Dear MooseMom, only your medical team can prescribe your specific diet by medical-legal guidelines. You may wish to discuss different strategies with them however that may be beneficial. Low protein diets have shown reduction in progression and perhaps even improved mortality, but that is offset by the protein-calory malnutrion complex and muscle wasting that is also common to CKD. A recent study from Tufts used weight training to help maintain muscle mass:
VITAL SIGNS: EXERCISE; Kidney Patients Maintain Their Muscle
Low-protein diets can help slow the progression of kidney disease, but they can make the muscle wasting that the disease causes even worse. Now a study has found that weight training can help these patients maintain or increase their muscle mass.
Proteins are hard for the kidneys to filter, so reducing the amount patients eat can be helpful, said the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Carmen Castaneda of Tufts University. But she said this approach was rarely used in practice, in part because of concerns that it could speed the loss of muscle.
As in many aspects of CKD care, finding the right balance for your own clinical situation requires close work with your medical team for optimal outcomes. The more you learn on your own, the more informed and better questions you will have for your team.
I hope this information is useful to you and your team.