diary: public or private?

sinclare
sinclare Posts: 369 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I have only been here 2 weeks and have my diary private. are there any advantages to making it public?
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Replies

  • JHoersten2
    JHoersten2 Posts: 44 Member
    We can spy on you and secretly criticize what you eat as a group while you're not online.
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    you wont be able to hide all the m&m's i know youve been eating
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
    We can spy on you and secretly criticize what you eat as a group while you're not online.

    haha!
  • JatieKo621
    JatieKo621 Posts: 425 Member
    Of course there are! First off you can get great advice on what to eat /what not to by someone examining your diary. Second off-it might help with the "pressure." I mean to me I don't want to eat 1200 calories of chocolate in one day-and I especially don't want people to know that I did! So it can help to keep your diet healthy and portion controlled.

    It helped me because I was eating too little while burning a LOT of calories, and others noticed and helped give me advice on healthy calorie dense foods.

    I like mine being open! Try it-you can always change it back?
  • JatieKo621
    JatieKo621 Posts: 425 Member
    hahahahahahahah @ all of these answers.
  • ChristinaRamos
    ChristinaRamos Posts: 226
    mine is public, yours should be public!!
  • JessesGirl05
    JessesGirl05 Posts: 253
    there are advantages, yes. but for me i prefer to keep it for myself. Ive had too many critics in the past. I eat healthy but some people say it isnt healthy enough. there was also someone telling me "dont eat that, eat this" or telling me I need to do something different.
    When I had mine public, all it made me want to do, was not log my food!
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    there are advantages, yes. but for me i prefer to keep it for myself. Ive had too many critics in the past. I eat healthy but some people say it isnt healthy enough. there was also someone telling me "dont eat that, eat this" or telling me I need to do something different.

    muahahah so yer really the m&m fiend aye?
  • Kristylarson
    Kristylarson Posts: 29
    Mine is public. I hope that people will get ideas off my diary if they get stuck in a rut. I check other people's to get new ideas :) And it helps hold me accountable.
  • JessesGirl05
    JessesGirl05 Posts: 253
    there are advantages, yes. but for me i prefer to keep it for myself. Ive had too many critics in the past. I eat healthy but some people say it isnt healthy enough. there was also someone telling me "dont eat that, eat this" or telling me I need to do something different.

    muahahah so yer really the m&m fiend aye?

    um ok. whatever you say. I'm really not in the mood to be poked fun at, or for you (or anyone) to assume im "sneaking" m&ms.
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    there are advantages, yes. but for me i prefer to keep it for myself. Ive had too many critics in the past. I eat healthy but some people say it isnt healthy enough. there was also someone telling me "dont eat that, eat this" or telling me I need to do something different.

    muahahah so yer really the m&m fiend aye?

    um ok. whatever you say. I'm really not in the mood to be poked fun at, or for you (or anyone) to assume im "sneaking" m&ms.
    lighten up ...... and no1 has to sneak anything eat what you want log it learn from it and move on thats how we roll :D
  • snkeller24
    snkeller24 Posts: 459
    Mine is public. I hope that people will get ideas off my diary if they get stuck in a rut. I check other people's to get new ideas :) And it helps hold me accountable.

    I agree I like to see what others eat to try something new that maybe I didn't think of. As well as people with similar goals to see how closely related we are to eating. I've never have had anyone bash my 'eating' habits. This isn't really the site for it. And others are right - it keeps you honest and on track.
  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    or someone could say hey maybe next time try a fat free cheese or I use egg whites instead of that egg ...... yadda yadda ..... if you want to do the best and your here for help i think open is the way to go
  • charmsangel13
    charmsangel13 Posts: 50 Member
    Mine is only open to my friends. :)
  • reese66
    reese66 Posts: 2,920 Member
    mine is public, yours should be public!!

    In this persons opinion...

    Some people like to keep their diaries closed because some people are quite cruel when they see you have eaten a cookie or maybe something that isn't considered "clean." OMG and my goodness if you a have a beer... Mine is open to my friends because I appreciate their opinions but in the end they know its my choice.

    Your diary is yours, if you want to share then do, but if you don't then don't let anyone brow beat you into sharing it...

    Your journey is journey do what's right for you!!!!

    Best wishes :)
  • Mad_Dog_Muscle
    Mad_Dog_Muscle Posts: 1,251 Member
    We can spy on you and secretly criticize what you eat as a group while you're not online.

    LMAO! And this is why I keep mine private! When I say I was under my goal, you cant see I really had 5 slices of pizza, 4 snickers bars, 1 bag of popcorn, and 4 regular sodas. then a few weeks later you will see me complain about why I cant lose weight and dont understand why! :-)

    OK, all kidding aside, because I DONT eat like that ...... I keep mine private just because I dont feel the need to share what I am eating. I am not hiding anything, but if you have it OPEN, at some point or other, you are going to get someone out there who is an "expert" telling you what you should be eating and what your doing wrong. I feel like I know my body and what I can and can not eat and right now I dont need any extra input. NOW, if you are a person that wants or feel you need to get others input from others to help you on your journey I htink it can be very valuable to you until you figure it out on your own.

    Good luck with your fitness goals!
  • sinclare
    sinclare Posts: 369 Member
    wow thanks for all the response! gonna sleep on it....I need all the help I can get, but I am super sensitive and don't want people to freak out that I am not "perfect."
  • Noctuary
    Noctuary Posts: 255
    wow thanks for all the response! gonna sleep on it....I need all the help I can get, but I am super sensitive and don't want people to freak out that I am not "perfect."
    You aren't perfect?!!!


    *freaks out.:tongue:
  • sinclare
    sinclare Posts: 369 Member
    I know... :smile:
  • CallejaFairey
    CallejaFairey Posts: 391 Member
    i understand when people want to keep stuff to themselves...but i will say, when people on my friends list have their diaries private, when they finish their log for the day, i can't, in good conscience, say good job about being under...cause really, without being able to see it, idk if you really did do a good job.

    my thought, to each their own...i don't mind mine being open, and i have never had anyone say anything nasty about my diary. though my mom does poke fun at all the sushi i eat :P hey, lots of lean protien, can't beat that! haha. and yes, i eat whatever i want. so anyone can see when i had cookies, or chocolate, or pizza, or bad restaurant food...or...a piece of cake (like today at lunch for instance). if you do choose to stay private though, if you have questions about food and cal limits, or if you hit a plateau or have any food related questions, it makes it hard for people to answer if they can't look.
  • Windi38
    Windi38 Posts: 164 Member
    I've been on for a few weeks, but I don't have any desire to open mine up to the public. And I don't have any desire to look at some else's eating habits either. I suppose if I did look at the others, I'd open mine up too, fair is fair after all! :)~

    But, I don't feel guilty about what I eat, it's mostly healthy anyway, and right now, I'm losing weight steady, so it's all good. If, in the future I get stuck and don't lose weight, I may open it up and get some advice about how to change things up or something.......
  • Mad_Dog_Muscle
    Mad_Dog_Muscle Posts: 1,251 Member
    i understand when people want to keep stuff to themselves...but i will say, when people on my friends list have their diaries private, when they finish their log for the day, i can't, in good conscience, say good job about being under...cause really, without being able to see it, idk if you really did do a good job.

    my thought, to each their own...i don't mind mine being open, and i have never had anyone say anything nasty about my diary. though my mom does poke fun at all the sushi i eat :P hey, lots of lean protien, can't beat that! haha. and yes, i eat whatever i want. so anyone can see when i had cookies, or chocolate, or pizza, or bad restaurant food...or...a piece of cake (like today at lunch for instance). if you do choose to stay private though, if you have questions about food and cal limits, or if you hit a plateau or have any food related questions, it makes it hard for people to answer if they can't look.

    Good point Calleja.... I could not agree more on this point, .. IF someone has a question, and wants input, I say YES, let others see what you are eating so they may offer advice. I know if I were to hit a plateau or did have questions, I would open mine up and say.... HERE .... HELP ME!!!!!!! ;-) :huh: :huh:
  • LeelaLosing
    LeelaLosing Posts: 237 Member
    I have a few friends on MFP who are real foodies, and I sometimes enjoy checking in to get ideas (not to spy or criticize) and I've noticed that people like to do it to me. I spend a lot of time figuring out how to keep my food interesting and yummy so I am not ever feeling deprived or "on a diet", so it's nice to see sometimes that someone has started eating "my food", it's a good feeling passing something positive like that along. Getting and giving new perspectives and sharing is important and I like being part of that. I joined to really be part of a community and it's a very clear way to do that.

    I have my diary public for several reasons. I'm not perfect and in my real life, struggle with perfectionism. MFP is a good place for me to put it out there, come what may and accept it. If I had anyone comment (along the lines of good food/bad food) negatively, I would unfriend them....I don't have a place for those kind of people in my life, online or in person. I wouldn't freak out about that. I don't know why anyone here would put up with that behavior when they don't need to. I drink wine, beer, whatever I want....I'm over 21 why would anyone think they have the right to say something about it?

    I personally think that if more people called those out who criticize their food choices, or turn things into good/bad food, or are rigid, then it would make MFP a better place. But honestly, it's never happened to me.

    I also like that it personally provides accountability for me, not that I stop myself eating something I really want, but it makes me think twice, which I often need. So it's a means to an end, with a positive result. It keeps me more on target and conscious of my choices.

    It's also a reflection of where you are emotionally with food right now, whatever is your choice, it's right for you. You can always change, see what's comfortable and go from there :-)
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
    I have mine set to friends only. I like the accountability of having people be able to see it. But I had it public when I first started and got comments that I didn't appreciate from people I didn't know. I am not perfect and I eat things that aren't healthy sometimes. Also my friends usually know if there is something going on in my life that might lead to going over/under on calories for a while. I personally don't want people who don't know me or anything that is going on in my life telling me that I'm not doing things the 'right' way.
  • simplepuremaddness
    simplepuremaddness Posts: 33 Member
    I dont think people have the right to judge you on what you eat or make harsh comments. :) like if u eat pizza its your choice to eat that. I think its more handy leaving it public if u asking advice of people how to speed up weight loss and they can then go and look at ur diary and help you that way. I've peeked at some diaries where all the entries have been 'naughty' foods so to speak but thats the persons choice of what to eat :)
  • MegJo
    MegJo Posts: 398 Member
    I have mine open to friends only. I have awesome friends that don't judge in a cruel way. They're super supportive and helpful.
  • mirapaigew
    mirapaigew Posts: 107
    you wont be able to hide all the m&m's i know youve been eating


    hahahahah Damn!
  • mirapaigew
    mirapaigew Posts: 107
    Have no shame, make it public. We're all here for the same reason!!! :)
  • shadow3829
    shadow3829 Posts: 103 Member
    Mine is public. I love to read others so it only seems fair. I don't judge or comment, to each their own. I just like seeing the different ideas and foods, especially the one out side of the US.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Mine is open to friends only, as you can always defriend someone. I accept most friend requests as well, as I assume they're related to something I've posted and they may want to see more detail.

    I like that I have one friend who REALLY looks at what I've eaten when I go under and comments accordingly. I am cautious of commenting myself though. When a friend posted that she wanted to gain weight I checked out her diary and she was way under calorie each day. She seemed offended when I mentioned this, so maybe something more complicated was going on there...
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