other people's diaries

124

Replies

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Yeah one of several reasons my diary is private. I don't want others judging me.

    I also know how I am, and I'm a competitive person and I have sincere concerns that I would become EXTREME in eating just "perfectly" to avoid criticism and be "better than" others...not healthy or helpful in a long term lifestyle change (for me).

    However...with all of that said. I have a huge mix in my daily eating habits of fresh produce, homemade light meals, etc, and the occasional junky chocolate or takeout meal. I don't look at others' diaries very often but I'll admit to being a little shocked sometimes. Especially when it shows a whole day of 100 cal packs of various snack foods. Not only do I find it difficult to imagine subsisting on 100 cal packs of cheezits and Oreos, but I am way too frugal to buy those...can't even imagine what that would cost to eat like 8 of those packs every day in addition to other food. They're not cheap for such a small and relatively "empty" food item IMO. To each their own, though.

    I also admit to occasionally seeing someone's diary and wondering if they are truthful to themselves. If you are really eating nothing but lettuce, kale, carrots, boiled chicken, apples, and skim milk for 30 days in a row - to your exact MFP calorie specs - and still only lose 1.5 lb per week, I feel like I'm getting something over on you ;-) Because I fit in a lot more yummy things (healthy AND questionable).
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    However...with all of that said. I have a huge mix in my daily eating habits of fresh produce, homemade light meals, etc, and the occasional junky chocolate or takeout meal. I don't look at others' diaries very often but I'll admit to being a little shocked sometimes. Especially when it shows a whole day of 100 cal packs of various snack foods. Not only do I find it difficult to imagine subsisting on 100 cal packs of cheezits and Oreos, but I am way too frugal to buy those...can't even imagine what that would cost to eat like 8 of those packs every day in addition to other food. They're not cheap for such a small and relatively "empty" food item IMO. To each their own, though.

    I can only speak for myself, but think of it this way: if somebody told you to pay $1,000 extra for food over the course of a year, and you would weigh XX lb less guaranteed by the time the year was over, would you do it? Those items may cost a bit more, but if they help the person eating them be successful, you'd best believe they'll buy them in the grocery store each time!

    As to the thread in general, I sure hope it doesn't discourage people from keeping open diaries. When I first started logging seriously on MFP, I scrounged fervently for diaries to give me some idea how in the world people ate so little calories and were successful. Most were locked. It could be so much easier for those starting out if more diaries were open. Having to friend someone first and then be able to see their diary seems more, I don't know, intimate. I just need to know what to stuff down my throat, why is that so hard!! :laugh:
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I look at the food diaries of the people and sometimes the worry me.... not saying my diet is perfect in any way!
    If I ate what they ate my body would be starving, I need salads or veggies to fuel myself. I plan on eating this way for the rest of my life, im happy with my diet, it works for me, and in sure they say the same thing about theirs.... its just the lack of fresh produce doesn't sound sustainable in the long run... to me anyway!
    These people are meeting their calories needs for the day, but rather than filling up with healthy calories they would rather eat a little bit of something that is calorie dense... end rant

    :huh:
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,098 Member
    However...with all of that said. I have a huge mix in my daily eating habits of fresh produce, homemade light meals, etc, and the occasional junky chocolate or takeout meal. I don't look at others' diaries very often but I'll admit to being a little shocked sometimes. Especially when it shows a whole day of 100 cal packs of various snack foods. Not only do I find it difficult to imagine subsisting on 100 cal packs of cheezits and Oreos, but I am way too frugal to buy those...can't even imagine what that would cost to eat like 8 of those packs every day in addition to other food. They're not cheap for such a small and relatively "empty" food item IMO. To each their own, though.

    I can only speak for myself, but think of it this way: if somebody told you to pay $1,000 extra for food over the course of a year, and you would weigh XX lb less guaranteed by the time the year was over, would you do it? Those items may cost a bit more, but if they help the person eating them be successful, you'd best believe they'll buy them in the grocery store each time!

    As to the thread in general, I sure hope it doesn't discourage people from keeping open diaries. When I first started logging seriously on MFP, I scrounged fervently for diaries to give me some idea how in the world people ate so little calories and were successful. Most were locked. It could be so much easier for those starting out if more diaries were open. Having to friend someone first and then be able to see their diary seems more, I don't know, intimate. I just need to know what to stuff down my throat, why is that so hard!! :laugh:

    I have mine open only to friends, in part because I suspected there might be some people who would offer unsolicited advice, and in part because I just have a general attitude against oversharing with strangers on the Internet, absent some definite reason to do so. I'm sorry (sincerely) that initiating a friend relationship seems too intimate, and I guess I can understand what you're saying, and your point of view. You're just looking for ideas, and you don't want to have to be friends with all these people to do that. I know it doesn't really help, but I'd be happy to accept a friend request. I eat a lot of different things, in all kinds of styles, (from vegan & vegetarian meals to meals with meat/poultry/seafood, from home-cooked to convenience foods to eat-out and carry-out, from reasonably reasonably healthy to downright indulgent, but, IMO, worth it), so hopefully you would get some ideas.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I personally don't feel like sifting through 50+ items in the database just to add 30 calories of onion or broccoli or mushrooms, so I only add foods that have a calorie count of about 80 or higher. When my progress losing weight starts slowing down, I'll start really documenting everything carefully, but right now it's not worth the hassle. Potatoes and fruits have enough calories to get entered in my diary, but I eat a lot more vegetables than it reflects.

    Really? It takes me seconds to find any food listed by grams. Then it stays in my 'recent' foods list. If you can't be bothered now, I don't think that is a good indicator of long term success. Because to maintain you are going to have to be bothered. Also, you are losing out on your very own personal data base by not entering everything you eat as you lose weight. For instance, a personal TDEE calculation could


    not be made.

    There's lots of us maintaining without keeping strict food diaries, or not tracking at all. What works for you may not be what someone else needs to do.
  • Zekela
    Zekela Posts: 634 Member
    OP, I'm a longish distance runner. I NEED my calorie dense foods for sustainability. Fruits and veggies alone will have me out of fuel on mile 2!
  • mhorn2142
    mhorn2142 Posts: 319 Member
    I tend to look for new or different meals when looking at someone's diary. Not as a way to compare my diet to theirs.

    This!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    For the 22nd I'm concerned over the amount of folate, calcium, iron, and fiber in your diet. That sodium intake is a little high too.



    No fun being judged for your choices is it? There is always room for improvement in EVERYONE'S diet. There is no such thing as having the perfect diet.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I personally don't feel like sifting through 50+ items in the database just to add 30 calories of onion or broccoli or mushrooms, so I only add foods that have a calorie count of about 80 or higher. When my progress losing weight starts slowing down, I'll start really documenting everything carefully, but right now it's not worth the hassle. Potatoes and fruits have enough calories to get entered in my diary, but I eat a lot more vegetables than it reflects.

    If you're sifting through 50 items to find fresh veggies you're doing it wrong. Improve your search terms and it shouldn't take you more than a couple seconds. Onions fresh or onions USDA, mushrooms fresh or mushrooms USDA, broccoli fresh or broccoli USDA - bam right there.
  • "Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about others." Author Unknown

    "Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about current events. Small people gossip"
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    However...with all of that said. I have a huge mix in my daily eating habits of fresh produce, homemade light meals, etc, and the occasional junky chocolate or takeout meal. I don't look at others' diaries very often but I'll admit to being a little shocked sometimes. Especially when it shows a whole day of 100 cal packs of various snack foods. Not only do I find it difficult to imagine subsisting on 100 cal packs of cheezits and Oreos, but I am way too frugal to buy those...can't even imagine what that would cost to eat like 8 of those packs every day in addition to other food. They're not cheap for such a small and relatively "empty" food item IMO. To each their own, though.

    I can only speak for myself, but think of it this way: if somebody told you to pay $1,000 extra for food over the course of a year, and you would weigh XX lb less guaranteed by the time the year was over, would you do it? Those items may cost a bit more, but if they help the person eating them be successful, you'd best believe they'll buy them in the grocery store each time!

    For me, that would not even be an option honestly. While technically I could "afford" $1,000 extra...for my husband and I that $1k would be the equivalent of about 3 MONTHS of groceries. No way. We live a frugal debt free lifestyle and there is just no way I could justify that.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    well I see that I am late to the party here….

    OP seems to be complaining that people don't eat exactly as she wants them to…interesting…

    I suggest deleting all your friends and then you do not need to worry about it...
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    She's just making an observation. It is true that several people don't eat many, or any, fruits and vegetables. It works for them. It wouldn't work for me. I didn't find her post particularly harsh. I guess I chose to not take it personally and just as an observation.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - reviewing your diary reminds me of an old saying "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones"
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    "Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about others." Author Unknown

    "Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about current events. Small people gossip"

    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

    Eleanor Roosevelt
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    well I see that I am late to the party here….

    OP seems to be complaining that people don't eat exactly as she wants them to…interesting…

    I suggest deleting all your friends and then you do not need to worry about it...

    I reviewed your diary. Would it kill you to have some fruit?

    And no, wine does not count as fruit.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I personally don't feel like sifting through 50+ items in the database just to add 30 calories of onion or broccoli or mushrooms, so I only add foods that have a calorie count of about 80 or higher. When my progress losing weight starts slowing down, I'll start really documenting everything carefully, but right now it's not worth the hassle. Potatoes and fruits have enough calories to get entered in my diary, but I eat a lot more vegetables than it reflects.

    Really? It takes me seconds to find any food listed by grams. Then it stays in my 'recent' foods list. If you can't be bothered now, I don't think that is a good indicator of long term success. Because to maintain you are going to have to be bothered. Also, you are losing out on your very own personal data base by not entering everything you eat as you lose weight. For instance, a personal TDEE calculation could


    not be made.

    There's lots of us maintaining without keeping strict food diaries, or not tracking at all. What works for you may not be what someone else needs to do.

    Then why be on a calorie counting site?
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    "Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about others." Author Unknown

    "Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about current events. Small people gossip"

    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

    Eleanor Roosevelt

    "The Internet is a great way to get on the net." - Bob Dole
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I personally don't feel like sifting through 50+ items in the database just to add 30 calories of onion or broccoli or mushrooms, so I only add foods that have a calorie count of about 80 or higher. When my progress losing weight starts slowing down, I'll start really documenting everything carefully, but right now it's not worth the hassle. Potatoes and fruits have enough calories to get entered in my diary, but I eat a lot more vegetables than it reflects.

    Really? It takes me seconds to find any food listed by grams. Then it stays in my 'recent' foods list. If you can't be bothered now, I don't think that is a good indicator of long term success. Because to maintain you are going to have to be bothered. Also, you are losing out on your very own personal data base by not entering everything you eat as you lose weight. For instance, a personal TDEE calculation could


    not be made.

    There's lots of us maintaining without keeping strict food diaries, or not tracking at all. What works for you may not be what someone else needs to do.

    Then why be on a calorie counting site?

    For the remarkably insightful forums?
  • maybe they dont have veggies at hand. i stay at my parents work all the time and all the food i find is high calorie (high calorie drinks, high calorie cheese, cake, juice) i cant just leave them to buy food because they will complain. I usually eat healthier at home though.
  • Just_Kim_
    Just_Kim_ Posts: 38 Member
    I will probably never open my diary. Too scary here. O_o
  • QueenE_
    QueenE_ Posts: 522 Member
    This is why I don't like having my diary open. I have good days and bad days and more than likely a creeper will catch me on a bad day. I've got one friend in my friends list that regularly posts so that doesn't bother me, but they're family haha.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    "Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about others." Author Unknown

    "Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about current events. Small people gossip"

    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

    Eleanor Roosevelt

    "The Internet is a great way to get on the net." - Bob Dole
    !
    LOL
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    I look at the food diaries of the people and sometimes the worry me.... not saying my diet is perfect in any way!
    If I ate what they ate my body would be starving, I need salads or veggies to fuel myself. I plan on eating this way for the rest of my life, im happy with my diet, it works for me, and in sure they say the same thing about theirs.... its just the lack of fresh produce doesn't sound sustainable in the long run... to me anyway!
    These people are meeting their calories needs for the day, but rather than filling up with healthy calories they would rather eat a little bit of something that is calorie dense... end rant

    Fresh produce is a waste of my money and it hardly fills me up. Eat your way and I'll eat my way.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    "Great people talk about ideas. Small people talk about others." Author Unknown

    "Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about current events. Small people gossip"

    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

    Eleanor Roosevelt

    "The Internet is a great way to get on the net." - Bob Dole

    "The internet is riddled with misquotations."

    -Abraham Lincoln
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I will probably never open my diary. Too scary here. O_o

    Because if someone comments on your diary, something really bad happens?

    My diary is wide open. People can comment all they want...

    ...and if I don't like it, I'll cut them from my FL.

    Whether or not someone comments on my diary doesn't change what I did or didn't eat.

    I honestly don't see what the big problem is.

    That said, if you're going to trash what I eat, your own had better be better.
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member

    My diary is wide open. People can comment all they want...............

    Whether or not someone comments on my diary doesn't change what I did or didn't eat.

    I honestly don't see what the big problem is.

    That said, if you're going to trash what I eat, your own had better be better.

    ^^ This. My food diary is a record of what I've eaten, that's all.
    If I spend two days using all my calories on panettone and chocolates then that's my decision, might not be sustainable long term but isn't going to harm me. If someone makes a "naughty, naughty!" comment I'd just take it as gentle teasing!
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    I will probably never open my diary. Too scary here. O_o

    Because if someone comments on your diary, something really bad happens?

    My diary is wide open. People can comment all they want...

    ...and if I don't like it, I'll cut them from my FL.

    Whether or not someone comments on my diary doesn't change what I did or didn't eat.

    I honestly don't see what the big problem is.

    That said, if you're going to trash what I eat, your own had better be better.

    This!

    tumblr_lp0k8u3G9x1qlumgi.gif
  • TemikaThompson
    TemikaThompson Posts: 222 Member
    'Once our nutrient needs are met, we don’t get extra credit for eating more nutritious food!' - Eric Helms

    IKR! LOL
  • Hey, as long as we're losing.