u/Foreign-Swan4271

For about two years I was deep in it. The kind of depression where you're still functioning on the outside but everything inside feels gray and pointless. I poured all of it into building mobile apps. Worked on them constantly. Nothing happened for over a year. Just silence.

Then one of them took off. Actually took off. It's doing around $16k/month now (I've shared more about the app itself in earlier posts if anyone's curious).

What surprised me isn't the money. It's that the depression just lifted. No sadness, no heaviness. Gone.

I used to think depression was this chemical thing that just happens to you, and maybe for some people it is. But for me it turned out to be pretty simple in hindsight. I was craving something specific. Some proof that what I was doing mattered. And until I got it, no amount of therapy or self-care or reframing was going to fix that gap.

Not sure if there's a lesson here for anyone else. Maybe just that sometimes the thing you think is wrong with you is actually a signal pointing at something you haven't done yet.

I'm 28F and for the past 2 years I've been teaching myself to build apps. I shipped two of them to the app store with so much hope (I've shared bits of the story in my other posts). Nobody uses them. Not friends, not strangers, not the algorithm. Just silence.

My husband pays for everything. He hasn't said it out loud but I can feel the shift. What used to sound like "my wife is building something" now sounds like "my wife has a hobby." And honestly I'm starting to wonder if he's right.

I don't bring in a single dolar. He works, I build things no one downloads, and at dinner I have nothing real to show him. I love what I do. I love the building part, the problem solving, the small wins when something actually works. But love doesn't pay rent and it's getting harder to look him in the eye.

So I need honest input. Do I get a "real job" and shelve this? Do I get a job and keep building on the side, knowing I'll be exhausted? Or is two years just not enough and I'm quitting right before it could click?

I'm 28F. A few years ago, someone close to me in my life at the time told me, point blank, that I was "unambitious" and a bad bet. I had just quit my job to teach myself to code. No income, living with my parents, 12-hour days building apps nobody had heard of. According to him, I wasn't on his level and never would be.

I deleted social media for a year and just kept building.

Things worked out. One of the apps caught on, then another. I'm in a position now where $15k is not a number that would hurt me, which is part of why this whole situation is so weird to write out. Two years ago I was counting coins for groceries.

Last week, out of the blue, he asked to catch up. I figured fine, water under the bridge, I'll hear him out. We got coffee. Halfway through, the real reason came out: he's $15k in debt, mostly from a trip and some gambling losses, and he wanted to know if I could "help him out."

He framed it as a loan, but no terms, no timeline, no paperwork. Just vibes.

I told him no. I wasn't harsh about it. I said I don't lend money at that scale without a written agreement, and even then, only to people with a clear repayment plan and a track record of managing money responsibly. Gambling debt doesn't fit that. I suggested he look into a consolidation loan or talk to a financial advisor.

He sent me a long message afterward saying I was "using my new money to be cruel" and that the old me would have helped him in a heartbeat. He's right. The old me would have. The old me also ate cereal for dinner while he was eating at steakhouses.

My friends are split. Two of them think I should have offered something smaller, like $500 or $1k, just as a goodwill gesture given how long we've known each other. The others think loaning money to someone with active gambling losses is throwing it away regardless of the amount.

AITA for refusing entirely?

Investor wants to buy my app for 20x monthly revenue. Life-changing money but I'm scared I'll regret selling. What would you do?

I'm a solo dev. I made an app that unexpectedly took off and it's currently doing solid monthly revenue (I've mentioned the rough numbers in other posts if context matters). An investor reached out and offered to buy it for 20x the monthly, which works out to life-changing money for me. Not retire-forever money, but enough that I could breathe for the first time in years.

Here's where I'm stuck.

If I sell: I get a single big check, I'm secure, I can fund my next projects without pressure, and I lock in the win before the app potentially dies (it could, trends move fast).

If I don't sell: I keep collecting monthly revenue, and if the app keeps performing for even 2 more years I'll have made more than the offer. Plus I keep ownership of something I built.

The rational answer feels like "take the money" but every time I get close to saying yes I get this gut feeling that I'm underestimating myself and the app. I don't know if that's wisdom or ego. I've never had real money before so I don't trust my judgment on this. I keep imagining the version of me in 2 years either grateful I sold or kicking myself for selling.

For anyone who has sold something they built, or chosen not to, how did you decide? What did you wish you'd known beforehand?

I'm 28F, indie app developer. I want to keep this short but I don't think I can.

For about 2 years after I taught myself to code I had no income. I lived with my parents and worked on my own projects. My sister (8 years older, married, two boys aged 11 and 15) was very vocal during this period that I was wasting my life. She told our parents I was leeching. She told me to my face that staring at a computer all day wasn't a job. When I once asked her for a small loan during that period she refused and said she wouldn't fund my hobby. I stopped asking her for anything after that.

This year two of my apps took off. They're genuinely not big, anyone curious can probably figure out which ones from my post history, but the numbers ended up being good. About $40k/month after tax right now. I know this can change quickly so I'm being careful with it.

My sister found out. Now she's telling me that because I'm single and have "nobody to look after," it is my responsibility as her sister to contribute to her kids' education. The figure she gave me was around $50k for this year alone. She presented it as a duty, not a request.

I said no. Then she sent a few follow-up texts that I didn't love, and I've been letting her calls go to voicemail for a week now. My mom thinks I'm being childish about it and that I should at least pick up. Part of me knows she has a point, I could just answer the phone and say no again like an adult, but every time I see my sister's name on the screen I feel that same 26-year-old feeling of being talked down to and I just don't pick up.

The part I'm struggling with: my nephews didn't do anything wrong. I actually like the kids. I'd happily help them in specific, concrete ways, I've offered before. But what she's asking for isn't really about them, it's a number she came up with based on what she thinks I can afford, from the same person who spent 2 years telling everyone I was worthless because I wasn't earning.

Am I overreacting by going silent? Or is a week of not answering fair given the situation?

background: 34, started at 218, currently 187. nothing dramatic, just slow steady loss since january. I've tried way too many apps along the way because I'm the kind of person who quits something the second it gets boring and assumes a different app will fix it. spoiler, the app is rarely the problem. but some are definitely better than others.

going in rough order of how long I actually used each one before giving up or switching.

MyFitnessPal

started here like everyone does. it's fine. food database is enormous, barcode scanner works, you can add custom foods. for pure calorie counting it's the default for a reason.

what eventually drove me off it: the free version has gotten worse. they keep moving stuff behind the paywall. ads everywhere. and the protein/macro side feels like an afterthought, which mattered more to me later (more on that). also the constant "you have X calories left today" notification at 9pm when I'm trying to not eat felt actively unhelpful.

used it for about 6 weeks. lost some weight. plateaued. blamed the app. (not the app's fault.)

Lose It

tried this for like 3 weeks after MFP. it's basically MFP with a cleaner interface. the photo-your-food feature was cool until I realized it was wrong half the time and I was undercounting. didn't change my life. switched off when a friend mentioned Cronometer.

Cronometerf

ok this one is intense. tracks every micronutrient. like, you'll see your zinc and your B12 and whatever else. food database is super accurate.

downside, it's overwhelming if you don't care about micronutrients. I lasted maybe a month. found myself stressing about whether I got enough vitamin K instead of just like... eating well.

would recommend if you have a specific health thing you're tracking. probably not for the average "I want to lose 30 lbs" person.

GLP Diet Food Tracker: Sharpy

ok this is the one I'm using now. context: a few months in I started taking weight loss seriously and realized I was losing weight but kind of looking worse for it. tired-looking, less muscle, you know the thing. mentioned it to a coworker and she pointed me at this app.

this isn't just a food tracker. it does food, exercise, and progress tracking together. workouts focus on resistance training (which is apparently the thing for keeping muscle while losing fat, who knew, I sure didn't). protein goals are front and center, not buried. and it has photo progress tracking which has weirdly been the most motivating thing for me.

couple things to know. it's iOS only. onboarding is long but I think that's why it actually works, it asks you a bunch of stuff and personalizes the plan. it's a paid app. tip I picked up: if you go through onboarding and don't subscribe right away, sometimes a discount shows up a day or two later. worked for me.

not perfect. food database is smaller than MFP's so I sometimes have to add custom stuff. but the tradeoff is everything else.

using it now for the last couple months. weight loss has been steadier and I look... like myself? hard to explain. I think I just wasn't eating enough protein on the previous apps and didn't know.

Noom

I'll keep this short because everyone has opinions. the psychology stuff didn't land for me. felt like I was paying for daily articles. the actual food tracking part is worse than the free apps. I did the trial and didn't continue.

if reading about your relationship with food is genuinely useful to you, it might be worth it. for me it was homework.

Yazio

someone in another sub recommended this. european app. it's nice. cleaner than MFP. didn't have any feature that made me go "oh wow." didn't have any flaw that made me leave either. honestly forgot I had it installed.

use it if MFP's interface bugs you.

Carb Manager

tried this when I was doing low carb for like 5 weeks. it's the best app for keto/low carb specifically. if you're not doing low carb you don't need it.

stopped doing low carb because it made me miserable, deleted the app.

Happy Scale

ok this one I still use. it's not a food tracker, it just smooths out your daily weight so you don't lose your mind every time you're up 2 lbs from water weight. takes 5 seconds in the morning. genuinely the only "app" my partner kept using too.

not a food app but mentioning because it goes alongside whatever you're using.

the verdict from someone who tried way too many of these

if you just want calorie counting and have used MFP before with no issue, stay there.

if you want micronutrients and you're a data person, Cronometer.

if you want food tracking + actual workouts + progress photos in one app and you're on iOS, Sharpy is what I'd recommend now. wasn't a thing when I started this journey or I'd have used it from the beginning.

if you keep getting in your head about daily weight, Happy Scale alongside whatever else.

if you're doing keto, Carb Manager.

the actual lesson from my 9 months: I switched apps too much. the first 6 weeks I lost weight on MFP. when I plateaued I blamed the app instead of the fact that I'd stopped being careful. all of these apps work if you actually use them. the trick is picking one and not letting yourself shop around.

ok this got long. good luck.

ps: I'm not affiliated with any of these. just a person who downloaded too many apps. ask me anything.

background: 34, started at 218, currently 187. nothing dramatic, just slow steady loss since january. I've tried way too many apps along the way because I'm the kind of person who quits something the second it gets boring and assumes a different app will fix it. spoiler, the app is rarely the problem. but some are definitely better than others.

going in rough order of how long I actually used each one before giving up or switching.

MyFitnessPal

started here like everyone does. it's fine. food database is enormous, barcode scanner works, you can add custom foods. for pure calorie counting it's the default for a reason.

what eventually drove me off it: the free version has gotten worse. they keep moving stuff behind the paywall. ads everywhere. and the protein/macro side feels like an afterthought, which mattered more to me later (more on that). also the constant "you have X calories left today" notification at 9pm when I'm trying to not eat felt actively unhelpful.

used it for about 6 weeks. lost some weight. plateaued. blamed the app. (not the app's fault.)

Lose It

tried this for like 3 weeks after MFP. it's basically MFP with a cleaner interface. the photo-your-food feature was cool until I realized it was wrong half the time and I was undercounting. didn't change my life. switched off when a friend mentioned Cronometer.

Cronometerf

ok this one is intense. tracks every micronutrient. like, you'll see your zinc and your B12 and whatever else. food database is super accurate.

downside, it's overwhelming if you don't care about micronutrients. I lasted maybe a month. found myself stressing about whether I got enough vitamin K instead of just like... eating well.

would recommend if you have a specific health thing you're tracking. probably not for the average "I want to lose 30 lbs" person.

GLP Diet Food Tracker: Sharpy

ok this is the one I'm using now. context: a few months in I started taking weight loss seriously and realized I was losing weight but kind of looking worse for it. tired-looking, less muscle, you know the thing. mentioned it to a coworker and she pointed me at this app.

this isn't just a food tracker. it does food, exercise, and progress tracking together. workouts focus on resistance training (which is apparently the thing for keeping muscle while losing fat, who knew, I sure didn't). protein goals are front and center, not buried. and it has photo progress tracking which has weirdly been the most motivating thing for me.

couple things to know. it's iOS only. onboarding is long but I think that's why it actually works, it asks you a bunch of stuff and personalizes the plan. it's a paid app. tip I picked up: if you go through onboarding and don't subscribe right away, sometimes a discount shows up a day or two later. worked for me.

not perfect. food database is smaller than MFP's so I sometimes have to add custom stuff. but the tradeoff is everything else.

using it now for the last couple months. weight loss has been steadier and I look... like myself? hard to explain. I think I just wasn't eating enough protein on the previous apps and didn't know.

Noom

I'll keep this short because everyone has opinions. the psychology stuff didn't land for me. felt like I was paying for daily articles. the actual food tracking part is worse than the free apps. I did the trial and didn't continue.

if reading about your relationship with food is genuinely useful to you, it might be worth it. for me it was homework.

Yazio

someone in another sub recommended this. european app. it's nice. cleaner than MFP. didn't have any feature that made me go "oh wow." didn't have any flaw that made me leave either. honestly forgot I had it installed.

use it if MFP's interface bugs you.

Carb Manager

tried this when I was doing low carb for like 5 weeks. it's the best app for keto/low carb specifically. if you're not doing low carb you don't need it.

stopped doing low carb because it made me miserable, deleted the app.

Happy Scale

ok this one I still use. it's not a food tracker, it just smooths out your daily weight so you don't lose your mind every time you're up 2 lbs from water weight. takes 5 seconds in the morning. genuinely the only "app" my partner kept using too.

not a food app but mentioning because it goes alongside whatever you're using.

the verdict from someone who tried way too many of these

if you just want calorie counting and have used MFP before with no issue, stay there.

if you want micronutrients and you're a data person, Cronometer.

if you want food tracking + actual workouts + progress photos in one app and you're on iOS, Sharpy is what I'd recommend now. wasn't a thing when I started this journey or I'd have used it from the beginning.

if you keep getting in your head about daily weight, Happy Scale alongside whatever else.

if you're doing keto, Carb Manager.

the actual lesson from my 9 months: I switched apps too much. the first 6 weeks I lost weight on MFP. when I plateaued I blamed the app instead of the fact that I'd stopped being careful. all of these apps work if you actually use them. the trick is picking one and not letting yourself shop around.

ok this got long. good luck.

ps: I'm not affiliated with any of these. just a person who downloaded too many apps. ask me anything.