Newbie! Any suggestions? Advice? Running-food-weight loss

KW9878

Hi everyone!
I had a baby last year and have since lost almost all of my "baby weight", which I give credit to going back to work part-time and just being plain ol' too busy to chow down like I normally would.
I guess losing the weight isn't so much to me as important as toning up or getting in shape, but I do realize I have to change the way I eat and actually DO the exercise. We recently bought a treadmill, which I surprisingly love and utilize quite a bit. I am VERY beginner, almost croaking just doing a mile. I have cut down my mile time by more than a minute so far, which is a good sign, right?

Listen to me blab...

Just wanted any suggestions/advice. I don't have a whole lot of weight to lose (15 pounds maybe?), but am looking for advice for a beginner "runner". Any special tips?

Low cal food/snack suggestions?

Also, I've been curious about "diet pills" (Hydroxycut maybe?)... do they help? Should I even bother? What about meal replacements, like shakes? Worth it? Not so much? Again, total newbie so I am clueless.

Thanks!