This is yet another post in my recent series of posts how my cholinergic urticaria went from being very severe to tremendously better (basically gone now). If you have not yet read my previous posts, then I strongly urge you to read them first so you can know exactly how this has progressed:

• My brief history of hives
• My body’s health history
• The Discovery of my hidden fat
•  What is visceral fat?
• and My Hypothesis of visceral fat making cholinergic urticaria worse
• How to lose visceral fat
• Use Diet to eliminate visceral fat
• High Calorie Foods to Watch
• My Joyce Chen Steamer Review (My secret cookware weapon to reduce calories)
• Low Calorie Snack Ideas–some snacks to help you curb your cravings without adding too many calories.
• High Sodium Diet–How I was eating way too much sodium, and you may be too.
• Low Sodium Diet Tips
• Summary on Diet
• Best Ways to Do Cardio Exercise
• How I was able to exercise with severe Cholinergic urticaria
• My Cholinergic Urticaria is Gone

Note: Always talk to a doctor or nutritionist before ever trying an exercise program, medication, or new diet program.

Sample Diet I’m Eating

I wanted to include a sample of the diet I am eating right now. As of right now, I am eating around 1800-2000 calories per day. This is below my calorie maintenance level, which should continue to burn fat.  I hope to continue increasing this amount over the next few weeks until I reach my fat loss goals. I then want to up my calorie intake to reach my “maintenance level,” and then continue with my strength training goals.

Here are some of the foods I have been eating:

Breakfast Meals:

For breakfast I usually eat one of the following:

• Eggs (scrambled)
• Oatmeal (I recently had to cut this because it was causing an allergic reaction on my hands, but this is a great breakfast)
• Lentils with corn (lentils contain 10g protein for 1/4 cup dry). They are also very filling and nutritious
• Fruit smoothie (I often have one of these in the morning to get my fruit servings)
• Rice cakes (sometimes I just have a few rice cakes if I don’t feel like cooking)
• Brown Rice with cinnamon and sugar
• Leftovers from previous night

Lunch/Dinner Meals:

• Meat (either salmon, chicken, and occasionally red meat), and then I have sides of…
• Broccoli
• Corn
• Lentils or beans
• Onions
• Carrots
• or other veggie combinations

Snacks

• Quaker Rice Cakes (caramel corn)–only 50 calories
• smoothies/shakes (fruit smoothies are about 170 calories, shakes are around 350)
• Veggie Chips (about 130 calories for 38 chips)
• Baby carrots
• Dried Fruit

Beverages

• Water is my main beverage (unless you count the fruit smoothies as a beverage)

Diet Summary

So basically I am trying to cut out any foods which irritate my skin or cause allergic responses (including dairy, wheat, oats, etc.). I am eating as naturally as I can (aside from the rice cakes and chips–which I will probably cut out soon). I have reduced my sodium intake, I am watching my calories and recording every trace of food that crosses my lips.

I strongly feel that getting my diet in order along with adding exercise is what caused my CU symptoms to gradually decrease. It may not work for everyone, but I have posted this all in case anyone can benefit from it.

Note on Posting Frequency

I still hope to post a couple of recipes, and a few other posts. However, the main information I wanted to give  about my hives experience has already been posted in the series. This is the main Cu information.

I am also very busy and short on time right now. So I will continue posting articles, but they will be much less frequent than other posts in the series. Probably about 1 article or so per week. If I get really behind, then I may be only able to post 1 article every 2 weeks.  Again, most of the articles I will post are just a few random articles on recipes, and a few other general tips. Nothing really related to hives specifically.

I will also be moderating the forum, but I probably won’t be posting or replying as often as I would like. But I will definitely drop in every so often and check and read all posts that go through there.

I hope this series has helped anyone, and best of luck to you. If there’s anything I’ve learned about CU, its this:

1.  Don’t give up hope–Many days I had no hope, and it felt like my hives would never go away. But even though I hated it, I never gave up and kept pushing through another day. So hang in there.
2. Check your diet–Try to work day and night on your diet (see if any foods are causing intolerance or allergy symptoms). Record your calories, and eat a healthy diet.
3. Be proactive–if your hives are severe, try to work with a doctor to get an antihistamine combination that works for you to decrease symptoms. Obviously this isn’t ideal long-term, but this may help until you can figure out a way to reduce your symptoms more naturally.

Best of luck, and I hope to post soon!