What are some good ways to cut back on sodium?

treyangelosante16
treyangelosante16 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
When I look back at my food diaries each day I notice that the one thing that is always over my limit is sodium. I would guess that is why I am having a hard time losing weight. I am pretty good about calories and sugar but the sodium is always so much. what could I work into my diet to cut back on sodium>

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Add some home prepared meals. All packaged food has sodium. Add some fresh fruits and veggies raw or cooked at home.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,032 Member
    treyangelosante16 wrote: »
    When I look back at my food diaries each day I notice that the one thing that is always over my limit is sodium. I would guess that is why I am having a hard time losing weight. I am pretty good about calories and sugar but the sodium is always so much. what could I work into my diet to cut back on sodium>
    I stay under 1500 mg daily which is recommended daily amount for women. I eat at home, cook at home, if I eat pkg'd food I plan on the sodium it might contain. Like bread, things such as White Albacore Tuna from TJ's I buy no sodium (yum), I don't miss the salt at all to tell you the truth. I eat yogurt, fruits and veggies, fish, chicken, ya know normal stuff and can manage pretty easily to stay well under 1500mg.

    Now if I went to eat fast food or ate chips daily or ate out every other day or something that way, no way could I stay within the amount recommended. It does take planning.

    What types of foods do you find you're eating that are high in sodium? Foods at home, like pkg'd foods or fast foods or foods eaten out? Sometimes figuring out where the problem lies can help fix the issue or help substitute or make changes so you don't feel you're missing anything when giving up some of it.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Limit pre-packaged, processed foods and restaurant food. Read the labels on canned foods (in fact, on every packaged food you buy); you'd be surprised how much sodium salsa or cottage cheese contains. Limit cheese, another high sodium food. Watch your food diary and you can see for yourself which foods are loaded with sodium. Limit those high sodium foods and you'll see your numbers go down.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you look at each entry, you'll see which ones are higher in sodium and know where to cut.

    Anything boxed or canned will be ridiculously high in sodium. Fresh food is much, much lower.

    Someone is bound to say that you shouldn't worry about your sodium levels until they cause medical problems. It's a good idea to keep an eye on it before you actually develop the cardiovascular issues, though.

    Sodium is a struggle for many of us.

    Good luck!
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    treyangelosante16 wrote: »
    When I look back at my food diaries each day I notice that the one thing that is always over my limit is sodium. I would guess that is why I am having a hard time losing weight. I am pretty good about calories and sugar but the sodium is always so much. what could I work into my diet to cut back on sodium>

    Sodium intake doesn't affect weight loss, except in the fact that it can cause you to retain water. So any weight loss resulting from cutting back on sodium would be water weight. If you have problems with bloating or high blood pressure, reducing your sodium intake can be a good idea. Drinking plenty of water helps also because it helps flush the excess sodium from your body, just don't go overboard.

  • harrybeanbag666
    harrybeanbag666 Posts: 140
    Hello,
    Everybody here is exactly right. I've been battling my sodium intake for a long time.
    My doctor told me to "Cut it or else"!
    I did not start winning the battle until I started making all my own meals. It doesn't have to be overwhelming... like Roda said... snack on veggies and fruit, throw and sandwich together, grab a yogurt, low sodium almonds. Stuff like this should work during the day but then make sure to cook dinner at home. One trip to a restaurant can more than double your daily allowance.
    Good Luck! and read your Nutrition Labels.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 905 Member
    treyangelosante16 wrote: »
    When I look back at my food diaries each day I notice that the one thing that is always over my limit is sodium. I would guess that is why I am having a hard time losing weight. I am pretty good about calories and sugar but the sodium is always so much. what could I work into my diet to cut back on sodium>

    When you buy food, check out the labels (as Lisa suggested).
    Known sodium culprits: pickles, jerky, chips, and bacon (salt is used as a preservative). Also soy, fish, and oyster sauces (used largely in Asian cooking, instead of the salt).
    Sometimes you can find lower-sodium items.

    Maybe this will be helpful
  • IrisFlute
    IrisFlute Posts: 88 Member
    Especially avoid processed meats like bacon, hotdogs, beef jerky. Pickles are sodium-bombs, too. And many kinds of cheese. Look at the individual foods in your diary and see which are the really bad ones, and then go easy on those. Potato chips and almost any sort of fast food involves lots of sodium.

    Fresh vegetables and fruits are usually good. Plain stuff that you buy in a raw form and cook yourself is good, like rice or beans that you buy raw and boil up in your kitchen. Plain unsalted nuts. Yogurt. Salads where you mix up your own salt-free dressing. Some types of prepared foods aren't too bad -- you have to start reading labels. Salt-free peanut butter is great.

    Confusingly, the research seems to keep changing on sodium intake. Too much is still shown to be bad -- but the latest research seems to suggest there's not much point in dropping sodium intake below 3g (3000 mg) per day, even if you have high blood pressure. I wish they'd make up their minds.

    http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1407695

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Try less processed food.
  • AmZam05
    AmZam05 Posts: 130 Member
    I rarely eat out and cook all my own meals except for maybe once or twice a week at most I'll get lunch or dinner out. But it's still a challenge for me because I love salt, it makes food delicious. Cooking with fresh foods will reduce it a lot, like many other posters said, but certain spices and seasonings contain a LOT of sodium so that is one area I always try to watch.

    That being said, I still go over all the time, but it's a work in progress, adapting your palette takes time.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    Cold cuts are awful also (unless they say low sodium and then they are still higher than I would like them to be). If you're craving flavor and can take the heat, adding spices like hot pepper can substitute for sodium. Maybe this is an option when cooking at home. I only go above my sodium numbers when I eat out or eat prepackaged foods. Good luck! :D
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Preparing your own meals with lots of fresh fruits and veggies help a lot. If you decide to have pre-package foods just work the sodium levels into your calories buget.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Cut back on salt
  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
    As others have already stated, if you do eat packaged or processed foods, read the labels. I was shocked how much sodium can be in things like dry breakfast cereal, where I never expected to find it. I also cut out small things like salting water that I'm boiling for pasta or oatmeal... they say salt it but I don't notice a difference if I don't, so I don't.

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