Chicana Gaining Off Pysch MEDS/Dieting

Well I am a mother of 3 youngest is 2 next week, I have always been the same size and weight for as long as I can remember.....Until Now I was stressed with every day life situation and was put on anti depressants in April now its August I am 30lbs heavier WOW!! I never thought I would way this much.. I kinda don't believe it. I just don't know where to Begin with weight loss, I have never had to watch what I eat.. Until now and as for my culture I love certain foods, tortilla's are an everyday thing that I eat; I will do good at work on what I eat and counting calories and when I get home its over!!! My husband and kids look at the healthy foods I make and tell me just cause your on a diet doesn't mean we are. WHY DO WE GOT TO SUFFER!! so there I go making taco's or rice enchiladas , red meat!! ya know stuff I shouldn't be eating and I just cant seem to get will power to avoid certain foods..... Mind you I am still on the meds and I heard on those meds you just cant shake that weight off unless you stop taking the MEds completely so anyways about the food I LUV!! its always around me Party's relatives house, out to eat uuuughhhh I need serious advice and HELP++++++MOTIVATION

Start by talking to your doctor about the weight gain.  Some meds make you more likely to gain than others from what I have heard.  A change in your perscription might help.

Then think about what you are eating.  You don't have to completely change your diet.  Eat most of what you make, but avoid the really high calorie components.  Make some low calorie vegtables to have with your food and eat them instead.  You are going to have to spend a bunch of time entering recipes here or at some other site to learn which of the traditional foods you should be avoiding, but not everything you have always eaten is bad.  The other thing you should be working on is portion control.  Just try to eat less than you do now of the higher calorie foods you really like.  Now, I know that is really hard, but if you really like something, just have a little if you have the self-control to pull it off.

The last piece is exercise.  Take the kids to a park and run around with them.  Find some exercise videos and do them.  Hold dance contests with the kids in the living room.  Do anything you enjoy that gets you moving.  Those meds tend to slow you down, you need to find a way to be active every day.

Thanks for your positive response I need all the motivation I can get!!

Another thought, you can cut way back on the calories of things you cook with a little extra effort.  Mostly, you want to get rid of fats and oils.  If you are going to cook a meat in a pot, cut off all the fat first.  Your family will never know the difference and you will have cut the calories by a lot.  Try to go with recipes that let you cook on a barbecue grill or rotisserie so the fat runs off the meats.  Cut back on the use of oils wherever possible.  There is nothing wrong with rice, although you would be better off with brown rice than white if you can get your family to go for it.  I have seen lower fat tortillas in the store and they taste like regular ones.  Use your imagination and you can make yourself and your family a lot healthier.