Confused About Diet for Stage 3 or 4 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

I am new to the group and I am having a hard time figuring out what to eat is right and or wrong. I wish I had someone to prepare my meals for me.

@sherelle930, welcome to the group! There's a downloadable fairly simple recipe collection here. If one of the members of the group can't post it for you, let me know and I'll re-post it. Words of caution: clear a recipe with your care team before making something and since manufacturers can change ingredients the values in those recipes might have changed since their writing. Alway, always, always read labels! We're glad you joined us. Love and hope live here.

I'm trying to stay away from "white" food and junk food. Easier said than done.

@sherelle930 Oooh, when they are finished at your house, please send them over to mine!
Welcome to Mayo Connect. We are all fellow patients, caregivers, and family members here, not medical professionals. We lend support and share our experiences, to help others on their own journeys. Like @kamama94 mentioned, she has a recipe type book on here that is geared towards kidney disease patients. I myself am in Stage 3b/4 at the moment, but also have to tweak my diet because of gout.

Actually, fixing your own meals and getting involved in the way things taste, and presentation, can help detract from those items on the "cannot have" list. Seasonings play a big draw in tasty meals. If you haven't been in consultation with a renal dietician, ask your nephrologist to get you one.

Besides that, and kamama94's recipes, also look at rsnhope.org and davita.com for ideas. Please come back and let us know what you cook up!
Ginger

@sherelle930, I want to also extend a Welcome to Mayo Connect. I have a few questions for you so that our members can best share their experiences with you to support you with your food requirements. Have you been recently diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)? Has your doctor given you any directions about your diet? What is your biggest difficulty in selecting foods?

@cidmeyers, Yes, I'm finding it harder the past few weeks to stay away from comfort and sweet desserts and fear I'll have to pay the piper for sure when I see my nephrologist later this week. Pretty sure I need to start pulling out my kidney/diabetes diet plan and posting it in plain sight to get back on track. However, grins, since I completed the labs last week, may go ahead and indulge a bit more until I see the doc. Shame on me!

Probably shouldn't confess this, having just published a bunch of recipes but my Tuesday labs showed a GFR drop back into stage 4 from stage 3b. Had nothing to do with diet, though - pretty sure the shingles and accompanying meds are responsible. Hope it improves but if not, it is what it is. Funny thing is, I feel well!

@fiesty76 Ah, a woman after my own heart! I do the same, sometimes ;))
@kamama94 You and I have talked about these sometimes changes in values. Remember to look at the trend! You're doing fantastic!
Ginger

@kamama94, Well, that is bummer news about the change. However, values can sometimes change from one test to another and you had those dratted shingles for soo long that they may well be the culprit. What did your doc say? How you continued your intense work on the product and revised cookbook throughout those months is pretty astonishing. Great that you are feeling well and maybe time now to take a break from intense research and enjoy those yummie recipes???

I was just diagnosed with CKD 3a three weeks ago. My PPC advised me last June that I was showing reduced kidney function but nothing else and didn't seem concerned. Had a follow-up lab in December and again mentioned it with no further instruction. So when I had my annual Medicare check up she then told me I have ckd stage 3 and I need to do at least 150 minutes of exercise weekly drink more water and made another lab for follow-up October 1st. So I immediately did slot of research and was terrified. My husband got a few renal cook books becoming an almost vegan overnight! Very difficult diet to comprehend. My only instruction for diet was plant based low protein. I will be requesting a renal dietician at my October appt. Still so until then I have cobbled together diet restrictions through research and numbers from my last lab. I have been very frustrated every day trying to put together daily meals (my husband too). So thank you all for my rant. But how do you determine your max daily protein potassium phosphorus calories and carbs??? Any info and encouragement will help. Thank you, Confused