Trying to stay positive-would appreciate some tips!

Ok, I'm in no way an expert on this, but I have looked up stuff online and in books, and I feel like I can comment. Take from this what you will. Congratulations, first of all, on cutting out soda and fast food. Those are really, really hard to do- I'm still struggling with the soda issue! Your diary is set for 1200 calories now. Is that where you plan on keeping for a while, or do you have it set there and ean 300 calories over every day.? Whichever way is fine.

I think by "eating natural" he means to eat fruit, vegetables, and maybe lean meats that you buy in their natural state and then cook yourself (or eat raw). What you have then is food you can recognize, name the ingredients, and avoid any chemicals or added sugars. A frozen meal of stir-fried chicken and rice may be low-fat and low calorie, but also will have chemicals, additives, and preservatives. If you take raw chicken breast, brown rice, vegetables, and seasonings and cook them together yourself, you often get better quality food and there are no added chemicals (not debating organic vs. non-organic now). And it's often cheaper because you get a lot of food when you do this and can eat it for several meals. Sometimes fiber is higher, which can leave you full longer.

The meals that you have in the diary that I saw was a cereal, milk, bread with butter, and bacon for breakfast, then chips and an apple for snack. I don't know anything about the cereal, but I'm guessing that it had added sugar in it. Maybe not. The bread I know has additives in it, and a lot of sugar. Bacon is a cured meat that may or may not have nitrates/nitrites, but it does have a lot of fat and salt in it. Others may have better ideas, but maybe an egg or two with no butter, some yogurt, the apple, and 1 piece of whole wheat bread might be another way to go. That avoids many of the carbs, ups your protein, gives you something sweet, and is a pretty big breakfast for someone who wants to lose only 30 pounds (I want to lose 60, which is where the "only" comes from lol). It also avoids chemicals, additives (probably still some in the bread, but you cut it in half and lowered the sugar just by eating 1 piece instead of 2), and the nitrates in the cured meats.

If it comes from the ground, and it still looks like it did when it came from the ground when you buy it/cook it, it's probably "natural".

One more thing- is there a possibility you'd reconsider your choice of trainer? Anyone who takes what you have done and then decides to yell at you for not doing more, without any help in understanding what that "more" might be, is, IMO, a huge jerk! I certainly wouldn't want to pay him to make me feel like crap.

Good luck!