The Popcorn Diet

 Heads Up: I've got some draft posts (not yet published here) on the subject of my bad kidneys. Just telling you that so when I finally post everything you won't be confused. I'm posting this one now because it's an easy rant...

So.

I've been having a hell of a time trying to figure out what I can and cannot eat in order to stop any further damage to my damn kidneys. Sorry for the fussing but... this year has been sheer madness at less than 3 months in!

Anyway. Back to the kidney thing.

At my last infusion, my lab results showed creatinine levels that have once again jumped back into the stratosphere. They go up and down but lately, they mostly have only been going up. A wee little bit at a time. ("Wee", get it?)

Anyway, I am so deadly terrified of having to ever go on dialysis that I am working my hardest to watch everything that goes into my mouth at this point. The one crazy thing is, I never had to worry about my kidneys until this damn sarcoidosis. I never was seriously sick before this. One side of my family has kidney problems, the other side tends to get cancer. I never had either.  The other crazy thing is, my latest creatinine jump is probably from all the "healthy" eating I was doing in the weeks before the last infusion. I will get to that in a minute.

Again. Anyway.

So I am over here giving myself a headache trying to decipher nutrition labels and other information to see what kind of foods I can safely enjoy. I made lists of those that are okay, not-so-okay, and no-no-no. Then I would find contradictory information. Then I would have to move foods from one list to another.

When I ended up crying and feeling dumb because my brain kept getting all muddled up, I decided to find a food app specific for CKD (chronic kidney disease). Guess what? There are apps for almost every ailment known to modern man but just about none for what I need.

Next, I tried just organizing a bunch of lists, recipes, suggestions, etc using One Note. Fabulous thing, that One Note (but only "for Windows 10 version). I've got most of my life organized in my DIY notebook system and One Note. One Note is more for things like recipes and useful info I find online that I will need to refer back to often. And I already told you how my notebook system rules my daily life.

While One Note is great for clipping and storing all the information about kidney health, foods, etc., it still isn't great for my practical needs like grocery shopping and meal planning and won't be until I get myself familiar with all the info.

I did go back to using the Cronometer app I liked once when I was playing at losing weight. So far, it's the best app I've used just to keep an eye on what I call the Big Three: potassium, phosphorous, and sodium. It's so good in fact, that I want to find out if my insurance might cover the Pro version. With that one, I can share the information with my doctors. Very cool, right? For now, I am using some of the money I'm saving on groceries to pay monthly for the Gold version. It's ridiculously pricey (IMO) at almost 10 bucks (with tax) per month but it's so useful. There's no better way I know right now for tracking the Big Three.

Like with all apps, I have to log or scan everything I eat. Okay. Fine. That's a real pain in the butt. However, I am determined NOT TO BE ON DIALYSIS anytime soon. And by "soon" I mean before I die of almost anything else. 

Until I can meet with the nephrologist again (and, hopefully, a dietician who doesn't hate food), I am just being so, so careful. The easiest way for me to do this is to stick to the few things that should be safe to eat. This is what I have so far:

• Rice milk (not enriched because, somehow, enriched is worse for me? I can't remember why.)
• Coffee (I am sticking to a 10-ounce serving in the morning & softened with the rice milk.)
• Popcorn - made with kernels and the tiniest bit of oil. I season it with 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. For some reason, sea salt is supposed to be better than regular table salt. I don't remember where I read that or why it is.
• Rice cakes. 
• Apples and red grapes. Love the grapes but only like apples when I want on. I'm trying to decide if I can just use them for some kind of decent dessert dish.
• Cabbage. I like cabbage when I like cabbage but find it a pain in the tail to deal with.
• Water, water, water, and more water.

The first day I was trying to use the Cronometer app, I had coffee with rice milk, popcorn, and a rice cake. The phosphorus and potassium levels seemed good but my sodium level was at 70% of the daily allowance. I set that daily allowance from reading on what I should have - 2300mg or less. And I was gassy all day. Ugh. Actually, I just realized that I did not use all my salt for the day. I still have some in the little container I keep the day's sea salt in.

and those carbs...

Last night (of my second day using the app), I fasted. I figure if I throw in fasting from 7pm to 11am, I am not missing much. It's not like I'm excited to eat anything I'm allowed.

Again, anyway...

So today is going to be all about trying not to think about the delicious food I can't have. Or rather, not thinking about those foods. 

To be honest, this will probably be the best thing ever for losing weight. I just can't deal with so much meal prep. I've gotten used to fixing enough of something to last for a few days. A big pot of pinto beans cooked with some ground beef to eat with rice or cornbread or tortillas. Sandwiches with avocado and tomato. Some on-sale shrimp or fish to smother in garlic and onions. A baked potato or sweet potato. A big spinach salad with some poppyseed dressing. And my favorite "healthy" meal of nothing but collard greens to eat with fresh tomato and onions.

I think I'm up to Crazy Thing #3 here: Everything I thought I was eating that was healthy is not so healthy for me. For the last several weeks - maybe even the last few months - I've been eating green stuff, fish, seafood, whole grains. I actually hadn't had but maybe one loaf of plain white bread in about 4 months because I was buying the pricier whole wheat and high-grain stuff with nuts and seeds in it. Because I thought that was healthy!

Yesterday, as I was popping corn in my beloved Christmas gift Ninja, I realized that popping corn may be all I will be using that appliance for. At least until I can get this new CKD diet down.

So yeah. Woe is me. 

And I do realize that I should stop ranting and whining and be thankful. Thankful that I am not (yet) living in a war zone. That I have access to healthcare. That I have a roof over my head and food at all in my fridge. And I am thankful. I just needed to rant a bit.

Peace

--Free