Okay here's the dealio. I am trying to lose the 45 lbs I gained while pregnant with my third child. I currently have 9 people living in my house: 4 adults and 5 kids under 10. I have tried to pre-make meals but they get eaten by someone else. I am also working 50 hours a week on an assembly line just to make ends meet, and most days I cannot afford to eat meat and/ or fresh produce. I am exhausted all the time due to averaging 5 hours of sleep and spending the rest of my time at home cleaning or taking care of the kids, and cannot find the energy to work out. The situation has me so stressed out I am actually GAINING weight. It feels pretty hopeless at the moment.

Sorry if it came off as me whining. I know that I can lose this weight, before I got pregnant I was down over 100 lbs! Just looking for ways to work around this mountain of obstacles.

Making yourself a priority is difficult, only Moms understand this! And I feel for you, there are so many kids in the house that "come first." But let me ask you this.... what about the adults? Don't they have some responsibilities in the home?

First I would address the food issue. Make sure you have a cubby in the fridge that is clearly yours. Have a family meeting and tell everyone that this food is especially for you, that your doctor has prescribed this diet for you (lie!) and that you need to get yourself healthy so that you can be strong and take care of everyone. If you can get the kids on board with that idea they'll be more than happy to help you. The adults, I don't know lol, you'll have to speak to them too. I know money is tight but spend what you need to to have fresh greens, fruits and hummus and yogurts on hand. I get great deals on chicken breasts at Costco.

Exercise is easier than food. I suggest getting a pedometer and wearing it all the time. Aim for 10,000 steps per day. It makes every step count, even if you're walking from one room to the other. Try to accumulate your steps by parking further away from your job than you need to and walking the rest of the way. Don't use the bathroom on the first floor, walk to the 3rd floor. Take a stroll during your lunchbreak. When you wake up in the morning, do some push ups and some squats to start your day. If you're watching tv, take that time to do sit ups. You don't need to devote 2hrs of your day and get a fancy gym membership to be active. Insert small bits of activity into your busy day. And when I'm feeling lazy or too busy I say to myself: "Someone busier than you is on a treadmill right now!"

I agreed with Wannabeskinny and Zeynel... and don't forget to drink lots of plain water.

Hmm, that sounds tricky.
1) What are the adults in the household like? If you asked them to respect your pre-made food (labelled with your name to clearly indicate "hands off!"), would they? If they don't, then we definitely need to keep brainstorming other strategies.
2) If you can't afford meat, how about lentils, peas, and beans? They are super cheap pound for pound, and nutritious powerhouses. Same with rice.
3) Is there anywhere you can buy frozen or jarred produce (in jars) for cheap, or seasonal produce?

For de-stressing, have you tried deep breathing exercises? I used to internally roll my eyes at this, but honestly it works. Before you go to bed and throughout the day if you can get a few minutes to yourself, take a little bit of time and breathe slowly and deeply. It's an amazing feeling, and can probably help to take the edge off some of that stress not only for your mind but also for your body.

I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to keep posting or venting if need be!

Good advice from others here. Just one more thought:

Working as much as you do, at home AND on the line, I bet you don't feel like you have time for exercise.

There was a great study a few years ago that found that when hotel chamber maids were told how many calories they were burning just doing their jobs and encouraged to start thinking of the movement they did at work as exercise, they actually lost weight without adding any other exercise or diet changes. Their co-workers who didn't get the education program didn't lose weight! The scientists theorized that maybe when the maids were thinking of their work as exercise they might have made adjustments in how they did it (flexing their muscles more with individual movements, etc.) But no one told them to do that... they just told them to think of it as exercise.

Anyway, maybe you're the kind of person that study was done for... sounds like you do a lot of work every day.

Much love and hugs. You are in a tough life situation. As belovedspirit says, keep coming back and talking. Maybe if we take one problem at a time, we can be more helpful.

I don't have anything to add because you've gotten excellent advice already... but wanted to just give you a

this is fascinating! I may have to try to be more aware of my daily movements

We actually have a forum for "shoestring meals" for those of us who are on a budget. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/shoestring-meals-235/

I'm sorry that your premade meals get eaten before you have a chance.
How are you all eating right now? Do you ever sit together for meals? What does your family enjoy eating? Is there any way that the four adults can share the cooking?

Stores like Aldi, PriceRite, and Asian grocery stores can be a good place to start. Beans and eggs are really good sources of cheap protein, and so are canned fish (tuna and sardines). These stores usually have inexpensive produce as well as a variety of frozen produce.

I just wanted to add in that http://www.budgetbytes.com/ is a great website with a lot of inexpensive and mostly balanced meals.

Hugs