Back again with a Leona and Lennie Update

The “update" of Leona and Lennie

(thank you Wendy for the Liver name Lennie - it is perfect!)

 is short and sweet.  

All seems pretty quiet with no changes.  Leona, the singleton kidney, is still plugging along at a kidney function in the 30s or Stage 3, and it may be a year or more before we see any movement upward (or maybe never if my Internist is correct.)   As far as Lennie, my bigger than normal liver, is concerned, no news is good news.  Lab work is normal.  Of course, making life easier for Lennie, might help him shrink - only time will tell.  

And how do you make life easier for a kidney and a liver??  Life style changes, it appears.  No magic pill or treatment.  An improved diet and exercise routine.  Easy-peasy, right?

Sort of.

Diet wise I was drifting towards a Mediterranean Diet about a year and a half ago.  I was not rigid in that choice, but it was just a way to drop some poor choices off my dinner plate without making too large a split from the foods my husband preferred.  This past spring, however, when my medical concerns shifted from - “gosh I am getting old” to “yikes, one kidney down, cancer avoided and a fatty liver” ... my diet decisions shifted into high gear.  Lean protein and less less of it, reduced salt, lower potassium and phosphorus, complex carbs and less of them too, and minimal fats - just to name the big players in the food story. It seemed like only one “diet structure” fit those concerns: plant based eating.  And to be honest, that kind of eating suits me very well. While I welcome these food changes, it comes with some effort.

I don’t live alone - and my spouse is a 'meat and potatoes' kind of guy.  While he supports whatever I want to do with my diet, he is not interested in any changes to his diet.  I support that - in theory.  The consequence, however, of two separate diets means more planning and more cooking for me.  And I am not wild about cooking.  But I am finding work-arounds.  I still make his favorites, but he knows he will be eating them as left overs since I am not sharing in those meals any more. 

For my diet, the work is harder.  I don’t have a lifetime of plant based recipes ready to whip out like I do for him.  I am still figuring out the basics:  finding and experimenting with recipes, discovering half of what I make for myself I don’t want to repeat, locating cooks and cookbooks that offer reasonable creations that don’t involve 20+ different ingredients, some that are hard to find and may never be used again.  And finding plant based recipes that don’t rely on salt to punch up the flavor is an advanced study course well beyond the basics.

And speaking of salt, my tongue (who has done absolutely nothing wrong in this whole adventure) is working hard to adjust to reduced or no salt meals.  Seriously, I came from a family that salted everything - even before tasting.  I salted things like bagels.  I was the salt queen.  No longer. That adjustment is actually coming along fairly well.  A few weeks ago, my husband wanted hotdogs for dinner.  My day had been very busy and my energy was low, so we both had hotdogs.  Wow.  That was eyeopening. Those dogs were very salty.

Beyond the taste, all food needs to be balanced with an eye to the big four: Potassium, Phosphorus, Salt and Protein - not to forget the other supporting players of Carbs and Fats.  Juggling those elements for every ingredient can make your head spin.  Thankfully I found an “app for that.”  It is called Cronometer and it took all the leg work out of totaling up those elements from the foods I log into it.  Thank God for technology.  But be careful what you ask for.  I discovered that although I am eating a more plant based diet, I still am getting too many carbs and too much fat. I am even getting too much salt on some days (the hotdog day aside.) So off I go on another quest to find other foods and  combinations that are better.  It never ends.  Gone are the days when I could walk into a farmer's market and joyfully know that absolutely EVERYTHING there was healthy for me.  Sadly, that is no longer entirely true.  Spinach, kale and dark leaf plants are potassium rich.  Got to be careful with those - because “rich” in this context is bad - not good.  And mellons and bananas, my very favorite and safe fruits, are also very very potassium rich.  A single serving - maybe once a day.  And be sure you know what a “single serving” is ... it is less than you might think. 

So so many elements to considered and understood and adopted.

Anyway,  I am learning and adjusting and most importantly, persisting ... because this isn’t just until I loose a few pounds - it is forever. I am not going to grow a second kidney.  My liver, once healed can be made sick and enlarged again if not careful. But the weight loss has been a pleasant side effect - like positive reward for making all this effort.  In fact, since last year I have lost 23 pounds.  Ten pounds were from Weight Watchers over 6 months.  Pretty uninspiring.  But between May and July I lost another 13 pounds.  That was all due to plant based eating.  And I am still losing, but just more slowly.  The weight loss was welcomed - and I am within 4 pounds now of a normal BMI which is important to my health. So that is all good.  I will be happier with this new way of eating when I have a selection of successful plant based food items to prepare without effort.

I sincerely hope that at my next lab test, we will see some appreciation from Leona and Lennie.

I will make a sincere effort to not let another month pass before blogging again!  Maybe with pictures next time.

Cheers all.