WHY keep your food diary hidden?

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Replies

  • kardowling
    kardowling Posts: 221 Member
    I had mine hidden, but I eat much better when I have to "fess-up" in public. Silly yes, but works for me. Also I'm always curious about how others are eating. Gives me new ideas.
  • leanne1973
    leanne1973 Posts: 8 Member
    I haven't read everyone's replys to this thread, my answer is in reply to the original poster - I keep my diary hidden because it really is no one else's business what I eat or drink. It's my diary and I don't need other people being nosy to validate me or criticise me.

    Why would you want everyone seeing what you eat? Why would you need the validation of others or, dare I say it, the attention? If you turn the question around, the answers become far more interesting...
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
    For a few reasons.

    #1) everyone on the internet is a phD and an expert. And will let you know.

    #2) I eat a lot of carbs

    #3) I work out a lot and am only 15 lbs overweight.

    Add them all together and ... I really don't need to hear that I'm eating a lot of carbs. I already know this. That's why I bust my *kitten* working out. So to keep the "thank you captain obvious" comments to a minimum I usually keep mine private.

    If I were gaining weight and not understanding why, that would be an entirely different story.

    Support and all is great, but as I'm only 15 lbs overweight and I work out, play sports, etc... I don't need my every move meticulated by the general public. Or in summary: I don't care what you think, when I want your advice or opinion I will ask you.

    =)
  • dana01996
    dana01996 Posts: 15 Member
    I'm an open book...so to speak. :smile:
  • JizWiz
    JizWiz Posts: 57
    I think your absolutely right. I just can't figure out how to change it....
  • I think disclosing your daily food intake to your friends is a fabulous idea! If we're taking the time to log it, might as well share it with the people in our support group.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    I have no idea if mine is public or private. I don't even know if my profile is public or private. It never occurred to me to manage those settings.
  • AdenaJ
    AdenaJ Posts: 58 Member
    I'm accountable to myself.

    Exactly. Maybe it's my Type-A personality, but I don't avoid logging junk food just because no one's looking.
  • PokerChris
    PokerChris Posts: 120 Member
    I just joined this week. My diary is set to friends only. I can't imagine going into strangers' food diaries and criticizing them! I have looked at a few strangers' diaries just for ideas, like "Oh, I didn't know about that." Certainly not to judge, either silently or by comment!
  • surfrgrl1
    surfrgrl1 Posts: 1,463 Member
    I have mine open to my friends. I appreciate that my friends have their diaries open, as a result, I've been introduced to new foods that I may have never otherwise tried.

    Thank you, friends!!! :wink:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Mine is public but I don't feel accountable because if it. I don't really care what others think of what I eat.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    My intake is hardly an example of healthy eating, but I'm working on it. Showing it to the world is just a little too much exposure =)

    That said, I do share it with the folks in my friends group.
  • sandy2006
    sandy2006 Posts: 483 Member
    I find that when I have mine open, if I over eat I won't be honest and put everything I eat in the diary, fear of embarrasment. If its private I log EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth! So I made a choice to keep myself honest and if it has to be private for me to be honest than its private.
  • Sd0510
    Sd0510 Posts: 295 Member
    I am already completely honest when I log my foods, and that's good enough for me. I would rather be honest and have no one know what I eat than lie to sastify others.
  • AdenaJ
    AdenaJ Posts: 58 Member
    Just because I make decision A for reasons B, it does not mean that someone making the opposite of decision A doesn't agree with or subscribe to reasons B.

    If someone chooses to keep her diary open for accountability, it does not mean that someone else who chooses to keep his diary closed means the decision has anything to do with accountability. I know it's easy to fall into the thinking-pit of "I think this way, everyone else surely must think this way too" but it usually results in miscommunication, myopia and murt feelings.

    Well said.
  • I keep mine private because I have been harassed and criticized my whole life for eating and the choices I make. I have no interest in other people's opinions of my nutritional choices. Plus I never check my friends food diary's cause frankly I don't care what they eat. I find I am the only person who is able to hold myself accountable and logging my food and being on the site does that for me.
  • juliesummers
    juliesummers Posts: 738 Member
    a) As someone with a history of eating disorders, I find it very triggering to have an open diary for everyone to see. It makes it much harder for me to watch those calories go up.

    b) What I put into my body (or not) is no one's business but my own, and I don't care to hear the ignorant, rude, inappropriate or simply uncalled for opinions and "advice" from strangers.


    edit: Mine is private, but any of my friends with the key (which they ask me for in personal messages) can see inside. I like being able to monitor who sees it or not, and if I get uncomfortable with that, I can always change my key or make it private for a bit.
  • I so agree with you! It makes me want to be good since everyone will see it. I love that it is an option to let my friends see it! Everyone should put their big girl/boy pants on and share with friends and let them either support your good decisions or give motivation with bad ones to make better ones. Why hide????

    Why is keeping the food diary private equal to being childish or "not wearing their big girl/boy pants"? It's a choice, pure and simple. Everyone has the right to choose what they want to reveal or not - and to not be judged for those choices. If you keep it public, great. If not, great.

    To quote another fine MFP'er here on this thread: "I'm a grown-*kitten* woman." I'm wearing my big girl pants every day of my life. Privacy does not equal hiding - it's a right.
  • Sd0510
    Sd0510 Posts: 295 Member
    I find that when I have mine open, if I over eat I won't be honest and put everything I eat in the diary, fear of embarrasment. If its private I log EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth! So I made a choice to keep myself honest and if it has to be private for me to be honest than its private.

    That is exactly what I just put. Lol
  • Gilliamzoo
    Gilliamzoo Posts: 72 Member
    MIne's open, although I don't remember if its just for friends or everyone. Obviously, I'm super concerned about it. :tongue: Although I have noticed on the days that I don't do that great and go way over on my calories I don't usually finalize it, so then it doesn't post to my news feed. I don't think I was doing it intentionally at first, but I didn't want to be judged for going over. Lame I know.