Starting over and need support

This is mostly cross-posted from the exercise fitness board, since I asked for exercise suggestions there.

My story is this: I started putting on some serious weight in my mid-late 20s. Previous to this, I was always ever-so-slightly overweight. I'm 5'10 and spent most of my young adult years bouncing around 160-180. For whatever reason, I started to put on weight very quickly, and at age 30, I had reached 300+ pounds. There were (and are) lots of factors; depression, food cravings, finally having the money to spend on food I actually wanted, lack of exercise (I walked *everywhere* in college!). I developed sleep apnea around age 28 and struggled with it for a few years.

I had my wake up moment when, the summer before I turned 30, I contracted cellulitis and landed in the hospital for 2 weeks as the damage spread to my kidneys. I vividly remember my weight being announced as 340 pounds, and I was diagnosed as being diabetic--though that was a mistake, I didn't know that for a few years, so I watched my diet pretty closely.

Over the next 3 years I slowly managed to lose 100 pounds, getting down to 240 in 2006 but unable to get any lower. There I was stuck. I hovered around 240-250 for a few years, but in 2008 I developed severe plantar fasciitis--causing excruciating pain whenever I walk or put pressure on my feet. No treatments worked. I began to wear custom orthotics which make it bearable, but all of my old exercise routines were shot. The weight slowly crept back until I was in the 280s in 2010. I then got pregnant with my son, and later contracted gestational diabetes, so I watched my weight closely. Post-pregnancy in spring 2011 I was back down to 248 pounds. (Yes--I LOST weight during pregnancy!) I remember thinking, 'don't waste this!" Well, I did. Of course.

Last winter was particularly brutal and I ate terribly, and the weight has quickly come back. Weighed myself a few weeks ago and I was shocked to see I was back up to 294 pounds. The sleep apnea came back several months ago, my feet are killing me, and I am exhausted.

So here I am again: Only this time, instead of being 30, I'm turning 40 in a few weeks. And I have a toddler son. And I have untreated sleep apnea, which I can no longer afford to treat because of my current health insurance. And I have plantar fasciitis. And I don't know what to do.

Plan #1 is to address my eating, which has been as horrible as you can imagine. But I also want to find SOME kind of exercise to help my sluggish metabolism, which has never been good. I can't afford to see any doctors this time around. My company has me on a terrible HRA plan with a very limited amount of account dollars, which I have to save for my toddler son who gets every illness under the sun. I also can't afford a gym membership to do any pool activities. I live in a major metropolitan area but there isn't a Y nearby and I would have no one to watch my son anyway. (My husband works a crappy retail job, mostly evenings and weekends, as he lost his 'real' job during the recession. So I'm basically a single mom on the weekends).

I'm feeling rather stuck. I tried talking to my doctor during my annual checkup, but he's like most doctors--he hears my roadblocks as excuses, that "I'd find a way" if I really wanted to. Well, there is a little truth to that, but what I really need is someone to help me think past the toddler, the lack of money, the plantar fasciitis, the sleep apnea I can't afford to treat and leaves me so exhausted I am falling asleep at work. I need ideas, not someone telling me I'm making excuses.

ANY thoughts / ideas would be very appreciated!