WHY keep your food diary hidden?

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Replies

  • Jacquelyn913
    Jacquelyn913 Posts: 300 Member
    I had mine open and was doing amazing, then I fell off the wagon and wasnt logging everything because I thought my mfp buds would be ashamed of me. I closed it so I could start to be honest with myself again. I will be reopening it again when I feel ready.
  • pammilou
    pammilou Posts: 96 Member
    Two reasons:

    1. Because it's very personal. I don't need people I don't know judging me and you know you do. It's like at the gym when people look around as they are waiting to do their next set or as they are running on the treadmill and size others up. We shouldn't, and probably say we don't, but we do.

    2. My dad used to say, "Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one." Unless you're a professional nutritionist, trainer or whatever, I really am not interested in hearing how you feel about what I'm eating or not eating. If I want an opinion, I'll ask, but otherwise, what makes you qualified to give it? You may have done really well at dieting and/or exercising, but what worked for you is not necessarily the answer for me. I used to constantly ask people's opinions on what I needed to do, but when I started listening to my own body and quit listening to others' opinions based on their own, I lost weight for the first time in years.
  • cariliz
    cariliz Posts: 82
    I've earned the right to do whatever I please.
    No need to get your panties in a bunch. I was just asking. smh
    Because, quite frankly, it's none of your damn business what people are eating. *shrug*
    I asked because the “majority” of us are here for support and have accepted the friends we have because we think they are “supportive”. Regardless of what they eat…most of us aren’t here to judge but to give SUPPORT! That’s all.
    Ever since I went maintenance, I don't log like I did when I was actively losing and use the site more for other reasons. When I gain any I will log and get back down and then back to maintenance. By keeping it private it keeps the chatter down.
    Understandble. =)
    Mine's public. I honestly don't care who sees it. I have my good days and my bad ones, but it's out there!
    My thoughts exactly, Hungry!
    I don't think the person who asked this disputes your right to do as you please. She is only wondering why keeping a diary private pleases some people.
    Thanks Helena.
  • I use to have mine open but there were remarks made like " you aren't eating enough of this or you are eating to much of that ...and also I only counted my calories....not the other stuff and it was mentioned to me that I should keep track of that....When all the time I'm thinking My Gosh I'm proud of myself for doing what I'm doing and I think that is enough...
  • sdailey4
    sdailey4 Posts: 56 Member
    Didn't read the other posts, but that's the original setting and some don't take the time to figure out how to change things:) I accidentally came across it but didn't see the need to change it :)
  • SuperMoniMonk
    SuperMoniMonk Posts: 467 Member
    Sometimes I'm a privacy freak ..and some I let everything hang loose. The Dairy once was public now it;s private. no big deal
  • AdenaJ
    AdenaJ Posts: 58 Member
    I have mine open to friends only. I have no desire for someone to push their ideas of what a diet means on me. I have seen too many others criticized (without asking for opinions mind you) for their choices. If I ask for help, then I will open it up and expect criticism. But unwanted, unsolicited advice pisses me off, so I keep it locked except to those I have grown to know and trust. My two cents.

    I agree with this. I dislike the notion that people who keep their food diary private do not want accountability. If I can't be accountable to myself, why would I be accountable to strangers? Having the courage to tell *myself* that I consumed 1,500 calories in one meal is accountability to me. I know it's horrible; I don't need to hear it from others.

    People have success logging the foods they eat not only from sharing it but from just doing it. Before MFP and other calorie-counting websites and apps, nutritionists have encouraged writing down what you eat to make weight loss attempts more successful. Sure, sharing it with others helps, but accountability starts with the individual.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    Mine is open to friends. Before I become friends, I make it very clear that I don't want or need critcizm. I do what is right for me, and if I have questions I go to my doctor or dietician. When my diary was open, I was getting slammed and emailed left right and center. I use it to log food, not count calories. That's why when I complete logging for the day, I go and delete that declaration in the news feed. I don't need comments about my eating habits. When I log exercise, that's different.

    I did have to keep it private for a short time because of one person who harrasses the hell out of me. Yes, reported them and blocked them. They're not a member anymore either, they only joined to harass me, cuz I stopped putting up with their BS in real life. Talk about crazy. Had to Facebook block them and eventually threaten with a restraining order. But that is an extreme situation.

    Why does anyone do anything? Because they can. Sometimes it is that simple.
  • stevenleagle
    stevenleagle Posts: 293 Member
    I have my diary open to friends.

    I guess the pros and cons include the following:

    PROS:
    - Keeps you accountable
    - Positive comments from others (when warranted) keep you going!
    - Negative comments from others (when warranted) keep you going!
    - Allows you to encourage others in different ways (e.g. they can see that you can be disciplined sometimes, falter other times - its what you do most of the time that counts - and how this impacts your results)
    - Encourages others (particularly friends) to open their diaries (which is very helpful as you too can see what they do to get results)

    CONS:
    - Some loss of privacy (particularly in relation to "comment" type entries) - this is particularly an issue for some who post sensitive comments.
    - Negative comments from others (which are not warranted)
    - Temptation to "cheat" by not properly logging calories if you are having a bad day/week etc (personally I like logging cheat days and "bad" days as once again, it keeps me accountable)

    All in all, I believe that the Pros outweigh the Cons. However due to some loss of privacy, I have chosen to make my diary available open to mfp friends only.

    Having said all of the above, I don't judge friends who have a closed diary (although appreciate all those with an open diary).

    When making "comments" in my diary, I always remember that others may be reading and therefore don't include overly sensitive details

    Also imho information stored in "the cloud" is never 100% guaranteed safe irrespective of settings. Therefore I would still not store overly sensitive information in comments even if my diary was kept "private".
  • tuneses
    tuneses Posts: 467 Member
    Regardless of my journal my body holds me accountable. Everyone is different and what works for you as far as accountability may not for others.
  • rlysrh
    rlysrh Posts: 244
    I have mine hidden because I don't log properly. I just work out the calories and add them in as quick add calories rather than finding the actual food. I still log all my calories accurately, I'm just not trying to limit sodium or carbs or sugar or fat or anything so I don't bother searching for the exact food when I add it in. So I'm pretty sure no one would ever want to read my diary and I CBA to explain myself for being lazy so I just keep it hidden.
  • bhalter
    bhalter Posts: 582 Member
    I know mine is open to friends, not sure if it's completely public or not. I don't care either way. If I was concerned about my nutrition or weight not budging, I would definitely want someone to be able to check out my diary and give me some tips on how to change.

    Besides, I love looking at peoples' diaries for meal/snack ideas.
  • martalaurazayas
    martalaurazayas Posts: 75 Member
    I had no idea mine was set to private. Thanks for the post. I just changed mine.
  • Why should you have it open? It's to log your food not for everyone else to see what's in your digestive system.

    Personally mines open because I don't care but I understand people keeping theirs private,
  • pelleld
    pelleld Posts: 363 Member
    I agree.. i think its because they don't want to be held accountable...or to me are they being completely honest?

    I hold myself accountable and am completely honest. I lost my weight through an "everything in moderation" approach. I still ate pasta and bread, cheese and other dairy, ice-cream every night. I also ate lots of fruits and veggies, salads and healthy fats. I logged it ALL and it worked for me.

    That said, I have seen far too many people on here pass judgement on what others are eating or take a very extreme approach with their own eating. Some are unable to see that their approach doesn't work for everyone or that their way isn't the only way. Some judge or get argumentative. Keeping my food diary private allows me to disengage from this type of controversy and enjoy the many other pleasant aspects of MFP.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    I don't share mine because it's EMPTY. I use something else to log my food/ calories/ nutrients.
  • thanks for posting this. I had no idea that there was a setting for this; so I put my food diary to public:)
  • Sumo813
    Sumo813 Posts: 566 Member
    It's probably already been said, but I'm too lazy to read through the entire thread... but a lot of people who maintain lower calorie intakes (less than 1200) tend not to put their diary to an open state because of the fact that people on this site *can be* pretty harsh with their comments. Everybody has their own routine and what works for one, may not work for another... something many people don't seem to understand. So rather than understand why someone is only eating 900 calories, they'd rather just flame them and crush them and make them feel worse than they already might. There are also people who intermittently fast, and do the same thing to avoid harsh comments. To each their own. I have mine set to public because I spam it to FB as well.
  • Mine is open to my friends. I eat weird food sometimes. Lol
  • whtlatina1214
    whtlatina1214 Posts: 765 Member
    seriously like i was wondering the same thing and some people get so offensive lik ei was looking @ diaries of people who have lost 20+ just to get an idea of how ya know and i asked one person for suggestions and got all kinds of mad ... dont understnd