Does anyone have any tips on how to bump up calorie intake without going over phosphorus levels as I'm struggling to get even 1100 calories Down me. My potassium is normal so I dont have to worry about that for the minute.It's so hard with food cooked from scratch. I've cut cows milk as it as too much phosphorus and I'm limiting my protein to an exact amount to try to give my kidneys an easier time. I add olive oil and cold pressed rapeseed oil to food but still can't get enough cals unless I eat loads of sweets which I don't want to. I really have lost all interest in food now and I'm eating to live whereas before I used to look forward to food and I bet other feel like this too. Any ideas would be great?
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Angie2020
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Eat more. There is no law that states you have to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. Eat slightly smaller meals and eat four times a day. Or five. You can't eat to live and have a good quality of life. There have to be underlying reasons why you are not up to eating. Address that with your doctor. Don't avoid food. Food is what you need to stay alive. The correct food is food that will not harm your kidneys, heart and other organs.
I'm eating all day but have totally lost my appetite and when everything is a natural food it's so hard to get enough calories. I'm literally forcing it down. It's strange because I just started putting weight on just before I was diagnosed and my appetite was ravenous for a few weeks
Since January of 2016, I went on a weight loss program of my own creation after a consultation with a nutritionist. I switched my exercise program to match my meals and by June of 2017, I had lost 130+ pounds. That's when I found out I had CKD. I had to switch to a kidney-friendly meal plan. In the 10 months since then, I've only lost 15 more pounds. My exercise program is steady through the winter and on rainy days the rest of the year. During spring, summer and fall, I step it up quite a bit with walking, hiking and bike riding. The foods I had switched over to in order to lose the weight was no longer healthy for my kidneys. By switching to kidney-friendly meals I've stopped losing weight to the extent I had been and increased my physical activity.
I miss going out to eat, I miss the foods I used to eat and enjoy but guess what? Even with my CKD, I'm happier and healthier now than I ever have been. Do I enjoy the food I'm eating now? No. Not like I did before. But, I am healthier and every day I get used to the meals and know that I'm going to live longer and continue to spend my kids' inheritance.
In the beginning, it was sometimes a problem to eat some of the food, but I looked at it as now a part of my life and I wanted to stick around and enjoy it. I do shop organic whenever I can but I've not read anything about no or fewer calories associated with organic foods. It's all in the preparation.
I don't know your financial situation but I can tell you if it were me, I'd find a Renal Dietitian and pay for the session on my own in order to get the information I need and deal with what I have control over, like the food I put inside me.
You are responsible for you. Take action now while it's still up to you. Don't leave it to a medical team to make decisions you are capable of making now, yourself.
I recommend a product Suplena which is especially for CKD people. Low protein, potassium and phosphorus. Has 425 calories in 8 ounces Tastes like a vanilla malted.
Order at Anazon using code
B00hvl1w3k which is from a Medical supply company free shipping even though not on Prime. Cost about $70 for 24 cans. I drink 2 per day and have been able to add some weight. You will like it.
Thank you. Need something like this at the moment until my appetite comes back because I'm losing weight and I'm only 8st 4. Can I just ask what's in it?
Oh wow, it's £424!!!! On amazon,that's a bit steep and it doesn't tell you what's in it or anything. It just says low protein, low pros, and low potassium. Think I'll try and gain weight the old fashioned way 😂
Late response.Product is $70 = 70 USD for 24 8 ounce cans not £424 which is $574 USD. It is an excellent product, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, a very respected Pharmaceutical company, that manufactures many health products, Google them and call: (244) 667-6100 or 1 800 -986 8727 I have an advancd degree and worked in that industry for 35 years and consulted for 10 years. You can try to look at the label or call them to address the question of contents as lable is difficult to read on a round can. I am late stage 3, not a great appetite, have been using the product for 3-4 months and have ordered 3 times thus far. I was able to put on some weight 3-4 pounds. I recommend the product very highly. Once you reach a goal you can taper off usage. I drank 2 can/day for first week.No ill effects.
Please let me know if you give it a try. 425 calories/can with 10.6 g protein, 270 mg potassium 190 mg sodium, 170 mg phosphorus,plus many vitamins and minerals.It is a "carbs steady product to manage blood suga.". "A good supplement or sole source of nutrition, gluten free and suitable for lactose intolerance"
I looked back at some of your previous postings to determine your current level of ckd. With a egfr of 59 i don't believe you would be getting sickness due to compromised kidneys.
That usually starts if the kidney function is much lower.
Maybe there are other issues not yet determined.
You will lose weight if you eat cleanly but eat in the same quantities as you are no longer ingesting all the hidden fats and other baddies in processed foods.
The sickness could be linked to your gut microbes complaining that they are not being fed what they are used to. Yes our gut microbes really do steer us in particular directions.
If you continue clean eating your gut bacteria will readjust to your new eating style but depending on how big the change is it could take a while to readjust.
My advice would be to find a meal tracker that lets you set the weight you should be at and then set up meals based on that weight. You can set it up for three meals, three meals and one snack, three meals and two snacks. It will then proportion sodium, potassium, phosphorous, carbs and calories appropriately over what you have set up. I think there is one on DaVita.com. I used Mathea Ford's Create Your Own Diet Plan. I agree with Mr. Kidney that I do not always enjoy the food that I have prepared. What I do then is search for other recipes and/or make kidney friendly changes. I have cooked some real losers (so much that I wonder how some of the dietitians could have posted them [unless they have tastes that greatly differ from mine]). But then I find other ways of preparing that particular food or quit preparing it if we can't stand it.
Above all, I agree with all who have said that this should be addressed with your doctor. Also, I believe you can get advice from Renal Dietitians online. This may be the way to go.
After looking up 8st 4m it appears you are somewhere around 116 lbs--how tall are you?
I'm only 5ft 2 but I look ill when I drop below 8st 10 pounds. I probably will be sent to a dietician but it's waiting for one that's the problem unless I go private which will cost a small fortune. Once upon a time in England you would have got seen straight away with the NHS but now it months and months before your seen
You not kidding. It's so confusing with all this contradictory information. Eat this and don't eat that. One site tells me I can use cayenne pepper for flavour and another site tells me it will make my kidney function worse. Some sights condemn dairy and some say you need it for calcium. No wonder we're struggling
I can understand your plight. However my suggestion is eat small meals for five times a day
Breakfast can be lightly cooked veggies with a pinch of salt and add a pinch of lemon juice if your potassium permits then for lunch hv a bowl of cooked veggies, a clean 50 gms piece of fish and 2 spoons of rice then for the mid afternoon have an apple then a sandwich without mayo then for dinner either hv a mixed vegetables or shreds of chicken mixed with veggies .....all this will provide you with the nutrition and make you feel good too.
I will not say avoid red meat or milk products I will definitely ask not to have red meat snd milk products, altogether.
Cheers life is good, even with ckd......
Yes, keep a tab on your lipids too. Excess oil and fat might hike up the numbers so limit fat as much as you can. But most importantly enjoy your food, that is very important.
Hi thanks for the tips but I do have small regular meals all day. I don't really have time to cook vegetables in the morning and I don't think I'd be able to stomach them first thing in the morning. That doesn't sound like 1800 calories which is what I need to maintain my weight. I've always had a fast metabolism and I have cut cows milk and red meat out. I really miss my cup of white tea in the morning, it was like a ritual to wake me up. It's black tea with lemon now. i did manage to have nearly 1550 cals yesterday but that's only because I added more carbs otherwise it would be impossible to do with just vegetables, fruits fats and protein allowance.
Even I do miss my tea early in the morning. That was also the first thing that I used to have. However I have managed to make myself understand. It's better to make the healthy changes now rather than lamenting later. But you can do one thing, cut and chop the veggies the night before and soak it in water and put it away in the refrigerator and just cook it early in the morning and you can add an egg white if that's permitted .... otherwise you will not enough calories. Malnutrition is not advisable either.
Personally I limit my egg whites to just one per week.
And had chicken shreds last night after about 20 days.....
Hi there, I would agree with other people here. Eat more and, with your GFR being reasonable, don't panic and cut out too much. My mum always says to me moderation in all things and I think that applies for when you have a GFR that isn't too low (I have seen a renal dietician who said the same thing). I've cut out dairy and that helps but I love my cup of tea in the morning so I allow myself 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon with lactofree milk. You have to live! My GFR increased from low 50s to 60 by cutting out dairy (apart from my 2 cups of tea a day) and generally following a good kidney diet. However I don't stick to it rigidly as I'm at stage 3 - I eat red meat, I go out for meals, I sometimes eat things I shouldn't do, because I want to enjoy my life. My main rules are minimal processed food, no alcohol, no smoking, don't add salt to food, no fizzy drinks and eat lots of fresh fruit and veg. I think if you go over the top and cut out everything, the stress and unhappiness doesn't help.
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Diet changes
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