What is advantage of keeping diary private?
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My diary is open to my friends only. I have closed it a couple times before when I was embarrassed by all the ice cream and chocolate I had consumed over the course of the day... okay... over the course of a week. Then I decided to keep it open because I want others to realize that you can still be within your calorie goal* AND have ice cream. (And not the low fat junk either, the real super creamy and peanut buttery stuff).
That said, I have seen on some of my friend's posts some nasty comments about how they're failing because the protein is too low/carbs too high/not enough veggies. I mean, you can say those things, but when it's not asked for and when it's said harshly it's not to anyone's advantage. Personally, if I were in that situation I'd just delete the "friend" but not everyone is willing to do that.
*Note, I'm not always under my calorie goal... typically I just hit it or I sail past it, but I'm still losing for the most part.0 -
I keep mine private because I find it triggering when others judge me for my food choices. If I want to challenge myself and have something sweet I don't want anyone commenting negatively on it.0
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tracyannk28 wrote: »A lot of people are willing to be more honest about their logging when it's not scrutinized by everyone on MFP. Like #diannethegeek, I'm considering setting mine to private because I'm beginning to develop a very unhealthy relationship with food.
This is spot on.
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I have noticed that some people keep their food diaries private & curious if there is an advantage to doing so? Personally I keep mine open so that it might help others to get ideas for different types of food to eat to help them stay within their calorie goal. Sometimes I go over but I think I'd be worse about eating more than I should if I didn't know people were noticing what I eat.
I know how to eat. I know what to eat. I know how many calories are in specific meals so sometimes I just quick add it. I know exactly what I am doing.
If I had it open, people would be commenting on it nonstop. I don't mind advice generally, but on the topic of nutrition, I know exactly what I am doing. It would be a waste of my time and everyone else's time if they were to comment on it.
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I was diagnosed with a metabolic disorder. My diet depends entirely on what I can eat. It might not make sense to some other people so I keep it private for now. But I would like to stay with the MFP community to stay healthy and keep my weight stable. I've been maintaining for the past 4-5 months.
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pincushion14 wrote: »Mine is just for me. It's a mess, but it makes sense to me. Since I calorie cycle naturally, I don't want people seeing that some days yes I do only eat 800 calories (gasp!) and judging me for that. Or seeing that the next day I had 2300 and asking me if I enjoyed that triple serving of ice cream. I eat when I'm hungry, bank my calories if I'm not, and it all comes out in the wash at the end of the week. If I stall out I might try a "conventional" diet and open my diary for suggestions then, but other than that it's my business and mine alone. Good for you for thinking about others though and keeping yours open! Some people need to see that from others and it helps them.
This makes so much sense that I just might close mine.0 -
In used tk keep mine locked but then I realized people can help more of they see it. Plus
Now I encourage people to look so
They can learn0 -
This subject seems to come up a lot - do people actually care what other people are eating? Unless it's someone posting a thread specifically asking with help because they are struggling to lose weight it wouldn't even occur to me to look at someone elses food diary. It's such a weird thing to get hung up on.0
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I think there are so many more advantages of having an open diary than not. First, you give others ideas on things to eat that can come in under calories, you show others that you are human and have some great days - and some that aren't so great. I have found that those with open diaries (may be different for others) within my friends circle lose more weight, eat healthier, and have a better relationship with food and their bodies. I only have one friend that doesn't have an open diary, I no longer accept friend requests from those who don't. Caveat - mine is open to my friends, but not to MFP as a whole.
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I originally had mine public, I ended up making it friends only after asking a question about period changes after losing weight. Instead of answering my question I had someone go a little psycho (including private messaging me) that I was starving myself and my body was shutting down. They looked at two days of my dairy from when my husband was in the ICU and took it to mean that was my normal habits. I decided I didn't need the judgement from people who didn't have all the facts.0
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I have noticed that some people keep their food diaries private & curious if there is an advantage to doing so? Personally I keep mine open so that it might help others to get ideas for different types of food to eat to help them stay within their calorie goal. Sometimes I go over but I think I'd be worse about eating more than I should if I didn't know people were noticing what I eat.
I have mine to friends only. Not that I care if other people see what I eat, but it would annoy me to get unsolicited advice. So, I minimize the chance.
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pincushion14 wrote: »Had one smug individual come up a few years ago, when I first got started and was still trying to learn how all this really works. His exact quote will stay with me forever. "Well, no wonder your (sic) not losing at a decent pace. I hope that ice cream was worth it!" I even remember the grammatical error. LOL I deleted him and refused to add friends for like two years, it got my goat so bad.
Now that's crappy. Sorry you had to experience that.
I personally don't care about keeping mine open. If someone has something negative to say, I'll hear them out. If it's something I know I can disprove, I'll have no problem doing so. Been there done that. Lost over 120 lbs doing this without any knowledge and recently lost 20 lbs in 8 wks eating what I want in moderation. Come at me.0 -
Mine is private. I thought I would eventually change it over to open at some point but I don't think I will anymore. In the beginning when I was trying to figure out nutritional values of everything and trying different foods and healthier options- I wasn't ready for anyone to critique me or judge me. Now I've kept it private because in the end this is my journey and I don't want to feel pressure from anyone to eat differently. (Not that all the response would be negative but I don't want advice unless I ask for it) I don't worry about skimming on the logging if I go over my calorie goal just to keep face. My logging is true to my knowledge. If anyone has questions about what I'm eating they are definitely welcome to ask me.
Some people feel the opposite and feel it keeps them accountable to keep it open because someone could see it.
I do read my friends diaries from time to time just to see how they eat compared to me. I never comment on it though. I appreciate their sharing and would never want them to become selfconscious about it. Losing weight and being healthy are hard enough I think to have to hear it from everyone else that you're doing it wrong.0 -
It sounds silly, but keeping it to myself keeps me honest. I haven't had too many problems with unsolicited criticisms, but the fear of it would cause me leave things out of it from time to time.0
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I leave mine private because I see no reason why internet strangers need to see my logging. If I screw up, I'm well aware of it.0
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Tired of the judgements. I put everything in my diary. I get tired of being judged by the holier than thou MFP Gods who only eat the finest, freshest, most heavenly organic foods around. If I like it and it fits in my day...I'm gonna eat it. No ones business. I wouldnt have reached my goal by cheating0
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pincushion14 wrote: »Mine is just for me. It's a mess, but it makes sense to me. Since I calorie cycle naturally, I don't want people seeing that some days yes I do only eat 800 calories (gasp!) and judging me for that. Or seeing that the next day I had 2300 and asking me if I enjoyed that triple serving of ice cream. I eat when I'm hungry, bank my calories if I'm not, and it all comes out in the wash at the end of the week. If I stall out I might try a "conventional" diet and open my diary for suggestions then, but other than that it's my business and mine alone. Good for you for thinking about others though and keeping yours open! Some people need to see that from others and it helps them.
I also cycle diet 5:2 alternate day fasting protocol...only 500 cals on those two days, and maintenance on the other 5. But i keep mine open. IDGAF what people think, and most of my friends understand what my gig is by now...when I get a new 'friend' I have to explain it all over again, but it's a learning tool for them. Different things work for different people. But I COMPLETELY understand why you keep it closed!!!
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I keep mine private because I feel like what I eat is my own business...not saying my diet is poor...it's actually good (for once) but I don't feel comfortable having strangers on the internet analyze what I consume and in what quantities...that is between me and my doctor0
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The advantage is that it prevents other people from seeing it.0
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Upon reading all of your posts, it's sad to know that there are people in here that judge what you eat or what and how you are doing things. Basically we are supposed to be helping and motivating not judging one another.0
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Two words. Food Nazis.0
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Because when I had it open during my last attempt some snide person that I did not even know messaged me telling me everything that I was doing wrong. Eating too little one day and too much another. ridiculing me because I had a small slice of chocolate cake... it was my birthday dammit.0
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I set mine to private to avoid any people commenting on my potato chips or beer that I might log. I eat what I like if it fits into my calorie goal. I work out to add extra food calories if I desire. Most days I am under my goal and what I am doing works for me. The day that I go over, I usually make up for it the next day. What works for me, may not work for someone else and I don't want the drama of people telling me I should do this or I should do that. It works the way I am doing it. Just be happy that I am under my calorie goal, whatever that is.0
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I keep mine open to stress people out, give food ideas, and to show that you don't have to be perfect or eat clean to get results. Calories in vs calories out.0
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I keep mine closed because I'm tall, I train hard, and I have a relatively high calorie goal compared to many of the people I've met on MFP. I have never, not once, had anyone comment negatively on my diary, but even a "great job!" gave me the willies because I didn't like the idea of other people looking through what I'd eaten that day. I also agree with those who say it actually keeps you MORE honest because you don't have anyone to impress. And I turned off the notification that tells my friends list whether or not I was under for the day. And I've still done ok :shrug:0
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Mine is open to my friends, as we like to get ideas from each other.0
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My diary is closed because I already have accountability outside of MFP from people who care about me and know my lifestyle. I am also starting slowly - working on keeping within goal first and learning about the foods I eat currently before cutting down on processed foods, so on and so forth. I don't need random people commenting on what they think I'm doing wrong just because I'm not "there" yet (but still losing nevertheless). Besides, tracking is a tool for ME only to know what I am eating and what I need to change if I am not getting the desired results, and I feel I can be more honest if I don't have an audience.0
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I keep mine closed because of an experience I was part of with a friend of mine being bullied by another friend of theirs, I seen first hand how your so called friends, can be really annoying and to the point of being hurtful to this person. I ended getting pissed at the situation and told the bullier so. They posted earlier on this thread how they keep their diary open and how there are so many advantages to having an open diary. Not with having a friend like that.0
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Mine is set to private, but I have a key that can be given to someone who I want to be able to look at it.
I set up my diary to track a whole lot more than my food intake With that, there is a lot of personal medical type stuff that's part of the entries I make. So ... it's very private and it's for my my own purposes. I do share it with my doctor ... just print it out.0 -
nobody scolds 'em, i guess.0
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