Why do people lock their diaries?

beemerphile1 wrote: »

Not just diary, why do people make their profile private? There is nothing in my profile that will enable someone to show up at my house or work so there is no need for privacy.

When people post on here I will sometimes look at their profile to figure out where they are at in this journey. Weight, age, sex, height, can all be pertinent information to understanding the person's post.

I don't care if anyone has their food log open or not, but not having anything in the profile page baffles me.
I have recently had several friends requests from people who only had their MFP name in their profile and nothing else. I denied the requests, because I at least would like to know things like geography, gender, approximate age and as a bonus maybe even some interests.
I wonder if some people are either too lazy to fill anything out, or are super private. If that later is the case, I wonder how they want to be supportive friends, if they don't want to share anything about themselves.

Is no one else going to point out the irony in the fact that the OP has her food diary locked?

I say to each their own, and people should do whatever works for them…

Edit: nvm @allaboutthecake beat me to it.

At first the idea horrified me to have my diary made public. As time went on and I started having success AND enjoying my little splurges and wine on the weekends I thought, why not? I'll open it to my friends and let them see it if they want. I enjoy looking at what others are doing too, especially if it is working for them. What I discovered is that people eat all sorts of things and can be successful - fast food, cheat days, booze. CICO is all that matters and the biggest thing is being accountable to yourself. Log everything.

marissafit06 wrote: »

Geekymonkey99 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

marissafit06 wrote: »

Mine is open to friends. Sometimes when I have having trouble I look through other people's diaries to get ideas, but I don't track people's food regularly. I don't really care what other people eat and find it odd that people would care what I eat. I also eat a lot of sweets and always have. I am somewhat embarrassed for strangers to know that there are days when half my calories are from goodies.

why are you embarrassed by that?

Exactly. I actually WANT people to know, because I prove you can lose weight and still eat copious amounts of sweets.

That's actually a good question @SezxyStef . Honestly the only reason I have any weight to lose is because I overdo it on sweets. I understand portion control and practice moderation when it comes to other foods. Knowing that I put on 20lbs because of cookies is somewhat depressing.

@marissafit06 we all put our weight on eating too much of stuff...no need to be embarassed.

to all others I have mine open and if you are on my friends list it is expected yours will be open too...and not for me to judge but maybe get ideas for food and tit for tat as well...if you can see mine I want to see yours...even tho I don't look often.

for me I don't understand how the judgement of a stranger can have such an impact on you personally I mean really WTF cares what some shmo from across the continent things of your dinner...but again to each their own...

rainbowbow wrote: »

I was tired of people making comments like "hey, make sure you dont eat pizza it's unhealthy for you!" or "wow, too much sugar today" and other judgey comments. I'm spot on my macros and calories and people still feel the need to chime in with some nonsense. It aint no body's bidness but mine.


I also think it's kind of creepy.

you need new friends then.

Perhaps the same reason your diary is locked, OP.

Mine is open, because I don't care if people see what I eat. They can judge me all they want, but I've never had anyone give me grief for what's in my diary. I see no reason to keep it private, but that's just my preference.

rainbowbow wrote: »

I was tired of people making comments like "hey, make sure you dont eat pizza it's unhealthy for you!" or "wow, too much sugar today" and other judgey comments.

Seriously? Did your friends say this or random people?

I've never gotten comments like that and would unfriend anyone who made them.

Despite how intense the discussion in the forums get I actually don't think of them at all as a place where people would comment on food choices like that except in rare cases (or if someone were presuming to lecture others hypocritically). That's why there's such a backlash when the occasional person posts an obnoxious thread about how crappy their friends allegedly eat or the like--it just seems contrary to the culture, IMO.

Perhaps I've just been lucky.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

I was tired of people making comments like "hey, make sure you dont eat pizza it's unhealthy for you!" or "wow, too much sugar today" and other judgey comments.

Seriously? Did your friends say this or random people?

I've never gotten comments like that and would unfriend anyone who made them.

yeah, usually newbies. When i would complete my diary for the day would comment on it. it was just kinda... weird.

Either way, i log sporadically now anyway since i've been in maintenance for roughly 3 years. It would probably just be empty and not useful now anyway.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

I was tired of people making comments like "hey, make sure you dont eat pizza it's unhealthy for you!" or "wow, too much sugar today" and other judgey comments.

Seriously? Did your friends say this or random people?

I've never gotten comments like that and would unfriend anyone who made them.

It's never happened to me, either, but I did see someone on my news feed get a "where are the fruits and veggies?" earlier today. Uh, up your *kitten*? People can be nosy, but like I said, I've never had that come up before, and my diary is far from perfect.

Because I don't look at my friends' diaries, and they have no business looking at mine. I do not eat "clean" and have recently stopped drinking and smoking. So by God, I will have a giant bowl of ice cream or a Krispy Kreme if I feel like it. And I don't feel the need to explain that to anyone. Plus, everyone has "bad" days, and if they are committed to a certain way of eating, those bad days will probably stress them out enough without random strangers piling on. With my diary closed, I can be more honest with myself about the good and bad, and not deal with the drama.

Nobody locks their diaries. They are locked by default. One must unlock them.

I was here for months before I knew about locked/unlocked diaries because I'm not here for anyone else, I'm here for me.

I'm brutally honest w myself. I don't have a public diary cause i don't need any help loosing weight other then mfp logging.

Privacy is no joke these days.

There are people with nothing better to do with their lives, and if you are like me and have opinions, then you are opening yourself up to those living in their parents basement, ready, willing, and able to begin doxing you.

From Urban Dictionary:
Doxing is a technique of tracing someone or gather information about an individual using sources on the internet. Its name is derived from “Documents” or “Docx”. Doxing method is based purely on the ability of the hacker to recognize valuable information about his target and use this information to his benefit. It is also based around the idea that, “The more you know about your target, the easier it will be to find his or her flaws”

They will go after your employer, your family, and bully you into silence. I refuse to allow that to happen (Again), so I am locked down in everything that I do, and I will not be silenced by anyone.