Page 25: PSA Shoot With Sabrina Bryan!

Most of you guys know who Sabrina Bryan is~ a Cheetah Girl! Isaiah and I were very lucky to be able to do a PSA (Public Service Announcement!!) with her! Sabrina is really awesome and so down to earth. She just shot her last movie “One World” in India. She said it was a lot of fun there. The commercial should come on sometime soon!

Isaiah and I got to go to a middle school in downtown L.A. where Sabrina taught us, along with the middle school students, dance moves! (This was… um interesting for me because I am somewhat clumsy and definitely NOT a dancer!) Then we went to a studio to film the PSA with Sabrina. 

It was so cool being able to see how they filmed commercials! It is WAY different then I thought it was going to be. Overall the day was an eye-opener!

I am very appreciative to my Godparents, Barbara and Pete, for taking me all the way to LA! Thank you guys!

“You can only improve!!”

Page 24: Sasha and Malia Letter

I just recently wrote a letter to Sasha and Malia Obama! Here it is!

Dear Sasha and Malia:

            Congratulations to your family!  Our family is very excited for your family, and for our country.  I volunteered for your dad’s campaign. This must be so exciting, but also a little scary. You will have to tell me all about the White House now that you have moved in. Is it so big that you get lost?

            My name is Natalie Smith. I live in Ventura, California (a tiny beach town close to L.A.).  I’m 12 years old and I attend Cabrillo Middle School. I am on the Alliance For A Healthier Generation Youth Advisory Board, which is in association with the Clinton Foundation. I know you want to hear all about my life (Ha-ha. As IF!)

            I’m writing to you to talk about obesity and the effects it has on children of every age. 25 million kids in America are obese; that is 1 out of every 4 kids. Obesity has terrible impacts on health, and long term, the implications for individuals and our country are very serious.  I think that you two could help reduce the number of obese children in America.  I have read that your family has very healthful habits: you eat well and you exercise. You two are now the biggest role models for kids in the U.S.  If you encouraged children to eat healthier and exercise more, they would.  I know that your Mom, especially, is interested in eating healthier and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. She can influence other moms to adopt the same kinds of healthy habits your family has.

            I don’t know if this letter has made a light bulb in your head go on.  I hope you are as interested in this issue as I am! You might like to learn more about this issue, so here is the Alliance for a Healthier Generation website: www.healthiergeneration.org; click on the Youth Movement tab.  You can also visit my blog, The 12 Year Old’s Guide to Ending Childhood Obesity, at www.natalies12.wordpress.com.  My blog can lead you to lots of other resources.

            I wish you the best in your new home – our nation’s First House! – and your new school.

Love,

           Natalie Smith

P.S. You HAVE to tell me what your puppy’s name will be. I LOVE dogs!  We have three.

“You can only improve!!”

Page 23: Helping Your Community

Health is not only on the outside, but on the inside. I believe that in order to shine, truly shine, you have to help the less fortunate and do good things. That’s why I think that this year everyone should do community service. It’s really easy to help your community. Helping could be doing a neighbors yard, or doing the dishes for your parents. You don’t need to be a superstar and raise millions of dollars, but just do the little things that no one likes. If you’d like to share your stories you can leave a comment on my blog. Also if you have any questions or comments, I will answer them in my next blog posting. So feel free to send some in!

“You can only improve!!”

Page 22: Diet Soda vs Soda Soda

Which one are you supposed to drink? NEITHER! But when you feel like you NEED a soda don’t head for the diet soda. Studies show that while both sodas make you fat, diet soda makes you fatter faster. For each can of a diet soda you drink per day, your risk of becoming obese increases by a HUGE 41%

So when you are faced with the choice of what kind of soda to drink, go for a regular soda. The same studies show that drinking regular soda also contributes significantly to being overweight or obese. But there is another part to the story – the ingredients in diet soda could be very harmful to your body. My best advice to you is… DON’T DRINK THAT MUCH SODA AT ALL!  That is the best way to avoid this problem!

“You can only improve!!”

Page 21: My New Year’s Resolution List!

Hope you ALL had a wonderful Holiday! The fun and candies aren’t over yet! We still have to tackle New Years! Here’s my New Year’s Resolution List! Please send in yours! I’ll post it if it’s reasonable!

1. Try to eat more veggies each day.

2. Get more calcium!

3. Spend more time out shooting hoops and less time on the computer! (Oops! Looks like I’m blowing that one…)

4. Spend more time with my dogs!

5. Do good in school (parents love that one!)

New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to set and achieve goals! Everyone should make a list even if it’s very short (like mine!!)

I hope that the New Year is going to be amazing and fun!

“You can only improve!!”

Page 20: My Top 10 Tips to Surviving the Holidays!!

The Holidays are my favorite time of the year, but getting through them can be pretty tough! I am such a big foodie! I could eat all day long, so when the Holidays offer that… it can get really tough! But I’ve come up with some tips to help you and me survive!

1.Get plenty of ZZZZZZ! That way you can wake up and be ready to tackle the day ahead of you. Although I think New Years is an exception! 🙂 

2. Get lots of veggies. I am not a big fan of vegetables, but I do eat them. If you feel like you aren’t getting enough vitamins from veggies then ask a Doctor about special vitamins!

3. Cut back on the Ginger Bread Men, and Candy Canes, and basically any other treat! Try decorating your tree with ornaments and not candy, that way you aren’t tempted!

4. Try to get out and exercise! If it’s snowing, walk around your house 30 times (depending on how big it is!) If the weather’s sunny like it is here in most of California then continue with your normal exercise!

5. Drink plenty of water. A lot of times during the Holidays people get so caught up in things that they forget to hydrate. Remember, you need 8 cups of water each day, that’s 64 ounces!

6. Wind down at the end of each day. Take time away from everyone else to let yourself relax.

7. Get outside and play with your pets. Don’t forget about them in all the hustle and bustle!!

8. Instead of giving people 15 cookies in their goody bag, give them 10. Try to scale down on everything except for veggies!

9. Have a good attitude and have fun. That is the best way to stay healthy in my opinion! 

10. Donate food to the food bank. They hardly ever get fresh veggies and fruits!

I hope that these tips will help you as much as they’ve been helping me! Please if you have any other tips you would like to share with me send a comment! If they are good I might just put them up!

“You can only improve!!”

P.S. Sorry it’s taken a while for me to blog! It’s been a little hectic!

Page 19: How Much Candy is Too Much Candy?

On Halloween, I started to think “How much candy is too much candy?” No one has ever told me how much candy is okay, and when it crosses the line. I know that everyone is going to have a different amount of candy that they can withstand, depending on how much you weigh, how old you are,what your stomach is like, your current health condition, and how active you are. I know that when I eat about a bowl and a half of ice cream (which I  almost NEVER eat) I began to get queasy. Some of my friends can have 10 chocolate bars and not feel any bit different, but your body IS different when you do that. All of that fat and sugar is going to give you a “Sugar Rush” at first, but then you are going to crash. Wouldn’t you rather have an apple or grapes, and get real energy?? 

What I’m trying to say is that when your body sends you signs like a sour tummy, or whatever your body does, listen to it and stop what your doing or eating. It’s probably telling you that it doesn’t like it. It’s like when you are tired you go to sleep. When your stomach hurts when you are on your 1st candy bar: STOP!

“You can only improve!!”

P.S. I’m almost at 700 hits!! Tell your friends, and get the word out!!

Page 18: HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween is coming, it’s sneaking up like a black cat! What does everyone think when they think of Halloween??? CANDY!! I have to admit, who wants to go to a house that doesn’t give out candy!?! But have you ever thought of giving out your spare change?? Well here is a list of possible things to give out besides candy!!

1. Spare change!!

2. Pencils and pens!!

3. Dried fruit!!

4. Spider rings!!

5. Balloons!!

6. ANYTHING SPOOKY!!

I know some of you just want to give out candy!! Well if you let the kids pick the candy, tell them NOT TO TAKE TOO MANY!! I f you give it out, give them 2 pieces!! Think in MODERATION! When you go out trick or treating, leave the pillow cases at HOME!!! Pillow cases are for pillows, not candy! (Don’t even THINK about trash bags!) Try maybe a small or medium sized cloth or paper bag. Don’t go big.

WARNINGS!

a) Have your parents check ALL your candy!

b) You may get spooked!! 😦

“You can only improve!!”

P.S. Sorry I haven’t posted a lot, school and sports keep me busy, keep reading though, and tell your friends! 🙂

Page 17: My Classroom Visit!

This Thursday I got to do a presentation about obesity for my 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies Class. I had so much fun being able to talk to my peers about what I do in my community and with the Alliance, and how I feel about it! I came up with the idea of giving a presentation after my friends Marin and Kienna and Desiree made a presentation on Proposition 2. I felt that it was a way for me to be able to get my idea off in a fun way!

In my presentation I explained about what I do for the Alliance, and why it is important. Specifically, I talked about obesity statistics and ways you can prevent obesity. I thought that giving statistics about obesity would be the best way for all of my peers to understand the extent of the problem.

I got to do 2 activities with my classmates. First, we all got into groups of 4, and I chose 1 person from each group who pretended to be obese. Then we counted how many “obese” kids there were in our class. Finally, I gave each table a question about obesity, and whoever answered it correctly got a jump rope!

For those of you teachers that are reading this, it’s a really easy activity, and it can be done in 10 minutes. PLEASE take the time to do this, your students will benefit! 

“You can only improve!!”

P.S. Thanks Marin, Kienna, and Dessire! 🙂

Page 16: Calcium!

Calcium is a vital part in your diet. Without calcium, your bones will be weak, and prone to breaking. Calcium can be found in many foods, even Pizza! If you would like a list of calcium rich foods, go to Vaughns/Calcium

An average person needs about 1000 mg ( milligrams) of calcium everyday. The website above tells how much calcium each food has. A great and easy way to get calcium is to drink lots of milk. If you have a glass of milk everyday for breakfast, you have started your day off right. Calcium also helps your bones stay stronger, without enough calcium, you have a higher chance of getting Osteoporosis ( a disease that you get when you lack calcium that makes your bones weak and easily breakable and easily fractured) Osteoporosis will prevent you from getting exercise from certain sports, exercise you need, so get enough calcium!!!

“You can only improve!!”

P.S. CALCIUM!!! 🙂