Grocery Shopping trouble. Help Please.

First don't go shopping on an empty stomach. You can try the one hundred calories Pringles, yogart covered apples pieces and pineapple pieces, nuts of all kinds (wtch out how many you eat) and try Crystal Light for the drink or Diet Rite (it is sweetened with Splendia) most of the chips now come in 100calorie packs along with alot of the snack foods just eat one pack a day and not the whole box.

Get this instead:

quick oats, whole wheat flour, apple sauce, baking soda, semi sweet chocolate chips, craisins, raisins, carrots, bananas, nuts, butter, enriched baking flour (nutri blend by Robin Hood for example), and baking powder. Also throw in some light cheeses, hummus, apples and all natural peanut butter.

Make your own crackers, make your own muffins, make your own cookies, YOU can control the fat/sugar/sodium levels for your family.

Carrot cake muffins (Jane Brody's recipe is FAB)
Mini Banana Breads (http://jaabeemom.blogspot.com/2008/02/paint-and-bananas.html)
Whole wheat crackers or breads (lots of bloggers have recipes but I can get you links if you have trouble finding them).

Think outside of the box. GL

I wouldn't snack in the first place. Plan out 4 - 6 meals for the day, a day ahead of time. If you much snack, stick to lettuce or broccoli.

Can't help with the grocery shopping, other than to say stop buying junk food. as for the exercise. put your son in a stroller/buggy, and go for walk with him. you might even find other moms in the area with kids close to your sons age, that do the same thing. which can help with the motivation, give you someone to talk to. and might help your son get un-clingy.

60 calorie pack dried plums(actually prunes), California cuties(clementines), small red apples and a little sharp white cheddar, almonds, Activia light yogurt

I do ok with the healthy som times but not always. for your chips substitue crunchy things (carrots, celery, cucumber etc or try triscuits with sliced reduced fat cheese)
get healthy tortillas and reduced fat cheese for quesodillas when in a rush. pre plan your meals.
if you want pasta go for a whole grain. turkey sasuage is great.
read the nutrition facts and portion before you plate.
could your less healthy things be ok if you watched the portion size or ate half a portion?
I shop at food for less and the prices are hard to beat but low fat/low cal are non existant so i try to find the best i can or eat less of it.
I bought grasshopper mint cookies this last trip. I just make sure i only eat one instead of the recomended 3-4. it is cheaper then then 100 calorie packs. on stressful days i pre pack my servings in a bag so that i don't just blindly reach into the cookie jar (again and again and again...)
anyways that's how i work my balance between budget, still needing tasty things in the house for the hubby and his friends and attempting to stay on tract. it's not perfect but it works.
OH and make a list before you go so you stay focused vs wandering the store and seeing all the yummy stuff you could have

If you like SALTY foods:
Try the 100 calorie popcorn, even without adding butter or salt you will feel like you had something salty.
Pringles makes some 100 calorie packs too, but idk about the nutritional value.
Switch to Mortons lite salt, reduced sodium and added potassium.
Buy some crumbled goat cheese only 80 cals 1/4 cup and adds rich salty cheesiness to all kinds of dishes.
Soup... Olive Garden's Minestrone soup is low cal, packed with veggies, and it's salty without being too high in sodium.
Basalmic vinegar, almost no calories, use it to thin out your favorite dressing, it packs a punch and will reduce water retention.


If you like SAVORY foods:
Frigo cheese heads lite string cheese is a must, so are lite laughing cow cheese wedges.
Buy some dry beans and cook them up, put in fridge and snack on when needed, also add to salads. Great protein and fiber.
Find some low cal dip (ranch or make your own) and stock up on veggies to dip.
Baked sweet potato, lower in cal and high fiber. Add a tiny bit of mortons lite salt, garlic powder, paprika and cheese for a meal!
- or cut the potato french fry style, spritz pan with Pam, lightly salt and bake for awesome fries.
Buy some fiber one original cereal, it can be put in the blender and used to "bread" stuff like onions (google "Lord of the onion rings) or chicken. It's very versatile and yummy.
Ragu makes a lite spaghetti sauce that's only 50 cals per serving!


If you have a SWEET tooth:
I like to take Gogurt and freeze it, makes a great ice-creamy treat later.
Vitalicious brand vitatops and brownies are awesome and only 100 cals. I've only been able to find them online & at Target.
Fresh fruit, of course, is great - you can top it with lite cool whip, it's surprisingly low cal! (they have sugar free too.)
Bakers coconut flakes, if you like coconut this stuff is great. 2 Tbsp sweeten up some greek yogurt and add fiber too. Try it in cereal or baked goods.

Never shop on an empty stomach, make a list and don't deviate from it, and plan out small meals instead of just snacks.
HOPE THAT HELPS!

If you increase the protein and the fiber in your diet, it will help you to feel full longer. I like to take some vanilla proetin (you can get a big tub of it at Walmart for like $16) and mix it with a small strawberry or blueberry greek yogurt, then dip an apple in it. Apples are also a great source of energy, and with your little one, we all know how emportant that energy is! As far as fun exercising, I go to Zumba classes 3 nights a week. Zumba is so much fun! I have lost 131 lbs so far and have done every exercise known to man (including several Biggest Loser DVDs, Richard Simmons DVD, and a couple of the P90X DVD). Zumba is the most fun I have ever had exercising. Even with it being so much fun, it really takes determination to keep going. I always feel great AFTER it is overwith, but I continuously have to talk myself into going. It is NOT necessary to work out and lose weight, but it helps. If you cannot work out, just really watch your calorie intake. Play with your foods. Decide on the kinds of foods you like, and look at their calories. See if there is a similar food that you can substitute for the ones that have too high of calories. Anyway, it's a start. Hope this helps!

Hey there. i had serious diet issues as well when i first started. i dont know if your just shopping for yourself or a family but for me, i only use a basket and try and go once a week to the grocery store. if your doing a bulk shopping then a cart is definetly necessary.

I love:
laughing cow cheese and reduced fat wheat thins- that might help you cut the cheetos and chips out of the shopping mix.
jolly time 100 calorie popcorn
100 calorie oreo cakesters
crystal light/anykind of reduced calorie adder for water.
hillshire farms cold cuts-98% fat free ham and turkey 6 slices for 70 calories makes a nice sandwhich
thomas bagel thins- with a schmear of low fat cream cheese still way under 200 calories
jello cups with fruit
jello chocolate indulgence mousse. so damn good!!!

when it's warmer out i pull the stroller out and take kids walking for about 2 miles every other day. but can't really do that now with 0 degree weather. so i wake up before they do. i jog in place, sit ups, push ups, yoga, and pilates.

jello chocolate indulgence mousse. so damn good!!!

I second the above statement. Super delish. For me the first week of changing my eating habits was the biggest challenge. I suppose it works to my advantage that I don't have a massive sweet tooth and I don't like salty things. This is my second week of eating healthy and I eat 3 meals a day along with at least two snacks. Today I get three snacks

Generally for snacks I switch it up a little so I don't feel like I'm eating the same thing all the time. These are some of the things I eat (a chocolate indulgence mousse cup, healthy choice mocha swirl bar, Skinny cow truffle bar,1/2c cup nonfat Greek plain yogurt with one tablespoon of honey and 2oz of blueberries, a cup of grapes, a medium banana, one serving of reduced fat triscuits, one serving of Special K(either cinnamon pecan or red berries) with 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk and 1/2 cup of blueberries or a banana sliced on top. Your options are really unlimited as to what you can fill up with when you're hungry. Also always have water at hand. Sometimes people confuse thirst with hunger and eat rather than drinking water.

I hope all the suggestions everyone has offered is helpful for you.