Effective meal planning is your number one tool when it comes to battling chronic conditions like renal disease. What you eat severely affects everything about your body, and can go a long way to managing your renal disease.  Aside from following your doctor’s orders and taking medications as directed, you can make the biggest impact of all simply by monitoring and properly planning your meals.

Here are a few effective meal planning strategies for renal disease:

Research

More people than you could ever imagine simply do not know how to cook healthy meals, whether they have renal disease or not. You do not have to guess at what foods to cook, however. With the right research, you can easily learn about what and how to eat, as well as how to prepare your meals.

Start with your doctor and nutritionist and ask for a list of foods that you should and should not eat. They might have some pamphlets or recommendations for books or websites you can check out as well. Next, do research on your own using the library, book stores, and the internet. Look for kidney disease specific recipes and find what looks good to you.

Priorities

The first rule of any new resolution or lifestyle change is to keep your priorities in mind. It is too easy to fall back into old routines. Remember that this is about your health and comfort as well as the lifespan of some of your most vital organs. Keep in mind that you can avoid end stage renal disease and dialysis if you are proactive about following your doctor’s orders and keeping a healthy diet.

Help yourself by emptying your home of unhealthy foods and avoiding restaurants and other establishments that will tempt you into making poor food decisions. Make sure your friends and family are completely on board with your plans so they can help you stay on track.

Your Grocery Game

A lot of meal planning is centered on how you do your grocery shopping. Here are a few tips to help you navigate the most effective grocery game:

• Make a list and stick to it: Make a meal plan for the week based on recipes and what you plan to eat. Do not forget to plan for all meals and snacks too. Make a list based off of that plan and don't buy anything that isn't on your list.
• Outer limits: The healthiest groceries are typically found on the outside of the store. Do most of your shopping here, especially around the produce section, and avoid the aisles where the processed foods are as much as possible.
• Eat before you go: If you go to the grocery store hungry, you are more likely to make poor decisions and impulse buys. Make sure you go to the grocery store after you have eaten.

Living with any chronic health condition can be a daunting and sometimes overwhelming experience. Eating is one of the hardest parts to figure out, and it can make the biggest difference in your overall health and wellness. These tips can make it easier to plan healthy meals with renal disease. For more ways to help with your renal disease click here.