Sodium

KentPonyMum

Can someone tell me about sodium please? I am a newbie and on about day 4, according to my records I don't eat much sodium - this is my "normal" day's food; yogurt and fruit for breakfast, something salady for lunch and normal tea - spag bog/chicken stew etc (plus ad hoc snacks). The plan suggests I eat 2300 presumably mg a day but today I have had 221 and yesterday 140. Is that ok? There are lots of food that I assumed had salt in them eg Crabsticks but they have no sodium.

I am confused!

julie3231

My guess is that you are eating more sodium than what is coming up in MFP. Soup/stew made with broth, even homemade, has quite a bit of sodium. Sauces and packaged foods have a lot of sodium as well. Even 1 cup of skim milk has 150 mg of sodium. Double check labels for logging rather than relying on the MFP database and make sure you are including any salt you might be sprinkling on food. One teaspoon equals 2300 mg of sodium and the recommended range is 1500-2300 mg, so MFP is listing the upper limit. Sodium is important for cell and body function and blood volume and having too little can be very dangerous (its called hyponatremia). I think its rare, but athletes need to make sure they are hydrating properly to prevent it (extremes like over dehydration or over hydrating can contribute.

That being said, I don't think sodium count will affect actual weight loss, but having too much salt will cause water retention.

KentPonyMum

Thanks, I think the values on MFP are wrong in a lot of cases, bit of pain, I better go back to reading labels too! Thanks for answering Julie

TimothyFish

Most people get far too much sodium and far too little potassium. If you aren't seeing that, it is probably because the MFP database doesn't have the sodium listed for the foods you're eating.

earlnabby

KentPonyMum wrote: »

Can someone tell me about sodium please? I am a newbie and on about day 4, according to my records I don't eat much sodium - this is my "normal" day's food; yogurt and fruit for breakfast, something salady for lunch and normal tea - spag bog/chicken stew etc (plus ad hoc snacks). The plan suggests I eat 2300 presumably mg a day but today I have had 221 and yesterday 140. Is that ok? There are lots of food that I assumed had salt in them eg Crabsticks but they have no sodium.

I am confused!

First of all, 2300 is a maximum, not a target and is based on the USDA recommendations. (They actually suggest 1500 mg for those over 50, diabetics, people with heart disease, and those at risk for diabetes or heart disease).

Second, it sounds like the sodium that you are eating is not getting logged for some reason.