Some swaps that have saved me on my weight-loss journey!

Since I started Weight Watchers back in January of '08, I have found several things that have saved my life as far as satisfying cravings when I'd otherwise eat crap. Here are a few of those things:

• 100% whole-grain anything. Switch to whole grain bread, cereal, english muffins, pitas, and tortillas...whatever. You can barely tell the difference and there's tons more fiber.
• Fat free/sugar free Jell-O pudding. Chocolate's the best. Put on some fat free whipped cream and it feels like you're being really bad!
• Quaker chewy granola bars. Eat one when you really want to have a candy bar!
• Ground turkey. SOOOO much better for you than ground beef. Or just switch to the extra-lean ground beef. But you really can't tell a difference when it's in chili, spaghetti sauce, tacos, etc.
• Veggie burgers. I know, I know. It seems like they're only for tree-hugging hippie vegans, but they really satisfy your craving for a burger when you NEED one and it's not your "cheat day."
• Fat free American cheese. This stuff really is good! And it melts really oozy-ish so it's great on burgers and grilled cheese!
• Egg whites. Not quite as good as real eggs, but tons less cholesteral and fat. And if you put in a bunch of veggies, lean deli meat, and fat free cheese, it's pretty much as good as a regular omelette! And you can buy egg whites already separated for you from Egg Beaters. Hello, easy!
• Popcorn. Second. Best. Food. Ever. 'Nuff said. Eat all you want.
• Turkey bacon. The alternative to the BEST. FOOD. EVER. Not nearly as good, but again, will do in a pinch. And really is way healthier.
• On that note, turkey or fat free hot dogs. Oohh...I recently had a fat free one with turkey chili and fat free cheese. A healthy chili-cheese dog! What?!? Seriously.
• And on that note, turkey or vegetarian chili. The turkey stuff really is pretty good!
• Water. Water, water, water. If you can't stand drinking water, add a Crystal Light packet. "Can" the pop. Water is the ticket. If you must drink pop, choose diet. Zero cals.
• I almost forgot these! They're huge! I don't know where I'd be without 100 calorie packs. They come in almost any brand/flavor/species possible. I love the Chex, Cheez-It snack mixes, and some of the chocolate cookie kinds.
• Baked! potato chips like Lays & Scoops. Life savers.
• Weight Watchers 1 POINTS bars, Weight Watchers ice cream treats
• Skinny Cow. Skinny Cow and more Skinny Cow.

Besides all these ideas, a cookbook that has saved me is Hungry Girl. She has awesome swap ideas for popular crap-foods. And it's not just for girls - the author calls herself Hungry Girl.

As far as exercise, spinning, BodyStep, BodyPump, and kickboxing are my go-to's. Especially spinning. You burn like 500 cals in 30 minutes! It's insane and it's usually only a 45 minute class. Check it out at your gym or school rec-center.

Lastly, one thing you should probably avoid by all means necessary, with every fiber of your being is the Craz-E Burger. Just a thought.

UPDATE: I just remembered - light bread! The slices are small and pretty paper-thin, but it's great for a light lunch sandwich. Check it. I'll also probably think of a bunch more things later, but I'll just keep updating.