Do you offer "good job" on a food diary without looking at i

healthybabs
healthybabs Posts: 600 Member
edited October 3 in Motivation and Support
Sorry the question got cut off, It was.....
' Do you offer "good job" on a food diary without looking at it just because they are under their calories"

It appears to me that alot of folks do that.....WHY? Just because they are under on their calories? I even notice those kinds of comments when a journal is closed to viewing. I have noticed alot of kudos going on which is fantastic and I am all about high fives and congrats, but when I take a look at the journal and I see the person has eaten 500 calories daily consistently for the past week I do not find that a reason to "high five" someone. That signals a problem to me and I find I would rather suggest they eat a more nutritionally balanced meal, try to follow the MFP recommended guidelines, encourage more whole grains, proteins...whatever.....anything but encourage those kinds of eating habits. What do you all think? Do you look at journals before commenting?
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Replies

  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    To be honest I don't comment on people's food diaries. I only comment on their work outs. I don't know what they ate, or if they ate properly...and really, the number of days you log into MFP doesn't really matter. So I don't write WTG just in case I'm supporting an eating disorder.
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    I do look at journals and if they are closed, my comment is usually about the weather :)
  • sblair77
    sblair77 Posts: 355 Member
    I don't comment on the food part of their diaries - just the questions and exercise
  • Kany
    Kany Posts: 336
    No I don't. I have to look at the diary because I've seen diaries where they only eat 600 - 700 calories a day and continually be under their goal. Not healthy!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    To each their own. Respond the way you feel you should respond and do it in a respectful way. Not everyone appreciates comments on their food choices.
  • StrengthIsBeautiful
    StrengthIsBeautiful Posts: 309 Member
    There are so many "rules" to being a "friend" , I just don't even bother to have any.
  • Erindipitous
    Erindipitous Posts: 1,234 Member
    I always look at diaries and usually try to find something to comment on.. Anything from something sounding tasty, to calories being too low.

    Edit: I'm here to support and be involved.. If my friends don't like what I have to say, there's a "Remove Friend" button at their disposal.
  • Malloryrae1211
    Malloryrae1211 Posts: 60 Member
    NO WAY! And I usually don't have time to look at everyone's diaries so I rarely comment on completed entries. Just because you were under calories doesn't mean you deserve a "good job" when you ate junk, skipped meals so you could eat something high in calories you wanted. Or if you only eat 600 calories a day. I know we can't always be perfect buttttttttt I refuse to condone bad behavior! ;)
  • SuperMattD
    SuperMattD Posts: 7
    .
  • jocelynna
    jocelynna Posts: 137 Member
    There are so many "rules" to being a "friend" , I just don't even bother to have any.

    *Like*
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
    I look, and if I know what the goals are, I may make some suggestions like...

    What, no water today? Because I suck at tracking my water
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    No. Unless it's someone I know has been struggling to stay under - then that in itself is GOOD. I usually don't even comment because it's a touchy topic for me. I think a deserved "good job" is someone who ate clean, maybe had a treat but hit most of their numbers, stayed under on sodium, etc. Or maybe a good job is someone who's been struggling to get veggies and today they got their requirements in. Like I said, it's touchy 'cause there are so many variables. I just don't bother. But it's nice when people tell me good job on my diaries 'cause a lot of times I struggle just to stay under.
  • shadowfx
    shadowfx Posts: 52
    If the diary isn't public, then I don't comment on the "under calorie goal" bit. Even if the diary is visible, but I think the person has made poor choices, I don't endorse that or comment either.
  • TNAJackson
    TNAJackson Posts: 686 Member
    I never reply to the food diary posts. If I do, it's only because someone asked me to in order to help them. I always reply to the exercise posts though.
  • TorridCutie
    TorridCutie Posts: 84 Member
    I always look at the diaries. They sometimes give me good ideas and sometimes, as you have mentioned, signal that a person is being too strict or is on the way to an eating disorder. I do not comment on people who have closed diaries, whether they are below or above their limit. Sometimes those limits are arbitrarily chosen anyway. I only give support to people who do it the healthy way and raise concerns if a person is not eating enough. I had to de-friend a person because it was just too disturbing to look at her diary; she definitely had an ED.
  • trixylewis
    trixylewis Posts: 197 Member
    i only comment when i have time to look at the diary
  • bariachic
    bariachic Posts: 76 Member
    I'm on a strict eating plan given to me by a doctor, I eat a ton of food, most of it is veggies and lean meat though, I'm consistently under my calories by 4-500, but I do not have an eating disorder. I'm following my doctor's advice. I don't feel hungry, and I have a ton of energy. There are more reasons than an eating disorder to be under your calories.
  • puggleperson
    puggleperson Posts: 740 Member
    I do not post good job if they are under 1200 calories, I post good dedication if they are over and I usually try to make a comment about somethign that stands out to me in their diary.... If I don't it usually means I am on my phone or too busy to say anything other than good job. I know how hard it is to stay under calories regardless of what I am eating or what they are eating so yeah, I will tell them good job if they are under... If they ate twinkies alll day and still stayed under calories then Kudos to them... At some point they will figure it out. But at this point in a lot of peoples journey on here maybe thats all they felt like mustering up on that day. Not everyone has to eat "clean", it's not always easy to do for all people...
  • shesblossoming
    shesblossoming Posts: 426
    If someone doesn't have their journal open, I don't make any comment at all. If someone has their diary open and it has great food choices, I let them know they've done a great job. If someone has their diary open and it's obvious they were making really terrible decisions, I say nothing unless I know they're the kind of person that can take constructive criticism. I am not a nutritionist, but I like to be as supportive as I can to everyone, and it includes giving some small tips to help them with food.
  • mageepilot
    mageepilot Posts: 289 Member
    I do not! I actually don't consider being under the greatest thing. I think if you are within 100 calories you are doing fine. And the food choices need to be looked at too. So I decided to only comment on exercise and days logged. I do not comment on food choices unless I am asked.
  • Sugarchef
    Sugarchef Posts: 319 Member
    I always read a diary before commenting. Just because someone was under calories doesn't mean they ate healthy food. I can eat 1200 calories of Reese's and be on target for calories, but feel like crap!
  • Iheartsushi
    Iheartsushi Posts: 150 Member
    Yep I have seen this going too and it's annoying but there are no real rules about it. I've seen 10 congrats posts on a diary once and when I looked at what they were eating, I definitely laughed out loud because this person ate crap, nuts, and twigs all day. I just keep the comments to myself!
  • 3ricaAnn
    3ricaAnn Posts: 288
    .

    hehe i was logged in as the hubby (again) so to state what i put in his before. I look at the diary. I get a lot of support when i complete my dairy but if they would actually read it, an I'm sorry or are you okay would be more appropriate some day rather than a good job.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    I only bother looking at one person's food diary...and that's to make sure she got her daily dose of nut butter.

    I never "complete" my diary so those updates don't publish to my feed.
  • SmangeDiggs
    SmangeDiggs Posts: 238 Member
    I always look at a diary and try to find something productive to say even if its kudos on your water drinking, or great logging. If someones consistantly logging low calories they generally arent open to my comments on how they should be eating so i keep my thoughts to myself.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I actually don't really like to get comments on my diary, which is why it's private now, because I felt suddenly defensive if I had something that someone thought wasn't healthy. There are a lot of trains of thought on this site, and I feel like if I want an opinion I'll ask for one (and open my diary so people can see it) but otherwise it's a private thing for me. I can see the benefits (accountability, etc) but for me it has the opposite effect-- makes me not want to log for fear of negative responses.
  • houseofcarpenter
    houseofcarpenter Posts: 127 Member
    i would love to have friends who looked at my diary and said "why did you have that?" because then when you get a good job it really feels like a good job!! i struggle every day with this eating healthly thing and would apprieciate any friends who would tell me when i **** it up to get back on track...
  • NicoleMensigg
    NicoleMensigg Posts: 40 Member
    Personally...my friends comment on mine sometimes because they know it's a real challenge for me to even eat. (NOT that I have an eating disorder at all. I LOVE food!) But I have an illness and some days if I can get 500 calories in then my friends know that I've had a decent day and that means that I was able to not only eat BUT keep it down! That could be why they do it to me. I just find it hard to always meet those goals, esp when I work out, like today for one...I started with 1200, at breakfast and lunch then worked out now I've got 1300 something to finish the day with-but I can't possibly eat that many by the time I'm going to bed. I also keep my food journal closed because like I already mentioned the foods I eat can be any where from a cracker to pringles, pickles, or Popsicle and I don't want someone looking at it saying "Gaw...she's anorexic!" But if someone really knew me they would see that I'm over 200lbs NOT just because the food but because of medication and steroids that I've had to take. So answer the question, I do give a little encouragement to friends that I know may have a hard time eating.
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    I typically don't comment unless I can look at the diary (unless I talk to them outside MFP and know what's going on that day). I try to find something to comment on - if they had some food I liked or whatever. If it just looks like an all around yummy day, I'll say "Yummy day!" or something like that. Sometimes I'll see that they wrote a note asking for advice or help, and if I feel I can offer some words of wisdom, I do. If I was over or under for some reason, I leave notes, and hope people will see them. But, I don't always look/comment, though. Just takes too much time to go through every single person's. If it's on my newsfeed when I log on, I'll look. If not, sorry :laugh:
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Nope.
This discussion has been closed.

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