Food dairy, why don't more people make them visible?

nas24
nas24 Posts: 880 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
Just noticing that many people don't make their food journals visible, at least out of the few friends ive made here in 5 days. I make mine visible so that all my friends can give me tips and also, i want to see what everyone else is eating to give me new, fun ideas of what to eat.
«134

Replies

  • My food journal is public.
  • mine is open too, im not sure why a lot of people dont want to share
  • I'm with you. It's not private...we're all here for the same reason!! Nice to get ideas from others, and see what works and what doesn't.
  • I'm assuming that people are afraid of what others might think of their food choices. My diary is public as i've got nothing to be afraid of.
  • TNAJackson
    TNAJackson Posts: 686 Member
    I agree... I didn't make mine public for a long time and now that I look back, the reason was simple... because I wanted to be able to eat crappy and not be held accountable for it. Now that it's public, I'm really making sure (most of the time) that the things I eat are things that my friends would find acceptable. It helps me stay focused.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    It's private by default, and I don't think most people know they can make it more public.
  • MichelleLydia
    MichelleLydia Posts: 224 Member
    Mine is public, and I make sure I log everything and when I screw up I hope that people tell me "you probably shouldn't have eaten that entire bag of chips" or whatever! It makes me way mroe accountable!
  • jazzy020106
    jazzy020106 Posts: 485 Member
    Mine is private.. IDK why I just dont like the idea of people seeing what I ate.. If I have a bad day I feel like everyone can see it and that just bothers me.. other than that no reason really. =]
  • catmom2cj
    catmom2cj Posts: 47 Member
    When I first joined I was nervous to have other people see what I was eating - that they might criticize me for it. Now it is open to my friends. For me it helps with accountability. If I don't want anyone to know I'm eating something, then I probably shouldn't be eating it! I wish more of my friends would have theirs open.
  • MayhemModels
    MayhemModels Posts: 367 Member
    Mine is open to my friends, so friend me lol
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    I'll tell you why I don't share mine with everyone:

    Because people are judgmental and often rude about it. I am an extremely picky eater who eats the same things everyday. I also consume far more calories than a lot of people on this site do. I used to let people have access to it, but when they get it in their head that it is okay to offer me advice or whatever -- I shut it down. I've lost 60lbs and I am currently maintaining my weight. If I don't ASK for your opinion or advice - I'd appreciate you not commenting on what *I* choose to eat.

    Easiest way to eliminate that? Not letting people see what I am eating. Am I embarrassed about what I eat? Nope. Am I trying to hide behind a private diary? Nope. Do I do it try and keep my crappy eating private? Nope. Because for ME, I do not eat crappy. I keep a food diary for me and me alone. What someone else thinks of it is of no concern to me. :)
  • BrittaneyHG
    BrittaneyHG Posts: 98 Member
    I got nothing to hide!!!

    :)
  • I eat well and don't have anything to be ashamed of in my food diary. That being said, it's nobody's business what I eat and if one of my friends on MFP started complaining that I don't let them know every single bite I put into my mouth, I would find that creepy. You don't need to know what somebody is eating to be able to support them in their weight loss and there's an entire subsection of the message board devotes to recipes if you need new food ideas.
  • Mine is private. I just feel more comfortable with it being private for now
  • highrise
    highrise Posts: 147 Member
    I think many people would like the support without having their detailed eating habits scrutinised. In general, I understand that if people want nutrition advice, they'll ask for it - and making their diary public at that stage makes sense.

    (I've seen a lot of threads on this very subject during my time on MFP, and people have got very upset when they've been cross-questioned, so might be worth searching out one of those threads if you're interested in the discussion)
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
    Mine is open to my friends, and I don't friend everyone who sends a request either. I do friend people with good stories, or goals similar to mine or just because you gave me a good reason to friend you LOL.


    My diary is not public to the world because it's none of your business what I eat and how much I eat. I don't eat in front of a million people so I wouldn't share it with a million people.


    There are also people who are recovering from eating disorders who may be trying to lose or gain weight in a healthy manner and don't want people scrutinizing their diary. It's also why those people on my friends' list won't get a blanket "GOOD JOB" if you're under your calories, it depends on why/how you're under that can make it a good or a bad thing.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    Mine is private. Contrary to popular belief it's not because I am hiding anything or lying about what I eat. I prefer not to be judged for what I eat. There was a whole thread on here one day started by some woman who wondered if she should dump an MFP friend because she didn't like how they ate.

    If I ever do want feedback on my diary I will open it and ask for it.
  • ladybg81
    ladybg81 Posts: 1,553 Member
    I've noticed that too. Mine used to be viewable only to friends but I recently changed it. I like to look at other people's diary's to get ideas, etc. I don't really have a specific reason why mine was not public before.
  • maybe they dont realize its private...when i first got on here i didnt even notice it was private for a long time....or maybe they are not interested in seeing what other have to say and are just doing it on there own?
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    I'll tell you why I don't share mine with everyone:

    Because people are judgmental and often rude about it. I am an extremely picky eater who eats the same things everyday. I also consume far more calories than a lot of people on this site do. I used to let people have access to it, but when they get it in their head that it is okay to offer me advice or whatever -- I shut it down. I've lost 60lbs and I am currently maintaining my weight. If I don't ASK for your opinion or advice - I'd appreciate you not commenting on what *I* choose to eat.

    Easiest way to eliminate that? Not letting people see what I am eating. Am I embarrassed about what I eat? Nope. Am I trying to hide behind a private diary? Nope. Do I do it try and keep my crappy eating private? Nope. Because for ME, I do not eat crappy. I keep a food diary for me and me alone. What someone else thinks of it is of no concern to me. :)
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    ooops forgot to add to that ....but I feel exactly the same x
  • I can really see both sides of things, but for me I have it set to friends only. I dont want to be harassed by somebody who has a bad day because I had one too, and I know my friends wont ever think of doing that.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    See the most popular blog post today for another perspective http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/RaeN81/view/my-diary-is-private-142232
  • Sometimes people have personal notes they keep on their notepad at the bottom, Everyone can see them if they open their their food diary. They may want to keep those notes private.
  • Kelly4877
    Kelly4877 Posts: 35 Member
    I'll tell you why I don't share mine with everyone:

    Because people are judgmental and often rude about it. I am an extremely picky eater who eats the same things everyday. I also consume far more calories than a lot of people on this site do. I used to let people have access to it, but when they get it in their head that it is okay to offer me advice or whatever -- I shut it down. I've lost 60lbs and I am currently maintaining my weight. If I don't ASK for your opinion or advice - I'd appreciate you not commenting on what *I* choose to eat.

    Easiest way to eliminate that? Not letting people see what I am eating. Am I embarrassed about what I eat? Nope. Am I trying to hide behind a private diary? Nope. Do I do it try and keep my crappy eating private? Nope. Because for ME, I do not eat crappy. I keep a food diary for me and me alone. What someone else thinks of it is of no concern to me. :)

    Agreed!! I ran into the same problem and decided to keep it private.
  • sevencallmemom
    sevencallmemom Posts: 505 Member
    I think alot of my issues with food started with my dad who would comment on my weight and what I ate (not to mention that he was abusing me). My diary was open till I started noticing people's "helpful" comments on eachother's and sometimes it reminded me of my dad. I'm just not up for that right now.
  • IMYarnCraz33
    IMYarnCraz33 Posts: 1,016 Member
    mine is private for a few reasons.

    1) people are too judgemental and critical.
    2) the calorie intake MOST people have here on MFP is about HALF of what mine is
    so it makes me feel like a freakin pig even though what I eat is fairly healthy.
    3) it's more comfortable for me right now.
  • someone on my friends list recently told me (without me asking for advice) that they had gone through my diary and suggested i dont eat as much "junk" food and eat a little more healthy... like wtf? did i ASK you for advice? no... im loosing weight and im excersing. I have a diet plan givin to me by my SGT IN THE ARMY. so im pretty sure that if i wanted eating advice other than his, then i would ask for it (and i have before) but if not then its not your place to give advice to others when u are unaware of how they are dieting or needing to eat. mine is still public but after that, im considering making it private.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    Some people are sick of getting unsoliceted advice from *kitten*,when i was still logging food i got many messages from people who were not even my friends picking apart everything I had eaten and telling me how im doing everything wrong.im sorry but if i want someones opinon i will ask for it.that is the reason that alot of people i know of keep their food diarys private not because they are ashamed of what they are eating
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Mine is private.. IDK why I just dont like the idea of people seeing what I ate.. If I have a bad day I feel like everyone can see it and that just bothers me.. other than that no reason really. =]

    I'm with you, mine is private for a couple of reasons -
    **** In the beginning I downloaded this app because it was a calorie counter, I had no idea it was a social network. now that I've been on awhile I do like the social aspect of chatting with people who have similar goals. But that's as far as it goes. I don't need people monitoring what I eat and making judgments or unsolicited suggestions (and there are a lot on this site that do that). This is my journey and I need to be accountable for myself and exercise self discipline and control. I think there is enough motivation and inspiration alone to stay on the right track with just pushing that little button at the end of the day that posts to your wall that you were either 'under your calorie goal'......'completed diary for the day' (we pretty much know if it doesn't follow that statement with 'under your calorie goal' it means you busted your calorie bank for the day. I don't need someone then going into my diary to see I've eaten an entire bag of potato chips LOL. I'm an adult, I know I didn't stay on my diet.

    As far as a diary being open so you can get ideas. I find a lot of info just by following the message boards.

    Anyway that's just my opinion. I applaud all you brave souls that have your diary public!!!!

    3)
This discussion has been closed.