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Pre -Transplant Diet and Exercise Ideas
Once you find out you need a transplant, you will learn that there are some things that you can do before surgery to ensure that you are prepared.
-If you smoke, you should quit.
-Eat healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains.
-Exercise to maintain your energy level as you are able.
-Get plenty of rest.
Now..we all know that it is much more difficult to achieve success with our complications….but it is worth it to know it will make life much easier on the other side…and that you gave it your all!
Anyone who wants to share diet and exercise ideas..please do…be creative!
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@teresatopeka great advice, as always. 😉
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1 Reaction@teresatopeka Thanks for speaking from your personal experience - that is always the best teacher. Teresa
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1 ReactionI should have chosen my words more carefully, thanks for pointing out areas that I can clarify. Sugar Free Popsicle is the name of a product it has15 calories per serving. The medication I take post transplant makes me hungry which is a known side effect and causes me to crave food. If I have a craving rather than reaching for something higher in calories I drink a cup of hot herbal tea or have a 15 calorie Sugar Free Popsicle (again brand name) because both take awhile to eat they really help me get over my craving struggles with consuming a lot of extra calories. I'd love to hear other ideas that people have that help them fight through cravings.
As far as the veggie soup I should clarify that it is a vegetable broth base, always contains handfuls of cabbage, fresh carrots, onions and whatever is freshest in the market, occasionally I do add a few beans or lentils for protein. Each bowl contains around 100 to 120 calories depending on the ingredients. I LOVE veggies but in order to protect my transplant some vegies are off limits (like broccoli) unless they are cooked, so think of my soup as a cooked salad with no dressing. "Chowing Down" on 3 bowls of soup for lunch which is super filling helps me stay within my ideal calorie range and has the bonus of being high in antioxidants, high in fiber and meets the food safety guidelines for post transplant.
After transplant I am proud to say I have stayed within my ideal weight range!!! Yay me and yay my beautiful kidney! I really appreciate your concern and the reminder of how important staying within that range is as to not put undo strain on my new organ. The example you gave of your friends weight struggle certainly can server as an example of how real the struggle can be.
Again I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to clarify me message, I can see now why it elicited your concern.
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5 Reactions@teresatopeka, This is going to be helpful advice! Thank you for sharing. I had wonderful experience with OT and PT at Mayo prior to my transplant, so I definitely agree with your assessment of Physical Therapists:-)
I imagine that many patients do not have a nearby fitness facility with a pool for aquatic exercise. Or there are some, like myself, who lose their ability to continue doing any usual fitness activities like walking (I could barely get out of bed and walking across the room left me breathless - And I was a walker and a hiker).
Do you have any suggestions for physical activity when nausea, fatigue, and the physical limits of our advancing make it feel nearly impossible?
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1 Reaction@jodeej, I think that you deserve credit for your effort to prepare healthy meals! It is so much easier when spouse or partner collaborate on eating right. And the bonus is that both of you receive the benefits of better health.
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3 ReactionsThank you for your kind words. Every time I pick up a food coutainer in a store I check the label. The first thing I check is the amount of sodium per serving, if the sodium is over 140 mg, then I check how many servings per container. If the sodium is over 200 I check to see if I will be eating a full serving at one time or not. If the sodium level is around or above 500, I just put it back. Sodium will make you hungry, that is why manufactures put so much in their foods they want you to buy and eat their foods.
I was raised eating vegetables from our garden. I learned to can as a teenager then along came the home freezer. I eat foods from the freezer section of the store now. I live by myself and if I buy fruits or vegetables from the store they were picked while they were "green" so by the time we buy them they look ripe, but they're not. If you can't smell the wonderful aroma of the fruit or vegetable they have lost all of the nutrients too. If you want fresh, go to a farmer's market when it opens in the morning. If you are unable to go to a farmer's market, buy frozen then canned or dried fruits. The frozen foods are processed down the road from where they are grown, the same is true with canned, they are picked at the peak of freshness. These farm's do not grow food for the grocery stores.
Most of our eating habits are learned at our mother's knee. If we have family get-to-gathers and all the food is high in animal fat, high in sodium and sugar it is hard to say "No, thank you." Even friends are not always good at fixing foods best for us. We can always take our own foods and get strange looks at what we are eating. Aunt So-and-so would say "I fixed this just for you, because you always ate it as a child." You didn't like it then and you hate it now, how do you tell Aunt So-and-so "No, thank you."?
When it comes to recipes, over the years I have collected cookbooks and magazines. I like to learn new things, and I like to adjust recipes if I find a recipe that is heave on fat, sodium, or sugar I say "No." I have foods I enjoy and are healthy so I try finding a recipe that has these foods in them. I substitute foods I like, and can have, for foods I don't like, or can't have, and I have found new flavors that I really like. Seeing a Registered Dietitian, who is willing to work with you where you are, can give each individual the best help. Having the entire family willing to work with one individual can improve their own "life style" and they too will feel better. It takes a village to....
mlmcg
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3 ReactionsPopsicle - If it has artificial "sugar" sweeteners in it, I would be in the bathroom (artificial sweeteners is my list of things I cannot have, it sends me to the bathroom every time). Are the ingredients listed or just 15 calories?
If your meds are making you feel hungry see if they can be changed. I have never had that problem, my meds have been changed over the last 10 years.
Your vegie soup sounds good, I can't have cabbage, I never liked it cooked so I would leave it out. However, I didn't see any mention of animal protein in your soup. We all need protein in one form or another, daily, not just occasionally. How large are your bowls? A one cup bowl or a three cup bowl? Is your soup heavy on the liquid side or vegie side? Protein, either kind, is more likely to fill you up where vegetables take a lot more to do the same. Are you eating any grains? There was no mention of breakfast or dinner, is that where you get your protein and grains? The body needs a well balanced diet each day. One third in the morning, one third at noon, and one third at the end of the day. The morning meal should be the largest and the evening the smallest.
Is your ideal weight range, yours? Or your dietitians? If it's yours and you have not talked with a dietitian you may want to talk with one as soon as you can. Even if it's a couple of times, we can all use help in getting to know how to care for our kidneys. Doctors are not always the best one to talk with about our meals. Doctors know how to fix kidneys, but not necessarily how to care for them once they are ours. Good luck.
mlmcg
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1 ReactionMy cousin sent me a little pedal bike after my strokes, because I was using them in rehab and liked how I felt afterwords. They use different muscles than walking, now if there was something small for walking.
I did not have problems walking after my transplant, just after my strokes. I use a walker now, because my balance is not good. Good enough that I do not qualify for Medicare to approve of me to take a balance class. I walk outside, using my walker, with others around. I will walk inside at home without my walker.
Anyone who needs the exercise and cannot ride a bike, the little pedal bike is great, and not expensive.
mlmcg
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3 Reactions@teresatopeka
What super advice...thanks for sharing.
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2 Reactions@jodeej That's great! I hope he is feeling well and doing great after his transplant. If you told us this somewhere right after his transplant I somehow missed it, it's been a busy summer here. I am really excited for him and for you. It's such a wondrous time to finally have that horrible issue behind you, to have a clear head all of the time, to not be retaining horrible amounts of fluid, and for me to not have my hands shaking all of the time.
I agree, that the exercise he did pre-transplant really helped him through the recovery period, and eating healthy. I did so much right up until the last month when things went downhill. I am sure that was a huge help.
JK
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2 Reactions