My motivation - 1st post

First of all F off the people that discourage you. It hurts when its people close to you, but tell them to F off. This is YOUR journey and if they can't handle it, then they need to deal with it. I've heard so much crap from family, friends, strangers.....you just need to stay the course and stay committed.
Don't cut your calories. Improve the quality of your calories. Do you know 2 tsp of table sugar has the same insulin effect as 2 cups of broccoli? Make sure you are getting healthy fat in your diet....yes we NEED HEALTHY fat and it makes you feel full. Avacados, nuts, olive oil, whole milk....Don't fall into the Low fat society.
Change up your exercise routine....Add weight training over cardio...also make sure you're getting rest....also stress can affect cortisol levels which affect weight. Drink enough water. If you drink diet soda....processed foods....cut it off....it can really affect success. Try to live by the 90% rule.....healthy food 90% 10% not.....granted if you eliminate the crap, you realize you really don't feel well eating it. I really miss drinking alcohol, but I just feel HORRIBLE for two days...and thats after only 2 beers! You have to decide what is truly important.....listening to others (me included LOL) or staying committed and dedicated to your goal. You will find with this journey that it is more of a mental transition than a physical. I was overweight as a child, and obese as an adult and it took 20 years for me to figure it out! If you make the goal health and not what you look like or what people say, you are more likely to stay focused. Do you want health problems in your future? Tons of $$ on medications?
Yes.....my body has extra skin (which I have been criticized for) and I don't "look" the part of a strong athlete/boxer....but that is what I am. If people don't like me as me...then F off...If they know the whole person inside and out and are fine with me, then cool. YOU CAN GET THROUGH THIS.....The Zone and crossfit would be two things I'd google....worked for me.
Stay the course, it IS worth it.


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Wait, you must have met my mother in law LOL Some people can just be extremely rude, and I personally think they are just so miserable with their own lives that they cant help but bring others down. So sorry to hear you had to run into that situation.
As far as the plateau, I dont have much advise, I haven't hit one yet. I was planning on "zig zagging" my calories and adding another work out session in and switching up my work out types when it occurs.
I hope you can get though this soon...

You look great in your profile pics! And you are still so young! My husband will be 42 soon and he is cut... absolutely ripped! I had a year long plateau and finally snapped out of it after gaining about 15 pounds over the holidays. I came back to MFP in January and have lost over 30 pounds since! You can do it! Ignore those idiot negative people.

Sometimes we just aren't quick on our feet - but the next time someone says that, make a comment like - "Gee, I wasn't aware you were interested in my body! Kind of grosses me out." I know, you have to maintain a relationship because she is your mother-in-law, but she won't know that she did something hurtful unless you tell her. The other side is that if you keep focusing on what she said, you are letting her control you and hurt you and she doesn't even know it, so the only one hurting is you.

Let it go and focus on the work you are doing each and every day. I had a dietician come to our office this week and speak to the employees. She stated, and I'm sure we are all aware, that you have to leave 500 calories on the table each day in order to lose a pound in seven days. You can earn these calories so that you can eat the minimum, which is between 1,200 and 1,600, or you eat less. I wouldn't recommend going below a 1,200 calorie plan, but you could earn the calories thru increasing your workout time and then leaving those on the table.

If you haven't spoken to a nutritionist or a dietician specializing in nutrition, I would recommend you do this. You may also need to change up your percentages, so that you are either getting an equal amount of protein and carbs or one is greater than the other. I wouldn't recommend changing your fat from 30%, though. Ok - enough advice from me. Good luck, Chris.

I would say 150 g is right. When I was following the P90X nutrition plan I was taking in approximately 119 g a day. You can find good protein in other things besides chicken too, like Greek yogurt, beans, fish. I also drank a recovery protein powder drink every day and/or had a protein bar.

I do. I don't know what you have over there, but I use Pure Protein Bars. They taste good and have roughly 18-20 g of protein for 180-210 calories. Just be sure to look at the sugar content. Plus if you have a good quality protein bar on hand you can always use it to replace a meal if you're in a rush. I'm sure the P90X bars are good, I just can't afford them.