Chicken Breast/ High Sodium

kschwab0203

I usually eat a turkey wrap for lunch. In an effort to switch things up and not get bored with my food, I bought the sliced chicken breast from the deli at my local grocery. I didn't realize it until logging it in that MFP says that 4 oz. of sliced chicken breast has 1100g of sodium!!! How can this be?!?!? I thought chicken was super healthy and low in all that kind of junk (fat, carbs, sodium, etc).

Is this right???

Also, does it matter if you go over your fat or sodium if you are saying within your calories? Will you still lose?

jemhh

Look at the food's label. If it is a deli item, look it up on the food producer's website. Do not trust that the MFP database entry is correct, since much of it is user-entered data and there are a lot of people who enter wrong information.

That being said, lunch meat is generally high in sodium. Is this sliced chicken breast or sliced chicken breast lunchmeat?

Calories are the bottom line for weight loss. Eating more fat is fine. Sodium is fine as long as you do not have a medical problem, though it can cause water retention.

kschwab0203

jemhh wrote: »

That being said, lunch meat is generally high in sodium. Is this sliced chicken breast or sliced chicken breast lunchmeat?

It was sliced chicken breast lunchmeat that I got from the deli of my local grocery store.

folgers86

A) check the label for accuracy

B ) some companies will inject raw chicken with a sodium solution. Raw chicken by itself is usually around 3-5% sodium. Much higher than that and they've added something.

ashjongfit

I LOVE SALT! I'm not as bad as I used to be since SO had a bout of higher blood pressure so I've gotten used to reducing sodium levels, but no eating lots of salt will not stop you from losing weight. You may bloat or hold onto water but thats about it unless you have a medical condition.

Lunch meat is very high in sodium, chicken breast with no spices or salt shouldn't be, the entry could be incorrect.

JenHuedy

If you are concerned about sodium, you're better off with regular chicken breast, not chicken lunch meat. You can cook it yourself or I sometimes buy precooked rotisserie chicken breast from Costco for convenience. (It's higher in sodium than homemade, but much less than lunch meat).

That being said, unless you have a health issue,there's no reason to avoid sodium. It may cause water weight fluctuation, but doesn't affect fat loss.

ogtmama

Yes, deli meat is high in sodium, if you want the healthier version, buy a chicken breast, cook it and slice it yourself...that way it won't be soaked in salt.

You will still lose fat so long as you are under your calorie goal but you may see a spike on the scale due to water retention.

jrosenauer

I used to get Boar's Head, and they offered a low sodium variant of their deli meats. I just looked it up on their website and it's still pretty high at 700 mg for 4 oz. I'm going to assume that the meat is heavily salted in order to lengthen shelf life.

I put chicken breast in my salad every day and that only has 180 mg per 4 oz. I get it fresh from Walmart and cook a couple of pounds on Sunday and Wednesday nights. Might be a better alternative if you're worried about sodium intake.

kschwab0203

Thanks for all the feedback!

I have to say, I'm a little shocked to find all this out. I really thought that lunchmeats like chicken and turkey were healthy.

An can I just say, that I am soooo feeling the affects of all that sodium now 3 hours later.

sllm1

It's just the fact that it's deli meat. I grill my own chicken instead.

cwolfman13

kschwab0203 wrote: »

I usually eat a turkey wrap for lunch. In an effort to switch things up and not get bored with my food, I bought the sliced chicken breast from the deli at my local grocery. I didn't realize it until logging it in that MFP says that 4 oz. of sliced chicken breast has 1100g of sodium!!! How can this be?!?!? I thought chicken was super healthy and low in all that kind of junk (fat, carbs, sodium, etc).

Is this right???

Also, does it matter if you go over your fat or sodium if you are saying within your calories? Will you still lose?

For starters, you're just using some generic entry...

Second, it would depend on the deli and whether their processing...if they're just cooking a chicken breast and slicing it up, it's not going to have a ton of sodium...but most deli meats are further processed and thus contain a lot of sodium.

If you're concerned about sodium, you're better off getting actual chicken breast, not lunch meat.

Seffell

kschwab0203 wrote: »

I usually eat a turkey wrap for lunch. In an effort to switch things up and not get bored with my food, I bought the sliced chicken breast from the deli at my local grocery. I didn't realize it until logging it in that MFP says that 4 oz. of sliced chicken breast has 1100g of sodium!!! How can this be?!?!? I thought chicken was super healthy and low in all that kind of junk (fat, carbs, sodium, etc).

Is this right???

Also, does it matter if you go over your fat or sodium if you are saying within your calories? Will you still lose?

These are not junk!! Where did you get that idea from?
You can die if you don't eat fat. Fat is good for you. You can die if you don't eat any sodium either. Unless you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure you don't have to limit sodium. Electrolytes (sodium including) are a good thing. I for example have lowish blood pressure and so I was told to increase my sodium intake. But in general it is not junk. Carbs aren't junk either.
C'mon people! Stop spreading this nonsense!

VintageFeline

So some lunch meat (as called in the US) is sort of reconstituted right? So it's more likely to have a lot of sodium than just sliced breast meat.

But as above, none of those things are junk. Just drink some extra water to counter the higher than usual sodium but sodium is something we need to consume and unless you have a health condition you don't need to be too concerned about over consuming it.

Alatariel75

Lunchmeats are generally brined before cooking to retain moisture, even when it is a whole "unprocessed/reconstituted" piece. Brine is saltwater and a lot of that salt stays in the meat.

VintageFeline

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Lunchmeats are generally brined before cooking to retain moisture, even when it is a whole "unprocessed/reconstituted" piece. Brine is saltwater and a lot of that salt stays in the meat.

Gotcha! I try to keep up with the different but same terms used here in the UK and over the pond but some still trip me up!

Karen_can_do_this

I'm wondering if either you or he entry made a typo? 4oz is approx 113 grams. It can't have 1100 grams of sodium. If it was 1100 mg that's pretty normal for deli meat I think.

I just cook up a big batch of chicken and dice it up then measure it out in 100 gram bags and freeze them. Instant lunch meat

PAV8888

For everyone's reference, even non luncheon meat items such as chicken breasts or fish get brined (especially when frozen to protect the quality of course not because it ads extra weight wink wink).

Read all labels and even then assume half are lying.

azulvioleta6

There is a world of difference between a home-cooked chicken breast and chicken LUNCHMEAT.

Aaron_K123

Yeah, deli meat is salted for preservation. Nothing to freak out about though...just means it's salty. That's only a problem if you have dangerously high blood pressure.

Chilli7777

Its processed. What were you expecting? Deli meat is full.of nitrates. Real chicken breast would be the way to go

trigden1991

Why is sodium unhealthy?