High Sodium

kschwab0203

After tracking my food for nearly a month, I am noticing a trend that I seem to be going over in the sodium department quite a bit. I'm still staying within my daily calorie goals though. Could this be an issue?

cwolfman13

You will retain more water, but it has no bearing on fat loss.

Seffell

Unless you have high BP high sodium is not bad. If you have low BP high sodium is desirable.
Retaining water is not intrinsically a bad thing. It might make you heavier on the scale but so what?

lorrpb

How much are you over? By a few hundred, not a big deal, by thousands, yes try to cut back for health reasons. Even if you don't have high BP, it is best to keep your sodium at a reasonable level because LONG TERM it can contribute to high BP and other health problems including kidney & heart.

froggysfriend

I have found some information on the internet that seems to indicate that it is much more difficult to lose weight if you are eating high sodium. Personally I have found that high sodium days can set me back for 3 or 4 days, so I really try to watch it. Having said that I think we are all different.

NorthCascades

I eat lots of sodium (and am down maybe 65 lbs since almost two years) but I also exercise a lot, which means I lose a lot of salt through sweat.

Dogmom1978

Consistently eating a high sodium diet could lead to high bp. That said, monitor your bp and as long as it remains within acceptable levels don't worry. If it starts to increase, decrease your salt consumption.

leejoyce31

Although it doesn't impact fat loss, if a high sodium diet causes you to retain lots of fluid, won't your clothes fit tighter? Will you look bigger too depending on how much fluid you are retaining? I guess my questions are more about appearance than actual fat loss.

kschwab0203

Thanks for all the feedback! I am definitely going to start paying closer attention to my sodium intake and not just calories.

psuLemon

How much sodium are you averaging? Because if you are active, your body needs higher sodium levels. But if you are concerned over some water weight, increase potassium and magnesium as it will help offset some of the effects and balance electrolytes.