Food Diary Snooping... OR Why is your diary CLOSED?!

whale sperm ... look it up

I recently opened up my food diary because I thought that public shaming would be good for me. Not so much! I just changed my settings tonight. I realized that I don't like the scrutiny! I've never paid attention to anyone else's food diary so I haven't noticed anything unusual.

I recently opened up my food diary because I thought that public shaming would be good for me. Not so much! I just changed my settings tonight. I realized that I don't like the scrutiny! I've never paid attention to anyone else's food diary so I haven't noticed anything unusual.

Mine is open because I want the negative and positive feedback. It makes me more aware of the choices I am making

whale sperm ... look it up

Oh that sounds delish!! Recipes? :sick: Ick!!

I don't keep mine open because I might schedule out a day, but then it doesn' fit exactly and I adjust as needed but keep mental track. I know ownership is key, but I just not detailed enough sometimes or have the time to be specific enough to share. I feel like a fraud if my diary is public and isn't completely accurate.

Mine is open to friends.. I like viewing because I get ideas! Also, if someone has a really good diary then it motivates me to do better. I have a love/hate relationship with popcorn and ice cream.. Although I did move to air popcorn and skinny cow ice cream thanks to seeing it on another diary. If I wouldn't have, I probably would not have thought about it.

I've noticed a lot of weird combinations in people's diaries: foods I never would have thought of putting together.

Apple Sauce and Pickles for lunch?

Scrambled eggs and Peanut butter for breakfast? (though that's probably very filling...)

Sometimes my weird combinations are the result of Lunch A and Lunch B that I haven't bothered to separate into different meals.

you know, that makes WAY more sense:laugh:

i have mine set by times because I don't eat normal meals. I just eat what i'm hungry for when i'm hungry for it. It probably looks pretty weird, but no one's said anything .....

yet

Scrambled eggs and Peanut butter for breakfast? (though that's probably very filling...)

i used to eat this combination on toast when i was younger. my parents would always cringe. i just remember it being tasty!

things like that are why i keep my food diary closed. also because i usually eat a lot more than people would be comfortable seeing..;. even though i've been losing inches in the process.

I wanted to answer the second question, since I'm one of those people with a closed diary.

I started tracking my food because I knew I wasn't eating right. I've never been overweight, but I've had my 5-10lb ups and downs throughout my life. After several years in rough jobs, eating whatever I could, when I could, I had developed a lot of bad habits. Even marrying a health nut four years ago didn't change things much.

So when I started taking martial arts classes in December, and realized that I could easily be on my way to a much healthier lifestyle, I started keeping track of what I ate. I knew it would be bad. What I wasn't prepared for was how ashamed I was, looking at what I really ate.

It's very easy to eat something "bad" one day, then say "oh well, I'll do better tomorrow", but fall into a cycle of doing it over and over. It starts as fast food maybe once a week. But it's cheap and convenient, so you start going more often. On top of that, pretty soon the freezer is also full of heat-and-eat food. After a while, cooking actual meals happens only once or twice a week.

I saw how many calories I was eating in a day, and how much sodium I was taking in, and I was floored. How have I not gained weight? How am I as healthy (albeit out of shape) as I am? It scared me. It scared me because I realized that I'm probably much closer to heart disease than I thought I was. And it scared me because I didn't know if I could really change.

It's been a little over a month since I started tracking. In fact, today is my 35th consecutive day of logging into MFP. Things have gotten better, but I still eat things I definitely shouldn't. And I still feel like I have more bad days than good.

As for keeping my diary closed...It's like going to the gym for the first time, but all you do is wander around and look at the machines. Maybe test a few reps here and there, pick up the dumbbells, but put them back down again. Everyone else there looks so fit, or if they aren't, they at least look like they know what they're doing. There's a fear of looking stupid; of being expected to know what you are doing, otherwise why would you be there? Irrational, yes. But it's a very real hangup for many, many people. Including myself.

I also have that hangup here. That fear of having a diary full of bad days in an online community full of people who know what the heck they're doing, and eat right, and are proud of tracking it and showing it. Despite knowing it's irrational, I'm still afraid of being judged for still being so off-track.

I also have that hangup here. That fear of having a diary full of bad days in an online community full of people who know what the heck they're doing, and eat right, and are proud of tracking it and showing it. Despite knowing it's irrational, I'm still afraid of being judged for still being so off-track.

And oddly, that's one reason I leave mine open. I'm not 100% on-track. I'm moving gradually towards a better-for-me diet. I found it reassuring to read other people's open diaries and realize that not everyone here was perfect either.

I should probably browse around and read some other diaries. Maybe it'll help me come to the same realization.

My diary is closed cuz I would find myself not wanting to put down the kit kat bar I had for lunch or the fast food I had for dinner. I wouldn't even be going over my stuff, just embarrassed about what I was eating. Not that anyone ever judged me on it but I am always paranoid.

This too! Sometimes, all I have for breakfast is a mocha. Not that it's regular, but if that is what works on a given day and I don't otherwise feel hungry, then so be it.

I leave mine open. So far no one's criticized my choices (and I have made some that were less than stellar). I'm adult, I'm responsible for what I eat and drink. While I welcome suggestions and constructive criticism, I won't tolerate anyone being negative.

As for weird foods, I don't think I've had anything unusual.

Mine is closed because I am still working on reducing what I eat, not changing what I eat...and what I eat is pretty terrible right now. BUT I do work 25 hours a week and I am taking 5 classes at the university so cooking is definitely not fitting in anywhere! haha

However, once I graduate in May, it is my goal to make changes to my diet so that my diary can look much, much healthier (and a lot less "fast foodie" haha)

Oh...and when I first started using MFP, I added some, uh, personal cardio in and labeled it accordingly. I didn't realize it would post to my profile as "Shellsrenee burned X calories doing 45 minutes of sex" :laugh: :embarassed: Oops! Learning as I go :blushing:

Oh...and when I first started using MFP, I added some, uh, personal cardio in and labeled it accordingly. I didn't realize it would post to my profile as "Shellsrenee burned X calories doing 45 minutes of sex" :laugh: :embarassed: Oops! Learning as I go :blushing:

I did the same thing! LMAO! Luckily, later in the day I added some cardio doing other things, and it changed the entry.

Mine is closed because, well, it's a diary, which implies that it's nobody else's business what I eat. I came to MFP because I wanted an easy-to-use, calorie-counting tool. The people are just an added bonus. I'm more than capable of keeping myself accountable. Topics like this pretty much solidify my resolve to never open it, too. I have enough problems eating around other people, even when I'm eating nothing but a big pile of vegetables or a random piece of fruit. I don't need the internet watching what I eat, too.