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8/26/11 6:25 P

Caroline, when you get a chance I would like very much to understand how you are using the diet planning feature at aakp for stage 3. I would LOVE to have someone else figure out my meal plan!

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8/25/11 9:57 P

I've been finding some great recipes on the DaVita site. Made one tonite and my daughter and I both loved it. Going to try some more in the next few days.

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8/25/11 8:08 P

You can use this site DaVita for 3rd stage, if you know how, as to what you can eat. i use it a lot.
Jen i will do a forum on DaVita as soon as i can, I'm like you i have many things here right now going on but i will soon. Be patient with me please. I really dont like to air my laundry but trying to get hubby to be responsible for bills, and money he is suppose to be giving me. I have been paying bills and it is making me stressed. I just got a bill from my Nephrologist i thought my hubby had paid and it was from Dec.10. etc. Any way i will make it. God is for me.
to all of you for your patience.
Caroline

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8/22/11 10:26 P

After reading Claire's post, I went back to the DaVita site and looked. This is what I found--maybe it will help explain?

"Who can use the DaVita Diet Helper?
People in Stage 4 and Stage 5 kidney disease. The kidney diet monitors protein, potassium, sodium and phosphorus intake. If you are not in the later stages of chronic kidney disease and your doctor or renal dietitian has not suggested you be on a kidney diet, the DaVita Diet Helper may not be suitable for you."

My renal dietitian DID suggest I be on a kidney diet. So I would think this WOULD be suitable for me.

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8/22/11 10:24 P

Claire, I was able to put in the amount of protein that I am supposed to get, and the potassium and phosphorus they gave was the right amount from my dietitian. The calories are high, but I will just eliminate the sweets to put them right. Also, i'd probalby never do an entire day that they suggest, but just getting some meal ideas was tremendously helpful! Not like I'm going to follow exactly what they give for a day.

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8/22/11 6:06 P

LOL... sorry Claire!

Caroline can you make a topic forum about DaVita and include the info. I do not use the site or I would. Thank you.

Claire, I use the dialysis guidelines according to the NKF (National Kidney Foundation) and tweek it - for example I do not eat high protein, but being on dialysis calls for a high protein diet.


Wendy I am so glad you got the info you needed to help you plan your meals.

jean

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8/22/11 5:09 P

That this tool is recommended continues to confuse me - DaVita clearly says that this tool is not appropriate for stages 2/3 which Wendy is. (Me, too.)

So, why do they say no but Jean and Carolyn say yes? (She bangs her head against the wall vigorously.)

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8/22/11 10:14 A

WOW!!! Caroline, I cannot begin to thank you enough! The DaVita diet helper is AWESOME! I found some great recipes to try, and got tons of info and help. The calories they have me on are too high, but I noticed that they are big on soda and sweets, so I just eliminate those and I'm good to go.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Finally, I have hope that I can actually DO this!

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8/22/11 7:48 A

Oh thank you Caroline! I will check that out right now!

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8/22/11 6:27 A

Wendy, try the Da Vita diet helper. You can plan meals for a day or week. they have meals planned for you and you can change them, if you dont like what they have. You can see the meals, Print them out, Print out the recipes,substitute foods that are more to your taste. Check your nutrition level for the day or week. Print out a record for your self and your dietition. They have regional menu's which i think are great. Menu's for special occasions.
they have redone the Oooey Gooey Butter Cake, if you like things like this. I truly love this site. I hope this might help. CKD diet for us is difficult for our needs are so different.

Caroline

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8/21/11 7:20 P

35g (5 oz) animal protein
7 grain/carb servings
3 fruit servings
3 veggie servings

Breakfast
1c Cream of Wheat w/butter and 1/2 c milk
1/2c strawberries
1c decaf coffee or tea

Lunch
Tuna sandwich
2 oz tuna, 2 slices bread, mayo & lettuce
2/3c carrots
1 medium apple
water

Dinner
3 oz grilled chicken seasoned with herbs & spices
1c rice
1c fresh green beans w/olive oil & cracked pepper
water or 1c decaf tea

Snacks
1 - 3/4c pineapple
2 - 1 oz unsalted pretzels

Hope that gives you some ideas for your meal plan.

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8/21/11 6:33 P

I will take a peek - never did that before - Can I really do that? going to find out and send a message ;o) Jean

Ok I did that and it was easier than I thought it would be.

Wendy, Your food for the day looks good. Just curious - is the beef for a burger?, as that is the highest item for protein in your plan for the day, doh! as you know this.... you can make it smaller for less calories and less protein. As for phosphorous, know your limits of what you can have. Do you know that you can set this as one of your trackers for nutrition? Dairy and some veggies you have to limit or avoid.

Let me or Caroline know if you need further input.
It is a job until you get it down pat, of what you can have and how much you can have.

jean

Edited by: SPARK-JEAN at: 8/21/2011 (18:42)

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8/20/11 9:40 P

Oh dear God! I just spent one whole hour plus on planning my meals for Monday! I feel like I am starting from scratch! I got within all my limits, but just barely, and I had to add a fiber supplement so I'd be getting enough. My calories are SO low--barely broke 1250. But I can't go higher without going over on the potassium and phosphorus!

My dad says I'm nuts. He said all he had to do was give up potatoes and dairy, and keep his protein to 6 oz. a day. He doesn't see why I need to do more than that. Then again, he was stage 4/5, ended up on dialysis and got a transplant, which is what I am trying to AVOID!

Caroline or Jean, can one of you (or anyone) please look at my food tracker for Monday and see what you think? I welcome any and all suggestions.

Thank you so very much!

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8/20/11 10:35 A

Wendy,
Protein is one of those things that you will need to tweek because you are not on dialysis. My protein tends to be under the recommended quota per spark which is 60-78, I typically have between 35-48 a day.

Its all good, please keep asking questions and get lots of input from the team. Sometimes it can be all overwhelming, but the more info you have - you will ask your doctor more specific questions and learn what your body needs specifically. Does that make sense to you? Sometimes typing what you mean does not come out that way. jean

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8/20/11 9:26 A

Jean, doesn't the dialysis diet have HIGH protein? I know my dad had to eat a lot more protein when he was on PD. I guess other than that it might be a good thing to look at.

I did look back through our forums at some of the things you mentioned. I guess I'll have to take a closer look.

Thanks!

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8/19/11 11:04 P

Wendy, I know I am very very late! I appreciate EVERYONE so much on this team for the continued support and info - thank you Faith and Claire and Caroline.

Wendy - I am glad you found some helpful info. I am curious if you checked out our forum that contains helpful info on what to eat. Because I was so overwelmed with everything - I oput myself on the dialysis diet - it is not for everyone and what works for me may not work for you.
With the dialysis diet I have maintained normal kidney readings 99% of the time. It is that darn one test a year that is out of range. My new doc was so impressed with my "normal" readings she is consulting my nephrologist, as she doubts I have kidney disease... no worries I am staying right here..loving my kidneys.

In the loving our kidneys forum there are different parts of the dialysis diet posted (page 2).
Fruits,Vegetables, Dairy, proteins,ect.

The best thing to know is what does your body need to maintain your kidney disease.

There is also a chat forum on acceptable foods with kidney disease, some reading on your part, but I think it is very interesting. That is in the general chat forum.

Please let us know if you need more input or direction. All we can do is share our personal experience of how we maintain our kidney disease.

I hope that you are doing well!
jean

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8/19/11 10:25 A

Caroline, thanks. I did download the AAKP guide. It's helpful, but it doesn't list everything, of course.

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8/19/11 1:21 A

Wendy, i am so sorry i have not posted a reply to your questions. As you know we as CKD patients all have different needs in our diets. I also have problems with my Phosphorus. I went to the aakp site (American Association of Kidney Patients) they have a small booklet the size of a pocket calendar. It is called AAKP Nutrition Counter, It has several hundred"s of food listed with the amount of nutrients in them such as Sodium, Potassium, Protein, Phosphorous, calories. It also has fast foods listed. This booklet is free as well as some other literature. I ask for 2 of the Nutrition Counters 1 for my purse and 1 for home and they sent them to me. There web site is www.aakp.org. also Da Vita has lots of recipes and information on the above.
I love my aakp nutrition counter and i think you will like it too. I hope this helps you.
Caroline

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8/18/11 10:56 A

Wendy, if you like her then obviously there is some chemistry between you both so that helps tremendously. Maybe she's under the impression that you are comfortable where you are at and that you don't need assistance. TAlk to her. Let her know how you feel and that you need help.

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8/18/11 9:28 A

I'm going to have to call. I tried to email and it bounced. Apparently they can't get outside emails. That makes NO sense!

As far as getting another one--thats not an option. She's the ONLY renal dietitian I could find anywhere near here. But I did like her, so that helps.

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8/17/11 11:35 P

Wendy, can you call and make an appointment with your nutritionist and tell her you want some example menus? If you are not happy with her, can you get another?

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8/17/11 8:06 P

Faith, the stuff I have is kind of weird. Chili, chicken tortilla soup, and a spaghetti sauce with about 12 different veggies in it, along with the turkey and beef. But all made with no salt. Anyone else would find them horribly bland. Even my kids won't eat them!

I've seen my nutritionist exactly once. I can try to email her. I thought maybe she'd given me guidelines of how much potassium and phosphorus I was allowed, but even that is a mystery.

Also, I notice here on SP, phosphorus is tracked by % daily requirement. But the info I have is done by mg. Anyone know how to convert one to the other??

Thanks!

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8/17/11 11:25 A

Wendy, are you close with your neighbors that perhaps you could give the tomato based products to them? If you were my neighbor and you offered them, I would be happy to take them.
Are you close with your nutritionist? I can ask my Dad's nutritionist for some example sheets but I know everyone's needs are different.
Faith

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8/17/11 10:04 A

Claire, thank you so much for the links. I will look at those today.

I can have SOME potatoes, tomatoes, etc. I don't have to eliminate anything, but limit it. It's just a matter of getting everything figured out. Also, I have a freezer full of tomato based foods that I can no longer use on a regular basis. I have no idea what I will do with all of that.

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8/17/11 4:00 A

I feel your pain. I was completely overwhelmed - there is just so much to swallow at once. We all eat a similar diet, but based on our particular stage and other factors we are given different diet directions. As an example, some of us can eat a bit of potatoes; some can eat them if they've been rinsed, some can eat them if they've been soaked and rinsed.

We all have different targets for protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus. You are right - there's a big problem getting the potassium and phosphorus content. There is an answer!

If you haven't already, I invite you to consider joining aakp.org (American Association of Kidney Ppatients). There is a generous amount of documentation to help you learn how to manage your diet within your restrictions.

Here is a link to their list of brochures (often downloadable):

www.aakp.org/brochures/

In particular, the link below takes you to Nutrition Counter area, including a reference guide that tells you how much potassium, sodium, phosphorus, etc are in every food you can think of.

www.aakp.org/brochures/nutrition-counter/

In addition, I've gone to all the websites of the restaurants I visit and obtained their nutritional information so I know in advance what to order.

Some of us create our own manually added food items in the Food Tracker so that we can add the complete nutritional content. It's a pain when first starting, but after a bit you get all your favorites in there and it's no big deal.

When your brain can handle more, go to the team's Kidney Health Forum and look for the threads specifically about diet. Jean and Caroline have put a BUNCH of stuff in there about how to make the diet work. Here's a link to that forum:

www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_messagebo
ard.asp?board=13216x36692x1

Initially, I was so overwhelmed and confused I decided to focus on one thing at a time. I was a once a day eater, so my first move was to learn to eat meals. I worked on getting my protein down to my target. And then I worked on reducing or eliminating the 'bad' fruits and veggies. Etc. It's taken me a year to feel comfortable with my food choices.

I felt bombarded with all the food information - kidney diet restrictions and diabetic diet restrictions. I was tired of flipping through all the paperwork I got from my dietician looking for serving sizes for everything, too. I ended up making my own little spread sheet. I must have put the info together 8 different times trying to get a grasp - and every time I had another ah-ha! moment.

And lastly, this team is the greatest. I would still be fumbling in the dark without everyone here. The support is constant and positive. Wow, that helps.

Good luck!

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8/16/11 9:50 P

Hey Caroline? Jean? Any advice here? I am definitely still learning from you both and everyone else here.
Hugs to everyone.
Faith

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8/16/11 8:39 P

BTW, I'm stage 3 (closer to 2, according to the doctor), and my labs are all excellent, other than the creatinine of 1.3 of course.

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8/16/11 8:38 P

Ducky, if I could get a couple of weeks of sample meals, that would be awesome!! But all I got was lists of foods that are high and low in sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and protein. One list contradicts the other as to what are "good" foods to eat. I have no idea how to actually put it all together into a workable plan.

I helped my Dad with his food plan when he hit stage 4. It was easy--6 ounces of protein a day, and limit the dairy. That was it. I plugged his info into SP and popped out a plan, which he followed until he started dialysis. Then he had to do high protein and almost no dairy, and cut out most potatoes. That was it. Now that he's had the transplant, he eats whatever he wants and just watches his sodium. I wish it could be that easy!!

Thanks for your response.

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8/16/11 8:13 P

Hi Wendy,
I personally do not have the latter stages of kidney disease but I care for my father who is stage 5 and on dialysis. I know you will get other imput so this is just my imput. In working with my Dad and his dietician, he actually enjoys a good and tasty diet. Depending on his potassium levels he may enjoy something one week but not be able to eat the same thing the following week. There are some foods he cannot have at all and others in moderation. I was able to get his nutritionist to print out several weeks of example meals for him and that helps him alot. We deal with this on a daily basis but this is for him. Everyone is different.

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8/16/11 7:18 P

I've been really struggling the past few months. Between a family crisis that took all my energy (physically and emotionally), and the shock of getting the directions from the renal dietitian, I have really gone off the deep end. I've put on some weight--not sure how much since I haven't stepped on the scale. I've just felt overwhelmed, and I've probably eaten exactly the opposite of how I am supposed to.

Today I saw my orthopedic surgeon and he assured me that both my knee replacements are in perfect condition. I've been having pain in one knee and the other thigh, and was worried there was a problem. I've also been using that as a great excuse to exercise less and less.

He mentioned my weight. Twice. As in--you've put on weight and you need to get it off. Now! He didnt' SAY that, but he did bring up the subject two seperate times. I know he's right. Not just for my knees. Not even just for my kidneys. But for everything.

OK, so I have this long list of rules for eating in a kidney-friendly way. But I have absolutely no idea what to do with it! When I saw the renal dietitian 2 months ago, and told her what I was eating (I described what I ate on a good day), she said it was great, and just needed some tweaking to lower the potassium (I eat tons of tomatoes) and watch the phosphorus. I thought "great, I can do that".

Well, it's not so easy. For starters, I don't have either potassium or phosphorus included int he info for any of the foods I've entered into the tracker. And most of them aren't listed on the labels anyway, so it's not like I can just check that. So HOW do I find out the actual content of phosphorus or potassium?

Can any of you experts out there share with me what you eat in a normal day? At least if I can get an idea of what to do. I plugged in the Spark suggestions and came up with 98 grams of protein, and twice the phosphorus, and 1.5 times the potassium that I'm supposed to have. So obviously, that's not an option.

I really want and need to do this. I appreciate any help you can give me. I've got to climb back on this wagon somehow. I will start by going to the gym tomorrow and taking a class I used to enjoy. And then I will sit down and work out a plan for what the heck I'm going to eat for the rest of my life. Well, OK, at least for the next day or so.

Thanks. It's good to be back.

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