Sodium

NavajoGirl85

Soo I have been pretty good at exercising lately and counting my calories seems to be pretty easy. I excercise 5 days a week mostly 2 times a day because I'm in the beginning stages of weightloss. One thing that is almost driving me crazy is my sodium intake. I do everything I can to keep my sodium at a minimum but it seems like everything I try to eat has so much sodium in it. At which point I go for something else because I don't want to work really hard and then just feel bloated because of sodium intake. I know your body needs some sodium but with everything that is available these days, even those foods that are suppose to be good for you, it's hard to find a good variety of foods to eat. I guess what I'm getting at is how much sodium have you fellow members found to be alright to eat and what foods are okay to eat? It seems if it's low in calorie, sugar ect it's high in the sodium.

seska422

I aim for 2400 mg or fewer per day of sodium.

I balance out higher sodium items by eating reduced or low sodium wherever I can.

I use unsalted butter. I eat the lowest sodium soups that I can find. I eat Lean Cuisine meals with a full bag of sauceless steam-in-bag veggies. I compare brands of similar items and choose the ones with less sodium.

NavajoGirl85

seska422 wrote: »

I aim for 2400 mg or fewer per day of sodium.

I balance out higher sodium items by eating reduced or low sodium wherever I can.

I use unsalted butter. I eat the lowest sodium soups that I can find. I eat Lean Cuisine meals with a full bag of sauceless steam-in-bag veggies. I compare brands of similar items and choose the ones with less sodium.

Do you feel bloated at all due to this? Currently I eat between 500 low to 800 mg high, because it seems like if I eat anymore then that I feel bloated for a couple of days. Thank you for your response.

zdyb23456

I'm at a loss too - I'm trying to reduce my sodium intake and it feels like I have to cook every thing from scratch to keep my sodium intake in check.

nutmegoreo

I just looked at my average sodium for the last 7 days (I don't specifically track/worry about it, but I have no medical reason to). It's sitting at 2413. I'm pretty happy with that, however, when I add a sprinkle of salt (maybe once per week), I don't count that, so the actual number is higher. I find that some foods are certainly higher in sodium, but more often than not, when I am meal prepping at home, the sodium levels are well controlled.

Look over your diary and see where the bulk of your sodium is coming from and decide if there are some things you could swap out for other options.

seska422

NavajoGirl85 wrote: »

seska422 wrote: »

I aim for 2400 mg or fewer per day of sodium.

I balance out higher sodium items by eating reduced or low sodium wherever I can.

I use unsalted butter. I eat the lowest sodium soups that I can find. I eat Lean Cuisine meals with a full bag of sauceless steam-in-bag veggies. I compare brands of similar items and choose the ones with less sodium.

Do you feel bloated at all due to this? Currently I eat between 500 low to 800 mg high, because it seems like if I eat anymore then that I feel bloated for a couple of days. Thank you for your response.

When I started tracking with MFP, I realized that I was eating 4000 mg or more a day. I had a lot of swelling and bloating then. 2400 mg has been a good amount for me.

800 mg per day sounds really low. Our bodies need some sodium. The recommendation that I've seen for low sodium diets is 1500 mg.

NavajoGirl85

nutmegoreo wrote: »

I just looked at my average sodium for the last 7 days (I don't specifically track/worry about it, but I have no medical reason to). It's sitting at 2413. I'm pretty happy with that, however, when I add a sprinkle of salt (maybe once per week), I don't count that, so the actual number is higher. I find that some foods are certainly higher in sodium, but more often than not, when I am meal prepping at home, the sodium levels are well controlled.

Look over your diary and see where the bulk of your sodium is coming from and decide if there are some things you could swap out for other options.

Okay. Yeah it's frustrating to me because everything I pick up at the store, everything I make is, to me, high in sodium. Maybe I'm just scared to eat higher sodium foods because I see people say to stay away from it because it will drive you crazy with feeling like your gaining. If I look at something and it's 300 mg of sodium or more I don't buy it because to me that seems high. Maybe I'm just not educated enough about sodium. I'm scared that I will of worked so hard to lose some weight, 25 lbs so far, and then just feel awful because I'm so bloated.

cmtigger

My doctor says 2000 for me. It is hard, and it's a lot of cooking from scratch. For cheeses, I've found that fresh mozzarella and Swiss are the lowest. Nabisco also has "hint of salt" crackers, and you can find unsalted or half salt chips sometimes. For non junk food, I snack on raw veggies, fruit is good too. Sweet stuff tends to be low, but also empty calories.

I just found a local meal service that is mostly under 600 per meal, I'm thinking of trying it out.

nutmegoreo

NavajoGirl85 wrote: »

nutmegoreo wrote: »

I just looked at my average sodium for the last 7 days (I don't specifically track/worry about it, but I have no medical reason to). It's sitting at 2413. I'm pretty happy with that, however, when I add a sprinkle of salt (maybe once per week), I don't count that, so the actual number is higher. I find that some foods are certainly higher in sodium, but more often than not, when I am meal prepping at home, the sodium levels are well controlled.

Look over your diary and see where the bulk of your sodium is coming from and decide if there are some things you could swap out for other options.

Okay. Yeah it's frustrating to me because everything I pick up at the store, everything I make is, to me, high in sodium. Maybe I'm just scared to eat higher sodium foods because I see people say to stay away from it because it will drive you crazy with feeling like your gaining. If I look at something and it's 300 mg of sodium or more I don't buy it because to me that seems high. Maybe I'm just not educated enough about sodium. I'm scared that I will of worked so hard to lose some weight, 25 lbs so far, and then just feel awful because I'm so bloated.

Maybe do some more reading about sodium and its role in body functioning. It certainly is an important electrolyte, and not getting enough can cause problems too. Sounds like some of this is fear based coming from well meaning people.

rileysowner

Unless you have high blood pressure or some other sodium exacerbated condition sodium intake should not be a huge issue. By bloated, what do you mean? If it is water retention drink more water and allow your kidneys to adjust. After a several days they will equalize things in terms of water retention adapting to higher sodium levels.

lightenup2016

I average about 2400 mg a day as well. If I go over that I do gain some water weight. If I go under it I lose a little. OP, your sodium intake sounds really low. If you increase it, yes, you probably will gain a pound or two of water weight, but then it should level out if you stay at that same increased sodium intake. And as you lose weight, you can still stay at the same sodium intake but lose actual fat and see a loss on the scale.

I figure it's just too hard to stay very low on sodium, and besides, it adds flavor to food, so that I might eat less food overall. You'll see an increase on the scale if you increase your sodium intake, but you won't see it increase every single day. Only if you go higher and higher and higher. I don't know if this makes sense, but I don't think you need to worry about it too much.

estherdragonbat

Sodium is one marker I almost always exceed. So far, the weight is coming off and I haven't been medically advised to watch my salt intake, so it doesn't really annoy me. (I'm a bit concerned because I don't like seeing my sodium numbers go red, but I can deal.)

NavajoGirl85

lightenup2016 wrote: »

I average about 2400 mg a day as well. If I go over that I do gain some water weight. If I go under it I lose a little. OP, your sodium intake sounds really low. If you increase it, yes, you probably will gain a pound or two of water weight, but then it should level out if you stay at that same increased sodium intake. And as you lose weight, you can still stay at the same sodium intake but lose actual fat and see a loss on the scale.

I figure it's just too hard to stay very low on sodium, and besides, it adds flavor to food, so that I might eat less food overall. You'll see an increase on the scale if you increase your sodium intake, but you won't see it increase every single day. Only if you go higher and higher and higher. I don't know if this makes sense, but I don't think you need to worry about it too much.

Makes sense. I will increase my sodium little by little and see what a good number for me will be. I never thought about my body getting used to a certain amount and then leveling out. I just increase my sodium and see weight gain and freak out because I've worked really hard to get the weight off. I will experiment with it as I can and see what happens. Thank you!

victoria_1024

I don't pay attention to my sodium numbers at all. I lost 90 pounds and it never affected the scale. I eat out often so I'm sure it's usually high but I feel fine.

Wombat468

It sounds like you're becoming a bit obsessed with sodium. Take a step back and try not to overthink it.

starryphoenix

Do you guys eat out a lot? When I properly log my food I never reach the sodium max. I'm lucky if I get above 1100. I if you look at my diary I've been going over lately, but only because I've been eating out. Stuff like hot pockets, salted nuts and stuff at school. I'm usually around 1000 or something.

estherdragonbat

starryphoenix wrote: »

Do you guys eat out a lot? When I properly log my food I never reach the sodium max. I'm lucky if I get above 1100. I if you look at my diary I've been going over lately, but only because I've been eating out. Stuff like hot pockets, salted nuts and stuff at school. I'm usually around 1000 or something.

No, but I have more of a salt tooth than a sweet tooth. My preferred snacks include veggie dogs, string cheese, and Skinny Pop popcorn and I do tend to have pickles, frozen vegetarian dinners, and so on.

NavajoGirl85

Thanks for all the input. I guess you can say I am obsessed with the sodium intake. Now that I know that some sodium is not a s big as a scary thing I will be increasing. At which it will not only expand my menu options but I won't feel so aggravated when everything I see has sodium. I'll just eat the lesser of two evils and cut sodium in higher sodium foods when I can. We do not eat out hardly ever. Maybe once every couple of months for date night. I always find out where we're going first and research nutrition values of meals. Thank you all, you have eased my mind a bit!