How do you lose weight on a kidney friendly diet.

[Folklady]

I was wondering if anyone has suggestions about how to lose weight whilst trying to keep your protein and red meat intake low. In the past when I have needed to lose weight I have had success with a low card diet and increased my protein intake but now my egrf is bobbing between 25 and 60 although it has been as low as 30. ( my health board won't tell you what it is if it is above 60). But obviously I don't it to diet hurt my kidneys. (low protein diet and loads of water really helped my kidney function). So what can I eat whilst keeping my kidney function safe. Thank you all.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

HI, I lost a lot of weight on a renal diet. I am now pretty much plant-based. Calories in, energy out. I do not eat any meat, chicken, fish or eggs. I do eat pasta and breads. And the thing that is interesting about that was I did have diabetes, but now my A1c is 5.6.

Track your food in a food app like MYFITNESSPAL and see how many calories you consume normally. Then, just lower the amount. Say you currently consume 1500 calories, then drop it to 1200 or so. Slow and steady is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. People want overnight success and what happens is the body reacts by thinking you are starving it. At some point, you will stop losing weight if you do not increase the exercise. Then, your body will think that this is your new normal and if you increase your intake, you will completely put on weight and very quickly.

Foods you can enjoy are of course renal safe veggies, salads, fiber loaded breads, oatmeal. National Kidney Foundation has tons on information on diet.

kidney.org/recipes-search

[Folklady in reply to Bassetmommer]

Thank you for that. And that is really interesting about your diabetes. I would have thought it would go the other way. Do you eat tofu? Maybe carbs are not the bad guys they are made out to be. I will have a look at the link. Thanks again for sending it.

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Folklady]

Carbs can be a culprit. The thing I always say to folks is eat clean. So carbs that are manufactured seem to affect me differently than pure foods. In other words, home made, less additives. Pasta and breads I make do not raise my glucose as much as store bought. What really raises my glucose is fat and carbs combined. Strange as that may seem. Pasta and olive oil, high glucose. Pasta and lettuce with zero calories dressing, not at all. Weird. I should add I am also on Ozempic which is one of the new GLP1 inhibitors, good for renal function and diabetes. My glucose was up to 9.2 at one point. Losing weight and exercising all play into it as well.

[neidrum in reply to Bassetmommer]

I really think I've lost weight because I fast until 1 or 2 after work. I have a glass of green veg or fruit smoothie. I stop salt and eating fried foods. I have 1 piece of chicken, turkey or fish sometime instead of 3 or 4. probably because it's either baked or boiled. I even cut out sodas and alcohol. It was very hard at first, now I don't even get hungry anymore. I saw my lab in work without highs & lows and my egfr raise up some it became easier to stay on track. I suppose to exercise 30 minutes a day weekly. I find it hard through, but I stopped beating myself up and do what I can. My new doctor told me in 5/22, when I had blood work That I had ckd. I didn't even know what ckd stood for. I started looking for answers and thank God I found this website for better understand to work with my ckd. Thank you all for your input, frustrations and suggestions it helps me sort out solutions for myself.

[Porter20]

Having the same issues but add in no sugar. Carbs raise my blood sugar and proteins too high hurt your kidneys. Balancing act for sure lots of vegetables. I like mushrooms Jin place of meats too. I did all vegetables and calcium and potassium went way up. So moderation is key. I walk after every meal and have lost 23 lbs. over 6 months.

[Folklady in reply to Porter20]

Thank you. That is a great weight loss and yes, such a balancing act when your diet is restricted to begin with. But obviously it can be done. thank you for your encouragement.

[Hidden]

I'm on a very strict renal diet low protein vegan. I am not diabetic. My problem now is gaining weight! Everyone is different, but it is possible to lose on a renal diet!

[Dana66CKD]

Hello Folklady. Try DaVita website. There's an eGFR calculator. Just enter your creatinine lab and it will calculate egfr.

Also, I'm not diabetic, but been following stage 2 or 3A renal diet. Had appt. with Renal Dietitian recently here in Oregon. We are congruent with 0.8g/kg weight for protein intake. Wt. currently 130-131#. My eGFR's have been bouncing from 84, to 63 (most recent), but July, I was so low on fluid, I went to urgent care and given 1 liter IV fluid for low b/p fluid volume, so that might have reflected lower egfr and elevated protein, which had never been above normal before.

DaVita's site also offers info on how much protein for different stages CKD. Stage 2 is as above; lower than 0.8/k if CKD stage 3b? Check website or talk w/dietitian.

I've been steadily losing wt. since April. Trying to eat enough protein while maintaining levels of other nutrients. On mostly plant-based diet, some dairy cheese for additional protein, but not often. Also, I eat tofu, mushrooms, pasta (rice/lentil). Whole wheat breads have protein, but store bought higher in sodium, sugar, etc., so will start baking my own bread again. Berries, fruit, etc.

I must admit, not having trouble losing wt. and hoping to maintain 115-120 lbs, once I hit that mark. Hoping to stay there and not lose anymore 🙏🙂. Good luck with all!

[TopazForests]

Folklady, I started Keto last May and by December I had lost a bit over 70 pounds and was hoping to lose another 70 or 80 pounds by this time. When I was diagnosed with CKD last December, I had to stop the Keto. My PCP sent me to a dietician and said I had done exceptionally well on keto and was there a way to do modified Keto. The answer is yes. Based on my weight, I was given the number 76 grams of protein. Then you supplement that with lots and lots of veggies. It was a lot more difficult than regular Keto. The good part was the dietician said that the 76g protein was animal protein because the body processes vegetable protein differently.

A Sample Day:

Breakfast:

2 eggs (total 14g protein)

1 slice keto toast (1g protein)

Lunch:

Tossed salad with 3 cups lettuce, diced tomato, cucumber, carrots, broccoli slaw and whatever other veggies are in the 'fridge. I really like adding jicama to my salad to add some crunch. I add 2 to 3 ounces of leftover meat from the night before. Then I top with a low carb, low protein salad dressing. (estimated 20 grams protein.)

Dinner:

3 to 4 ounces chicken, beef, etc. (22 to 25 grams protein)

lots of steamed veggies with butter.

If I am hungry during the day, I add some carrots or celery with cream cheese; nuts; or other snack.

[Folklady in reply to TopazForests]

thank you for your reply. You really seem to have got that sussed. Here in Scotland we dont get any help, advice dietary or otherwise untill you egrf is very low so i feel very unsure of what i am doing. But that is very helpful. It is a whole new way of thinking and i felt i had done fairly well cutting out most meat apart from a little chicken to the discover i had put on weight as i had eaten more carbs than i should. It just feels like an uphill struggle to find the right balance.

[TopazForests in reply to Folklady]

Yes it is difficult. I think you can reduce the protein and stay on Keto, you just have to remember to get in enough fat so you stay in the fat burning stage. I know I got a lot of my fat from my protein so I had to remember to add more.

I'm also in the place where I have to lose weight to have a hip replacement. I think I am going to go with weight loss surgery to do that. I have so many health problems that would be better if I lost 140 to 160 pounds.

[Folklady in reply to TopazForests]

i wish you the best of luck with all that. It is so different to cope with multiple health concerns. I also have chronic migraine which can make me crave carbs when i have a bad migraine which never helps. I am hoping to lose about 10lbs but i am going on holiday next week so don't think that i will attempt it till i get home as i tjink it will be hard enough sticking to my low protein diet then. But i like to be primed and prepared.

[WildIris]

Though this thread is a year old, I had to add that I found I had to give up most carbs to lose weight, though I still eat some whole oats and potatoes. Also some nuts which are supposedly high calorie, but who knows. These changes because I bought a good scale and weigh myself every morning so if my weight got stuck for a week or two while I was still too heavy, I'd make a change. Also, oddly, I had a cold for a week or two and my weight went up by a pound or two the whole time, then came down again. Go figure.