You have discussed with the dietitian your aim to eat well and prevent unplanned weight loss. This page includes ideas to help you achieve your goal.
Why is it important to eat well and prevent unplanned weight loss?
- To maintain strength and provide you with energy to carry out your daily activities.
- To help your body fight infections.
- To support wound healing.
- To help improve your mood.
Causes of reduced appetite/intake and ideas you can try
| Issue | Ideas to try |
| Dry mouth This could be linked to medications or fluid restrictions. | – Chewing gum*, mints* and mouthwash. – Use small regular sips of water and/or ice cubes/lollies. – Ask your renal team about artificial saliva sprays/gels. |
| Tiredness Fatigue can affect your ability to shop for and prepare food. Chewing/eating food can also be tiring. | – Preparing meals/snacks in advance or using frozen meals can be helpful. – Ask your dietitian about meal delivery services. – Getting your food shop delivered via online services may be useful. – Ask your friends/family for help with cooking/shopping. |
| Constipation or diarrhoea Medications, stress, other health conditions can affect your bowels. | – Focus on a regular eating pattern. – If you are able, regular movement/exercise can help. – If you take laxatives, consider asking your GP/renal doctor to review these. – Speak to your dietitian about your fibre intake. |
| Reduced interest in eating Can have many causes e.g. due to stress, low mood, build up of toxins in the body due to low kidney function. | – Reduce portion sizes to make mealtimes less overwhelming, aim for 4-6 smaller meals per day. – Make eating a social occasion, eat with friends/family. – Consider trying new foods and recipes. – Low mood can affect some people’s appetite. Please consider speaking to your GP if you require support. |
| Taste changes Taste changes can be common when living with chronic kidney disease. | Food tastes metallic: – Mints, chewing gum, mouthwash. Food tastes bland: – Try using spices, pepper, chilli or garlic. – Acidic flavours may stimulate your taste buds, e.g. use lemon/lime juice or vinegar on meals. – Honey, maple syrup and tomato** flavours may help to activate your taste buds. – Do not use salt to flavour meals. Food tastes bitter: – Avoid bitter food/drink e.g. tea/coffee, alcohol, chocolate. – Acidic tastes may be tolerated better (see bland section). – Sweet tastes may be tolerated better. Try honey, maple syrup or tomato** based flavours. Food tastes salty: – Restrict salt intake. – Sweet tasting foods/drinks may help activate sweet taste buds (see bitter section). |
*These foods may be high in sugar. If you have diabetes you can discuss with your dietitian if these foods/drinks are right for you.
** These foods may be high in potassium. If you are following a reduced potassium diet, you can discuss with your dietitian if these changes are right for you.
Three key changes you can make to increase your nutritional intake
- Choose full fat products
- Introduce nourishing snacks between meals
- Fortify your meals
1. Choose full fat products
A simple way to increase your calorie intake is to switch to full fat products and avoid ‘diet’ or ‘light’ products. The differences in calories may not seem significant, but small changes add up in the long term.
Milk
Choose full cream/full fat milk.
200ml skimmed milk = 68 kcal
200ml whole milk = 126 kcal
If you prefer plant based milk, oat or rice milks are often the highest calorie options.
Yoghurts
Choose full fat yoghurts. Avoid yoghurts labelled ‘diet’, ‘low fat’ and ‘light’.
125g pot low fat Greek style yoghurt = 71 kcal
125g pot plain Greek style yoghurt = 166 kcal
Plant based yoghurts are usually low in calories. If you use non-dairy yoghurts, you could check the label of your favourite ones and choose the higher calorie option.
Cheese
Choose full fat cheeses.
30g 30% reduced fat cheddar = 94 kcal.
30g standard cheddar = 125 kcal.
Plant based cheese alternatives are typically lower in calories, consider checking labels and choosing higher calorie options.
Please note:
If you follow a low potassium/phosphate diet, you can discuss with your dietitian how often to have milk, milky puddings and cheese.
2. Introduce nourishing snacks between meals
If you are not finishing your meals, eating smaller meals combined with between meal snacks is a good way to ensure you are getting enough energy to carry out your daily tasks.
Savoury Snack Ideas
Savoury snacks
- Plain breadsticks
- Chapatti or puri
- Crumpet/Pikelet
- Croissant
- English muffin
- Cream crackers, Cornish wafers or water biscuits
Many of the above can be eaten with: butter, margarine, cheese, cream cheese, hummus, mayonnaise or sour cream dips
- **Samosas, Pakora or bhajis
- Sausage roll, Cornish Pasty, meat/chicken pies
- Pasta salad e.g. mixed with tuna mayonnaie and sweetcorn
- Small omelette or boiled egg with bread and butter
Toast topping ideas
- w **Baked beans, cheese, cream cheese,
- hummus, mackerel, pilchards, tuna,
- mayonnaise
Sandwich filling ideas
- Beef and horseradish, cheese and pickle, coronation chicken, egg mayonnaise, fish fingers, ham and mustard, prawn mayonnaise, salmon with mayonnaise and cucumber, sausage, tuna mayonnaise
Consider trying different breads, like bagels, granary, naan, pitta, soft rolls, tortilla wraps
Sweet Snack Ideas
Baked goods*
- Hot cross bun
- Scone e.g. **Fruit, Plain, Cheese
- Flapjack
- Cake e.g. Angel, Fairy, Madeira, Lemon drizzle, Sponge cake with jam, Buttercream, Battenberg
- Swiss roll or Chocolate mini roll
- Lemon slice
- Viennese whirl
- Tarts e.g. Jam, Treacle, **Fruits
- Doughnut
- Iced finger
- Meringue
- Cream horn
- Egg custard
- **Danish pastry
- Custard slice
- Chocolate éclair
- Biscuits e.g. Plain, Cream filled, Iced, Wafer jam filled, Shortbread
Desserts*
- Pavlova
- Lemon meringue pie
- Sponge pudding
- **Fruit pie/crumble
- Jelly and double cream
- Tinned fruit and double cream
- Rice pudding
- Custard
- **Kulfi
- **Kheer
- Trifle
- Yoghurt
- Ice cream
Chocolate and Sweets*
- Boiled sweets
- Fruit chews or sour chews
- Jelly Babies®
- Starburst®
- Skittles®
- Marshmallows
- Pastilles
Chocolate** – If following a low potassium diet have no more than one from the list per day.
- Two finger Kit Kat®
- Milky bar® (25g)
- Single finger Twix®
- Blue Riband®
- Fun sized chocolate bar e.g. Mars®, Milky Way®
- Two chocolate coated Digestives®
- Two Jaffa cakes®
*These foods are high in sugar. If you have diabetes you can discuss with your dietitian if these foods/drinks are right for you.
** These foods may be high in potassium. If you are following a reduced potassium diet, you can discuss with your dietitian if these foods are right for you.
3. Aim to have three fortified meals per day
If your overall food intake is small, making every mouthful count is key. Food fortification is a simple way to boost your energy intake without increasing the amount of food you eat.
The following ingredients can be used to fortify a range of meals and snacks:
- Double cream
- Butter/Margarine
- Oils
- Cheese
- *Jam/Honey
- **Nut butter
Here are some food fortification ideas you could try:
Breakfast
Porridge/Cereal
Make with full cream milk. Try adding:
- Double cream
- *Jam, Honey or Golden Syrup
Toast
Use plenty of margarine/butter. Try adding:
- *Jam, Honey, Marmalade, other preserves
- Cheese
- Egg
Light Meal
Sandwich
Use plenty of spread/butter. Try adding:
- Extra cheese
- Full fat mayonnaise
- Full fat dressings
Soup**
Serve with bread spread with plenty of margarine/butter. Try adding:
- Double cream
- Cheese
- Croutons
Main Meal
Curry
Serve with buttered chapatti/naan/roti. Try adding:
- Double Cream
- Butter/Oil/Margarine
- Full fat yoghurt
Pasta
Choose creamy sauces. Try adding:
- Oil
- Cheese
- Double cream
Meat/Fish/Meat alternative with potatoes and vegetables
Serve with a creamy sauce. Try adding:
- Mashed potatoes with butter, cream and/or cheese
- After boiling, fry or roast your vegetables in oil.
Dessert
Milk pudding**
Choose full fat options. Try adding:
- Double cream
- *Jam, Honey, Syrup
Fruit**
Try adding:
- Double cream
- Full fat yoghurt
- Ice cream
*These foods may be high in sugar. If you have diabetes you can discuss with your dietitian if these foods/drinks are right for you.
** These foods may be high in potassium. If you are following a reduced potassium diet, you can discuss with your dietitian if including these foods is right for you.
What should I do if I am following the advice and still losing weight?
If you are consistently following the advice and still experiencing weight loss, your dietitian may recommend that you trial nutritional supplement products.
There are a wide variety of products available:
- Milk based drinks.
- Juice based drinks.
- High energy liquids and powders.
- High protein puddings.
You can discuss with your dietitian the best products for you and they can arrange for your GP to add this to your prescription.
If you wish to purchase nutritional products over the counter, e.g. Build-up, Complan, Meritene contact the dietitian to discuss suitable options.
Useful websites and reading
Please ask your dietitian if you would like recipe ideas.
If you have any suggestions, comments or queries regarding this page please let your dietitian know.