Why do so many people hide their food Diary?

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PaulLester
PaulLester Posts: 9
in Motivation and Support
Now i don't want to moan about things. I don't have many friends on here and most of the friends that i do have don't share their food diary.
I believe that being able to look at someones diary and see what they eat would help many with ideas of what is working and what is not.

I personally am on a low carb diet and if anybody on a low fat diet saw what i was eating they would throw a fit. This is however working for me i have lost 10 plus lbs in the first couple of weeks and am still losing.
I am happy for people to look at what i eat. I am just amazed at the amount of secrecy others show.
If anybody wants a look at what i am eating and questions how i eat what i do and lose weight, its because my body is burning fat not sugar.

My diary is public take a look if you want.
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Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Privacy sensitivities differ between countries and between say, rural and urban settings. People are entitled to keep private anything about themselves they are not prepared to share. I also think people's tastes and goals are so different that there is little benefit from trying to copy someone else's plan. For instance, on a crave day I rack up more calories, but I may not want to encourage readers to do the same. Listen to what your body is telling you! All food is lovely; enjoy it!

    However, if someone posts for help wondering what they are doing wrong in their plan, they will get much better advice if their diary is open.

    As a Canadian, I am shocked at the willingness of Americans to "give away the farm" so to speak.

    Mine is set to be visible to friends.
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    Mine is set as visible to friends too because I want the accountability.... And I do get positive reinforcement when I log a day or week of good healthy eating even if I didn't lose anything that week.....

    But, to some this is a personal journey and I respect my MFP friends who don't have open diaries. I guess we all seek reinforcement in a different way :D
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    PS.... I do essentially low carb too so if you'd like to friend me you're welcome too :D
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Because everyone is different. *shrug*
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
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    The default on mine was closed. This works for me, though, because yes - privacy. I share so much on social media - I don't need to share everything I put in my mouth, too. But I do see the value in opening it up for others to glance over and offer advice. Or if you desire accountability from your friends. I don't question why people open their diaries, but I'm also not surprised that many of us keep them closed.
  • dhampir_princess
    dhampir_princess Posts: 71 Member
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    You also need to keep in mind that the diary is automatically set to private, and for the longest time I had no idea. Not to mention I had no idea how to change it.

    Now that I do know I still haven't changed it, because: why do strangers on the internet need to know what I ate; my friends haven't asked to be able to see it; and it's too much hassle when I can see everything I need with things just the way they are.

    If there's someone whose diary you're interested in in particular, just ask them if you can see it.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    I think that some people are more accurate knowing that others can't judge their choices. They can admit to themselves that they had mostly cake that day, but they don't want others knowing they ate 1000 calories worth of cake.

    My body burns fat and sugar, which is why I look the way I do. I keep an open diary to show that you can still enjoy sugar and "junk" food in moderation.
  • mbbseb
    mbbseb Posts: 124 Member
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    Mine is open for my friends, but if I have messed up my whole day I won't complete my food diary. I sometimes think it may make me want to lie (I know that only hurts me) Just saying, if I eat a lot I may not log it all because I don't want someone to see how much of a pig I have been.
  • missjazminenicole
    missjazminenicole Posts: 379 Member
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    I think it's the fear of judgement. This is a process and a difficult one for most of us and we have slip ups and there are days where we make bad food choices or we just like a food that others want to ban. nobody wants to be picked a part and MFP has a community that can be very good at shoving their views and thoughts down your throat.
  • AdieEve
    AdieEve Posts: 87 Member
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    Because it's no one's business but my own. Because I struggle with Binge Eating Disorder and don't need public shame on top of my private shame. Because I only answer to me, and keeping it private means I will be honest with myself and log everything truthfully, even when I'm ashamed to see it.

    I don't understand other people's obsession with what I'm consuming.
  • MYhealthyjourney70
    MYhealthyjourney70 Posts: 276 Member
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    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    Mine is set as visible to friends too because I want the accountability.... And I do get positive reinforcement when I log a day or week of good healthy eating even if I didn't lose anything that week.....

    But, to some this is a personal journey and I respect my MFP friends who don't have open diaries. I guess we all seek reinforcement in a different way :D

    well said.. i agree
  • NekoneMeowMixx
    NekoneMeowMixx Posts: 410 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    I think that some people are more accurate knowing that others can't judge their choices. They can admit to themselves that they had mostly cake that day, but they don't want others knowing they ate 1000 calories worth of cake.

    My body burns fat and sugar, which is why I look the way I do. I keep an open diary to show that you can still enjoy sugar and "junk" food in moderation.

    Agreed... I knew a girl who, unfortunately struggled with an eating disorder, and would kick herself if she ate more than 600 calories in a day. It was truly painful to watch, as she was incredibly tiny as it was. But she kept her diary locked up tight, and didn't want anyone to know...
  • izalac
    izalac Posts: 20 Member
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    The default setting is private, and I guess a lot of people just don't bother digging into settings and changing that.

    Mine is open for my friends.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    People have their reasons to keep their diary private I guess and that is okay with me.

    I don't care if someone looks at my diary or not. What I eat doesn't feel like something I need to keep private.
  • BetterThanExpected
    BetterThanExpected Posts: 104 Member
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    I used to keep my diary completely private because I didn't want people to comment on it and tell me what they think I should or should not be eating, especially since I used to have a binge eating problem and was very sensitive to comments by ANYONE about what I was eating. I only recently made my diary viewable to my friends because I figured it would help keep me more accountable, and I also am no longer having binge eating problems, thank god.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    I have been here for a very long time. What someone else is eating is none of my business, until they ask for help. I would rather people keep their diary closed and log accurately. Then when they need help they have an accurate record of what they actually ate.
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
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    I would think that, given the vast differences between people's metabolisms and genetic makeup (I'm an English major - I'm just sayin' that there are differences, but can't get all scientific about it) ... it wouldn't be terribly helpful to look at someone else's diary, except to see menu ideas. I'm 43. If I followed the diary of a 25 year old, I'd probably not be a happy camper.
  • natboosh69
    natboosh69 Posts: 276 Member
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    usmcmp wrote: »
    I think that some people are more accurate knowing that others can't judge their choices. They can admit to themselves that they had mostly cake that day, but they don't want others knowing they ate 1000 calories worth of cake.

    This is why I keep mine hidden ;)

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    natboosh69 wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    I think that some people are more accurate knowing that others can't judge their choices. They can admit to themselves that they had mostly cake that day, but they don't want others knowing they ate 1000 calories worth of cake.

    This is why I keep mine hidden ;)

    That's what is important! Just logging and admitting to yourself. Now you have the numbers and trends and can see what is going on. Nobody else needs to know. Sometimes we eat 1000 calories worth of cake. It's far from the end of the world and it's not a failure. Getting healthy, losing weight and improving our fitness isn't going to be a perfect process and that's okay. Progress, not perfection.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
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    SHAME!!!1

    idgaf, i've eaten nothing but pizza for 5 days. come at me.

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