Thank u PP!!!

When you orde take out, what do you order? Start there. Also start by serving fresh fruits and veggies more. E.g., today we had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but. I made a small number and when they were gone, told the kids they could have any fruit or veggie they wanted if they were still hungry. Kids ate 2 pancakes each, then a banana and an orange respectively. If I'd made a big batch, it would have been 4-5 pancakes each and no fruit. Just pick some fruit and veggies that are easy (broccoli and carrots and cucumber and apples and clementines and bananas and grapes) and keep them on hand with fat free ranch for the beggies and that is all snacks. Start buying steam-in-the-bag veggies and serve them with dinner nightly. My top easiest healthy dinners:

Spaghetti squash (poke whole spaghetti squash with a fork, put in oven at 375 for 45 min. Cool, cut in half, remove seeds and serve instead of pasta with marinara and packaged meatballs, and steam-in-the-bag broccoli.

Salmon: place raw salmon pieces on foil-lined pan and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Serve with veggies and whole grain bread.

Parmesan chicken: place chicken tenders in a pan, sprinkle lightly with sea salt, garlic and parmesan cheese, bake 15-20 minutes at 375. Serve with steam-in-bag peas.

Canned fat-free refried beans, with 1 extra can plain pinto beans mixed in, serve with cubed cheddar and avocado wedges.

Fried rice: steam brown rice, make steam-in-the-bag mixed veggies, take a big skillet or wok and add a little oil, then scramble two eggs and se them aside. Toss the rice and veggies and some cut up leftover chicken (or canned chicken in a pinch) with sea salt, garlic and a little soy sauce. Add the scrambled eggs back in and serve.

How old are your kids? Can you join a gym with childcare? The kids will be fine and you can get in a workout and shower during the day.

I lost 40 lbs last year. I started off with logging my food on My Fitness Pal. It's a great way to track things. It will help keep you on track. Then, I joined a gym and got a trainer. If that's not an option, there are lots on online guides for exercise or videos available On Demand. Weight loss is primarily diet, but I didn't want to overeat when I thought about the hard work I was putting in on the cardio/weight training side.

I didn't think of it as a diet. I never use that word. My husband and I agreed to a lifestyle change. I ended trying to have bread/pasta only once a week and cut out extra sugar. It made a huge difference on my weight loss and I promise I'm not lying when I say that I stopped craving sweets. I can still have pizza with friends or cake for a celebration, but it doesn't matter b/c I eat healthy 90% of the time. I don't really pay attention to plant-based fats anymore.

You can do it, OP!

OP here - reading thru the comments and I agree.

A couple things - I titled this SAHM but wrote in the first post I also work at home so between 6am-10pm I do everything at home, drive kids, AND work....so I really don't lie when I say I don't have a minute.

Which comes also to why I don't cook. By 4/5pm I'm just done from the say and so fatigued....we order out a lot which I know is terrible.

Also, my kids dont have soda - just me!

I would like to know how to get started eating better? Are there cookbooks or recipes? I never cooked in my life besides boiling pasta and warming up frozen food, so I have no idea how to start incorporate veggies and healthy meals into my diet.

And this is including my kids! I dont know how to get them to eat healthy.

I'm sad that we've gone this far being unhealthy and I would like to rectify this asap.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not trying to be snarky, but I am amazed at how much sleep you get every night. Looks like 7-8 hours per night. I WOH and I don't remember the last time I got that much sleep.

So - maybe part of your answer is to wake up a little earlier or stay up a little later. I'll admit I'm also a little baffled about how you don't find any time during your SAH day that could be used for exercise. There is so much you can do from home, whether kid is awake or sleeping. Not trying to be harsh, but it seems like your number one problem is motivation.

I say this as a fellow 30lb overweight mom, but I admit to myself that it's all about choices. I chose a tasty but not great for me lunch today, and I'll probably choose to collapse on the couch after kid bedtime tonight instead of exercise. More willpower seems to be the key.

No, no, no! Lack of sleep is RELATED to weight gain. It changes hormonal responses in the body. Please do a little bit of research on this or ask your doctor. Perhaps your lack of sleep is what is affecting your inability to make the right choice. See the article below.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/how-sleep-loss-adds-to-weight-gain/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

7-8 hours of sleep is what every person should be aiming for, except for the few who do not need more than 6 or so. I thought this was common knowledge.

Great advice, Peguinsix!