HELP, how to eat 2330 cal and stay under my sodium intake?

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mrskatbevins
mrskatbevins Posts: 41
in Getting Started
How do you eat so many calories and stay under your other levels, like sodium, sugar and what not. I am having a very hard time doing this. What advice to you have? I am determined to do this. I will succeed, I need some guidance.
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  • abetterbrandi
    abetterbrandi Posts: 131
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    Honestly, I beat myself up about sodium for a long time. Truth of the matter is unless you medically are not supposed to have it, then its not that detrimental. Especially when just starting out. If however, you are medically advised to go low sodium eat fresh, non processed foods like fruit, meats, veggies, whole unsalted almonds, etc.
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
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    Open your diary! If you are eating a lot of processed and/or restaurant food, that's an issue. You save a lot of sodium and sugar by cooking for yourself from scratch and not putting it in there!
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
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    Most people will probably tell you to ignore sodium and sugar unless you have a medical reason not to. I'd agree.
  • Amadbro
    Amadbro Posts: 750 Member
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    Why are you desperately trying to stay under sugar and sodium intake? Are you a diabetic?
  • bc2ct
    bc2ct Posts: 222 Member
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    Don't add salt to anything. Stock up on lean protein, vegetables, whole grains (quinoa, corn, oats), and when you're craving sweet things try making homemade kettle corn (popcorn satisfies so you can cook/eat less of it) or sweet potato mash etc.

    YUMMY! Good luck :)
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
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    DRINK MORE WATER! Sit in a Sauna for 10 minutes. START COOKING YOUR OWN FOOD. Umm, eat clean I suppose. Honestly, eat things like egg whites, brown rice, grilled chicken, yams, oats, honey, fresh peanut butter, frozen veggies are great, avocado, etc.

    You can do it! Whatever you do, AVOID FAST FOOD AND DELI MEATS!~
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
  • mrskatbevins
    mrskatbevins Posts: 41
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    I'm trying not to be. I'm trying to stay under all my reccomended daily levels.
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
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    The less processed food you use the easier it is.
  • mrskatbevins
    mrskatbevins Posts: 41
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    Why are you desperately trying to stay under sugar and sodium intake? Are you a diabetic?

    I'm trying to stay under or at all my reccomended levels. I'm guess I'm a little confused about what are the most important levels to be at or under.
  • indigo827
    indigo827 Posts: 26
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    Too much sodium in your body can cause health related issues. So it is an important number to pay attention to long term. Having a few days of too much sodium isn't a bad thing but if it's an every day thing then you may develop problems. Not to mention, too much sodium makes you retain water and your blood volume will increase and make your heart have to work harder to get it all through your body.

    Drink enough water and avoid processed foods.
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
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    I'm trying to stay under or at all my reccomended levels. I'm guess I'm a little confused about what are the most important levels to be at or under.

    Don't use MFP's "recommended levels" for anything. They are pretty arbitrary... the only one that matters for weight loss is the calories.

    Sodium is not a problem unless you have a medical issue (like hypertension) that requires you to regulate it. Drinking 10-16 cups of water a way will flush it all out anyway.

    Sugar is a problem for diabetics. Unless your doctor has a recommendation for sodium or sugar, ignore those columns.

    The protein setting on MFP is notoriously low, especially if you are trying to build muscle.
  • mrskatbevins
    mrskatbevins Posts: 41
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    Thank you all! This is making me feel so much better! My husband just started using MFP and has a colestrol problem so I will make sure he stays under that and keeps his calories where he should. So calories is what matters. Yay! :drinker:
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,121 Member
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    Unless you have an existing medical condition such as being pre-diabetic, diabetic, PCOS ignore the sugar as eating any fruit will put you over. If you have these conditions or ones related to them then you need to watch sugar, but realize the level this site gives is very low so you may need to change it.

    In terms of sodium, unless you have high blood pressure don't obsess about it. This is even more the case when you realize even among people with high blood pressure, excess salt is not always a causal factor, in other words, it is not the salt that gives them high blood pressure and their body processes it just fine. If you do have blood pressure issues, fruits (but they will put you over on your sugar) veggies, and lean meats all spices with herbs instead of salt.

    At this point the most important number is your calories and staying within your calorie goal, and to a smaller extent your macros, that is Carbs, Protein, Fat; especially Protein and Fat since getting sufficient amounts of both will help with feeling full and with maintaining muscle mass. Personally I go with a 40%Carb, 30% Protein and 30% Fat split which is far different than MFP, but my main concern is the calories as that is what will take off the fat.
  • odddrums
    odddrums Posts: 342 Member
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    Thank you all! This is making me feel so much better! My husband just started using MFP and has a colestrol problem so I will make sure he stays under that and keeps his calories where he should. So calories is what matters. Yay! :drinker:

    Yep! I keep sodium down by eating lots of veggies, make a salad for lunch most days, cook my own meat, and eat veggies and fruit for snacks. Don't worry about sugar from fruit, it's not refined so it's not as bad as sugar from processed foods. Also drinking lots of water helps with the sodium.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Thank you all! This is making me feel so much better! My husband just started using MFP and has a colestrol problem so I will make sure he stays under that and keeps his calories where he should. So calories is what matters. Yay! :drinker:

    The cholesterol level in your blood is unrelated to the cholesterol level in the food you eat - you most likely don't need to track that, either.
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
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    To reduce serum (blood) cholesterol levels, try limiting processed carbs (breads, pastas, pastries, etc. --- don't limit the natural-state carbs like fresh fruit and veggies, grains, etc.) for awhile and see what happens! :)
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
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    Too much sodium in your body can cause health related issues. So it is an important number to pay attention to long term. Having a few days of too much sodium isn't a bad thing but if it's an every day thing then you may develop problems. Not to mention, too much sodium makes you retain water and your blood volume will increase and make your heart have to work harder to get it all through your body.

    Drink enough water and avoid processed foods.

    2nd this. too much sodium long term can definitely lead to health problems. it's not arbitrary. the levels MFP sets may not always be accurate but it's still something you want to keep in check the best you can.
  • RaineyLaney
    RaineyLaney Posts: 605 Member
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    The less processed food you use the easier it is.

    ^^^^ this and also canned foods, resturant foods. Lots of sodium in canned foods, processed foods along with resturant foods. Unreal sodium there (even the salads have sodium added).
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    Eat lots of low sugar and salt stuff. That should do it.

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