That's Fit

Practicing activities that make you think (like crossword puzzles) could do a lot more than just improve your memory -- they just might lengthen your life a little too.

Any activity or game that requires you to concentrate will do the trick so you can pretty much take your pick, but if you're looking for something fun to practice on right now try taking this brain quiz and see how you do. An example from the quiz:

• Say "silk" six times. What do cows drink?
  

...

...

How did you do? Cows drink water, by the way, not milk (yeah, I totally fell for that one...). Happy concentrating!

This morning was a special day for the mommies in my playgroup and I. Today we donated over 150 stuffed monkeys to the children being cared for at North Florida Regional Medical Center (NFRMC) in honor of our Angel Odessa. Odessa Virginia Webster was born at NFRMC on February 24, 2003, and landed back at the same hospital on March 25, 2004 for care after a fatal head injury. At thirteen months old, Odessa was stolen from her parents Matt and Anita, her loving family, and our already tight playgroup family. It was devastating for all of us, and out of our grief came an intense drive to honor our "Angel O".

To back up a bit, our playgroup began when our infants met at a "new mommy" luncheon hosted at NFRMC when they were two weeks old. Well, the infants didn't exactly meet each other, but us moms did ... and we decided then and there that we wanted to stick together. That made ten families dealing with the insanity of newborns and leaning on each other for friendship, advice, stress relief, and fun. We literally have been getting together for "playgroup" every Tuesday since, and our children are all addicted to each other; the best of friends. At the start, we would have never imagined what would come for us, for her, the following year. I just remember checking my email one day and opening one from Anita with "Odessa Virginia Webster" as the title. I expected to see a new photo from a portrait studio. A portrait was included, but it went along with a letter written by Anita informing us that her daughter was gone. "Please don't call now. I'm not ready to talk" she wrote. I simply can't describe the agony that followed for all of us.

My kids love fruit. Yours might too. But it never can hurt to have a little more fruit-filled inspiration in our lives. That's what one teacher thought just before setting her kindergarten class loose on this fruity art project. Still Life With Kool-Aid is what she calls it. And here's what Jessica Burkett did.

Break out those high heels. A recent study from the University of Verona in Italy reports that women whose feet are elevated at a 15-degree angle (that's about a three-inch heel) have more relaxed pelvic muscles than women who wear flats. The more relaxed these pelvic muscle are, the more they can contract and heighten your sexual experience.

Heels may not be your best bet for healthy feet -- but for a healthy sex life, they may be just the ticket. For 20 great tips for wearing and walking in high heel shoes, take a peek at this site. Per reader suggestion, here are some tips for avoiding the pain high heels can cause. And by all means, don't risk life and limb just to sport a pair of pumps in the name of good sex.

Thanks, Family Circle, for the sexy tip.

The United States is two to three years behind most Western countries in terms of life expectancy -- it ranks 29th among all United Nations' member nations. Highest is Andorra, with an average life expectancy of 83. The U.S. magical age is 78. Still, we're making some progress in the life expectancy arena.

• Babies born in 2006 have an average life expectancy about four months greater than babies born in 2005.
  
  

• The male-female difference has declined over the past 15 years, from eight years to five years.
  
  

• Blacks have been gaining on whites.
  
  
• Flu and pneumonia deaths are dropping -- there were 22,000 fewer deaths between 2005 and 2006.
  
  
• Infant mortality rates are dropping.
  
  

• Deaths from stroke, lower respiratory diseases, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes are on the decline.
  
  

While it's too soon to tell if some of these occurrences are caused by statistical fluke or real trends, there's a possibility the drop in diabetes deaths is the biggest researchers have seen in a long time. And that, my friends, would be some pretty good news.

When I grow up, I want to be just like the adorable and inspiring 85 year old women I saw following along as best as they could in the back of a cardio kickboxing class today. I stood in awe watching them in their elastic waisted linen pants and button-down collared shirts jabbing and crossing with energy.

I thought about the things I do today to increase my health and preserve my athleticism. Will I be able to do the same things those amazing women were doing today while surrounded by others more than half their age? I bust my butt to ensure a long healthy life, but I when I watch things like that....it just seems like a bit of a miracle as well. That's what I'm working for. With all of my being, I want to be just like them.

I'm literally a sobbing crying mess as I write this. I fell in love with a dying man a few weeks ago when I caught wind of him giving an amazing gift to his students, colleagues, friends and family at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy Pausch, a computer science professor gave his Last Lecture now famous on YouTube, on September 18, 2007. Randy's lecture was called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." Now, I have my own spectacular husband, but I imagine anyone who knows, or knows of Randy . . . would love him very much.

For a man whose pancreas is being destroyed by a cancer that could take his life within months . . . he was hysterical, energetic, inspirational, and relentless about the idea that life can be wonderful every day, and that his days still are. He told stories of his childhood and made one of the most insightful statements I've ever heard. "Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? Choose!"

Finding a way to thwart death and live forever is the stuff of movies and legends -- how many characters have gone in search of the fountain of youth? That's all just fiction and fun, of course, but in real life there are real things you can do to help not only get the most years out of your life as possible but also the most quality years out of your life. A good start to a solid fitness plan is implementing healthy (i.e. life-extending) habits. So try these on for size:

• Get enough sleep, but not too much! Studies show that people who sleep too much (generally 8+ hours per night) have shorter life expectancies, but then again so do those who don't get enough sleep (less than 6 hours). It seems there's a magical number of just enough sleep, which for most people lands somewhere between 6 and 8 hours.

Icelandic men have set a world record. They have the longest life expectancy in the world, says the agency Statistics Iceland.

Icelandic men lived an average of 79.4 years in 2007. Japanese men come in second, living 78.6 years.

Experts have no explanation for this occurrence and make no connection between age and the lifestyle factors we are all so consumed with, like diet, exercise, stress, and sleep.

Incidentally, Icelandic women are doing pretty well too, with a life expectancy of 82.9 years.

How do Americans stack up against the Icelandic population? In 2005, the CDC reported that a child in the United States could expect to live for an average of 78 years, up for 69.6 years in 1955.

Fitzness Fiends is a section devoted to you, the reader! We all have learned so much on our path to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! Fitzness Fiends are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect, some are not. All have health on the mind. Please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Alexandra Harris

Age: 51

Occupation: Life Coach

How often do you exercise? I eat seven days a week, and I exercise seven days a week!

What type of exercise do you do? Power walking, light weight training (for muscle tone), and yoga (for balance, flexibility, and occasionally turning my organs upside down). I think there's something really healthy about moving your organs around!

Despite the glaring fact that obesity, unhealthy diets, and an overall lack of exercise pose quite a threat to our nation, we are making some pretty good health advances -- healthy eating is on the rise, smoking is on the decline, and medical progress is clearly evident.

Now, more than ever, it's actually possible to make it to the ripe old age of 100. I'm not sure if I personally want to reach this number but for those who do, here's one take on what you've got to do.

Go Mediterranean

A Mediterranean diet is the best for healthy aging and disease prevention.

Read the Paper

Keeping up with current events can extend your life.

Reproduce

Having kids, especially if you're a woman, can help you live longer.

Drink! Drink!

Certain beverages tend to lower the rates of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes.

Slim Down

Obese 100-year-olds just don't exist.

Get Married

Married people live longer than singles.

Have Faith

You can expect to live longer if you have some kind of regular religious practice or belief.

Head to the Country

Avoid the city and long you will live.

Meet Carla Birnberg, a self-described writer, babymama, and wife. Also known as "MizFit," this self-starter once owned a boutique personal training studio where she worked with clients from all walks of life and learned that the key to lifelong fitness is a healthy helping of education, motivation, and humor.

Educational, motivational, and humorous this woman is. Now a health and fitness columnist -- see her column in Austin's The Good Life (click on "Fitness" under "Gusto Departments" on the right) -- this cool gal authors her own blog where daily posts feature recipes, tips and trends, viewer mail, freebies, and for the purpose of this post: Monday Facetime. Yep, every Monday, you get to see MizFit via video as she teaches something related to fitness.

Wondering about flax seeds? See what MizFit had to say on February 18 about the nutty treat that is oh so good for you in an Omega-3 kind of way. Want to perfect your crunch technique? MizFit got down on the floor on February 25 and to show you how. On March 3, this spunky girl talked about weight training in preparation for some specific instruction that will begin next Monday.

I recommend you pay MizFit a visit when you get a free moment. I think you'll love what she has to offer. You just might learn a thing or two. Click here to meet my friend.

A three-year-old little girl at my son's preschool just lost her daddy. It all started with a brain tumor, which led to surgery and then a stroke and then another stroke. Life support became necessary and then this father's living will was invoked. He leaves behind his daughter, his wife, and a bunch of family and friends.

I never did know this man. I don't know anyone in his family either. Still, I am saddened by his untimely and shocking passing, which prompts me to write this post. I want you to know that I'm learning -- once again -- that life is precious, death is sometimes unpredictable, and we simply must cherish each day we have before us. We must also cherish the people in our lives, for they could be gone in a blink of an eye. Just like the daddy of the little girl at my son's preschool.

For today -- and every day that follows -- I encourage you to love the ones you're with. Every one of them. Just in case.

On Sunday, a marathon will take place in my city. There will also be a half marathon, a kids marathon, and a 5K. I've got a handful of friends of who will challenge themselves in the name of fun and fitness by running in these races and while I won't be one of the competitors this year, I may entertain the idea next time around. Part of me is intrigued by the physical accomplishment I could make by conquering more than 26 miles. Part of me just wants to participate in an event that has the power to save lives in five different ways.

The Five Points of Life races, sponsored by LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, are designed to raise awareness about the need for five life-saving donations -- blood, apheresis, bone marrow, organs and tissue, and cord blood. Some event participants and volunteers are donors, some are recipients, and some are both. Donors are asked to wear an orange ribbon on race day. Recipients: a blue one (we're Gators here, hence the orange and blue). The ribbons will serve as reminders of the importance of saving lives.

Should I run next year, I'll be wearing a blue ribbon, in honor of the several units of blood I received while hospitalized three years ago with chemotherapy-induced low blood counts. What a thrill it would be to publicly acknowledge the gift I was given. What a thrill it would be to run all those miles.

Men's Journal in January listed all sorts of life list ideas. Compiling all the things you ought to do before you die, these editors spotlight some pretty good picks, 45 of them to be exact. A man with a plan gets more done, they say. Here are some of the plans they've chosen for you.

• Go winter camping

• Raft the Grand Canyon

• Touch an elephant

• See the sunset from Key West

• Hike the Appalachian Trail, or at least some of it

• Learn a language

• Hug a tree

• Rescue a dog

• Forgive your parents

• Volunteer

• Teach a kid to ski, ride, or swim

• Learn to cook a meal other than breakfast

• Go vegetarian for a month

• Try yoga for a week

• Build your own house

• Scuba dive

• Work for what you believe in

• Make your child's life list your own

Some pretty healthy stuff, don't you think? Want to add anything to the list?