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Public vs private food diaries on MFP
RockingWithLJ
Posts: 243 Member
in Debate Club
I would like to know what your food diary is set to. Tell us if you have your setting to public, shared with friends or private, and why.
1
Replies
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I guess I'll go first. I have mine set to share with friends. I also prefer to have friends who have it set to share. I do this because I want to inspire people by what I eat and the activities that I do. I also like to see them so I'm inspired to eat certain things or try new activities. I don't understand the point of a private diary5
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I keep my diary private because it's no one's business but my own what I eat.
The point of a private diary is to keep track of what we're eating, and in particular the number of calories we're consuming.
I also don't look at other people's diaries. I'm not inspired by what other people eat. We eat what we can get ahold of in our own areas. I know in my area, I eat differently now than I did in pre-2020 times.
I think the exercise is a different setting. If you set your diary to private, I think it only makes the food private.18 -
I have mine set to private as I use MFP to ensure I eat the right foods to fuel my sport. I totally understand the benefit of motivation, but I’m not trying to lose weight or inspire others - I’m just trying to make sure I eat enough protein and don’t exist solely on fruit and chocolate (which I would totally do, with some cheese).12
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I have mine set to private for the same reason I don't share any given information that day. It's not something I find interesting to share.
If you do, that's cool, but I don't feel any need to inspire anyone with how I eat, and I have exactly ZERO interest in anyone's feedback on it either.
I share what I find interesting, and I don't find that interesting.
Also, I only log what I eat periodically when I change my diet for some reason. Otherwise, tracking loosely in my head works perfectly well for me.7 -
Mine is open to friends. I don't consider what I eat secret (just boring), and do log some (relatively few) days that are kind of scary-looking in one way or another (calories, alcohol, seriously nutritionally imbalanced, whatever).
I'm not ashamed about those rare excessive/extreme days, it's - for me - part of a happy and balanced life. I have no impulse to lie or hide because of thinking people are watching. I do skip logging the occasional day, now that I've been in maintenance so long, mostly because it would be tedious (long list of nonusual things), involve a silly amount of estimating (potluck dinner, say), having an unusually busy/frantic day, or something like that.
I'm not really out to be a model, but I do put a priority on good overall nutrition (on average for sure, and on most individual days). I'm not prideful about my eating, that would be as alien as being ashamed of it, for me.
Sometimes, there are threads here asking about how to get enough protein as a vegetarian, or something similar. I usually offer suggestions in the thread, but sometimes say "if you want to see what I eat, send me a FR, my diary is open to friends, and I'll answer questions if you have any". It's just easier than yammering on about options for meals.
I also do ask someone in the Community to open their diary, even just temporarily, when they're asking for specific types of advice. They can do that or not, but for some things it's easier to help if one can see the food log. If they prefer not to, that's fine, but it affects advice they'll get - their choice.
There have been a few times - very few, truly! fingers of one hand? - when someone wanted to give me unsolicited advice on my food choices. If they're polite, I'm polite . . . but it's not usually well-received, on my part. I know how I want to eat, at this point. If someone looked at my food log, taunted me about it in the Community in some way - which has never happened, that I know of - I'm full-on flag/reporting that, even though I don't think I've ever flag/reported any other post criticizing me in other against-rules ways (which has happened once in a while). That potential is probably why I don't have my diary full-on public, though I haven't given it a lot of thought, TBH.
Questions on my profile page or via PM about my eating are totally fine, even specific ones: How did you like brand Y food X? How did you cook the ABC that you ate? Etc.
I'm not saying that others should do what I do, or look at it the way I do. We all have different histories with food, emotional responses about food or about food questions/comments, general ego strength, and more. Like so many things, I support other people doing what works best for them, irrespective of what works best for me.10 -
I'm just not into public sharing of any kind, so mine has always been private.
I have no "friends". I just interact with people on the message boards because it's a controlled environment and I don't need to share any personal information.
I'm not vain enough to think that what I eat or do is exciting enough to "inspire" people. If people ask for advice on the boards, I'll share my experience and opinions.
While I was actively losing weight, I did it very privately. I didn't seek out motivation (which in my opinion is fleeting and fizzles out too quickly).
So, the "point" of a closed diary is to log food and activity for yourself, not necessarily for other people. I was successful at losing the weight I wanted to lose, so for me, the diary was definitely not pointless.15 -
Another thing is that I eat basically the same things each day with only slight variations. I can pre-log my week days weeks in advance with what I eat between 11:30 am (when I start eating) and 6 pm (just before dinner) because 90% of the time, it will be the same. Dinner may vary slightly.
I'm pretty sure that wouldn't inspire anyone but it works for me.
And pre-logging my food, for my own personal viewing helps me determine if I've got room to add something if I'm feeling hungry one evening, or not.4 -
A little of what everyone else said along with, while I'm pretty open about saying/typing the words of what I eat, people would probably have heart attacks actually seeing it logged.
I don't think I've ever looked at someone else's diary unless they asked people to look at it.2 -
I've had my diary open for 9 years. When I joined MFP your food diary was automatically public, then they changed it to automatically private. I don't care one way or another. Very few have ever commented because my diary is in Italian with Italian products and imagine very few know what I'm eating. Since I live in Italy, we follow the Mediterranean diet as most do here. I eat pasta, pizza, risotto, fruits and vegetables, legumes, and EVOO is our main fat. Carbs are an important part of the diet. Love the "carbs are evil threads".11
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RockingWithLJ wrote: »I guess I'll go first. I have mine set to share with friends. I also prefer to have friends who have it set to share. I do this because I want to inspire people by what I eat and the activities that I do. I also like to see them so I'm inspired to eat certain things or try new activities. I don't understand the point of a private diary
I have mine set to private
I don't care about the "friend" feature here on this site. I interact in the forums, but the few "friends" I do have I don't interact with outside the forums, other than a couple people I talk to in private messages. I don't even look at the Home page newsfeed. I lost all my weight (80-ish pounds) in 2007 and I've kept it off without sharing my food diary. Heck, I don't even discuss weight or food with people in real life. I learned that lesson!
I don't really believe that having my food and/or exercise diary public would "inspire" anyone, and any feedback anyone offered would not be something I'd like.
I don't understand the point of a public diary.
To each their own, I guess.
6 -
cmriverside wrote: »
I have mine set to private
I don't care about the "friend" feature here on this site. I interact in the forums, but the few "friends" I do have I don't interact with outside the forums, other than a couple people I talk to in private messages. I don't even look at the Home page newsfeed. I lost all my weight (80-ish pounds) in 2007 and I've kept it off without sharing my food diary. Heck, I don't even discuss weight or food with people in real life. I learned that lesson!
I don't really believe that having my food and/or exercise diary public would "inspire" anyone, and any feedback anyone offered would not be something I'd like.
I don't understand the point of a public diary.
To each their own, I guess.
I agree with you. The idea of "inspiring" people by the way you eat just seems......well,.....a little,......8 -
snowflake954 wrote: »
I agree with you. The idea of "inspiring" people by the way you eat just seems......well,.....a little,......
But, you inspire me to eat more pizza and pasta.
8 -
snowflake954 wrote: »
I agree with you. The idea of "inspiring" people by the way you eat just seems......well,.....a little,......
Phew! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's a little.... 😀7 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
I...cannot...moderate...pasta.
Or else I'd move to Italy.
Or, at least, visit. 😀3 -
snowflake954 wrote: »I've had my diary open for 9 years. When I joined MFP your food diary was automatically public, then they changed it to automatically private. I don't care one way or another. Very few have ever commented because my diary is in Italian with Italian products and imagine very few know what I'm eating. Since I live in Italy, we follow the Mediterranean diet as most do here. I eat pasta, pizza, risotto, fruits and vegetables, legumes, and EVOO is our main fat. Carbs are an important part of the diet. Love the "carbs are evil threads".
I kind of feel like I want to actively dislike you now. I LOVE Italian food! I am so jealous you live there! Had the best ever pizza in Sorrento a few years ago, it was just amazing. And, strangely for me, cheeseless. I love making risotto - obviously nowhere near as good as the authentic dish, but it’s so soothing to make.2 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
I kind of feel like I want to actively dislike you now. I LOVE Italian food! I am so jealous you live there! Had the best ever pizza in Sorrento a few years ago, it was just amazing. And, strangely for me, cheeseless. I love making risotto - obviously nowhere near as good as the authentic dish, but it’s so soothing to make.
If you like risotto--yesterday I made a family favorite that was my MIL's specialty.
Riso e Patata (Rice w Potatoes)
Get a type of rice that has the biggest kernels that you can find.
The recipe uses 1/2 rice and 1/2 potatoes
Put the rice in a deep saucepan--pour water and rinse it (I swirl it around and then gently pour it off)
Then put enough water to cover it by an inch--turn on heat (keep it low, once the water boils--you want a simmer here)
Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes (I eyeball the potatoes to be about the same volume as the rice--don't stress over this)
My rice takes almost half an hour to cook, I put the potatoes in 10 min before the rice is done and cook w the rice.
I keep adding water as needed and the rice absorbs.
I use vegetable broth crystals, if you use real broth, it takes the place of water.
Broth is usually salty so I don't add more.
I do add pepper.
When the rice is almost ready I add--gasp! butter--I eyeball. A good chunk (I'm feeding 4 men--all thin)
Then (and your rice should be creamy, not watery) I shut off the heat and let it "rest" a few minutes.
Last I add grated Parmigiano Reggiano and mix.7 -
My diary is public. I don't think anyone really looks at my diary, but I see no reason to keep it private. To fully understand what I eat, you'd have to be trilingual anyway 😁 (Dutch, French and English).
I doubt anyone would find it 'inspirational' except perhaps to see it is possible to lose weight while eating fairly high carb and regularly eating treat foods, or perhaps my exercise/activity consistency (for people just starting out, who don't realize I didn't get here overnight, it's been a journey of 2.5 years so far).6 -
claireychn074 wrote: »I have mine set to private as I use MFP to ensure I eat the right foods to fuel my sport. I totally understand the benefit of motivation, but I’m not trying to lose weight or inspire others - I’m just trying to make sure I eat enough protein and don’t exist solely on fruit and chocolate (which I would totally do, with some cheese).
^^ this
The only people who would potentially be "inspired" by my diary are other high protein, sodium-restricted pescetarians who live in Canada (because I tend to use a lot of products that are exclusive to a Canadian grocery chain) and aren't trying to lose weight.
I haven't added a ton of friends on here and most of us are middle-aged-ish women who are more interested in one another's workouts than eating habits.3 -
snowflake954 wrote: »
If you like risotto--yesterday I made a family favorite that was my MIL's specialty.
Riso e Patata (Rice w Potatoes)
Get a type of rice that has the biggest kernels that you can find.
The recipe uses 1/2 rice and 1/2 potatoes
Put the rice in a deep saucepan--pour water and rinse it (I swirl it around and then gently pour it off)
Then put enough water to cover it by an inch--turn on heat (keep it low, once the water boils--you want a simmer here)
Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes (I eyeball the potatoes to be about the same volume as the rice--don't stress over this)
My rice takes almost half an hour to cook, I put the potatoes in 10 min before the rice is done and cook w the rice.
I keep adding water as needed and the rice absorbs.
I use vegetable broth crystals, if you use real broth, it takes the place of water.
Broth is usually salty so I don't add more.
I do add pepper.
When the rice is almost ready I add--gasp! butter--I eyeball. A good chunk (I'm feeding 4 men--all thin)
Then (and your rice should be creamy, not watery) I shut off the heat and let it "rest" a few minutes.
Last I add grated Parmigiano Reggiano and mix.
OMG - that sounds amazing! Oh wow, I need to try that 🤤1 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
OMG - that sounds amazing! Oh wow, I need to try that 🤤
Every time I make it, there is nothing left. I don't make it often. Let me know if it works out for you. 2 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
OMG - that sounds amazing! Oh wow, I need to try that 🤤
I'm having the same thought here. This ticks a lot of boxes for me: simple (I hate cooking so the less fuss the better), vegetarian, ability to control sodium... then I just have to think about the protein box.2 -
I'm having the same thought here. This ticks a lot of boxes for me: simple (I hate cooking so the less fuss the better), vegetarian, ability to control sodium... then I just have to think about the protein box.
I’m thinking lean ham might complement it; beans might be too filling with it, maybe some sliced chicken breast steamed with lemon slices? Or hang it, scoff the carbs and have a protein shake later 😀0 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
I’m thinking lean ham might complement it; beans might be too filling with it, maybe some sliced chicken breast steamed with lemon slices? Or hang it, scoff the carbs and have a protein shake later 😀
I'm thinking I love you a little right now for using the correct "complement"
I've got it: a Tofurky Italian sausage, that even keeps the meal in the same national theme.
........ or just have that protein shake later.2 -
When I first started, my diary was very private, because I thought everyone else here ate perfectly every day. Then I read some public diaries. I eventually came to know that we’re all doing the best we can do and trying to learn the best ways to do just a little better. So now my diary is open. I can’t imagine why anyone else would WANT to look, but if it helps anyone in any way, then they can look.6
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Got to be honest - had to pause for a moment whilst typing to think which one was correct! 🤣 Stationery and stationary also make me pause for a moment!
I'm thinking I love you a little right now for using the correct "complement"
I've got it: a Tofurky Italian sausage, that even keeps the meal in the same national theme.
........ or just have that protein shake later.
0 -
I am not even sure if my diary is private or public, I will to check 🤣 I use it mainly keep within different each day amounts and to be mindful of everything I am eating. We eat mainly a Mediterranean based menu. I pretty much eat whatever I want, just smaller portions. It works for me to lose the weight I want to lose.
I know there’s a person in our town who has her clients share their diaries with her, so she can monitor if they are sticking to the diet plan she gives them. So it has some use.0 -
Private - so I can log what I actually eat with out feeling like people might judge or criticism.
So if my logging is incomplete or wrong I am only fooling myself and making the tool worth less.
Like if I eat 2 pizzas for dinner I would rather log it and know I messed up rather than say log 1 pizza so people who might look at my log dont see I went over by 2000 calories that day.4 -
Public. I can't think of a reason to make it private. I don't cover my plate with a newspaper when I go to a restaurant. And--who knows?--someone might benefit from seeing it.
If I had something on there that might aggravate my health-insurance provider, then I'd re-think it.2 -
Private 'cause trolls.
I'm an herbivore and have been astounded on the number of gaslighting trolls who take a look at my diary (why the hell are they looking there to begin with??) and then feel compelled to send me a private message ranting about how F'd I am for not eating animal products. Hateful, crappy stuff.
I just don't need that in my life.11 -
rosebarnalice wrote: »Private 'cause trolls.
I'm an herbivore and have been astounded on the number of gaslighting trolls who take a look at my diary (why the hell are they looking there to begin with??) and then feel compelled to send me a private message ranting about how F'd I am for not eating animal products. Hateful, crappy stuff.
I just don't need that in my life.
Gotta agree with this - trolls suck! I made mine private after the last message I got that said you can't lose weight if you eat that much 'x'... which was one of the nicer comments... and I'm not even an herbivore... I am fairly monogamous in my eating habits and I have gotten some trolling remarks about that as well. Just not worth the hassle, so, private.4
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