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do you leave your diary open?

itsbasschick
itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i was curious - do you leave your diary open or keep it private? i leave notes to myself in the foods notes, and have an odd diet, so i don't feel entirely comfortable leaving it open, but i can't really see why not.
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Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Mine's open. I also make notes and that sort of thing, but figure if anyone has questions, they can ask me. :smile:
  • Dragoness1980
    Dragoness1980 Posts: 21 Member
    Mine's open. I find it better to look after yourself when other people can see what you've been doing
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
    Mine is open to my friends. I leave random notes in my diary too. But most of it is self-explanatory. If not, my friends are more than welcome to ask me about it.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I don't see any reason to hide what I eat - mine is open.
  • tinkbaby101
    tinkbaby101 Posts: 180 Member
    Mine is open. I figure nobody's going to criticize it, unless I ask for feedback. It feels almost like I'm ashamed of the foods I'm eating, if I choose to keep it private.
  • WisheeNY
    WisheeNY Posts: 72 Member
    I don't. I'm embarrassed about my food I guess? Lol! Plus I eat the same stuff all the time anyway.
  • Jimsmith109
    Jimsmith109 Posts: 38 Member
    My diary is open for all to get ideas or give them : }
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    mine is open. It helps me stay accountable.
  • alpacapunch1989
    alpacapunch1989 Posts: 24
    Mine's open to friends. I've only had one person message to harshly judge my sugar intake, but I consider it a good thing. Sometimes it's not enough just to track calories, sometimes it's good to have a slap in the face, so to speak. :)
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    i'm not embarrassed - i haven't missed logging a single meal, and haven't eaten a single bite that wasn't thought out. i've been food diarying in a notebook since may 2, only started here recently. on the other hand, i had been sticking to the MFP calorie allowance, which was 1200 calories, and i figured out was just too low for health, and i feel bad people may comment on that or worry about me.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    this is actually pretty interesting - thanks for the replies :)
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Open. I only had it open to friends for a while, but now it's totally public.
  • kk_140
    kk_140 Posts: 518 Member
    I don't leave it open because I do not use MFP for tracking calories. I prefer the old fashioned pen and paper way of doing things. And if I don't know how many calories are in something, I just don't eat it.
  • Swaggs51
    Swaggs51 Posts: 716 Member
    open.. i want my friends to be abl;e to look at it and give me tips
  • kristinrenew
    kristinrenew Posts: 1
    Open as well.
  • WLG1974
    WLG1974 Posts: 90
    Ya, mine is open.. to myself.
  • kcmcd
    kcmcd Posts: 239 Member
    I think it's open, but I changed my settings to not announce when I've "stayed under calories", and I never click the "finished logging" button anyway.
  • ShibaEars
    ShibaEars Posts: 3,928 Member
    Mine's open. I make notes in the comments sometimes, but it's not personal info. If people want to look at it they can, and it in no way affects what I'm doing :)

    I also like to look at other people's diaries because it can give me some new meal ideas.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    closed. I don't log consistently so nothing to share, plus I feel kinda the same way as a few others: don't feel comfortable since I don't ask why I am not losing weight so no need to have other people poke inside. :)
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    I believe it's closed. I also use the food notes for my own notes about food, exercise, personal appts, whatever.

    I might open it in the future, but to be honest, I've seen at least 2 people on the forums in my short time here use other people's diaries as a way to score points against them during some unrelated arguments.

    That kind of thing doesn't make me feel open to the idea of being open.
  • Shannonpurple
    Shannonpurple Posts: 268 Member
    OP are you friends with anyone from MFP in real life?? I am not... so what do you care if the internet world thinks you eat weird food. I mean I am more worried my BF thinks I eat weird food and he does.
  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
    Mine isn't open. I just don't see it as a feature. I sometimes "snoop" on other people's diaries and I feel compelled to ask them questions about their food -- as if leaving your diary open is like an open invitation of "please start a conversation with me about what I ate today." Maybe that's just my own interpretation of that setting, lol. Plus, I often find other people's diaries really confusing and not helpful when they don't even come close to their calorie goals -- or when they've only eaten three things but have somehow eaten all their calories and I can't see where the extra calories are coming from. So I always feel like I have a gazillion questions, but I don't know whether they really want me to be snooping around and inviting myself to ask questions about their diary.

    Anyway, because that is not an invitation I want to extend, I don't leave mine open. I don't need the accountability of someone reading my diary to keep me on track and I find that sending the "was under her calorie goal" message to my newsfeed is accountability enough.
  • theflatpick
    theflatpick Posts: 106 Member
    I leave mine open. It seems the only people who look at it are the few friends I have acquired, and they seem to be helpful and comment on my fix of foods. It has been ok for me.
  • Froody2
    Froody2 Posts: 338 Member
    Mine's open. Was interested to read lately that people who have open diaries and share them with their friends lose twice as much weight as those who don't, according to MFP.

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/05/myfitnesspal-ebook-the-rise-of-the-fitness-tribe/
  • silverlining84
    silverlining84 Posts: 330 Member
    Yup mine is open. Helps keep me more accountable. Except for today. Tim Hortons donut was just calling my name.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Yup mine is open. Helps keep me more accountable. Except for today. Tim Hortons donut was just calling my name.

    LOL, I thought you said "Tony Horton"....I was wondering since when he started selling donuts...
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    the only person on MFP i know in real life is my husband, and he A) doesn't take part on the boards and B) is welcome to know anything and everything.

    i feel vulnerable about what i'm doing regarding losing weight and so it's easy to be over-sensitive.
    OP are you friends with anyone from MFP in real life?? I am not... so what do you care if the internet world thinks you eat weird food. I mean I am more worried my BF thinks I eat weird food and he does.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Mine is open to friends, but I don't look at anyone's diary unless they have asked for help. I don't really care what people think about my chicken and watermelon for breakfast and oatmeal for supper type days. I don't plan my meals days in advance, and I enjoy the food I have. When I am switching from day shift to night shift, I will have a really low count day and when I switch back I will have a really high count day. Other people's thoughts on this are mostly irrelevant. I am doing this for me.
  • fairygirlpie9
    fairygirlpie9 Posts: 288 Member
    Mine is open. To make me better behaved - its so much easier to act up when no ones watching.
    x
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    Mine is always open. It keeps me accountable and honest. We are our own worse enemies and I find that knowing others can see my choices makes me think twice. I can not expect to lose weight if I am not honest with myself and if I continually make bad choices.

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