No Eating Out For You!!!!!

[Whamo]

I don't mind eating out once in awhile.  You can usually make healthy choices.  But my wife wants to go out to eat all the time.  She brings home fast food for me, even though I tell her not to do so.  She's a cardiac nurse, a charge nurse, but when it comes to food she has zero self-control.  I usually go for the pasta.  It has salt and potassium in the tomato sauce, but less phosphate.

[KarenInWA]

My neph told me to eat out no more than once a week, and less if possible.  I just nodded my head and said "okay".  Sorry, but that is not reality for me.  I work FT, do D 12 hours a week in center, and have an appetite.  I enjoy dining out, and it is a luxury I can afford and refuse to give up.  Enjoying food is a big deal to me.  Just because my kidneys are suck  does not mean I'm giving up on things I enjoy.  My labs are good, my BP is now down to the point where I am temporarily discontinuing taking my bp meds (dr instructed) and my fluid is more or less under control.  Now, after transplant, when I learn more about food safety, *then* I'll start to take things more seriously!

KarenInWA

[MooseMom]

I don't mind eating out once in awhile.  You can usually make healthy choices.  But my wife wants to go out to eat all the time.  She brings home fast food for me, even though I tell her not to do so.  She's a cardiac nurse, a charge nurse, but when it comes to food she has zero self-control.  I usually go for the pasta.  It has salt and potassium in the tomato sauce, but less phosphate.

Your wife should meet my husband.  I think they are long-lost twins.  But my husband is an attorney, so while he doesn't have the medical knowledge your wife has, at least he should be smart enough to know better.  But then there is that lack of self-control...

[Trikkechickk]

I eat out maybe 1x/week.  Restrictions do not mean "0", they mean watch it.  I always order "clean" food.  Not spicy, w/request for no salt (in some cases it means no added salt).  I haven't had junk food in 40 years.

For dinner I like poached salmon in water/wine.  For salads w/olive oil/vinegar.  If I add chicken, it may be pre-made and have some salt, but not enough to worry about.  Just use common sense.

If you pee, take a lasix if you think you got too much salt.  Phos is easy, just take a binder(s). 

Live it up alittle guys!

[ToddB0130]

Socializing with friends, eating out is a big part of it.  Breakfasts I tend to stay boring with the scrambled egg whites and some toast with coffee.  Lunches and dinners are typically a boring salad (sometimes with some exciting chicken) .... I stay away from the crazy dressings .....or maybe a meatloaf with green beans.  I never use salt and pepper (I don't even have salt and pepper shakers in my place). Moderation really is the key.

[Restorer]

Eating out is a big part of birthdays and personal holidays (Mother's Day, Father's Day, and things like that) for one side of my family. There are few places where I can't find something that won't bomb my diet. I've started to resist going to most Italian places and chain comfort food restaurants like Marie Calender's, because of tomato and cream sauces, phosphate additives and the amount of sodium. Everywhere else has some option that's not too bad for a few-times-a-year thing.

As far as grabbing food when I'm too tired or dialysis-drained to cook on a more regular basis, I have some regular places I go with decent choices, or I choose a much smaller portion (which has a correspondingly lower amount of sodium) and make something better later on.

[davecapper]

I agree Dannyboy... most dietitians will likely tell you that sodium intake should be around 2g or 2000mg more or less. Remember that sodium is not only reduced by not adding salt. Most processed foods are preserved in a sodium based product and therefore the food itself contains a higher level of sodium than fresh foods.

Whenever possible, buy fresh foods as opposed to prepackaged or processed. Eating out is great if you find a restaurant that offers fresh foods. Some of the larger chains or local places offer fresh food every day. A new requirement on restaurants will force them to list nutritional information. Know your own limits as set by your dietitian and try to stay in them. It is not one meal that counts as much as daily intake. For instance, if you eat high sodium for lunch, it may be alright if you had low sodium for breakfast and dinner. It is totality and not just one sandwich or one meal.

Congrats on numbers being all in range. That is quite an accomplishment in itself.

Dave

[Riverwhispering]

Often when I go out with friends to eat if it's not a fancy restaurant i just order a BLT on sour dough bread.  They almost always skimp on the bacon and it's filling and tasty.   My sodium in my blood work has always been in the normal range so it works for me.   I never add salt to anything I cook and never ever eat soup when I eat out,  I know that they always add too much salt to soups.   Just my 2 cents on the topic