How do you keep sodium down??

jonnythan

Reality is that getting your weight/body composition under control and staying active will get you 90+% of all possible health benefits. Eating a decent quantity and mix of veggies and fruits will get you most of that last 10%.

Of what little bit is remaining, sodium intake is basically insignificant unless you have a medical condition that requires you to keep it low.

Bottom line is maintain a healthy weight, maintain or build lean mass, get regular exercise, eat veggies, and don't really worry about anything else unless you have a specific reason.

Blackdinomite

Cool will definitely up the potassium. Thanks for all the helpful advice everyone!

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mollywhippet

Even the fresh meats at the grocery store usually have sodium. They inject meats with a salt solution. Check the labels carefully if you need to avoid sodium. Chicken breasts, turkey, pork and beef often are salted and you don't even know it. The chicken breasts at Walmart for example have 180 mg per serving even before they are cooked. There are some stores that carry organic or natural stuff with no salt added, but it is more expensive.

I have high blood pressure and heart disease, so I have to watch out for every little bit of sodium. Even some vegetables, like celery, have natural sodium. I like using Mrs Dash seasonings, but I still miss salt terribly.

Quieau

I buy fresh organic, free range meats to avoid the injected solutions. Also, I noticed I was getting awfully high in sodium and went back through my diary looking for anything with triple digits in that category. Turned out it was the lean ham slices, deli cheese and pre-packaged tortillas that were the worst culprits.

I bake my own bread, we grind sausage from boneless/skinless chicken thighs, pork or beef and otherwise have avoided much packaging but it's surprising how hard it is to avoid.

We have a great organic/scratch cooking group on facebook (Au Naturel) and am thinking of starting one here. Anyone interested?

bcattoes

Salt is NOT a problem, unless it is. If it is not a health concern. forget it. You're wasting time and energy.

Water adds weight and inches. If weight loss is your goal, salt can be a big problem whether it causes health issues or not.

dorthymcconnel

Canned foods and most boxed items are notoriously high in sodium. You want your fruits and veggies to be fresh if possible, frozen if not. Canned should be a very last resort. Canned soup, please don't go there. Another crazy high source of sodium. Soups are ridiculously easy to make from scratch so you control the amount of salt that goes into it. If you are a fan of soy sauce, switch to tamari. Less sodium. Read labels. That is the biggest help. If you like cooking, you may want to look on Pinterest for mixes like taco seasoning, cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, that type of thing. The packages that you buy in the store is loaded with MSG and sodium And if you have high blood pressure like I do, add bananas to your diet, drink plenty of water, and monitor your potassium level. Those will help, along with exercise. Good luck!

poma91

I took a look in your diary and I just have to say one thing - cook your own food. Lots of your meals are prepared, meaning you bought them ready, didn't cook them. Also I would advise lots and lots of veggies. I love boiled broccoli or eat a huge salad, no dressing. I like to put a table spoon or two of olive oil in my salads otherwise it is just too plain for me. Overall try to start shifting to healthier food.
Also you don't record your water, but in order to stop retaining water apart from lowering sodium(salt) drink a lot of water (like more than 8 glasses(2 liters) per day)

sarrah_n

I noticed two things in your diary from the last few weeks. 1- Your normal breakfast is 40% of your sodium for the day. Consider switching up your protein choice. 2- There are more processed foods in your day than you probably think (not that my food diary is perfect). Sliced deli meat is generally PACKED with sodium. Next time you buy groceries, check the nutrutional values before you put it in the cart.

jacksonpt

Didn't read all the replies, so sorry if this has already been said, but...

If your diet is fairly consistent, then so will be your sodium intake, and so will be your retained water. In this scenario, sodium will NOT cause plateaus, mask weight loss, etc.

Quieau

Okay the FB cooking group is much larger (over 500) and more active, but I've started one here as well. Anyone welcome to join either!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/16412-au-naturel

http://facebook.com/groups/aunaturel

poma91

turkey sausage is best for protein

I think turkey breast are better (personal opinion)

connie_messina

i don't use salt on my foods and i don't eat processed foods

jonnythan

i don't use salt on my foods and i don't eat processed foods

Oh boy.

HarrietSmeltzer1

I don't add salt to any of my food. When I shop for prepackaged foods I try to watch for sodium under 250 I also changed my goals to include no more than 2000 sodium some good days I am under 600. I have Hugh blood pressure so this is very important to me.

_AllieCat_

Less processed foods, more whole foods. When I cook most of my meals it helps too, again with the whole foods idea. Start tracking sodium in your diary, it helps to see where most of the sodium is coming from.

Good luck.

jacksonpt

i don't use salt on my foods and i don't eat processed foods

I haven't had a banana in a month, but you don't see me bragging about it, do you?

Homer3D

I have (or had) high blood pressure. It runs in my family. At the highest, I was pushing close to 190/100. Other than working out (a lot of jogging and biking), I cut a lot of sodium from my diet.

No processed foods
Little to no fast foods
Never add salt to foods I make.

I am now on the complete other side of the spectrum. My lowest recent (last week when tested), it came back with 94/75 with 57 bpm. I just tested right now, 123/80 with 58 bpm.

larodriguez02

like everyone else said, process, boxed, frozen, canned food are all high in sodium. As are some meats, one of my problems is frozen meals, lots of sodium, and deli/lunchmeats are high in sodium too. Instead of say boxed rice, cook your own rice, and add to it, even something like a baked potato instead would be lower in sodium. I am finding it very hard to keep sodium within the limits, but days that I follow these I am able to.

bcattoes

It's always amusing to me how many people seem to only read and respond to the subject line. Most of these responses seem not to have even read the OP.

NebrGuy1969

...(I think sodium is one cause of the stall) but sodium just seems to be so high in everything. Aside from cooking everything I eat, has anyone had success at maintaining low levels of sodium?

Personally I don't think this is possible unless you are eating things pulled right from the ground, fresh off the hoof, etc. In another post you noted that you were going to have to learn to cook. It isn't that hard, find a good cookbook. Two years ago I was getting my breakfast from fast food chains, my lunch from a deli or take out and dinner sitting down at a restaurant. If I ate at home it was a PB&J sandwich a potpie, frozen pizza or something along those lines. I've now reached a point I hate to eat out and one of those reasons is actually because I taste nothing but salt in many of the things others fix.

My sodium levels now run between 1300 and 1800 with a day here and there that will be over that. Sometimes, rarely it'll be over 3000, but those are days I eat out. People have made a lot of suggestions, most involve cooking. Fruit and veggies from the produce section will have little to "no" sodium. That is pretty much going to be it unless you can obtain freshly killed meat.

Salt is a preservative which is why you find it in so many foods. Someone questioned pork chops having 400mg (?), but in reality it is up there at that level from everything I've seen. Buying food in a health food market doesn't always help. It may be healthier than buying from a regular grocery store as food may be nitrate free, but because of that preservative effect of sodium it is likely still going to be high and maybe higher at a health food market.

Now this requires cooking to some extent, but I will reiterate what others have said. Low/lower sodium products are a huge help. I occasionally buy canned chicken, but it is a lower sodium product than its neighbors on the shelf. If I buy canned veggies I look for the same. Lower sodium bacon is excellent. If you don't like to cook, cook a batch of bacon in the oven (roughly 30 minutes without any involvement once it is in the oven) and then warm it in the microwave each morning. If you like peanut butter, PB2 is a great product if you are watching sodium and also need/want to cut fats. I don't do chips much any more, but have had a craving lately. Thinly sliced a potato the other day, sprayed a plate with a cooking spray, laid out the slices on the plate and lightly sprayed the tops of the potatoes before putting them in the microwave to cook them. Much better than a bagged chip in my opinion and you can add your own seasoning. This is to say that I don't think you can get the sodium down without doing some label reading and including some cooking with it.

I pretty much refuse to walk through the center of the store because it is all of the highly processed foods.

Blackdinomite

I don't record my water because it's really all I drink aside from my green tea. I drink more than 64 oz of water daily. Except maybe on the weekends. I do drink water though even if my diary says otherwise

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joyincincy

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies throughout the day. That is all I have found to solve this issue, as even the so-called "healthy" processed stuff is usually ladened with tons of sodium. Sucks, I know. Right now my average (taking all days in a week into account) is somewhere around 1500 per day. Sometimes less, sometimes way over. Good luck and I am so on board with you in regards to sodium causing stalls and whatnot.

rml_16

First I'd like to say that my weight is starting to fall again after 3 weeks of no loss or gains (I think sodium is one cause of the stall) but sodium just seems to be so high in everything. Aside from cooking everything I eat, has anyone had success at maintaining low levels of sodium?

Cooking your own food is pretty much it. Sorry.

Restaurant foods, canned soups, anything you didn't make in your own kitchen is more than likely going to have a lot of sodium.

rml_16

It's always amusing to me how many people seem to only read and respond to the subject line. Most of these responses seem not to have even read the OP.

To be fair, not that long ago, I read a post and responded to the post rather than just the thread subject line and got berated by the OP over and over and over for not responding solely to the subject line.

Myhaloslipped

I think I am logging some foods incorrectly. There is no way my fresh kale has 10 grams of sodium. I think when I use the generic food option I am sometimes logging things incorrectly. Or am I? Not really sure.

jonnythan

I think I am logging some foods incorrectly. There is no way my fresh kale has 10 grams of sodium. I think when I use the generic food option I am sometimes logging things incorrectly. Or am I? Not really sure.

10 grams? No. 10 milligrams? Definitely. Raw kale has about 38 mg sodium per 100 grams.

lewcompton

If you want to remove sodium from preprocessed foods there are a few tricks...
1. Beans and other veggies that are canned can be rinsed to remove the surface salt.
2. Canned food like soups. Add a plain potato and then dispose of it. It will absorb a large percentage of the sodium out of the food.
Best way though is to avoid it by preparing food yourself with little or no salt and/or finding stuff that is low, reduced or no sodium.
If you want salt taste you can use Potassium Chloride its listed as salt substitute... Technically it is a salt, but non sodium.

KellySue67

While it is important to keep your sodium in check please remember that some sodium in your diet is essential. It is an important electrolyte that regulates cellular activity and helps to balance fluids in the body. It also helps send nerve impulses and is needed for muscle contraction. The best advice you have received is to cook as much of your own food as possible and steer clear of the boxed and canned stuff. Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies when you can. It is tough and I sometimes find that I am way over my sodium as well because I do eat out occasionally. Restaurant food is about the worst for sodium. Good luck.