When I found out about Steemit a couple weeks ago, it was because I was researching projects by Dan Larimer. I had already been buying Bitshares and EOS since early December, but never really looked into Steemit. Like all Larimer Projects I was intrigued. This place seemed like Reddit, but people were actually making money from their posts.
Still I didn't sign up, because honestly...I have never really written content before. How was I going to contribute to a new community that thrives on valuable content written by its contributors? Do I even have a viewpoint or anything to say? Would people even read what I wrote? And the dreaded “What if people don’t like what I wrote and downvote me into oblivion?”
Ah, a common theme in my life so far. I have always been afraid of failure. I always have great ideas...for everyone else. I am a reseller by trade, and I’ve been doing it my whole adult life. I sell designer clothing on eBay and I was quite successful at it, until I wasn’t. Ebay changed the search algorithm, and just like that.. I went from selling and making around $150K a year on average, to pretty much making nothing. This was three years ago, and the change has been hard. I am still trying to resuscitate my business and luckily it has rebounded a little.
So what does this have to do with Low carb eating, you might ask? Well, when my business was doing well my boyfriend at the time (now husband) and I rented an apartment near Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. Being close to all the fantastic restaurants was exciting. We were eating out or ordering in every night. It took almost 8 months of living in the apartment to use the oven for the first time. With all the overindulgent eating I managed to gain over 60 pounds. I have never been thin or confident about my body, but this was ridiculous. I started eating low carb and I didn’t look back. In a year I lost 80 pounds. I was feeling better about myself. My business was thriving. We had saved for a house for several months and had enough for the downpayment and closing costs.
Me before and after low carb the first time:
We looked at 26 houses and after losing houses to other buyers we actually bought a house.
My house
And then eBay changed their search algorithm. I had enough in savings to last 6-8 months, but soon my husband (who also did the same thing as me and made the same amount I did) had to give up and go find employment elsewhere. We had to give up our 1000 sq foot office and I moved all my inventory and equipment into the basement of our house. It was embarrassing, demoralizing...devastating.
I entered a headspace that was dark. Very dark. I quit college 10 years ago because I was so passionate about what I did that I couldn't concentrate on school, and now I had nothing to show for it. My husband, a driven person... seemed to excel wherever he went...and while he might not be passionate about his job, he is successful. Financially throughout our relationship we had always kept our money separate. When we both had tons of money this wasn’t an issue, but now that I had none….I started to feel like I was a burden on him.
I started to eat...everything. And before I knew it I had gained back pretty much everything I lost.
In October I started low carb again. I have lost almost 30 pounds. I do have a slip up every now and then. One thing I realize though is that the progress I am showing on the scale does help me feel better mentally. At least I am trying to accomplish something again.
Me now, 30 lbs down.
I will be sharing some of my thoughts weight loss and low carb recipes on Steemit. I am unsure if that kind of content is popular here but who knows. If you like what you see or want to talk about low carb/crypto/pets etc...let me know.