A New Approach

Since the exercise alone doesn't seem to be working, and I tend to gain back weight faster than I take it off with Cambridge, I'm trying a new approach. I've decided to try alternate day fasting for a few weeks.

Alternate day fasting is just like it sounds. You fast for one day and eat normally the next. A number of studies have suggested that it might be an effective weight loss tool, as well as offering some of the health benefits offered to those who practice calorie restriction.

I'm curious if it will work for me.

I've also bumped up my exercise again. I'm now doing three 36-minute periods of exercise per day -- one before breakfast, one before lunch and one before dinner. I know that it would probably be better to exercise after my meals, but given I'm so prone to exercise-induced urticaria, I don't want to take the risk of having food in my belly. Pretty much every time I've broken out in hives is when I've exerted myself some time after a meal, so I want my stomach as empty as possible.

So far this month, I haven't had a full-blown episode of hives caused by exercise. There have been a couple of times where my scalp has started to itch and I thought I was going to break out in welts, and even a time or two where I had one bump pop up, but so far (knock on wood) I haven't had a major outbreak that's covered me from head to toe.

Believe me, there is almost nothing as bad as being covered from head to toe in welty, itchy hives. Not only does it look terrible, it itches like nobody's business, and inevitably I get welts in places I can't reach or I shouldn't scratch in public. (Think my pal Oscar)

The only cure, of course, is to take an antihistamine tablet, which gets rid of the itchy hives, but in turn sends me off to an unavoidable four-hour nap. The nap is usually a blessing, as I generally fall asleep before the hives have disappeared, but it's a real killer when it comes to trying to do anything productive.

So, we'll see how it goes.

Since Monday, I've been alternating days of Cambridge shakes with regular food, and I've lost a little bit of weight. We'll see what the end result is this Friday, and if I'm happy with my results, perhaps I'll even update my sidebar, which I haven't done in nearly a year.

Yeah, I know... Bad piggy! Bad!