To share or not to share your food journal

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  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Mine is currently only viewable by my friends. This is because right now I am dealing with a lot of medical issues and am struggling to find a balance between what I can eat and what is healthy. I don't want to deal with people who think they know better but really have no clue as to what I am going through medically. My friends know so I don't have to explain it to them every time.
  • elisabeisme
    elisabeisme Posts: 308 Member
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    I share my diary with my MFP friends. I am also only interested in being MFP friends with people who share their diary. I have a couple exceptions on my list, but not many.

    I keep my friend list small and try to keep track of what everyone's goals are. If I know they are working to increase protein, I will watch for that and congratulate them on a high protein day. If I know they are trying to eat more fruit, or cut down on snacking, I can encourage them towards those goals.

    I also like looking at other people's diaries for ideas. And knowing that others can see my diary helps prevent me from skipping a day of logging. I put everything in there - even if it's ugly.

    I recognize that not everyone want to share - and that's okay. I wish those folks the best, and may even enjoy interacting with them in forums, but would prefer not to have them on my friend list. I don't judge them for wanting to use MFP differently than me. Everyone should get to use MFP how it will be most helpful for them.
  • angraham2
    angraham2 Posts: 128
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    Share cause if you are doing well it can help to motivate someone else.

    I like to look at diaries so that I can see what other combinations of food that might work for me. Mine is open too!
  • Txsteach
    Txsteach Posts: 20 Member
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    I was a little reluctant to open my food diary to friends, because I didn't want to be judged, but I think it keeps me more accountable, and honest, plus everyone is supportive and encouraging
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    I have always shared mine - started in March 2012.

    It motivates me to only have one beer, or not eat crap. I'd rather be judged and told about it than not achieve my goals.
  • loserbaby84
    loserbaby84 Posts: 241 Member
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    Share it. We've all had horrible habits and we all make mistakes! Anyone that will cut you down because of your calorie intake is childish. The best thing you can do is be honest .. not for others but for yourself :)

    PS: Sometimes helpful critisim or a blatant slap in the face makes you smarten up. Some people need it, lol!
  • leannerae40
    leannerae40 Posts: 200 Member
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    I share mine, but only with a password. It's a happy medium for me. Originally I had it all the way open, and really received some nasty comments. Then I locked it down, and a couple of people unfriended me. I told them that I had it password protected and that my nutritionist and trainer had access to it to keep me grounded. They still unfriended me. My thoughts are, if you don't have the password, there's a reason why. I still keep motivated knowing that the people that matter, who have the knowledge and have helped me set my goals and know me personally have the password. If I need to open it up for help from the "forums" I will, but frankly, the people with the knowledge are better equipped to handle my questions.
    To each their own though...
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    Thoughts on this? I have mixed feelings about it. Part of me doesn't want to share what I eat over fear of being judged. The other part thinks it may be beneficial. I need to be convinced either way.

    Well the thing is .. you're always being judged. People will judge your decision to share or not to share. People will judge you for asking. People are always going to judge something about you.

    That said - I have never, not once, had someone actually comment to me on my diary.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I do better when I share it. I'll make it private if I'm going through a rough patch, but it always feels good to open it back up again. No one has ever said anything judgey to me. If they did, they'd be gone from my friend's list. Little pokes and humor about my love of hotdogs is okay. ;)

    It does inspire others to see that you've finished under goal, though. It inspires me when I see a wall full of it.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
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    Set your privacy setting however it suits you best...

    If you're afraid of being judged you may not be completely honest. If you think this is the case, keep it private.

    If you think it'll make you more accountable, keep it public, or at least viewable by friends only.

    I sort of picked an in-between option. My diary is open to my friends but I don't care for any kind of comments so I don't hit the "complete" button which eliminates that alert from popping up on my friends' news feed(s). No alert, no comments.

    Just know, if you ask for assistance, you will be asked to make your diary public if it isn't already. It's hard for folks to give feedback if they can't see what you've been eating and/or doing for exercise.

    I do/feel the same way. Either avoid the "complete" button or remove that as an alert you have in your settings.
  • sunshyncatra
    sunshyncatra Posts: 598 Member
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    Mine is open to friends. I don't see much of a benefit to keeping it private or sharing, except that others might use it for ideas??? I don't know. No one has judged what I eat :) I get really sad when people eat way too little, so I rarely look at diaries myself.
  • dlionsmane
    dlionsmane Posts: 672 Member
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    Meh, mine is open. I haven't gotten one unsolicited message and I eat quite dirty and often over calories.

    Same here... I think I left mine open once when there was someone asking about what a 1400-1600 calorie intake looked like and just left it that way. I don't care about anyone who wants to judge me, I am often way over 1600 and that's okay with me.
  • eksero2k
    eksero2k Posts: 83 Member
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    Share cause if you are doing well it can help to motivate someone else.

    I like to look at diaries so that I can see what other combinations of food that might work for me. Mine is open too!

    This! ^ I look around at other people's diaries quite often, just to get food ideas and so on.

    That said, mine is open, and I don't really care what people think about the food I eat as long as it works for me :)
  • Courtneyann0148
    Courtneyann0148 Posts: 1
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    Hey Michelle,
    I was worried about sharing mine too... Do I really want to add those two extra drinks I had a t happy hour.??... But the app is made for us to improve. And the tediousness of adding things sometimes will steer me away from eating some things and this carries over to publicity as well. The added pressure has helped me make better choices.
    I mean its not great everyday but if you are serious about improving your health then put yourself out there!
    We are all learning one day at a time!
    Courtney
  • Ideabaker
    Ideabaker Posts: 509 Member
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    Personally, I look into others on occasion for 2 reasons. 1) I love new ideas and this is a great way! 2) I like to see what kind of macros and calories others have who in particular who are lifting and/or have fabulous results. Personally I never judge, and I hope that people don't judge me. I am brutally honest in my journal and it's open. If I eat a bag of m&m's or have a few beers, I throw it in there. We're all human and it helps me when I say,"why am I not losing weight?" to look back and say "oh...yeahhhh...." :drinker: My opinion is that we're all here for the same basic reasons so why judge and why keep it closed? If someone chooses to be vegetaian, paleo, some form of fasting, or some other "diet" it's their choice and it shouldn't matter to others.

    ^^
    This. I keep mine open for friends only, because I like the fact that they look at it and can give their thoughts. Positive feedback keeps me moving forward in making nutritious choices, and constructive criticism helps me get "friendly feedback" on ways I can improve to better meet my goals. I like friends with open diaries because I get great ideas for ways to switch up my diet (I have a tendency to eat the same things over and over again... so I often see my friends eating a new sort of cuisine and think "Oh yeah! I forgot I could mix these ingredients a certain way, or use these kinds of spices."

    I'm not here to judge or be judged, but with friends, it is easier to provide full support when we all have the information. So far, an open diary has been fine, and nobody has smashed me, even on days when I don't eat as well as I could. I'd say, try opening your diary to friends only and see how it goes!
  • sarah456s
    sarah456s Posts: 98 Member
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    Mine's public.

    Even if I track an item of food or not, my body knows that I ate it. It's more important to me to keep my intake down to a moderate level than to worry what others think. But, being truthful, sometimes its the worry about what others will think that STOPS me stuffing my face, lol. Having the diary public at least sometimes makes me stop and think first.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    If you share it and spend much time on the forums, you will be judged at some point. So, if you care about that, I'd say keep it private. If having it open helps you be more honest, then you can open it only to friends. If a friend becomes too judgemental, delete them.
  • xombiebite
    xombiebite Posts: 273 Member
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    i don't share. mine is for me personally and to know where i went wrong. i don't need other peoples 2 cents when everyone is different.
  • VpinkLotus
    VpinkLotus Posts: 849 Member
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    I Share it with friends. If you're gonna do this may as well put it out there. Makes me accountable and I really do like constructive advice and input. Sometimes I am crazy busy and not looking at my diet with clear eyes. I like people to be able to kick my butt if I need it, which is often. Plus I love to look at people's diary for snack ideas, and well...food porn ;)
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Nope, no one else's business in my opinion.

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