Chronic kidney disease is not one diet — it is a diet that keeps shifting as filtration falls. renalee holds the six numbers that matter, starts you at targets sensible for your stage, and lets you replace every one of them with what your own team has told you.
Stages are set by eGFR, the number your lab reports after a blood test — what follows is the general shape of dietary attention at each one, not a plan for you.
| Stage | Kidney function | Where attention usually goes |
|---|---|---|
| Stage G1 | eGFR ≥ 90 | Filtration is normal, but there are signs of kidney damage. Attention usually goes to sodium and blood pressure; potassium and phosphorus are rarely restricted this early. |
| Stage G2 | eGFR 60–89 | Mildly reduced filtration. Sodium still leads, protein stays close to ordinary intake, and phosphorus and potassium start being watched rather than limited. |
| Stage G3 | eGFR 30–59 | Moderately reduced filtration, and the stage where diet usually starts to change: protein moderated, sodium kept down, potassium and phosphorus followed through lab results. |
| Stage G4 | eGFR 15–29 | Severely reduced filtration. Protein, phosphorus and sodium tend to be managed together, with potassium typically tighter than at earlier stages. |
| Stage G5 | eGFR < 15 | Kidney failure, before dialysis begins. Protein, phosphorus, potassium and sodium are usually all in play at once, and fluid often joins them. |
| Stage G5D | on dialysis | Treatment changes the arithmetic: protein needs rise while potassium, phosphorus and fluid tighten. |
Stage boundaries follow the KDIGO criteria on the medical sources page; two people at the same stage are often given very different targets.
Already started treatment? The dialysis diet tracker page covers the rhythm between sessions.
When you set a stage, renalee pre-fills the six daily targets with starting values drawn from published clinical guidelines, and every field stays editable — the numbers from your clinic always win.
Photograph a plate, type what you ate or scan a restaurant menu, and the estimate comes back framed for someone at your stage rather than for a general adult — along with any allergies, food preferences and medical conditions you have entered.
When the stage changes, the targets can change with it. Your diary stays where it is, so the history you have already built keeps its meaning.
Which of them you are watching closely will change over the years; the diary does not need to. Each one has its own daily target and its own colour, so a full day reads at a glance rather than as a spreadsheet.
Change a portion and all six update together. Nothing is locked, and an estimate you disagree with can be corrected before it is saved.
All of them — G1 through G5, and G5D once dialysis starts. You pick your stage in the app, and it can be changed later without losing your diary.
Yes. You can enter your own daily targets directly and skip the stage-based suggestions. Your stage comes from your eGFR, which is on any recent blood test result — your clinic can tell you if you are unsure.
It changes the context. Your stage, along with any allergies, food preferences and medical conditions you enter, is sent with the meal so the estimate is framed for your situation rather than for a general adult.
No. They are starting values based on published guidelines, meant to be overwritten. If your renal dietitian has given you numbers, use theirs — every target in renalee is editable.
Logging meals, setting targets and tracking weight are free, and free accounts include five AI meal analyses a day. Restaurant menu scanning and diet summaries are part of the paid subscription, which also removes the daily cap on analyses.
renalee is an educational food diary. It does not diagnose or treat anything, and it is not a medical device.
Where it flags a dish as better or worse for a kidney diet, that is a general educational estimate, not medical advice.
Suggested targets are starting points to review together, not a prescription. The guidelines behind them are on the medical sources page.
Free to download, with five AI meal analyses a day and no subscription needed to keep a diary.