Fat and Sodium

brookemart81

...are apparently two of my favorite things. I tend to go over my limits- the fat by a small amount, the sodium sometimes by a lot. I'm wondering if this is something I need to be concerned about or not?

For what it's worth, I'm young(-ish), healthy, not significantly overweight, and don't have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or any other heart problems.

I know that purely from a weight-loss perspective, as long as I'm maintaining a caloric deficit I will lose weight. That's all been working fine. I know that excess sodium can cause water retention and a temporary increase on the scale- I'm not really worried about that.

But from a health perspective: a little too much fat and a little too much sodium- is this a problem? Should I be trying harder to eat less fat? Should I take it easy with the delicious delicious salt?

Firehawk734

If you are healthy I don't think those things hurt you.

AmyRhubarb

I'm always over on my fat - still doing well. Thankfully fat doesn't make us fat, too many cals do. As for sodium - I finally quit tracking it and just make sure I drink plenty of water. I will often see a gain on the scale after a day of salty foods, but I know it's just water weight and not a big deal - always drops right back off.

cpdiminish

I think that what you've probably discovered is that there is something off in your diet in general more so than a specific problem of levels, and it is great that you discovered it now before you suffer any health consequences.

If you are eating a lot of premade/processed foods, they are notorious for being high in sodium so perhaps this is a wake-up call to do more or your own cooking? And not all sodium is created equal. The nitrates and nitrites that are used as preservatives, especially in meats, are particularly bad from a health perspective.

For fat, I'd be more concerned about the type of fat. Just cutting out trans fats may be all you need to get your levels down.