WHY keep your food diary hidden?

I do not understand this either. It would hold you more accountable for logging and what you are eating...big difference if eating 1200 calories of candy versus 1200 of more nutritious food. Or if your calorie intake is soooo low, you don't want people to see that you aren't eating..anorexia...or go the other way and eat so much to the point of bulemia....I don't mind people looking at mine, gives others ideas for food if you get in a rut... I love getting new food ideas...makes me also think twice about eating something if I have to log it. If you cheat on here and don't write it down, you are only hurting yourself...noone else. You don't get to be 200 plus pounds by eating "healthy"....enough said.

And you dont keep from getting 200 plus pounds by opening your diary for public view. I got to 200 plus pounds by not exercising, eating more calories than I needed, drinking too many sodas, etc. What works for you doesnt work for everyone. I am glad that logging calories and leaving it open helps you but it doesnt necessarily work for me. I have a lot to lose though so maybe when i get down to only needing to lose 30 or so pounds it will be more important that I log it all precisely. I just dont think people should be judged based on whether they log or dont log, keep it hidden or not, etc. I understand the OP was asking why people choose to keep it hidden but several others have commented and judged other based on their preferences. "Cant we all just get along" :laugh:

Just trying to get the reply count to 500

I keep mine private atm because I'm not comfortable with sharing my information yet. But I think that will change once I get used to using the system.

Mine is open to my friends. We encourage each other and share ideas. Having 80-something people available to comment on my diary is enough, I don't need all of MFP weighing in. LOL

This debate puzzles me to no end.

1st & foremost I don't think anyone should have to justify why or why not they let people see thier food diary.

Then on the other side, unless you are eating stray cats, paint chips or dirt, why would you care to hide what you eat? Do any of you never eat in a public place for fear someone might see?

And on the other side of that, why would ANYONE care about what a random person on the internet eats and want to look it up and give thier opinion on it, is just beyond me. I don't understand either side of the debate.

I don't want everyone to know that I eat pink tacos

I don't want everyone to know that I eat pink tacos

LMAO Now that was unexpected.....

They may not realize that it's hidden. I need for yall to tell me that eating over 1200 calories is bad, or offer suggestion for filling meal ideas instead of eating empty or unfilling calories. I love this site!

I have no idea why anyone would do this. What's the point on being on here? I have friends look at my diary and say things about it that are so useful, and I do the same. Even if it's just to get food ideas! Those people that have their diaries closed will not be as successful or are missing out huge.





That is the biggest load of crap I've read since being on MFP.

I love browsing my friends dairies for new ideas -I am still experimenting with food to keep it as health as possible and those that have been here a bit longer are handy to glance over. I commented on a friends dairy the other day and got a nice message back about japanese sweet potato and I will be looking out for it next time I go shopping.

In saying that, if I see someone that is constantly under calories by a large amount - I say nothing, but am always surprised by the about of cheerleading they get - but I don't know if they are cheering on as someone is improving if they are in recovery from a ED and what I think looks worrying may actually be an improvement. I don't think it's my place as what do I know?

I wouldn't make a negative comment, except that I have praised twice now when someone has gone over their calorie count to offset the mega amounts of exercise they have done on previous days - but I felt that I talked enough with the people that they would'nt interpret at me being over intrusive.

the more I read the forums, the more I want to pull back and not post as much just in case I say the wrong thing unintentionally. Hand on heart when I post a "well done " or "great session - 60 mins that's fab" i really do mean it - some of the exercise achieved by folk on here is inspiring and many of us are struggling to form new and good habits and I think that should be acknowledged - now I am worried that people think I am a vacuous cheerleader that just posts innane catchphrases lol - I guess if my friends list goes down then I will know hehehe

who gives a flying f---

I have no idea why anyone would do this. What's the point on being on here? I have friends look at my diary and say things about it that are so useful, and I do the same. Even if it's just to get food ideas! Those people that have their diaries closed will not be as successful or are missing out huge.





That is the biggest load of crap I've read since being on MFP.

What's the point of being here? Certainly not to share what i eat with strangers who will no doubt pm me every day saying im eating badly. They dont know my reasons, or my likes/dislikes. I already know what i need to be doing, so i dont need someone telling me stuff that may well be wrong or scaremongery anyway. And how can you say just because our diaries are closed we wont be successful?! Im doing fine ty, and never felt better.

If that is the biggest load of crap you've read since being here, you really haven't read that much! You also fail to realise that not everyone is here for the same reason...

I have no idea why anyone would do this. What's the point on being on here? I have friends look at my diary and say things about it that are so useful, and I do the same. Even if it's just to get food ideas! Those people that have their diaries closed will not be as successful or are missing out huge.





That is the biggest load of crap I've read since being on MFP.

What's the point of being here? Certainly not to share what i eat with strangers who will no doubt pm me every day saying im eating badly. They dont know my reasons, or my likes/dislikes. I already know what i need to be doing, so i dont need someone telling me stuff that may well be wrong or scaremongery anyway. And how can you say just because our diaries are closed we wont be successful?! Im doing fine ty, and never felt better.

If that is the biggest load of crap you've read since being here, you really haven't read that much! You also fail to realise that not everyone is here for the same reason...

I don't fail to realize anything. The "crap" comment was me actually responding to the first paragraph. It is a load of crap for someone to say that people who keep their diary private won't be successful or are missing out huge.

Ahhh, so you missed out the quotes, i thought it was YOU saying that!

Apologies!

Mine is public... Just because I haven't had a reason for it not to be. If I began receiving messages demeaning me for what I choose to eat, then I would make it friends-only... and delete anybody who bothered me. But I like that I can throw it out there and go "Hey guys, am I eating good?"

That said, I'm rather lazy with my logging. Back on that tomorrow. I need to get my phone's internet fixed up so I can log on the go.

And when I go into maintenance, I won't be logging as much, so I'll set my diary to private.

also, I used to be a member or Calorie King, and some of the things people said on there about what I ate were awful. I had a bad day where I ate crap and takeaway for every meal, and I had people who were "amazing [I am] *only* 72kg, with that diet".

Fear. plain and simple. fear of judgement, fear of rejection, fear of humiliation. Fear.

Yeah. I'm scared. You got me. *eyeroll*