Surplus sodium intake

nichell88

I can't seem to stay under the sodium goal set for me in mfp. My main concentration is caloric deficit and protein intake as I'm working on weight loss, so it's not as though I'm focused on low sodium, but that's the only nutrient that is consistently over. I honestly don't eat super salty or spicy foods particularly, if you're my friend you can check out my diary, but I still go over just about daily, i had labs done last month and they were normal, and my blood pressure is within normal range, doctor hasn't said anything, but heart disease does run in my family. Should I be concerned? What do folks think? Should I focus more on lowering my sodium? Don't want it to cause trouble in the long run

rosebarnalice

My big issue with sodium is the water retention--which for me can mean as much as 4 lbs that will linger for about 3 days after I've had a high sodium day.

nichell88

rosebarnalice wrote: »

My big issue with sodium is the water retention--which for me can mean as much as 4 lbs that will linger for about 3 days after I've had a high sodium day.

My water weight appears to be fine, as I have a scale that measures this, and I don't feel particularly puffy. It's honestly just the numbers, which don't seem to be posing a problem as of now but I don't want to get into bad habits and cause a problem later on

zyxst

If you don't have a medical issue or water weight from eating too much sodium, I wouldn't bother about it. I have to watch sodium and it majorly sucks.

estherdragonbat

Yeah, I've always had more of a salt tooth than a sweet tooth and regularly go way over sodium. But my doctor has never mentioned a need for me to restrict it and after 5 months on MFP, my blood pressure has declined from the upper end of pre-hypertensive to the middle of the range. (That was a month ago).

I've heard that too much salt doesn't actually cause high blood pressure, though reducing sodium can help manage it. And also, I didn't track what I ate before starting MFP, but given my love for salty snacks, it is very possible that although I'm usually about 1,000 mg over the recommended sodium intake now, I was 2-3,000 mg over before I committed to weight-loss. Pretty likely, IMO, since I've dropped just under 54 lbs in six months, so water retention doesn't seem to be causing me any issues.

JJS1979

If you are exercising at intense levels, doing cardio and strength training then you will need the sodium. I would stay away from processed foods that have sodium as best as you can but if you dont have pre-existing health problems I would not worry about it.

Sodium is a vital electrolyte and if you are working out and drinking water you will lose a lot of that sodium so you probably need more than someone who does not workout. Those limits are really for the "Average" person who does not exercise nor do they drink a lot of water. Hope that helps.

nichell88

estherdragonbat wrote: »

Yeah, I've always had more of a salt tooth than a sweet tooth and regularly go way over sodium. But my doctor has never mentioned a need for me to restrict it and after 5 months on MFP, my blood pressure has declined from the upper end of pre-hypertensive to the middle of the range. (That was a month ago).

I've heard that too much salt doesn't actually cause high blood pressure, though reducing sodium can help manage it. And also, I didn't track what I ate before starting MFP, but given my love for salty snacks, it is very possible that although I'm usually about 1,000 mg over the recommended sodium intake now, I was 2-3,000 mg over before I committed to weight-loss. Pretty likely, IMO, since I've dropped just under 54 lbs in six months, so water retention doesn't seem to be causing me any issues.

See, I wouldn't even say I have more of a salt tooth. I don't eat particularly salty things, it just seems to add up somehow.