Potassium

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jamesrreed
jamesrreed Posts: 97 Member
in Food and Nutrition
One of the many things that I have learned from using MFP is that I don't get enough potassium.

If I get any at all, it is usually no more than 10-25% of what I am supposed to have. A lot of days it is none at all.

Needless to say I don't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I bought some bananas earlier today and just ate one. When I plugged it in MFP I realized that that alone is not going to do it.

Considering a potassium supplement now, assuming something like that is available.

Any thoughts or ideas on the matter is greatly appreciated.

I already take a multivitamin, fish oil pills and an acai immune booster (drink) every day.

Replies

  • Delamater
    Delamater Posts: 5 Member
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    If you don't mind Muscle Milk Light (150 calories per drink), it has quite a bit of potassium in it. I have a couple of those every day, it helps to curb the appetite quite nicely. I pick them up at Costco. Hope this helps.

    Bob
  • Desiree219
    Desiree219 Posts: 28
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    This site has a list of potassium-rich foods...hope this helps!

    http://www.weightlossforall.com/potassium-rich-food.htm
  • deshaine
    deshaine Posts: 195
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    Switch your regular salt with a salt alternative like: Morton's Lite (potassium/salt mix) or No Salt (all potassium, no salt).

    You won't need much, it's very flavorful! Try to get your allotment it from that. It's healthier for your body, too.
  • joleanrook
    joleanrook Posts: 117
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    I'VE GOT THE ANSWER!

    Seriously.

    Switch your salt. Instead of regular table salt or kosher salt, switch to "Morton's lite salt".... you can buy it at Walmart.
    It is regular salt but it's perfect for dieters because it has added potassium. A serving size is 1/4 tsp and that will give you 350mg of potassium and only 290mg of sodium (50% less than regular salt.) It's super easy to incorporate that 1/4 tsp throughout the day on your food and you will actually feel better! Potassium helps you to not feel "run down" and it alleviates muscle cramping.

    So.... hope that helps.... best of luck!
  • vivomatic
    vivomatic Posts: 6
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    You also have to consider that potassium is not regularly listed on food labels. Any thing that packaged or processed, even if they contain potassium rich foods like potatos and bananas, will not list the amount of potassium. You are probably getting more than what is listed because of this omission. Leafy greens also have a lot of potassium, like spinach, so adding it to your salads or even on sandwiches can add a lot!
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    First off, it's nearly impossible not to get any potassium on a daily basis. Heck, 1 cup of 1% milk will have 400-500 mg of potassium. Slice of bread 80-120 mg, etc etc.

    I'm not sure what you're eating, but just those 2 things I listed which should be in a healthy diet, has decent potassium.

    Are you experiencing any of the common symptoms of a deficiency like muscle cramping, fatigue, irregular heart rate, etc?
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
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    The salt idea sounds fantastic. Also, baked potatoes are loaded with potassium.
  • cstennison
    cstennison Posts: 1
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    I have trouble with my potassium for me an 11.5 oz. can of low sodium V-8 juice has 1180mg of potassium and it gets in your system quickly. My doctor gave me a list of foods but he was surprized at the amount in the LOW sodium . i hope this helps you
  • SouthernBell86
    SouthernBell86 Posts: 275 Member
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    I've recently been encountering the same problem. One thing I discovered is that most of the foods on MFP do not have the Potassium value entered. So I have started using some lists to find the amount of Potassium an item has and edit the food item. I still have to make an effort to get more Potassium, but it isn't nearly as much as it was before I knew I needed to find out if any potassium was listed.

    This list is awesome, and you can search the foods you are curious about to find out how much Potassium they have.

    http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/sr18w306.pdf

    This one is okay, not as comprehensive as the first one, but a good go to list for a general idea of high potassium foods :)

    http://www.healthyeatingclub.org/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5b.html


    Here's a hint: Almost all foods have some amount of potassium in it, even if it is just a little. So change your nutrients you are tracking on the food page to include potassium, and then any food that lists zero Potassium look up on your potassium list and find out if that's true or not.

    Oh and one thing I have discovered as a great source of Potassium is Coconut Water! Vita Coco is a good brand, and for 11.2 ounces of Coconut Water, it's 60 calories and 660 mg of Potassium!! They have other flavors that are a few more calories, but also more Potassium :)
  • jamesrreed
    jamesrreed Posts: 97 Member
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    Are you experiencing any of the common symptoms of a deficiency like muscle cramping, fatigue, irregular heart rate, etc?

    Some muscle cramps, definitely fatigue and also noticeable mood changes.

    The latter two are at least in part due to having gotten back on sweets and soda instead of the water and diet drinks that I had been drinking religously.

    Today is day 61 on MFP and I absolutely blew it out of the water the first 30. All but completely eliminated sweets and sodas from my diet, started taking multivitamins and fish oil regularly, worked out, drank tons of water, etc. Lost 25 lbs in no time.

    I have struggled mightily the last month with my eating but not my weight. I haven't gone all the way back to how bad I used to eat but I have jumped off the wagon at least a couple times every day. Beer, 3 or 4 Mountain Dews a day (opposed to the 10 I used to drink but worse than the 0-1 that I was drinking the first month), some but not as much candy and snacks, etc.

    While I have struggled with my eating I have done some logging and paid attention to my weight, not getting any higher than 200. When things have gotten bad I have settled back down and strung together a couple of "good" days and got it back down.

    Basically I lost most of the weight I wanted to right out of the gate and have just done not as good since.

    Current weight is 194-195, original weight less than 2 months ago was 220. Have decided that I want to get down around 185 as ultimate goal.
  • jamesrreed
    jamesrreed Posts: 97 Member
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    If you don't mind Muscle Milk Light (150 calories per drink), it has quite a bit of potassium in it. I have a couple of those every day, it helps to curb the appetite quite nicely. I pick them up at Costco. Hope this helps.

    I had thought about these before and your comment made the difference. Just got back from Costco with a box. Will start taking them tomorrow.
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    There was just thread on this, but coconut water is a great supplement. I like the Vita Coco brand or ONE brand. It has more potassium than a banana (which is also a good source!), plain yogurt, and baked potatoes are another fav too!

    Here's a thread that was just discussing potassium for more ideas.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/125061-high-potassium-foods-not-just-fruit
  • Delamater
    Delamater Posts: 5 Member
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    Regarding my earlier post, I just noticed that Costco started selling a new version of the same Muscle Milk light drink. The old version has about double the potassium than the new one. If you managed to get the 150 calorie version, it has more potassium than the new and improved muscle milk light 160 calorie version.

    150 Cal version = 740 mg potassium
    160 Cal version = 360 mg potassium

    I hope they go back to the old version!

    Cheers,
    Bob

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