Many healthy foods are naturally low in calories and high in fibre, so they fill you up. Fibre takes longer to eat, and as a result, your body registers that you are filling up and signals you are no longer hungry.
Less healthy, more processed, foods have the opposite effect on your hunger signalling system: you feel less satisfied and more likely to overeat.
What about potassium and phosphate?
Sometimes, people with CKD need to limit foods high in potassium and phosphate, but not always. If you need to limit any foods in your diet, your kidney dietitian will help you manage this alongside your healthy diet.
All the recipes in Kidney Kitchen's Safe Weight Loss magazine are low in potassium and phosphate, despite, in some cases, the inclusion of some high-potassium/phosphate ingredients. The amounts have been checked by our dietitians, so be sure to follow the stated quantities and serving sizes in each recipe carefully.
You are what you drink (as well as what you eat)!
The amount of fluid you need to consume depends on many factors: your level of activity, how sweaty you are, the temperature and if you have been advised to limit your fluid intake. However, the type of fluid you drink impacts your weight.
Try to limit high-fat and sugary drinks (particularly cola-style drinks, as they contain phosphate) and avoid adding sugar to drinks. If you drink fruit juice or smoothies, have no more than 150ml per day.
Tea and coffee both contribute to fluid intake, but when looking at what's contributing to unwanted weight gain, think about the way your drink is served. Some lattes, mochas, macchiatos, hot chocolates – even malted drinks – are packed with calories, sugar and fat.
For safe weight loss, try to limit drinks to water, sugar-free squash, small amounts of fruit juice or smoothies and enjoy tea or coffee without sugar and with a minimal amount of milk.
What about alcohol?
Alcohol is high in calories and can wipe out healthy intentions.
A large glass of white wine can contain the same calories as a dish of ice cream, so if you do consume alcohol, keep within government guidelines of no more than 14 units per week for both men and women.
Reading food labels
Claims of ‘healthy’ are often used to promote products, but it is always best to check the ingredients list and nutritional information on the back, where ingredients must, by law, be listed in descending order according to weight.
This means the first ingredient listed is always present in the largest amount and can be useful when comparing products. If the first few ingredients are sugar or fat, it is unlikely to benefit your health.
Another way to check a food is to use the nutritional information on the back of the packet, or the traffic light symbol on the front.
- It is best to avoid, or limit, those that are coloured red. Red indicates the food is less healthy (high in fat, sugar or salt).
- Where possible, aim for foods with mostly green and amber traffic light symbols.
Not all foods carry traffic light symbols, in which case, you may need to check the nutritional information on the back of the packaging.
What to look for on nutritional information
Check the ‘per 100g’ section on the nutritional information table and compare with the table below. Limit foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Remember, all this information is available online too, so you can still check labels if you do your shopping online.
| Per 100g | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Fat |
3g or less | 3.1-17.5g | More than 17.5g |
Saturated fat |
0.5g or less | 1.6-5g | More than 5g |
Sugar |
5g or less | 5.1-22.5g | More than 22.5g |
Salt |
0-0.3g | 0.3-1.5g | More than 1.5g |
| Foods | Reduce these less healthy foods | Replace with these healthier alternatives |
|---|---|---|
Breakfast cereals |
Sugar, honey or chocolate-coated breakfast cereals |
Wheat biscuit or shredded wholegrain breakfast cereals, plain oats, no-added sugar muesli or granola. |
Bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods |
White bread products, pastries, white pasta and white rice |
- Wholemeal, granary, seeded, oat bread products with less sugar and salt - Wholewheat pasta, brown rice, other wholegrains, such as quinoa, barley or wholewheat couscous |
Potato-based foods |
Fried or processed potatoes, such as oven chips, potato waffles, potato croquettes or other breaded/processed potatoes |
Minimally processed potatoes (ideally in their skin) like homemade, oven-baked chips or wedges in minimal oil, boiled potatoes |
Dairy and alternatives |
- Full-fat milk and dairy products - Sugary yoghurts - Thick and creamy yoghurts - Full-fat hard cheeses |
- Low-fat milk such as semiskimmed, skimmed, 1% or a plant milk - Lower fat and lower sugar yoghurts or plant-based yoghurt, low in sugar and fat - Reduced-fat hard cheeses - Low-fat soft cheese |
Protein foods |
- Processed meats and foods, such as ham, burgers, sausages, breaded chicken or fish - Fatty meat |
- Beans, lentils and pulses - Eggs cooked in minimal fat - Fish and lean meats |
Snack foods |
Snack foods such as cakes, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, sweets, pies, pastries |
Fruit (fresh, tinned or frozen), vegetable crudités with a reduced-fat hummus dip, low-fat/low-sugar yoghurt with fruit, wholegrain crackers with low-fat cream cheese and salad vegetables |
Drinks |
- Sugary drinks, barista-style coffees with added syrups, sugar, cream or made with full-fat milk - Milkshakes - Fruit juice or smoothies |
- Water, tea, coffee, herbal teas with no added sugar or honey, and a low-fat milk or milk alternative - Sugar-free drinks such as squash - Low-fat milk or milk alternative |