Problem keeping sodium under 2300 mg/day

RichForHealth

i am a 53 y/o male who by nature always ate whatever I wanted but had trouble gaining good weight. The skinny body with a big gut is no problem. I recently started weight training and totally changed my diet to clean eating and weekly meal prep. I cut gluten to narrow down other problems and responded well.
My calorie intake should be 2800 calories per day with 50% carbohydrates 25% fat and 25% protein. I have been doing well keeping within goals but my Average sodium is over The recommended 2300mg/ day. It seems I can't get the calories I need without the sodium rising. Am I the only one having this problem? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

livingleanlivingclean

I don't track sodium... I add good quality salt to all my food, and I'm not cautious of its use.

If you say you're "clean eating", whatever that means to you, surely you're eating less food with salt added? Wholefoods don't typically have a lot of salt....

janejellyroll

Do you have a medical reason to watch your sodium? I don't track sodium either.

If you truly do want or need to limit it, I would suggest looking at your diary to determine what your major sources are. Are you using any kind of sauce, seasoning, mix, or pre-made food that is contributing to your sodium consumption? Your diary is closed, but typically "clean eaters" are preparing all their own food (at least, I think they are) which means you have greater control of how much sodium is going into your meals. While sodium does naturally occur in meats, fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans, it isn't usually hard to stay low sodium while basing your meals on these foods.

Sabine_Stroehm

Are you eating a lot of boxed or frozen "convenience foods"?

d_thomas02

Unless you have a medical condition that requires you to reduce sodium, don't worry about it. In fact, if you are exercising regularly to the point of sweating a few hours a day, your body may cramp up without enough electrolytes, i.e. sodium and potassium.

http://eletewater.co.uk/blogs/research/8029093-muscle-cramps-and-spasms-the-electrolyte-misconnection#.VppU-iorKhc

A healthy body will eliminate excess sodium through sweat and urine. Just stay hydrated.

arditarose

Ditto, I'm way over the recommended amount and that doesn't even include what I ADD to my food. I love salt so much.

GaleHawkins

rschuler39 wrote: »

i am a 53 y/o male who by nature always ate whatever I wanted but had trouble gaining good weight. The skinny body with a big gut is no problem. I recently started weight training and totally changed my diet to clean eating and weekly meal prep. I cut gluten to narrow down other problems and responded well.
My calorie intake should be 2800 calories per day with 50% carbohydrates 25% fat and 25% protein. I have been doing well keeping within goals but my Average sodium is over The recommended 2300mg/ day. It seems I can't get the calories I need without the sodium rising. Am I the only one having this problem? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

@rschuler39 I had that problem at age 63 until I stopped eating processed foods from the grocery stories. Now I have to add salt to keep my levels in a healthy range. My carb and and fat ratios are more the reverse of yours but our calorie intake are similar.

Welcome to MFP forums. Best of success.

RichForHealth

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

Are you eating a lot of boxed or frozen "convenience foods"?

RichForHealth

I do have a medical condition where high sodium cases flare ups. I am preping all my meals fresh using low sodium canned beans and corn for some ings but fresh veggies for most. I found a few recipies where i used packaged (taco mix for instence). I will try to figure out how to open my diary, any suggestion appreciated. This is the first time ever asking group advice on a forum, thanks to all for your kind answers:-)

janejellyroll

RichForHealth wrote: »

I do have a medical condition where high sodium cases flare ups. I am preping all my meals fresh using low sodium canned beans and corn for some ings but fresh veggies for most. I found a few recipies where i used packaged (taco mix for instence). I will try to figure out how to open my diary, any suggestion appreciated. This is the first time ever asking group advice on a forum, thanks to all for your kind answers:-)

If you rinse the beans (even low sodium ones), you can help reduce the amount of sodium you're actually getting from them. Things like taco seasoning are virtually always going to be sodium bombs. Since this is a medical concern for you, I recommend looking up taco seasoning mix recipes and throwing together your own (I don't have a go-to one, but Google should be able to help). This way you can completely control the amount of sodium you put in it.

Ginny218

yes use homemade mixes, watch soy sauce, chicken broth, hot & sour soup, canned soup - make it on your own, breads,energy drinks - zero calories but soduim

RichForHealth

Thank you, I was just looking at my pace salsa and some recipes for making it fresh. The small stuff seems to add up fast with using shortcuts:-(

socioseguro

I use dry beans and I soak them overnight. I avoid the sodium from the canned version. A suggestion.

johnnylakis

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

I don't track sodium... I add good quality salt to all my food, and I'm not cautious of its use.

If you say you're "clean eating", whatever that means to you, surely you're eating less food with salt added? Wholefoods don't typically have a lot of salt....

like

20yearsyounger

most canned things are disasters. Start looking at the sodium in your seasonings. You migt want to get familiar with Mrs Dash

CooCooPuff

http://www.mrsdash.com/products/seasoning-packets
Ms. Dash has a taco seasoning

ForecasterJason

socioseguro wrote: »

I use dry beans and I soak them overnight. I avoid the sodium from the canned version. A suggestion.

I agree with this.

mynameislaurak

Seek out salt free canned beans- I usually get them at Whole Foods, but they probably have them at your regular grocery store. Mrs. Dash makes taco seasoning now, that would be salt free. Salsa is more difficult, it usually has a surprising amount of sodium, but that's one of those items where I worry less about it (same with tortillas, if you're eating a good whole wheat tortilla occasionally)- if you live near a Trader Joe's, the Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa is very low in sodium. Mrs. Dash comes in a lot of varieties, and I also shop through Penzey's for other salt free spice blends. I would maybe switch to a frozen corn.

jenniferelizabethwiseman

Many carb sources like bread, pasta, bagels, rolls, and crackers are surprisingly high in sodium. Those are usually where a lot of my sodium comes from--I also track sodium and have a hard time staying under unless I really watch.

markrgeary1

RichForHealth wrote: »

Thank you, I was just looking at my pace salsa and some recipes for making it fresh. The small stuff seems to add up fast with using shortcuts:-(

I had BP issues and watch my sodium religiously. No longer on meds due to weight loss and sodium around 2000 mg. daily. I had a recent reminder on vacation when my daily sodium was over 5K daily, thanks to restaurant food. My BP was in pre-hypertension after a few days.

Your spot on most the jars, cans, bags of food have added salt. Restaurants, fast food are horrible. I carefully monitor as I add my foods to check for anomalies in the entries. Over time I've been able to fine tune and remove excess sodium. Sounds like your doing the same discovery work. It becomes harder as your calories increase but it can be done. Best wishes

RichForHealth

ForecasterJason wrote: »

socioseguro wrote: »

I use dry beans and I soak them overnight. I avoid the sodium from the canned version. A suggestion.

I agree with this.

Ginny218

dressings, lunchmeat - going over today

Gisel2015

Hunts and S&W have no salt added canned diced tomatoes.
Full Circle Organic, Westbrae and Eden Organic have canned beans and garbanzo beans with very low sodium per serving. You can wash them to reduce the sodium but the amount will still be the same in your diary.
Simple Jif peanut butter has 35% less sodium than the regular one.
Kitchen Basic and Full Circle Organic also have low sodium (No salt added) vegetable, beef and chicken broths/stock.
McCormick has several no-salt seasoning and it is cheaper than Mrs. Dash.
Morton has a light salt (light blue container), I believe that is 35% less sodium.
Lucerne brand (Safeway and Vons) has a low sodium cottage cheese. I mix it with Knudsen cottage cheese to bring down the sodium.

Cold cuts, salad dressings, steak sauce, soy sauce (get the low sodium one) frozen dinners, crackers, etc are high in sodium. You can "dilute" the sodium in the salad dressings by mixing 1 tbs of the dressing (a serving is usually 2 tbs), with 1 tbs of olive oil.

Just experiment and if one meal is higher in sodium try to cut back in the other and drink a lot of water.

ForeverSunshine09

I have kidney disease so I have to watch my sodium as well but, I have to keep it under 2000Mgs. I find I keep better control by prelogging and moving things around til I am as close as possible. I usually make it work 6 out of 7 days. Using dried beans instead of Canned definitely helps, Use a wide variety of spices. I tried a few spice blends of Mrs. Dash I personally didn't like it. I found a large batch of taco seasoning recipe on Pinterest. We love it and I control the portions I use. Prelogging is honestly the easiest way to control it.