Sushi diet and salt....

GemmaTrewin

Hi there everyone! Just started with My Fitness Pal and its great.

I was just looking for some advice really.
I work in a sushi restaurant and my diet is primarily fish and soup.
I often find my sodium levels are high, so I cut down and I do feel a difference but....I'm still not losing a drastic amount of weight despite diet change and more excersise.

What are peoples views on my diary? (can you view it?) Is it lack of excercise? Or diet?

Thanks everyone!!

kommodevaran

I can't see your diary, but cutting down on salt will have only a limited effect on your weight - water, not fat - and even though a net increase in activity will burn more calories, focusing on eating less is a way more effective weightloss approach.

Nony_Mouse

To make your diary viewable you need to go to settings on your home page, then diary settings, and select to make diary public.

When you say you are not losing a drastic amount of weight (which you shouldn't actually want to do anyway, but maybe hyperbole), how much are you losing per week on average? do you perhaps have unrealistic expectations?

Whilst high sodium can make you retain water, it doesn't prevent fat loss in any way, and if your sodium levels are consistent you won't get the water weight fluctuations that people with varying sodium levels get (ie if they are usually at a lower amount then have a high sodium meal).

How are you measuring your food? Are you weighing solids on a digital scale and measuring liquids, logging everything? Or are you guessing at portion sizes.

Weight loss comes down to calories in vs calories out, ie you have to be at a deficit to lose weight. Exercise, whilst great for health and fitness, should be about that, not losing weight faster, and you should be eating back exercise calories. However, if you are new to exercise, or have increased intensity or duration, that can cause some temporary water retention.

KarenSmith2018

exercise will not contribute to weight loss in any major way. primary weight loss is down to reducing calorie intake. depending on how long it has been since you changed you diet changes in water weight could be masking any weight loss. It also depends on what you mean by "dramatic amount of weight"? depending on your goals, current weight and calorie deficit as well as the time period over which you have made these changes your expectations may exceed of what is normal and realistic.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

I don't recommend sharing your diary openly. Food choices are very personal. You can share with a nutritionist, close friend, spouse. (Actually, I don't read my spouses diary, even!)

To lose weight, you need to accurately determine your intake and keep it below your daily burn. It isn't always easy! (In fact, if you're finding it difficult, you are probably doing it right!)

As for sushi: It's very hard to log accurately since its hand made. Also, modern sushi can have added mayonnaise, fried fish, and other higher-calorie ingredients. If you make it yourself, you can figure out the calories pretty accurately. (Then please help us out by updating the MFP database!)

Japanese cuisine is designed for a hot climate where you need the extra salt. In a cool climate, it can be a problem. I don't eat salty broths anymore, although I used to love them. Again, if you're making it yourself, you can reduce the sodium. It will taste strange at first, but you get used to it!

gemmatrewin1471

Thanks guys. I have tried to change my diary to public about 500 times now, but it still doesn't seem to show...

Anyway I am primarily excersising to tone up and build strength.

My diet has changed to help weight loss and im averaging on about 1,000 - 1,200 a day. (my diet is mainly sashimi, tofu and smoothies)

My work and gym means I am getting about 15,000 steps a day.

My sleep is on average 6hours of light sleep.

Im losing 1lb a week. This doesnt seem like much.

gemmatrewin1471

I dont use scales to measure food no, but as I work in Yo Sushi, everything is portion sized small and the same everytime. I don't tend to eat much different when not working.

I have cut out the fried dishes, the rice and no refined sugar.

I mentioned about the salt as its things like miso soup, seafood udon noodle broth etc that make me go waaay above the sodium intake I should be having. But oh how I love them so.
Packed full of salmon, prawns and veg.

Possibly up my water game?

kommodevaran

1 pound per week might not seem like much, but it is for most people. The food you eat might "look like" 1000-1200 calories, but is probably more. (You will be terribly hungry, hangry and weak if you eat less than 1200.) Correct logging is a skill you can learn, but many foods are by their very nature difficult to log correctly. Then there's the question of whether you really want to eat less.

Nony_Mouse

You need to eat more than 1000-1200 calories a day, especially if you are getting 15000 steps. But hopefully you are underestimating since you aren't weighing.

One lb per week is what anyone who doesn't have a significant amount of weight to lose should be aiming for.

gemmatrewin1471

I just go by what the calories say on the app and in the menu at the restaurant.
I adjust the portion size if I don't finish a meal etc or up the portion size on the app, if I have any extra.

I do get aggitated and tired quite a lot but rarely get hungry.

kommodevaran

gemmatrewin1471 wrote: »

I just go by what the calories say on the app and in the menu at the restaurant.
I adjust the portion size if I don't finish a meal etc or up the portion size on the app, if I have any extra.

I do get aggitated and tired quite a lot but rarely get hungry.

There you have it. Without any verification (not the "green dot"), you can't know for sure if the entry you found in the database is the one you are actually eating, or whether the nutritional information is correct. Foods made by the restaurant will most likely not be measured exactly, and tend to be on the generous side (customers will complain to skimpy, not too generous portions).

Correct logging of intake is just a tool. If you're not constantly hungry, but losing weight, you're eating just right!

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Tacklewasher

kommodevaran wrote: »

Correct logging of intake is just a tool. If you're not constantly hungry, but losing weight, you're eating just right!

This. The goal is to lose weight, not log accurately. If you are losing weight at a good pace (and 1 lb a week is a good pace) then don't be too fussed with how you are logging as what you are doing works. If you find it stops working, then focus on fixing your logging.

Aaron_K123

GemmaTrewin wrote: »

Hi there everyone! Just started with My Fitness Pal and its great.

I was just looking for some advice really.
I work in a sushi restaurant and my diet is primarily fish and soup.
I often find my sodium levels are high, so I cut down and I do feel a difference but....I'm still not losing a drastic amount of weight despite diet change and more excersise.

What are peoples views on my diary? (can you view it?) Is it lack of excercise? Or diet?

Thanks everyone!!

Sodium influences how much water your body retains and as a result of that your blood pressure (higher water volume in the same vein/artery diameter = higher pressure. It has no influence at all on your ability to lose fat.

gemmatrewin1471

The restaurant plates up on the same size dishes each time and all meals have a green tick on here with all nutrition put in. The portion sizes never change.
If I drink MORE water, will this help?
Thanks everyone, so far, great advice!!!

WinoGelato

gemmatrewin1471 wrote: »

I dont use scales to measure food no, but as I work in Yo Sushi, everything is portion sized small and the same everytime. I don't tend to eat much different when not working.

I have cut out the fried dishes, the rice and no refined sugar.

I mentioned about the salt as its things like miso soup, seafood udon noodle broth etc that make me go waaay above the sodium intake I should be having. But oh how I love them so.
Packed full of salmon, prawns and veg.

Possibly up my water game?

How long has it been since you've been using MFP? Have you seen any weight loss at all? How much? How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you select?

People have given you the answers you need, if you aren't losing you likely are eating more than you think. Tighten up your logging using a food scale and give it time.

Also, it's not necessary to give up fried foods, rice and refined sugar. All can be part of an overall balanced diet. Limiting your diet to sashimi, broth soups, tofu and smoothies sounds pretty restrictive, are you getting enough fat?

gemmatrewin1471

Ive been using it now for about 2 weeks and have lost nearly 4lbs.

Lillymoo01

gemmatrewin1471 wrote: »

The restaurant plates up on the same size dishes each time and all meals have a green tick on here with all nutrition put in. The portion sizes never change.
If I drink MORE water, will this help?
Thanks everyone, so far, great advice!!!

I like to eat Wok in a Box as a treat sometimes. The meal is green ticked and nutritional information is available at the restaurant. It comes in the same sized box every time and always looks to be the same amount of food. I weigh the box full and then again empty. It never weighs the same and is always more than indicated for a serving size. This difference can add more than 100 calories to my meal but even then it is a guess because the rice/meat/veg combo can vary. Looking at your results I am certain you are eating more than you think you are but I would not change a thing because at this point it is working for you. 1 pound a week loss is pretty much spot on. If you find your weight loss stalls then get out those scales and tighten up on logging.

WinoGelato

gemmatrewin1471 wrote: »

Ive been using it now for about 2 weeks and have lost nearly 4lbs.

Above you said you were losing 1 lb/week. This is 2 lbs/week, and suggests that there isn't an issue with water retention. How much weight are you trying to lose total?