Over sodium goal for the day.

LittleonebeforethethroneofGod

Hi,

I noticed that my first day I was over my sodium. Now sodium doesn't make one fat, but what does it do if you have too much? How can I cut this down? I live in the country and so I can't always run to the grocery store to get fresh ingredients and things.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

melaniecheeks

Too much sodium over a long period of time is very bad for your circulation, and can lead to clogged arteries/ heart problems. So it's worth trying to bring it down.

In teh short term, it can cause water retention - many people find they put on a fake 2-3 pounds after eating say a Chinese meal, but that's mostly water retention becuase of teh sodium.

Tips on reducing:

Dont add salt to your food - use pepper and herbs for flavour.
Canned and processed foods will be higher - try to make your own meals where possible.
Review your food diary and see where the big sodium hitteres are - have less of them.

gigglesinthesun

what is your sodium goal? The heart foundation recommends no more then 1500mg a day. Too much sodium causes people to retain water.

Achrya

I sometimes wonder what it'd be like to not be over my sodium goal everyday. And then I drink more water and remember I don't care/it doesn't matter and that's why I stopped tracking sodium and started tracking fiber.

LittleonebeforethethroneofGod

what is your sodium goal? The heart foundation recommends no more then 1500mg a day. Too much sodium causes people to retain water.

It depends on if I exercise or not. If I do everything as planned, the food journal says 2500 mg. That sounds like a lot but I blew over it the first day by almost 2000 mg.

LittleonebeforethethroneofGod

Too much sodium over a long period of time is very bad for your circulation, and can lead to clogged arteries/ heart problems. So it's worth trying to bring it down.

In teh short term, it can cause water retention - many people find they put on a fake 2-3 pounds after eating say a Chinese meal, but that's mostly water retention becuase of teh sodium.

Tips on reducing:

Dont add salt to your food - use pepper and herbs for flavour.
Canned and processed foods will be higher - try to make your own meals where possible.
Review your food diary and see where the big sodium hitteres are - have less of them.

Thanks for the tips.... It's the processed foods that are probably the heavy hitters. I was surprised at how much one serving of rice a roni has. This has got to be a challenge, because I'm in the process of teaching myself how to cook and have "graduated" to box dinners and what not. But I sure was proud of myself, I cooked breakfast this morning rather than throwing in a couple of hot pockets. :happy:

LittleonebeforethethroneofGod

I sometimes wonder what it'd be like to not be over my sodium goal everyday. And then I drink more water and remember I don't care/it doesn't matter and that's why I stopped tracking sodium and started tracking fiber.

There's a thought. My fiber is not even close to going over. I guess I got a bit discouraged because I had one "red" number admist the other numbers.

LittleonebeforethethroneofGod

Are there salt substitutes that cut down Sodium levels like sugar substitutes?

melaniecheeks

Sort of, but they're not terribly nice, and anyway, if most of your problem is in processed foods that's not going to help.

Make sure when you buy canned goods etc that you go for the "no added salt" or similar version, where possible.

What sort of rice were you using?

ladymm40

I find if I do my own cooking from scratch I can keep in under my goal. I have been trying to buy the "lower sodium" versions of pre- packaged soups and stuff like that when I can find it. I like to use Mrs. Dash instead of salt when I am cooking. It is definately a challenge.....