Programming modification due to being on a low protein diet?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi there,
I’m more than halfway through the knee rehab program (my knee is thanking Dr Ray!) and I’m planning to go to the beginner template next . I have done some LP pre covid and I’m familiar- if rusty - with basic lifts.

I have a question about programming modification by being on a low protein diet.

I’m a 49 yo with CKD (eGFR 38% - relatively stable since diagnosis a 10y ago) . 5’11", 173lb I try to stay around 65-70 gr per day.The actual recommendation from KDOQI are 0.6g per kg of bodyweight, or 47g, but my Dr is concerned about a very low intake over decades so he’s ok with a mildly higher lever. In any case the current intake has served me well, as I haven’t been wasting away, nor have I overstretched my kidneys .

On the knee template I’ve noticed I can recover ok for lower body workout (rempo with lower weight, only 1 RPE 8 set) , but I can’t recover quickly enough with upper body (and GPP) even after dropping supplemental press exercises and not doing back off sets. I do get enough calories (am not losing weight) and enough sleep, 7.5 hrs on average.

Should I try and improve my recovery capacity by doing more general fitness first (with a hobbled knee my cardio was limited to low intensity and my cardio fitness is pretty low) or should I for example train less frequently (every 3 days for example) or with less volume?

I understand RPE provides some self regulation, but having half of recommended protein intake and getting to the wrong side of 50 this year, what else could I try?

(PS looks like your Xmas coupon expired 1 day early)

2

This is one of the few situations where BCAA supplementation may be helpful, if the individual is on a medically-recommended protein restricted diet.

I do also agree with building capacity via a broader range of fitness activities and conditioning modalities that you can tolerate. I would not necessarily recommend training less in general although there may be certain modifications to the programming (primarily in terms of the dosage of intensity and volume) that may help. This would be appropriate topic of discussion for a consultation with one of our coaches (e.g., through the form check service, or a rehab consult).

3

Thanks! I’ll try and keep GPP and maybe ease off on intensity on weights at the beginning. I have a few weeks left on knee rehab to experiment what I can tolerate re upper body and to reach out for a consult if I’m stuck.
Regarding BCAA supplements - good point - they would however count towards my overall protein consumption making even more challenging to adhere to my diet, but something’s gotta give.
Keep up the awesome work! There’s a lot of great material on the site and the programs are well written and make it easy to stick with them.