Why Would You Keep Your Food Diary Private?

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  • wbgolden
    wbgolden Posts: 2,071 Member
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    I don't want people to know I'm really a zombie and only eat braaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnssss.
  • reese66
    reese66 Posts: 2,920 Member
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    I don't want people to know I'm really a zombie and only eat braaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnssss.

    You brain eater...
  • econut2000
    econut2000 Posts: 395 Member
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    There is a lot I will share in this world, my food choices are not one of those things. You open yourself up to too much criticism. I do what works best for ME and that isn't what necessarily works for other people. I eat mainly a flexitarian whole foods diet. So, right there you get criticism because "not eating meat isn't good for you" or "you're eating too much meat". Or that bag of chips I broke down and bought the other day and ate the whole thing because I was having a bad day, was logged into my diary because I won't lie to myself. Knowing I won't lie to myself, I don't need to be accountable to anyone else. If someone needs that extra push to keep them accountable then more power to them, but I don't need or want it. Honestly it would probably encourage me to lie in my diary so I didn't get criticized for that whole bag of chips, but what good would that be?
  • DL121004
    DL121004 Posts: 214 Member
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    Horror of horrors, but not everyone uses the logging feature. :smile:
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
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    I don't want people to know I'm really a zombie and only eat braaaaaaaaiiiiinnnnnssss.

    With fava beans and a nice chianti...
  • jwpe
    jwpe Posts: 77 Member
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    I am fairly new to the site.....how do you put your diary private or public? I have no idea if mine is or isn't.
  • dolphin9803
    dolphin9803 Posts: 125
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    I am fairly new to the site.....how do you put your diary private or public? I have no idea if mine is or isn't.

    When you are on the home page click the Settings then click on the Diary link
  • indisguise
    indisguise Posts: 235
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    Mine is private because I don't want the comments/criticisms. I know that some people do feel the need to be held accountable in order to meet their goals - I am not one of them. I come here every day and log what I ate and how much I worked out at the gym - mostly to learn how many calories is in that meal I just ate and to keep track of my progress. I am happy enough with my own progress and do not need to be held accountable in regard to what/how much I eat. I know when I screw up and I feel bad enough about it without having people point it out to me.
    Like econut2000 said: I do what works best for ME and that isn't what necessarily works for other people.
  • gillleeman
    gillleeman Posts: 397 Member
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    I've had mine open, I've had it shut. Today it is again shut.

    I also have a history of eating disorders, I find when its open I'm not honest with my logging if I have a relapse. This isn't helping me, the road to recovery for me is honesty....... but only with people I feel safe with. When my diary is private I log the lot..... every single mouthful.

    There are far too many people on here who give 'advice'. Advice is to be given when asked for in my opinion.
  • HorrorChix89
    HorrorChix89 Posts: 1,229 Member
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    I keep mine closed to avoid anyone not on my friends list. Tips are fine but I've learned in my short time here that people don't give tips, they try to change you. Not my thing
  • stef827
    stef827 Posts: 215 Member
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    Mine is open, but I am seriously thinking about closing it. I can't have a large lunch and a small dinner without having people tell me I need to eat more dinner. Can't you have a late lunch and eat more and then have a smaller dinner before bed? If I am late for work and miss breakfast, I hear about it. Then, I feel the need to explain why I ate the meals I ate and when and I feel I have to defend my choices. To me, it is becoming a lot of negative energy. I need positive energy right now.


    You can eat your calories any time of day that works for you! It doesn't matter the time or how much at each meal as long as your meeting your Calorie goal. If I were you I would x the friends that are being negative and nit picky, who needs that. You deserve supportive positive friends!!!!!
  • Gargwin82
    Gargwin82 Posts: 152 Member
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    PERSONALLY if anyone were to give a negative comment on my food diary without premise I would remove them from my friends. In the end if they aren't supportive they aren't friends. I enjoy being able to look for POSITIVE things in people diaries to point out to them. Getting their 8 cups of water in, choosing a healthy snack even if it put them over, or sharing in their cheat days when they do treat themselves to something more decedant. If I notice too many calories leftover I like to ask if they're feeling ill and wish them a quick recovery. Really I don't care if someone eats McDonald's 3 times a day, if they are close to the calories (a bit over or under) it's still good. Same with laying out meals, if it works for their lifestyle to have a muffin for breakfast, a large lunch and a snack for supper again as long as it evens out it's all good.

    In no way to I think everyone should put their diaries on public. A lot of people have clearly had bad experiences or are just not comfortable with the idea. Even I went a very long time with my diary on private, it took a lot of encouragement from a good friend to move it to public. I wish everyone would try and be postive and supportive of their friends, sadly it would appear that's not the case. :frown:
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Im on Day 870 of my 'weightloss journey' or whatever fluffy name you want to call this war. After 900 days of tracking... I pretty much know how many calories/protein/carbs are in the stuff I eat.

    This means, I can go all day without tracking here- and still track in my head- to a very close margin. But- sometimes I get a real kick out of eating lots of new things and diving back into tracking manually. Gives me a lift on occasion.

    HOWEVER, there is another weightloss website where I have a blog with close to 7000 subscribers and a homepage with over 350,000 hits. I got tired of people opening up my diary and saying YO YOU ONLY EAT 300 CALS A DAY or HOW ON EARTH DO YOU EVER EXPECT TO BE A ROLE MODEL WHEN YOU DIDNT EVEN TRACK LAST WEEK... etc. 20 or 30 msgs a day criticising me while Im at the gym and they are farting around on the computer.

    My diary is for me, and at some point- you may realise that you are really really good at eating and just dont need the constructive (or deconstructive) criticism frm people viewing your diary out of context.

    I know what works for me, I know what doesn't- and having a public diary invites people in to pressure you to do things their way- and bless their hearts- they forget I am not them.
  • billtonkin
    billtonkin Posts: 109
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    It didn't even cross my mind that folks would criticize someone else's food diary, that's terrible. I leave mine open and enjoy seeing other diaries because I'm always looking for different choices of items to add to my diet. I get tired of eating the same things all the time. I'm always on the look out to try something new that I can fit into my calorie and macro goals.
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
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    because too many people talk about open diarys and blogs!
  • jeyko
    jeyko Posts: 368 Member
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    Mine is open, but I am seriously thinking about closing it. I can't have a large lunch and a small dinner without having people tell me I need to eat more dinner. Can't you have a late lunch and eat more and then have a smaller dinner before bed? If I am late for work and miss breakfast, I hear about it. Then, I feel the need to explain why I ate the meals I ate and when and I feel I have to defend my choices. To me, it is becoming a lot of negative energy. I need positive energy right now.
    That's why I closed my diary. I can handle the critism but the negativity was too much, I felt like I was on the defense!
  • mboutselis
    mboutselis Posts: 18 Member
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    I have been lucky enough to only have positive supports on MFP...by opening my diary, seasoned users and people who have a better understanding of Nutrition have guided me to better eating...it may not be perfect every day...but I still generally stay within my counts. It is working for me for the moment, so I am happy with it. Don't let others bring you down. Surround yourselves with positive support and be open to feedback
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
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    I share mines, I don't comment on my friend's diary who don't have them open, there's nothing to judge. Being under doesn't tell me a thing about whether it constitutes a good job. I have friends who are eating well below 600-900 calories a day.
  • bstoetzer
    bstoetzer Posts: 96
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    Mine is open, but I am seriously thinking about closing it. I can't have a large lunch and a small dinner without having people tell me I need to eat more dinner. Can't you have a late lunch and eat more and then have a smaller dinner before bed? If I am late for work and miss breakfast, I hear about it. Then, I feel the need to explain why I ate the meals I ate and when and I feel I have to defend my choices. To me, it is becoming a lot of negative energy. I need positive energy right now.

    I wouldn't worry about it unless you are consistantly going over your daily calories. Actually my personal trainer told me a couple of weeks ago that I should be eating a larger lunch and small dinner. I usually do cardio before eating dinner and he said I should consume the majority of my calories before my workout so I don't have to eat so much when I get home.
  • MizzDoc
    MizzDoc Posts: 493 Member
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    My MFPals see my diary. It's just that simple. Nothing to hide at all :D

    If you are not a friend, then you don't get to see it.

    That is all.

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