Closed diary's

jamie610811
jamie610811 Posts: 1,735 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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 ?
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Replies

  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    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?
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    I understand that some people do have friends on here that they actually know in *real* life, so would be different for them, but...mostly people on here are anonymous to each other. All of my friends have 'open' diaries and they are good, they are bad some days. It helps me to be accountable to other than myself and also lets me see that I am not the only one when I have a fail day. We all comment on each others dairies to encourage.

    If I were to receive any critical comment from them I would consider it, as having chosen my friends list very carefully, I know it would have been said in a positive way.

    I have had learned so much from seeing what other people eat and how they manage their macros etc and I hope that my diary has done the same for other people.

    Each to their own.
  • ejha77
    ejha77 Posts: 63

    Some people use MFP as a personal tracking tool and think it's nobody else's business what they consume and when?
    Exactly.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    My friends view mine, but otherwise private...youve made me wonder if i should open it though!

    ETA.. I opened it! Lets see how it goes!
  • sunlover89
    sunlover89 Posts: 436 Member
    I'm on here to help myself primary, not other people! Also, I don't track most days - because I'm in a good eating routine eating mainly cottage cheese, turkey and a variety of fruits and veggies. I know if I've eaten enough or too much. I also don't fancy smart alecs, people who don't know my training and eating schedule making comments about how I only track one or two days a week and that I'm wayy over my budget for the day - this is my higher calorie day, which I do track because it contains different foods each week.

    The good thing about MFP is that you can use it how YOU want to, not how other people want you to.
  • Gail3260
    Gail3260 Posts: 354 Member
    Personal choice and probably for a variety of reasons although mine is open to friends.

    I prefer friends with open diaries. I won't comment positively on days where they show they have completed below their calorie goal if I can't see what they did eat. It's their business what they do eat it but it would be wrong to say 'well done' to someone who eats consistently at 500 calories a day or ony ever logs ice cream!
  • Ta2dchic20
    Ta2dchic20 Posts: 376 Member
    Too many food nazi's.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    I think it's because some people feel that their way is the ONLY way. So if you have your diary open to everyone, then something that works absolutely great for you might end up with critisism from others. Things like keto diet or intermittent fasting are ways of eating that work for people, but some other can have strong opinions about them. At the start you might spend a lot of time showing the benefits of your way of eating and why you are not doing damage to yourself, but eventually you get fed up of the arguing.

    I have mine open to my friends.
  • subconscious_ink
    subconscious_ink Posts: 194 Member
    I think for some people who struggle with attaching moral value to food (ie. "good" foods and "bad" foods) it can be helpful to have a closed diary, especially if you're worried about people judging you. I know that sometimes, when my diary is open, I obsess a bit about what I eat and feel guilty, especially if I've had a day with lots of "bad" foods. That's a mindset people need to change (myself included) but until it happens, sometimes it's just easier to keep your diary closed.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    I have mine open to friends. I don't feel like I need to share it with anyone--it's my food log and I don't necessarily want anyone else to look at what I eat and decide that's what they should eat, too. I kept it private initially, but a friend asked to look, so I decided to open it to friends. So far, so good.

    I love what I eat, and I eat very healthily...however I have health issues that require me to not eat certain things, etc. and I wouldn't want someone to take a quick look through my logs and get the impression that they shouldn't eat some foods and should eat others in the same quantities as me. I'm not a fan of needless restriction and don't want to promote that. There are a lot of unwell people on MFP, and I really don't want to encourage disordered behaviours or thoughts about food.
  • Goodbye_Thunder_Thighs
    Goodbye_Thunder_Thighs Posts: 91
    Some people don't know that the can open their diary. The default setting is closed. Some people don't want other people to critise their choices. Some people are more accountable when no one else can see their diary, others are more accountable when people can see.
  • susiepet
    susiepet Posts: 68
    Thanks xxMinniexx - I found looking at a few days of your diary really interesting and very informative - and thankfully full of "normal" food! Great to see lots of treats amongst the veggies and protein - makes me think I too can do it...

    Sue
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    Thanks xxMinniexx - I found looking at a few days of your diary really interesting and very informative - and thankfully full of "normal" food! Great to see lots of treats amongst the veggies and protein - makes me think I too can do it...

    Sue

    Thats great Sue. My diary is a little unusual right now as i just had surgery, so not as much cooking as normal! Lots of shakes and bars, id usually have more real foods and shakes here and there. Shows it can be done whatever the situation. I try to eat 80% good clean, healthy food, 20% treat. Got to have a treat! X
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    Mines closed and will stay that way ...3 reasons

    1.... Judgemental people...and actually any form of commentary on my choices will irritate me because

    2.... Keeping my ED in control means keeping my control and i feel that an open diary jeopardises that

    3.... Noone else on here has my assortment of needs and tastes. i get sick of answering questions about food and drink habits
  • susiepet
    susiepet Posts: 68
    Thats great Sue. My diary is a little unusual right now as i just had surgery, so not as much cooking as normal! Lots of shakes and bars, id usually have more real foods and shakes here and there. Shows it can be done whatever the situation. I try to eat 80% good clean, healthy food, 20% treat. Got to have a treat! X
    [/quote]

    Hope you feel better soon!
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    Thankyou. Just carpal tunnel surgery on left hand, so cooking with one hand is rather tricky! X
  • jcc4
    jcc4 Posts: 37 Member
    Mine is open.. I respect the ppl that have theirs closed but I look at it this way.. My wife sees what I eat, my children see what I eat, my coworkers see what I eat... Why would I be worried about what strangers think? Unless you are "sneak eating," which is something I used to do, and then you don't want ANYONE to see what is going on, but if that is the case you have other issues to deal with. Once I took accountability for, and gained control over (for the most part) my eating habits, I realized that having my diary open doesn't matter (to me).
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
    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 ?

    Privacy.
    I share my diary with friends which I think is reasonable.
    kind regards,
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
    Yep personal choice. I dont want or need for that matter someone critiquing my eating unless I have contacted them as I feel they are knowledgeable/experienced in that area and value their opinion (and I have done that before). I do have my diary open for my friends...just not for the public :)
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    I'm only weeks into my weight-loss journey and mine's open because I don't mind if people critique it - I'm in no way a nutritional expert so not precious about it.
  • turtlefitnessdad
    turtlefitnessdad Posts: 585 Member
    because i don't want anyone to know about my addiction to eating chalk and laundry soap.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,232 Member
    Mine is open to friends, but unless I ask, I don't really want advice or comments about it.
  • GretchenReine
    GretchenReine Posts: 1,374 Member
    I use it as a tool to track my food but am certain it wouldn't help a soul. I hate veggies, I eat processed foods, I eat fast food and I even eat sweets. My diary is NOT pretty. When friends ask, I let them see it...but...having people judge it and tell me that I'm eating all of the wrong things is not beneficial to me...because for me...moderation and lots of working out works...I dropped over 100 pounds in a year so I'm ok with my way. My friends get it though and it's ok. I do get people that ask for me to open it from time to time.

    Sadly, I haven't logged food in a long time...I need to get back on it because logging is half the battle!:drinker:
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,861 Member
    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 ?
    I've been on MFP from start through ten months of maintenance. I don't even let my wife look at it. Two reasons: It's hard enough to be honest with myself. If mine was open, there would be too much temptation to dress it up and make it look more presentable.

    Two, I know that when people open their diaries, others feel free to critique and offer suggestions. I'm not okay with that so it's always been closed. I don't critique the diaries of others either.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    I use it as a tool to track my food but am certain it wouldn't help a soul. I hate veggies, I eat processed foods, I eat fast food and I even eat sweets. My diary is NOT pretty. When friends ask, I let them see it...but...having people judge it and tell me that I'm eating all of the wrong things is not beneficial to me...because for me...moderation and lots of working out works...I dropped over 100 pounds in a year so I'm ok with my way. My friends get it though and it's ok. I do get people that ask for me to open it from time to time.

    This. If the weight ever stalls completely, I know I can ask my friends about it. They know me better - my tastes, my financial situation, time I have to cook or to not cook with. The general forums don't know these things and I'm not entirely comfortable disclosing every piece of information that goes into my food choices.
  • purple_furry_aubergine
    purple_furry_aubergine Posts: 22
    Mine's open to friends, I'm not ashamed of it, but I don't feel the need to be accountable to anyone but myself. The support network system on here is great, but it's not for me at present, I'm not a big internet communicator at the best of times, and I'm in no way knowledgeable enough about this to offer anyone else any constructive support. My relationship with food is changing, which means my diary is perhaps not the best it could be, but I know it's a million miles better than it was, and that's my journey, which I've got to make on my own. If it stops working or I feel I need some help, I wouldn't have a problem with opening it, and accepting the support and criticism that comes with that, but at the moment, it's working fine, I'm losing weight and eating more healthily, and that's exactly what I use MFP for.
  • 8Sam12
    8Sam12 Posts: 61
    I opened mine because I found looking at other people's diaries interesting... I've not had an unsolicited comments on it yet (in fact, I've had no comments on it)... I understand people who don't want to open theirs but I'll end up interacting with them on a different level...
  • turtlefitnessdad
    turtlefitnessdad Posts: 585 Member
    Mine is open to friends, but unless I ask, I don't really want advice or comments about it.

    sorry
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    It creeps me out a bit to think that random people want to look through my food diary. Every time I see one of these threads it makes me glad it's only open to friends. Just yesterday there was a really long thread where someone was "concerned" with all the junk food they see in other people's diaries. That sort of judgment makes people not want to share their diaries.

    I track my food for myself. My friends can see it if they want to, but I'm not holding myself up as some gold standard.

    If a person is stuck and needs advice then their diary needs to be open. Otherwise it's no one else's business.
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    Mine is currently open, but I lost most of my weight using an offline calorie counting app that had no social component whatsoever. People use social media in different ways. Try to understand that not everyone has the same goals, world view, approach to life, etc. Crazy, no?

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