Interesting studies about physical and emotional health

I don't usually read too much into study results because you never really know much about the study sample, but I came across three today that appear legit and seem thorough.

The first one is about the effects of eating too much red meat:

Over 10 years, eating the equivalent of a quarter-pound hamburger daily gave men in the study a 22 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That's compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 5 ounces per week.

Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less.

As far as I'm concerned, that's downright scary and makes me love my sushi obsession even more!

The second two studies were from Duke and the University of Maryland and were about having an upbeat attitude. From Shape:

Looking at the bright side can have a huge payoff for your well-being. A new study from Duke University found that people with upbeat attitudes may be more likely to have cancer-fighting habits--such as exercising, not smoking, and seeing a doctor regularly--than those with pessimistic outlooks. Meanwhile, a study from the University of Maryland revealed that laughter may fend of [sic] heart attacks by boosting blood flow by 19 percent. ...

Pretty fascinating stuff!

On a semirelated note, I was talking to my mom on the way home from work today (and YES I KNOW there are studies about talking on the cell phone when driving!) and she was looking through old pictures and commented on something I found funny. She mentioned that in some of the pictures I was so clearly in a "mood"--namely, the ones that were taken in the early morning before school or early on Christmas (I am not a morning person!) or on some of our trips as a preteen/teenager (see: Walt Disney World 1998; the entire week). And it reminded her that 97 percent of the time, I was a very happy child, but the other 3 percent I was moody and annoying. But what she thought was interesting was that I'm really not a moody person as an adult, which is pretty true. Sure there are times when I'm mad or in a bad mood about something, but those really are pretty rare.

So, hopefully, with the sushi, positive outlook, and laughter, my cancer and heart disease risks are decreased! :-)

Speaking of momma, I have to give her and my dad a shoutout about their NS progress. They sent me some pics the other night of mom's dress for Callie's wedding and HOLY MOLY they both LOOK AWESOME. So svelte! I am so proud of them!

And, I get to see them both this weekend. We're all trekking to Hickory for Callie's bridal shower, which is being given by my aunts. I am so excited to see everyone on that side of the family! It's been since football season (too long!) and even then it was only for a night at a time. I guess I should probably get Callie a gift (though, I'm waiting until the last possible minute because I'm sure she's scoping out what's still available on her registry...) ;-)

Finally, two very exciting things (probably not so much for y'all, but yes so much for me):

(1) I bought and cut up my very first cantaloupe yesterday! I was very successful at the endeavor!

(2) My team at work went to the Pizza Hut buffet for lunch. My plan was to just eat my salad and protein and then eat my lunch bar when I got back to work. A very good plan in theory, but very difficult in reality. So I did eat a very big salad with a fat free dressing and then I had 1 medium slice of veggie pizza, a tiny bit of their pasta (which is worse for you than the pizza), and 1 cinnamon stick. Although I would have preferred to eat my bar, I also try not to be the obnoxious diet woman. I've only talked to one of my coworkers about it and only because she saw me talking about it on Facebook. So, anyway, the pizza looked good, so I was pretty pleased that I was able to only get by on 1 slice (and SURPRISINGLY I was full--yay stomach shrinkage). So, all things said and done, I didn't get the same amount of nutrients that I normally would for lunch, but I still ended the day only 167 calories more than yesterday (when I was completely on plan). I consider that a victory and bodes well for continued success after I meet my goal.

Finally, I joined a NS challenge on the NS message boards to lose 20 lbs. by Memorial Day, which is a little under 9 weeks away--for a safe weight loss of 2.2 lbs/week. Wish me luck! (I'm also still aiming to have lost 15 lbs. from March 1 to April 15...but I'm not 100 percent sure if I will meet that goal, but, of course, I'll keep trying!)

I'm tracking my 20 lb. challenge with the following ticker: