A little help from those of you who have been successful ple

I just started the 30 day shred today, and I am counting and logging my calories but I really don't know what I'm doing. I am a SAHM who has 50+lbs to lose.

Should I eat back the calories I earned from exercise each day?

Can I still lose weight if I can stay within my alloted calories but go over in protein?

I only get 20-30/day to exercise as I have an 8 month old and babysit a 9 month old, is this enough?

Healthy food is so expensive, anyone with tips/tricks for a healthy menu without breaking the bank?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post

I started my weightloss journey when my son was 9 months old. I personally don`t eat back my exercise calories, but I do occassionally use them as a "padding" if I have indulged a bit that day. I know for my body as soon as I start eating them back, I start gaining weight. But it really is trial and error!

You can most definitely lose weight going over your protein, I almost daily go over mine, as long as you are eating lean proteins and not high fatty proteins you should be good!

I understand the lack of time to exercise. I have a 2.5 yr old (now) and I do daycare for a nearly 2 year old and soon another 2 year old. My house is crazy busy!! 20-30 a day is a great start! I also try and get a quick workout in the morning, maybe something low impact like yoga. Then if it's not raining I get the kids outside for a walk, and if I have time at night I try and pop in a dvd, or go for a walk. You eventually learn to work in the exercise!

I am on a limited income, so I buy lots of frozen veggies (and frozen fruit for smoothies) I plan my meals around what produce is on sale, also what meats are on sale.

Best of luck

Bump to finish reading later.

protein: Yes, it's good to go over on the protein side! More protein the better.

exercise: for just starting out, I think 30 mins is good. I know Jillian 30 DS is 20 mins. I never felt like that was long enough so I got bored with it. But find whatever DVD works best for you. You should work your way up to 45-60 mins. 5-6 days week. More activity -- sweat pouring, clothes drenched activity = the more you build muscle, which bigger muscle mass burns more calories/fat at rest.

Try to make your life as stress-free as possible. I know having a baby and babysitting another - stress-free is impossible. But try to de-stress your life/environment as much as possible. exercise helps de-stress! Do you HAVE to babysit another child? I know having 2 babies in the home is a lot of work for a SAHM -- for this season of your life -- during this weight loss journey -- you need to focus on you and giving the best of you into your workouts/eating right and then you can be the best mom you can be. Try to de-stress your life as much as possible - less drama, less stress.
Stress really does activate hormones in the body that make you hold on to weight/fat even when eating less calories/exercising.

Grocery shopping: Like another poster said... good food costs money. try to rearrange your family budget to spend more money here. It's worth it. this is what is going INTO your body and your family's body -- good quality food is worth it. But if you must, buy frozen vegetables - those are cheaper and faster to heat up in a hurry. I like buying a rotisserie chicken (don't eat skin) - and I can eat off that for days. Get salad fixings - and make one big salad, put it in a big tupperware and eat off it for the entire week.

I never really eat my exercise calories. I feel like those are the ones I burned off, why would I want to eat those back when I worked so hard to take it off. But if I slip up a big on a day, I have some cushion room and I don't stress over it.

Drink lots of water. Try to hit 64 oz a day. The more the better to flush your system out daily. Not sure if you drink other things like diet soda, but start to do w/o other drinks especially in the beginning just so you're sure to get all your water in. Diet soda is not good for weight loss.

fantastic response!

i do have to babysit so that we can pay our bills.... and as far as de-stressing, i have anxiety disorder so this might be hard lol

i plan on also walking outside or on the treadmill once i get into a little better shape (and can breathe after the dvd!)

OK -- gotcha. Well, do what you can to limit the stress and drama. Surround yourself with positive friends... spend less time/phone time with the ones that complain or are too negative. Try to plan one night a week where hubby can have baby duty (maybe after you put baby to bed) and you can grab coffee or go to a store by yourself. anything to de-stress. I remember those baby days -- my daughter is 2 so it's better now. But I can't imagine being with TWO small babies every day! You need your time out of the house to think -- de-stress and remember what it's like to be YOU and not just "Mom".
Seriously, see if hubs and you can both agree on one night a week that's your night or one night every 2 wks.... you'll be so refreshed and rejuvenated! You deserve this!