Open vs. closed diaries

Closed, mostly because it's personal and as an Intermittent Faster I forgo breakfast and lunch which doesn't mean my diary will be very helpful for anyone trying to eat small snacks to see I ate all my calories in the form of a huge dinner. I also like to pre-plan, usually before I go to bed I have a good idea of all the food I am going to be eating the next day.

On top of this I see some stigma against fasting in this community, and I'd rather not press that button with my friends. I fast because it makes me feel good physically, not for weight loss reasons. I was fasting like this while maintaining my weight, now I'm fasting with a deficit.

On top of this there are days like Christmas for example where I counted my calories on paper but by the time I was home I was too tired to enter every separate thing so I quick entered the number, which doesn't look good but I wanted the number in there so my reports would stay accurate.

TLDR; I have a non conventional eating schedule, it's more for me to track me.

My diary is open to everyone, who wants to look feel free. I fail to understand what the big deal is.

For anyone that looks, I am doing calorie cycling. Mondays and Tuesdays are my low calorie days - 1275 calories. Rest of the week my calorie goes and down. As long as I eat 11555 calories for the week, and able to exercise every day - that's my plan.

glassyo wrote: »

Pawsforme wrote: »

Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I know how to lose, maintain and gain weight. It's not rocket science, and I've spent the past 28 years educating myself. The food diary is there for my own benefit, and I use it quite effectively albeit perhaps not in a way that would be easily understandable by others.

See, now I have to ask. how do you use your diary?

Oh it's nothing mysterious. Just simple things -- like if we have a casserole and a salad for dinner I'm more likely to use the "quick add" feature instead of logging individual ingredients. I know the serving amounts and calorie counts on all my regular recipes, and if it's a new recipe that doesn't already include calorie info I use the USDA nutrient database (more trustworthy and quicker to use than MFP, IMO) to figure it out prior to deciding whether or not I want to make that recipe. For salads--I know how many calories are in the things I typically include, so I just tally it up in my head as I prepare it and enter it into MFP as a "quick add" amount. It works for me because I'm not overly concerned with macros and I know it's pretty darn accurate. But it would be of little to no use to anyone looking at it.

Pawsforme wrote: »

glassyo wrote: »

Pawsforme wrote: »

Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I know how to lose, maintain and gain weight. It's not rocket science, and I've spent the past 28 years educating myself. The food diary is there for my own benefit, and I use it quite effectively albeit perhaps not in a way that would be easily understandable by others.

See, now I have to ask. how do you use your diary?

Oh it's nothing mysterious. Just simple things -- like if we have a casserole and a salad for dinner I'm more likely to use the "quick add" feature instead of logging individual ingredients. I know the serving amounts and calorie counts on all my regular recipes, and if it's a new recipe that doesn't already include calorie info I use the USDA nutrient database (more trustworthy and quicker to use than MFP, IMO) to figure it out prior to deciding whether or not I want to make that recipe. For salads--I know how many calories are in the things I typically include, so I just tally it up in my head as I prepare it and enter it into MFP as a "quick add" amount. It works for me because I'm not overly concerned with macros and I know it's pretty darn accurate. But it would be of little to no use to anyone looking at it.

here i was thinking you wrote it all out in klingon or something lolol

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

Pawsforme wrote: »

glassyo wrote: »

Pawsforme wrote: »

Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I know how to lose, maintain and gain weight. It's not rocket science, and I've spent the past 28 years educating myself. The food diary is there for my own benefit, and I use it quite effectively albeit perhaps not in a way that would be easily understandable by others.

See, now I have to ask. how do you use your diary?

Oh it's nothing mysterious. Just simple things -- like if we have a casserole and a salad for dinner I'm more likely to use the "quick add" feature instead of logging individual ingredients. I know the serving amounts and calorie counts on all my regular recipes, and if it's a new recipe that doesn't already include calorie info I use the USDA nutrient database (more trustworthy and quicker to use than MFP, IMO) to figure it out prior to deciding whether or not I want to make that recipe. For salads--I know how many calories are in the things I typically include, so I just tally it up in my head as I prepare it and enter it into MFP as a "quick add" amount. It works for me because I'm not overly concerned with macros and I know it's pretty darn accurate. But it would be of little to no use to anyone looking at it.

here i was thinking you wrote it all out in klingon or something lolol

Wouldn't understand a word of it but that would be awesome!

I think I set mine to open. Only really means anything to me anyway.

Mine has always been closed but I just opened it to friends on the 1st of this month. No particular reason why. I glance through my friends diaries (the ones that are open) for snack ideas. I figured why not open mine.

Mine is closed, no particular reason apart from I am doing OK, I eat boringly, and under most of the week. So cannot close it anyways. I do however use up my allowance come the weekend. This is not a diet for me but a life style.

toe1226 wrote: »

I am noticing that I have friends with open diaries, friends with closed diaries, and friends who have their diaries open sometimes, and closed other times. Right now my diary is open.

My question for you all, is, what motivates you to keep your diary open? Does it scare you or make you feel uncomfortable that people may judge what you eat? How much or little you eat?

Why do you keep your diaries closed? Are you worried someone might think you eat too little? Too unhealthily? Or do you just thing it's nobodies dang business (wouldn't argue with you there! though mine is open now)

For those of you who have your diary open sometimes and not other times, what determines why you decide to keep it open or closed?

Mostly just curious about what's going on in people's brains.

I feel like it's my business, and it made me feel weird to think that someone might judge what I eat... or drink... or how often I drink... ehhh

My diary was open for many months but I recently closed it to anyone who is not a friend. Someone decided to go into my diary, after a LCHF debate, and took a screen shot of my diary which they posted with hopes of shaming me. They THOUGHT they had a picture of a day when I was eating way off plan and high calories but that person wasn't too bright and didn't read my notes at the bottom. It was actually a day that I posted my husband's food intake for the day when we were discussing his dietary needs and if eating high fat with me was not a good idea to combine with his high carb way of eating.

I closed my diary to non-friends because I don't need people like that viewing my diary. I was rather surprised and dismayed by the juvenile behavior. I thought I was decades past having to deal with the junior high mindset. Sigh.

I leave mine open. Judgement happens at all times for all reasons within and outside of food and eating. I can't control other people's behaviors.

toe1226 wrote: »

This is all great info!

It makes me think about how it would be great if the diary had a little comments section like "felt sick today, couldn't eat much." or WHATEVER, not just for others, but for ourselves.

There's the food note section. I think other posters can see any note you post there.

Being secretive about my food diary, even to total Internet strangers, is something I don't like to do. I've had problems with disordered eating.

I've never gotten any flak for eating sweets. If someone wants to say something about that, I'll dedicate my next bowl of ice cream to them.

Mine is open for friends. That's just the way I am with all online records of mine; I don't like having everything open to everyone on the internet, even if it's just what I've been eating.

This thread has had me really thinking.

My diary is closed, I have always thought I wouldn't open it even on request. Although I am quite chatty on the forums, I am actually quite an introvert extrovert, and introspective by nature, so never felt the need to share.

However, I am the little, short, older woman who had a 1200 cal sedentary intake ( doesn't everyone say to the 5'10, 25 yr old I am the only one who should ) and was successful losing. It ended up as sedentary maintenance too.

I eat really well, fit in my weaknesses, wine and desert, almost daily, and use protein bars and shakes to plump up my protein- a recent thing. I can honestly only eat so much in a day.

I dilly and dally about opening it because I get lots of friend requests and PM asking to see what I eat - the 1200 cal thing, sigh.
I never know if my diary would help or hinder as so many want to do 1200 when it is not appropriate.

I think I will stay closed. Heck I have been maintaining 6 years; most days are empty anyway.

Thanks for letting me think this through.

Cheers, h.

kshama2001 wrote: »

ki4eld wrote: »

My insurance carrier requires I keep my diary public so they and my medical team can monitor my intake without them requiring a MFP account and me having to friend twenty dozen people. The same applies to some of my info on Fitbit. Open is easier for us all. If not for that, I don't know if I'd have it open or closed. Probably open, because I don't care.

I'm frankly shocked at this due to privacy regulations (which I realize don't currently cover MFP and activity tracker accounts, but still). All your health care team would need to do is create one shared account.

But then, I'm the sort of person who doesn't use my real name on FaceBook due to their history of privacy abuses.

My husband participates in a program at work similar to this. He's not required to do it, but he does get a discount on his premium by doing so. I don't know if that's the case here, but I think in many situations people have a choice in sharing that information. Some people decide that the discount is worth the extra exposure.