If you're not eating enough calories for maintenece even without working out you're not going to gain weight if you get 80 g protein. And, whey powder is great for after lifting and has around (depending on the brand) 20 grams of protein per shake-for about 150-200 cals. I would suggest that everyone does a little lifting. Seriously, it will greatly improve your shape as you lose.

My dad is a body builder and he lost sixty lbs doing basically exactly what John is promoting. He's a pure carnivore and doesn't have things like milk, bread, sweets in the house at all- whole grain crackers, sweet potatoes, occasionally brown rice but not much. He's gluten intolerant and dairy intolerant though so that all is a little extreme. his wife is a body builder too and looks great. But from what they say, and what's worked for me in the past, ten or so reps at the highest weight you can lift, and go to failure (when your arms won't lift the weights again) and then stop. That's more than enough to tear up your muscles and build them back up. But, I'm not a expert, I just know what I'm told :D At any rate, I would definitely suggest targeted, precise strength training (not aerobics with hand weights) and less than an hour of cardio, so I'm with John on that one too.
I'm getting back on the proverbial wagon and I'm eating 1000-1200 calories a day of good protein and whole grains. I'm riding that while it lasts, but I'm going to have a couple of calorie-spike days where I eat something, probably just one meal, that shocks my system and takes me up to 1500-1800. As/if my weight loss slows, I will probably adjust to a more sustainable, long term calorie goal but still stick with lean protein as the largest portion of my food. It's like good slow burning coal when you're lifting. I'm sticking to the Hunter-Gatherer diet as much as possible (I think there is an actual diet by that name which I'm not following, but my idea of that is basically only things I could kill/find in the wild-i.e. fruits veggies and lean meat, occasionally bread and like I said, calorie spike days (or cheat days, but I don't like to call them that because they're actually beneficial to your loss as long as you don't let them send you off on a binge, which they shouldn't as long as you're being satisfied by 1200 calories) when I'll eat things that might be processessed or junky (although I'm trying to stay away from anything with ingredients I don't recognize. Luckily the BF works at Earthfare and has a twenty percent discount, woo!). Is it just me or was that the longest run-on sentence ever?
Anyway, that's just my two cents, I'm obviously no expert since I'm right back where I started, but we learn from every weight loss experience we have (i think) and my refusal to do what I know will work doesn't mean that I don't have a pretty good idea of what does work (at least for me and people I've talked to).
Good luck honey. We're the same age! If you ever need to chat/need a buddy, definitely feel free to pm me. :hug:

Same weight too, WOO! :D (or I guess, not woo. :/ haha)
I am also a HUGE HUGE HUGE believer in planks, they will turn your freaking life around. I start hemorrhaging inches off my abs when I start doing 3 15 second planks every day or at least five days a week. I do them during commercials or study breaks, it's just a few seconds and the results are tremendous.

Oh goodness, planks are god's gift to abs, yes they are. I am going to start doing them soon. Thanks John and munchievictim for reminding me. I used to do them and my abs felt good-kettlebells as I have been doing them and planks plus leg lifts will do my core good!

I agree with the suggestions of a bit more calories. Mainly when you start at 1200 you have no where to go in the event of a plateau.

ALso, how are you tracking your calories. When I started measureing and tracking on livestrong.com I think I got more accurate counts. Tracking manually and not measuring and weighing my food led me to count less then I was really eating.

When I started I always aimed to burn 500 calories on cardio (6 days a week). Why not increase to that? Also, make sure you are really working hard on your cardio... if you are just on a Sunday stroll on the elliptical you aren't going to see the results that you would really pushing yourself.

You are off to a great start... you should be proud. Stick with it and always look for new hints from people. I have been at this for 8 months and I am always looking for new suggestions!

I'm curious how you are tracking your calories if you are uncertain of your protein intake? Use a free online tracker there are many.

The reasons to keep protein intake up are plentiful. First, it helps you to retain and (if you're lifting) build muscle. Second, it takes more calories to digest. Third, it helps keep you feel satisfied (fuller) longer.

I wouldn't worry about hitting a plateau. If you hit one you can always take a diet break which I suggest people do on a regular basis anyways. For some reason people on this site have their thinking all backwards and suggest that the fatter you are the more calories you need to ingest with their reasoning being you need more energy. The opposite is true. The more fat you have to use for fuel the less your hormones will be effected by a steep deficit. When you're big you can lose weight fast and not upset anything. When you get closer to your goal weight is when you need to lose weight slowly.

As for lifting - in my original post I covered everything but I'll repeat it for clarity. Do 2 sets of 12 reps for each exercise I mentioned. Start very light and increase the weight every workout At first it will seem to easy but since you're increasing the weight every workout it will get difficult fast.

What does the second reason mean?... does it mean your body works harder to digest protein thus you burn more calories eating protein???

Yea. It's minor but every calorie counts! :D

In the energy balance equation this is referred to as TEF or Thermic Effect of Food.

Thanks- never heard that before...

here's another one... by eating more protein and increasing the thermic effect would you also be boosting your metabolism?

No. Gaining muscle or fat would increase your metabolism. TEF changes based on your food intake.

Read this article. Lyle McDonald has a huge number of free articles on his site and most are excellent.

Hey that sounds awesome! I really need to try them I haven't even done it yet. Thanks so much for all your advice. We definitely need to talk more since we are basically all the same stats more or less! :P

I agree with you all, I need to start a calorie tracker online... I've been doing it in a little journal but I think it's time to upgrade!

I am going to try planks... hopefully I'll start to see some weight melting off my belly area!

I've been wondering about this for a while, and this comment is making me take the jump and ask the question: John, what are your qualifications for making recommendations to others in terms of "diet breaks" and so forth? I hope this does not come off as confrontational or "snarky", but I am honestly curious. Are you a doctor? A nutritionist? A personal trainer? I guess I'm just wondering if/why your recommendations are any more valid than anyone else's.

I guess it's the "diet break" thing that really made me go "....What?!" I don't know about anyone else here, but the dietary changes I have made for myself personally are not something I am willing to take a "break" on. I personally do not like or use the word "diet", as it gives the impression that this is something temporary....and it definitely is not.

As I said...I don't want my questions to come off as being snarky, but I do wonder where your recommendations are coming from. If it's personal experience, fine....but sometimes your suggestions seem to carry with them this sense of authority, and I'd like to know if that's the case.