts: 34 Member
    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
    Maggie_Pie1 Posts: 322 Member
    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
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    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
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    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
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    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
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    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
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    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
    aftergypsies Posts: 248 Member
    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
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    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
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    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
    Lwoodslim Posts: 31 Member
    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
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    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
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
    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
    naner61 Posts: 85
    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
    lisa9803 Posts: 39
    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
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    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
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    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
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    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.

Categories