I need a bit of guidance with food. I have read the info on this site but it doesn’t really answer a couple questions. At the moment I seem to be living off tuna, chicken and fish. Various pasta dishes, jacket spuds and the odd spag bog/chilli.
Porridge and weetabix , no salt and no sugar 🥹 the same ole meals.
Also I find it really hard to know what I can eat when we are out . My husband will have the normal fish n chips or KFC ( yuk) or burger but I don’t have these and end up getting something boring when we are home 😥
So I am struggling … any advice would be really great 👍🏻😁
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Lindy65
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Don’t be too strict on yourself, you’re allowed a treat from time to time. So if it’s fish and chips now and again it’s not going to completely mess up your liver. Healthy balanced diet most of the time is the key, but it has to be manageable too.
awww thank you . I have been very strict with myself but it’s not a practical diet as you say a treat now and then won’t hurt , considering what I was eating before I will be very disheartened if on my next check up my levels are not lower 🤞
My dietician was really sensible and gave me really good practical advice. I have cirrhosis but am really well. I wasn’t to start with after my diagnosis...I had acute on chronic liver failure and spent too many weeks in hospital for my liking! With no alcohol and a sensible diet I feel better than I have for a long time. At first it was high calorie/high protein. Now it’s high protein Mediterranean. I do occasionally have a treat though and it’s something she encouraged. She explained that too strict a diet will result in an unsustainable way of eating, which means I wouldn’t keep to it. So a lovely meal out is my way of treating myself now and again. I eat a lot of chicken too...and have found some lovely recipes to jazz it up. So try to experiment with different spices or herbs to get it to be a nice staple too.
I agree with your approach to this. My partner's dietitian describes it as 'nutrition fatigue' if you are getting bored with a limited diet. We try to have meals that we both like so fish and chips once in a while is fine. I do home made pizza using a shop bought flat bread or naan for the base and then it is all under your control, A variety of toppings even with some cheese in moderation (mozzarella isn't too salty anyway) can make a good balanced meal of carbs and protein. If your partner likes extras e.g. salami or anchovy that you would avoid you can top a pizza in two halves or make two pizzas if you're both hungry.
As Aotea2012 said, don’t be too hard on yourself! My dietician actually told me that “you’ve been through enough, don’t punish yourself with boring food”!😂 I’ve taken this on board as I’ve gone from not being able to eat at the start to actually loving food!
I tend to make batches of meals and store them in the freezer. I make a chicken balti (all from scratch and zero salt), roasted veg lasagne, fish pie, 5 bean chilli etc. i like to do everything from scratch as I can control the amount of salt in each dish. I never use sauces from jars/packets. I also like to do a roast dinner once a week and use up left-over meat in sandwiches and pasta dishes. I also make a lovely coronation chicken for jacket spuds/sandwiches!
One of my treats is fish fingers chips and beans. I cut up the potatoes, drizzle them with olive oil and add some pepper/paprika and put them in the oven - they are lovely.
If I’m not too hungry, I usually have a toasted sandwich or scrambled eggs/beans on toast.
I eat out once a week and have pretty much what I fancy (although there is often food I wouldn’t want anyway - burgers, meat in sauces etc)). If you fancy fish and chips, go for it! Have something you really fancy! You are obviously are of the low salt requirement, so don’t be afraid to just mention that you do not want any salt to be added to your food before it leaves the kitchen. It’s surprising how many places ‘garnish’ food with salt before it comes out!
Remember that your body does need some salt and that will normally come from bread and cheese).
It can be really challenging to make lifestyle changes. Here are the links to information on the British Liver Trust website about diet and exercise, which you may find useful
Eating out is tricky as restaurants tend to use a lot of salt ( fish and chips ( no added salt on your chips lol,) is quite good also a pizza and pasta ( just watch the sauces, tomato based is often good), I just avoid obviously salty foods when eating out and then I’m back on my strict no salt at home. I’ve been doing this complicated diet for 8 years! Go out and have fun ( just not every day lol)
hi, my husband also gets bored with his food. But we have worked out that a treat a week keeps him going. He has come to the conclusion that he can taste the salt in food (having been off it for so long) so has worked out what his treats can be. Fish and chips, steak and roast dinners out (with gravey on the side so he can control the salt as thats the most salty bit) also some thai food (red curry) seems to be low salt and dryer indian curries too. I added turkey mince to his diet at home to make burgers with and a variation of cottage pie, bolognese, lasagne etc as someone said earlier, homemade pizza as mozerella is fairly low salt along with cottage cheese. Scrambled egg on toast for breakfast for a change. Keep it up, it does make a difference, and dont feel to guilty about the odd treat.
Hi, your question is exactly mine on here for my son, around a few months ago. We are still struggling and hoping for a dietician referral. Hes having fresh made burgers, mestballs and breaded chicken. But has had diarr possibly side effect from Mycophenolate so then diet more nailed down due folliwing BRAT diet.
Its really hard to get it right isnt it?
Katie (lovely lady on here) sent us a diet sheet which was incredibly useful and i am sure she will reply as shes a mind of knowledge.
I wish you luck on getting a good diet in place youre happy with. My son is still very much in the research and trial stage. His diet was very nailed down before and hes taken the advice very literally.
I know it’s as if you go into panic mode and cut out everything which you think is bad for you .. doesn’t leave a lot of choice but everyone is has been so helpful with their advice . I am having problems with my other half , if I go to get something all I hear is .. should you be eating that or don’t think that’s good for you 🙄
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