That sodium struggle

erikalanem

So after another post I made, a few people commented that they had looked at my diary and seemed offended at the amounts of sodium I was intaking...I honestly hadn't even realized!! I don't put additional salt on my food, or even cook with much salt....Compared to most people I know in smalltown, Midwest America I eat really healthy...of course, almost everyone I know is overweight...so.... anways, off track, no excuses...the POINT is that I eat WWWAAAAAYYYY too much sodium....I haven't figured out all the triggers yet, but curious what others who have had the same problem (and are overcoming it) have for advice I could do trial and error, and just see what comes up in my diary each day, but I thought this might be faster....

What conclusions I think I have made about my own sodium struggle....

Cheese is high in sodium, and so is sausage/salami....
So are all my quick low cal meals, like subway, arbys roast beef (without the bun), a can of soup, my protein meal bars....
And putting my favorite chili-lime-salt seasoning on my fruit....

So, if my observations are correct...I pretty much need to cook everything from scratch myself at home, and not add salt to lower sodium...I'm OK with that, and actually aim to get there anyways, but have not gotten myself quite that organized to cook all my meals from scratch...What would you suggest if you find yourself hungry with nothing like that prepared, or on your way to work without a lunch?

Any other advice, or shared struggles???

PS-if you're looking at my diary, you might notice it only goes back a few days, I quit after my wedding and just got started again, so go back about a month and a half and you can get a much larger set of data...

Francl27

It's pretty much all restaurant/prepared/fast food stuff that's high in sodium. So yeah, you have to try and stay away from it. I honestly don't track my sodium, I just put it back for kicks after this post but I usually don't worry about it... but I don't eat that stuff that much, maybe a few times a week.

I'm a horrible cook and hate cooking, fortunately hubby doesn't mind that much, but we still cook very simply... Just meat/fish with frozen veggies most nights (or we add couscous/rice/noodles/potatoes). For lunch I have sandwiches or leftovers. In your situation I'd quit the seasoning and try to make dinner from scratch if you eat out at lunch most days.

Honestly though... I can't stand food that has high sodium now. I had some miso soup the other day and just ugh. I know I can't stand arby's for that reason either.

laurelobrien

Pfft I don't track sodium. Rarely do young people consume too much unless they're dining out every single day. Have it with enough potassium and water and it's hardly a problem, unless you have a specific medical condition that's exacerbated by sodium. If you're hungry and your only option is a quick high sodium meal, down it with a litre of water. :P

zornig

I hope you figure it out, and then share your findings, because I have a similar problem! I eat out only one, or maybe two, meals per week. I don't cook with salt watch my sodium intake pretty closely, buy the "low sodium" version of things at the store, and even when I'm consciously making lower sodium choice, I still wind up 500mg or more over my daily goal! Especially on heavy exercise days when I eat an extra 500-600 calories. You have to be careful with grocery store meat even, as many chains brine their meat before packaging, which loads in all kinds of hidden salt (and the stores don't have to disclose this as it qualifies as a "natural flavoring"). Anything pre-prepared or shelf-stabilized is also likely to sneak in a lot of sodium. So yeah, I feel your pain.

Valtishia

Cheese is high in sodium... however you can eat that daily and not go over your limit.

any type of processed meat whether it be deli meat, sausages, boxed chicken burgers..... it all high in salt. Soup is a killer too when it comes to sodium for sure... but cooking from scratch does make it better and you can always do that in bulk if you find its took much time/effort. I sometimes will make a roast in the crockpot and done deal... meat for the week You can do the same with soups. I actually don't use much of a base, but rather use things like onions to bring out flavors in it. There are also some great on the go proteins you can use that are low in sodium like tofu for example, cut a few slices and go. Thats kind of my go to lunch when I don't have time to cook.... a few slices of tofu, with a cup of grapes, and a cup of baby carrots with some hummus.

socajam

Pfft I don't track sodium. Rarely do young people consume too much unless they're dining out every single day. Have it with enough potassium and water and it's hardly a problem, unless you have a specific medical condition that's exacerbated by sodium. If you're hungry and your only option is a quick high sodium meal, down it with a litre of water. :P

"Have it with enough potassium and water and it's hardly a problem"


Says who. I doubt your doctor will tell you this.

krouse83

I would love to see people's responses. I tend to eat too much sodium too. I switched from eating bread to using wraps or flour tortillas in an attempt to be healthier but the sodium is super high. (I use the tortillas multiple times a week for breakfast wraps, lunches, and quick dinners) So I switched again to only using corn tortillas and that helped a lot. And for breakfast I always eat an egg and Canadian bacon, but the Canadian bacon is high in sodium too. I can't win haha I look forward to people's responses! Good luck though and drink lots of water!

RobP1192

I can't find a practical way to really avoid sodium intake, so i just make sure my potassium levels are high to help. And i drink water all throughout the day.

MexicanOsmosis

So, if my observations are correct...I pretty much need to cook everything from scratch myself at home, and not add salt to lower sodium...

Pretty much. The second I started cooking most of my own meals my sodium intake dropped quite a bit. I still go over every now and then, but I'm not too concerned about it.

Dogwalkingirl

I often go over limit on my sodium levels as well....if I have cured meat or cheese ...I also like cottage cheese and fruit and cottage cheese is high in sodium. However, in my opinion I wouldn't get too anal about it unless you are putting salt on all your food and eating out a lot and the intake is coming from a lot of processed or packaged foods.

As other posters have said up your intake of water if your sodium is high and try not to go over everyday.

zyxst

OP, do you have a medical condition where you have to keep track of sodium? If you don't, then I wouldn't be so worried about it.

If you really want to lower sodium, read food labels. You can still have cheese (Swiss is the lowest I've seen), processed meats (Butterball does low sodium pepperoni), and other foods. The only food I haven't found a low sodium sub for is soup/broth.

xxghost

I've been fighting to lower my sodium over the past six months. It sucks majorly, but I've just been challenging myself to drink more water to lessen the blow. Also, keep in mind that sodium can cause water retention. While you may not track it every day, large amounts the day before weigh in can lead to water weight.

tuckerrj

My blood pressure is in the normal range ( ~ 117/70). So why would I track my sodium intake?

erikalanem

OP, do you have a medical condition where you have to keep track of sodium? If you don't, then I wouldn't be so worried about it.

I don't ....BUT if excess sodium will cause water retention, and possibly weight gain before a weigh in, does it stand to reason that I carry that extra weight all the time due to always eating a lot of sodium? If I could lose 5-10 pounds of water weight (ANY KIND of weight) I would be ecstatic ! That is my thinking anyway...

belinus

You can counteract it by drinking more water. 3 quarts a day (12 8oz glasses). Adding more potassium helps too.

Via88

This sodium thing has been haunting me lately so it's interested that I found this topic! for the longest time, I did not monitor my sodium, and I've lost weight two times before this. But this time around, I did monitor my sodium for a week, eating less than 1,000mg a day and I lost a good amount of weight. I do have a tendency to hold on to water weight and I've noticed that. But my schedule does not permit me to avoid "high sodium" foods all of the time. And most are right, eating out always has a ton of sodium.

So I try to offset the sodium by having more potassium, water, and working out (making sure I sweat alot of course). I'm hoping that will help!

Matt_Wild

Meh, 2011 study showed unless in high risk cases, lower salt actually increased the chance of death.

As anyone who works out, you need plenty of salt.

luckydays27

Its really difficult for me to keep my sodium under 3000mg unless I cook at home or eat lots of salads.
I have never had hypertension or any other excessive sodium intake illnesses so I do what I can to keep it around 3000 or less. Higher than the recommended amount of 2300mg but I just cant cook at home for every meal every day.

I truly only watch my sodium levels to keep my water retention at a reasonable level. After working hard to lose weight and have the scale reflect a gain or no loss because of excessive sodium intake is discouraging. I want to make sure that I am not discouraged week after week.

ncmedic201

I monitor my sodium because it's the only way I can stay of blood pressure meds. I also eat cheese just about every day. Lunch meat is pretty high in sodium. I wouldn't worry so much about things that have a good amount of potassium, like cottage cheese.

If you really want to lower your sodium intake, try finding some alternatives to processed foods like canned and frozen meals.