Eight Day and Counting

Fiḍal (Grace), 12 Masá’il (Questions), 171 BE - Tuesday, December 23, 2014 about 4:49 pm Pacific Standard Time

Eight days left in 2014. Eight days to review the years and set new goals for 2015. One of my goals for 2015 concerns the low phosphorus, low protein, and low potassium diet I am attempting to follow. I say attempting because sometimes I am successful and sometimes I fail following the diet. The problem I have is that I get some of my food from food banks, which means some of the items are high in either protein, potassium, or phosphorus. Unfortunately, most of the contents list protein and/or potassium, but not phosphorus. This means I have to look up the phosphorus content on the internet or take a wild guess and hope my guess comes close to being right.

I have three handouts my doctor gave me that list the protein, potassium, and phosphorous in fresh foods, but not in canned or prepared foods. Some of the canned foods list the potassium count, but not the phosphorus count. It is difficult to find the phosphorus count. I have almost cut beef out, I still eat a little beef when I fix some soups or stews, but not very much.

I have taken to making my own soups and stew, most of the time. Sometimes I get canned stew or canned beef with the food I pick up at the food banks. I usually use that when I fix soup because I can regulate my portions better. The coming year will be interesting when it comes to finding a way to stay on my diet, while getting enough to eat.