Something that is definitely going to take some getting used to is “losing” some calories out of my diet due to the sugar in the dialysis fluid that I use.
It’s estimated at around 500 calories a day, which is basically like drinking half a pitcher of Kool-Aid without the pleasure of actually drinking any Kool-Aid!
For example, yesterday looked like this…
- Met-Rx Apple Pie Meal Replacement Bar – 380 cal
- Banana (half) – 45 cal
- Dialysis Fluid – 500 cal
- Onnit Cookies & Cream Protein Bite – 140 cal
- Almonds – 200 cal
- Krab Wrap w/lettuce, cheese, mustard on Carb Counter Tortilla – 350 cal
- Strawberries – 25 cal
- McDonald’s Fries – 100 cal
- TOTAL – 1740 cal
Now my calorie budget, not accounting for exercise, is around 2,500 on a daily basis, so even with a calorie deficit of 500 I probably should’ve eaten a little more yesterday. The dialysis fluid is basically a meal by itself, but because I’m doing it during the day right now it’s making me not as hungry in the afternoon, whereas when I’m doing it at home it will be overnight while I’m sleeping.
I will say that all of this – so far, anyways – is making me take my health a little more seriously, which admittedly is something I should’ve done years ago but that’s neither here nor there. I’m a little more confident about being able to lose some weight, though I did lose like 30 pounds last year, so hopefully I can make the best of a bad situation and make some changes that will help carry me through the years to come.