Too much weight loss...

[GeeMoney]

Well, after 6 months of mostly plant based eating and very reduced weight training of any kind I'm down from 210 lbs to 185lbs. If I have one more person say to me "whoa dude... You've lost alot of weight!" I'm sure others have dealt with this. Any suggestions of how to combat it or to deal with the weight loss?

[Hidden]

Welcome to the community.

How have your lab numbers been during this time? Specifically, you eGFR, B.U.N. and serum creatinine. Regarding your weight loss, what have you been told by the physician(s) who told you to cut back on your weight training and put you on a mostly plant based meal plan?

[GeeMoney in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. We'll, to be honest I've done most of my own research and belong to a few different PB groups of FB. I had a renal dietician who was not solely PB but I didn't find her to be overly helpful. Guided me and more or less confirmed what I felt I already knew. I was a 5 time a week weight lifter when I got diagnosed so with everything I read and researched (along with the help of Covid) I stopped the vigorous working out. Also because my creatinine levels were and still are elevated so... Long answer is that I figured I was helping myself by being proactive with most of this. Thanks.

[HealthBuddyMelissa in reply to GeeMoney]

Did you have fat on your body or you are losing muscle mass? Be careful because it can lead to PEW, monitor your urine and if it has an orangish tint to it talk to your doctor.

[GeeMoney in reply to HealthBuddyMelissa]

Losing more muscle mass than anything. What does the orange tint mean? Very little body fat at this point.

[Inhuman2019 in reply to GeeMoney]

Because the loss of muscle is whats of concern. If your body is breaking down muscle fiber it releases toxins. If your muscles are just atrophied then your safer. I for one just dont agree with the " stop the lifting". I feel the tests are scewed much like bmi is scewed for a muscular person. Im 230 at 5'10. Im morbidly obese by bmi standards but im mainly muscle. See scewed. Cystatin-c is supposed to take into account body comp. Im getting mine done soon. Ive stopped working out and in 3 weeks my eGFR went from 56 to 75. I call bullshit. same happened before 75 to 94 in a month. The test is messed up when muscle is involved i feel.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

HI Gee,

Most people think they are being complimentary when they comment on weight loss. We live in a society where people are judged by their weight. And take it from someone who is a person of size, it is a terrible issue. I too loss a lot of weight when I started my renal diet. And people were so over the top about it. And then they would add "Keep going" like they want me to be acceptable to their opinion and concept of an acceptable weight. I am still a big lady.

You never have to discuss you body with anyone unless you choose to. You can simply say, " yes I have lost weight" and then turn the discussion into something else. They won't let you but then it is up to you to change the topic. Weight loss is a magical place that so many people want to go but everyone wants a quick fix. So they ask those who lose weight how they did it. I saw someone do this to someone who had lost an incredible amount of weight and when ask how, they replied, " I am dying from cancer." Whoa, walk away from that answer.

[GeeMoney in reply to Bassetmommer]

Yes. It's definatley a wierd feeling. The problem is I was always the "big guy" in the room. Always alot of muscle and people knew me by my physique so to speak. Now it's quite the opposite so people are quite taken aback at the change and they mention it to me as if I have no mirrors in my house and that maybe they're telling me something that I don't know. I would like to change it. Not back to where I used to be because I realize that's probably not an option but... Somewhere more towards that than where I'm at now. My psyche and overall personal level of confidence has definatley taken a beating from the change. *sigh

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to GeeMoney]

This might be strange at first read, but I get it. Once when I was on one of my many journeys to weight lost, someone asked me what I would miss the most if I lost a lot of my weight. My reply made everyone in the room look at me in shock. I said, "My stature." We are more than a reflection in a mirror.

[HealthBuddyMelissa]

Did you want to lose the weight? Do you feel better? If yes, than I would say thanks I know and I feel great. Thank you for noticing all my hard work.

[GeeMoney in reply to HealthBuddyMelissa]

Definatley did NOT want to lose the weight. Way too thin at this point and not sure how to go about gaining some of it back without jeopardizing my kidney health.

[HealthBuddyMelissa in reply to GeeMoney]

What does your Nephro say? What stage are you?

[GeeMoney in reply to HealthBuddyMelissa]

Lol....he said to go ahead and eat what I want and work out if I want.... The usual that you get from a Nephrologist. I'm stage 3... GFR of 50.

[HealthBuddyMelissa in reply to GeeMoney]

Do you have loss of appetite? Nausea? I am the same stage as you, but I had none of those symptoms at stage 3, but I was stage 4 and could not eat, lost a bunch of weight that I easily gained back when I started to eat again, lol.

[FlowerPreciousLover in reply to GeeMoney]

GeeMoney, nausea and lost appetite led to an unintended 30lb wt loss over a period of months. Labs & other scans never found the cause but during that process, was alerted to stage 3 CKD. My neph & pcp have been less than helpful for regaining. I am now trying to regain by making self eat a few more bites at each meal and eat more kidney friendly snacks throughout day; also drinking 1/2 can of Boost at most meals...so far, I've regained 4 pounds...slow and frustrating and still very underweight. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

[GeeMoney in reply to FlowerPreciousLover]

Thanks. So just for clarity. I'm losing weight I think mainly because I've been trying to stick to a 90% PB diet and not further hamper my kidney situation. So my protien/calorie intake has been drastically reduced along with sugar etc. That's how I've been approaching this so far since I found out about my CKD in March. Definitely NOT because I'm nauseous or not hungry. I'm hungry ALL the time. Maybe I need to start to change my approach to what I'm eating and allow myself a little more flexibility.

[HealthBuddyMelissa in reply to GeeMoney]

Yes, you should eat to your most recent labs. If your numbers are all normal then you can increase your eating. I am mostly plant based but I love pasta and that is plant based, lol. But, I also have good muscle mass, and increasing muscle mass all the time. If you get into muscle wasting that can be really dangerous. Be careful to how you approach it. Solving one problem and then causing another is not very helpful. Best wishes.

[GeeMoney in reply to HealthBuddyMelissa]

Thanks so much. I appreciate the info and the support. Hopefully a better plan and better days ahead. 🙏🏻

[Allank]

Do a 24 hr urine test, if that is ok, your creatinine and eGgr are less critical to your health.

[GeeMoney in reply to Allank]

Thanks. Maybe my next step. Appreciate it.

[Hidden]

I'm curious if you ever got your cystatin-c eGFR? Based on my creatinine eGFR I have stage 3a CKD, but my cystatin-c eGFR is always 90 or higher. I weight train 5-6 days a week and my nephrologist told me my kidneys are perfectly healthy, I just produce more creatinine that average because of my strength training. He told me to keep doing everything the same because there is nothing wrong with my Kidneys.

[GeeMoney in reply to Hidden]

Man bro... You peaked my interest here. My nephrologist mentioned that to me a while back and I didn't pick up on it too much cause I wasn't sure what he meant. Now I'm thinkin.... Damn. How is that test done? Can anyone get it done?

[Hidden in reply to GeeMoney]

You can ask your nephrologist or primary care doctor to add it to your labs next time you have blood work. Here in the US you can also go to websites like request-a-test and they will give you a referral to a local lab that can run the test, I'm guessing Canada might have something similar.

[GeeMoney in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Matt. I'm gonna check that out.

[Green306]

I understand you. I have cut way back on sodium because of the high blood pressure. That means eating much less carbohydrates and have lost 20-30 pounds in 6-8 months. I started around 150 and now weigh 117. I feel better but look too thin. I want to gain some weight back. My gfr is 45 and creatinine is 1.6.

[GeeMoney in reply to Green306]

Yea... My fear is that's where I'm headed too. And bein a dude who had some good size and muscle....trust me it's not close to where I wanna be. *sigh