Losing Weight and PD

[mike22]

Hello!!! I have been on PD for several months and I'm trying to lose some weight and stay fit. I was wandering what do I need to do as far as diet. Do I need to cut my portion sizes? Also, what type of workout do i need to do? What is a good workout regime for PD patients. I'm trying to cut out carbs, sugar, fat, high sodium foods. It also seems as though I may need to cut my portion sizes. Any advice will help.

[MaryD]

Goodness me Mike -

I have been on PD since December, and I am having trouble keeping weight on.  I'll send you some vibes!

I would imagine you should follow your renal diet (protein, protein, protein) and maybe cut portion sizes.  Any exercise if you can - I'm too tired and have proprioception so I miss out there.  I would think any weightlifting should be done with professional advice.

I have trouble fitting much food in on top of my PD fill, so I have to add extra calories or I run out of puff.

 I wish you success

[Joe]

My PD nurses warned me not to do heavy weights as we PD'rs are prone to throwing a hernia. I would suggest focusing on cardio and fat burning with your workouts for now. You should check with your team and see what they recommend for your situation.

[Grumpy-1]

Mike  - to keep healthy you need to follow the advice of your nurses.  To lose weight the idea of cutting the portion sizes would be the most logical.   You will need cards, sugars, and sodium to help maintain a balance, since your kidneys aren't doing that for you.  Keep up on your test results monthly and you can see what needs to be changed in your diet to maintain.   For me, the potassium is low, so I get to eat more bananas and drink more orange juice.  When it is high, I have to cut back on those things. 

[mike22]

@MaryD - I had the same problem for about a month. For a month I did 4 exchanges a day and I actually lost weight because i wasnt eating much. It was no way i could eat with all that fluid in me 4 times a day. I feel you in that regards. But with I was put on the cylcer my appetite came back because I could eat normally. I didnt  gain any weight thought. Most of my weight is for being in school and doing dialysis, stress weight. It just carry over onto Pd. But now I think i'm starting to actually gain from the PD

[adairpete]

PD does add calories especially if you're using higher dextrose percentage solutions.  I think portion control is a great place to start.  I'm trying to lose weight, too, and that's one of the first things I started to do was measuring out my food. It's been very helpful to know what the correct portion size should be and what I was putting on my plate was a lot more than that!  At first it was hard (especially with pastas!) but over time, I found I can't eat the portion sizes I used to, I'm too full!  I try to eat less processed foods where I can (it helps that I love to cook).  Processed foods contain a lot of hidden fat, sodium, and are usually nutrient poor.  It can be tricky with a renal diet on top of it all, but it gets easier over time.  Your dialysis center's dietician may be able to help as well (one of the dietician's at my center is an airhead, I wouldn't trust her to sign her name, so I hope yours is someone you trust). 
I've been on PD almost 2 years, and initially I lost weight because I was feeling so much better than I did on hemo, but now the weight loss is getting more difficult.  I have to remind myself that eating healthy and exercising isn't a race to a certain number, but a part of my lifestyle. 
Good luck!