Slowing down of Metabolism in ESRF... any answers?

[kristina]

Hello,
When I last saw "my" nephrologist we noticed that my metabolism has noticeable slowed down because of my ESRF...
... I asked him whether it could assist to slow down this sad progress, if I ate less "to make up for it" and he assured me
that I cannot afford such an action, because I am already at an absolute minimum weight and if I ate less,
I would starve my body of important ingredients ... and at the same time hasten "my" ESRF,
because I have already a very poor kidney function of under 10% (no dialysis)...
... I have been thinking and wondering, how I could slow down the failure of "my two little fighters" further
and if I continue to eat "normal" as I did before, but increase my daily walks and exercises in order to "burn-up"
what my slowed down metabolism cannot "get rid of" ... ?
...  And through this way I perhaps  cancontinue to keep my normal weight...
and - if possible -  even slow down "my" kidney failure for a little longer...?
What do you think? Thanks from Kristina.

[obsidianom]

Hello,
When I last saw "my" nephrologist we noticed that my metabolism has noticeable slowed down because of my ESRF...
... I asked him whether it could assist to slow down this sad progress, if I ate less "to make up for it" and he assured me
that I cannot afford such an action, because I am already at an absolute minimum weight and if I ate less,
I would starve my body of important ingredients ... and at the same time hasten "my" ESRF,
because I have already a very poor kidney function of under 10% (no dialysis)...
... I have been thinking and wondering, how I could slow down the failure of "my two little fighters" further
and if I continue to eat "normal" as I did before, but increase my daily walks and exercises in order to "burn-up"
what my slowed down metabolism cannot "get rid of" ... ?
...  And through this way I perhaps  cancontinue to keep my normal weight...
and - if possible -  even slow down "my" kidney failure for a little longer...?

What do you think? Thanks from Kristina.

I think you are mixing up metabolism with catabolism here.
Your meatabolic rate is the rate your cells   create/use energy . Basically ATP production which gives energy to burn to drive the living organisms in the body.  Food is the energy like gas to a car that through catabolism or breakdown that is the "fuel" for the cells to produce energy via their mitochondria which are the energy plants of the cells.
 When you age or are diseased the metabolism can slow down due to inefficiencies in energy production or catabolism of food as it requires energy to breakdown food to then produce energy. This processcan become slower from age /disease as the mitochondria are less robust and the whole system slows down . inflammation alao can have a large effect.
Eating less in your case will just create a larger deficit of energy production . When the metrabolism slows there is a reduction in energy output anyway. When you eat less the body senses it and slows down the metabolism EVEN MORE. It is a self defeating down cycle. Dont do it.! The body will go into self preservation starvation mode and you will feel worse and cause more damage.
Now the best way to improve metabolism is to eat more high energy quality foods and exercise . The body will try to adapt to the increased stress of excercise by speeding up metabolism and the extra food serves as the fuel for this.

[kristina]

Thank you obsidianom,

I shall continue to eat the same portion of my vegetarian food, because I need my "fuel"
to keep up my strengths and I shall go for more walks and do more exercises ...

Thanks again from Kristina.

P.S. Today I have been walking about four miles and I feel really exhilarated about it!

[obsidianom]

Thank you obsidianom,

I shall continue to eat the same portion of my vegetarian food, because I need my "fuel"
to keep up my strengths and I shall go for more walks and do more exercises ...

Thanks again from Kristina.

P.S. Today I have been walking about four miles and I feel really exhilarated about it!

Good job!  Exercise is so important for health. It does more than any number of medications. Walking is great exercise. I walk at least an hour to an hour and a half a day. I usxed to run but my knees wont allow it anymore. Walking doesnt hurt my knees.   My wife walks on our treadmill 25 minutes a day , usually right after dialysis.

[kristina]

Thanks for your kind encouragement obsidianom, it is very much appreciated.
Best wishes to you both from Kristina.

[kristina]

P.S. One of the reasons why I try to find ways to slow down the deterioration of my “two little fighters” is,
that because of my “brush” with cancer, the very earliest for me to be put on the kidney transplant list is December 2014 ...
...  “My” nephrologist has already informed me that I need to be prepared to be waiting until December2015...
...Of course, I do hope that my “two little fighters” may last without dialysis until then,
but I have already noticed, that I have to do many more exercises and go for many more walks to keep “everything going”...
... in short, it is becoming much more difficult already...

[Deanne]

December is just around the corner and a year really isn't that long to wait. Worst case then is that you might need to go on dialysis for just a few months, like I did. Those few months went very quickly. I hope you don't need to do it at all, of course, but if you do, at least you can know it's just for the short-term.

I went for walks regularly on dialysis. It was much easier for me to do more when I was on dialysis than before I started it. My neighbor and I walked about an hour every evening after I started dialysis.

[kristina]

Thank you Deanne,

It seems a regular good walk is a wonderful way to keep the body going
without putting it under too much stress and I shall continue to take this exercise...
... and along with my vegetarian diet I hope I can keep my "two little fighters" going
for the next year.... (touch wood)...

Thanks again from Kristina.