I had so much fun at my birthday party. I'm so glad that I got to spend it with true friends who have been there for me since high school. Life is going to start g

etting crazy again tomorrow and I'm dreading it haha.

I actually turned on my TV the other day & Dr. Oz was on,

which isn't something I'd normally watch but he was talking about how much of an impact losing just 10 pounds can have on our health. Here are the 5 steps him & his team came up to lose 10 pounds almost effortlessly:

1. Cut out soda & replace it with water. Drinking one can of soda a day can cause you to gain an extra 10 pounds or more in one year.

2. Don't eat after 8 pm. People who eat late gain an average of 19 pounds more in a year. If you normally go to bed very late then stop eating at least 3 hours before you go to bed.

3. Move around for an extra 10 minutes everyday.

4. Never eat snacks that are larger than your fist.

5.Weigh yourself on a daily basis.

I think those are really great small changes. I'm definitely going to start following that, except for that last one because that's just not something I see myself doing.

The other basic rules I made for myself are:

6. Eat a healthy breakfast everyday.

7. Snack on fruit for healthy energy. =)

8. Try to have 3 servings of dairy.

9.Don't eat white bread/pasta.

10.Avoid high fructose corn syrup.

I love cooking at home because then I actually control what goes into my meals. I'll start posting some of my recipes on here. None of those rules block out specific foods. It's okay to eat what you like as long as you control your portions.

One of my favorite healthy breakfast recipes is oatmeal.

I usually add:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1 tablespoon of muesli (I like the one they sell in Ikea)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup skim organic milk
• fruit (usually half of a banana or a handful of blueberries)

I mix everything except the fruit and I microwave it since I'm always in a rush. When it's done I mix the fruit in. The muesli from Ikea has dried fruit in it which makes the oatmeal really sweet.

30.5 % adults (20 & older) in the United States are obese. Another 34% are overweight. That adds up to 127 million Americans!!