Sodium -- What started it all.

Boredboytn

What really started me taking a serious look at a diet (this time) was when I looked up the sodium in 1 taco bell chicken burrito. I was shocked. If I am remembering correctly, it was well over 1,000 mg in ONE burrito. I was having 3 every night, then I was going home in the morning ( I work 3rd shift) and eating a whole tostino's pizza which had a lot more sodium.

My original idea was to cut way back on sodium, which I did and I noticed I wasn't eating many calories either.. because, let's face it.. sodium is pretty much in everything.

That actually lead to me watching calories more than anything which lead me to the place I am in now.

BUT..

I have noticed when I put in my food totals for the day.. sodium is once again becoming a problem... or is it a problem??

Basically, I'm asking anyone to tell me exactly what sodium does for a diet. Will it keep me from losing weight? Do I need to cut that back drastically as well?

Someone told me I should sit in sauna for about 15 to 30 minutes every other day. I have access to a sauna and I do feel better after sitting in one for awhile but I never can make it more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time. I HATE being hot.

Anyway.. just asking for some thoughts on sodium and any tricks to keep it under the recommended amount AND keep calories low.

debruhf

Ok, so here is what I know (and I DO NOT claim to be an expert).....Sodium/salt does not cause you to lose/gain fat. What it does do it causes you to temporarily gain water weight by causing you to retain water.....conversely, the opposite is true as well.

Soooo why are diets high in sodium bad for you? Well, for starters it can cause high blood pressure/hypertension which in turn leads to all sorts of terrible things such as strokes and heart attacks.

So what can you do? Cook more fresh meals and eat less prepared/prepackage foods. Also stay away from canned foods as well. For instance, over the weekend we were preparing a Spanish Rice dish that called for beans......we used canned. Now, mind you this approach takes a little more planning....but when I compared the sodium content of dried beans to that of canned beans....WOW! I think canned was like 800+ mg of sodium as compared to the dried which had like 4 (I think).

Is there an easy answer to this? No!
But to truly keep sodium levels in check people need to stay away from prepackaged/processed foods. Another great example of this: Today I had Applebee's for lunch....I chose from their under 550 menu.....sure the calories were great, but the sodium content was over 1600mg!

So, that's just what I know......HTH.

hpsnickers1

Fact: it will cause you to retain water. I had soup for lunch yesterday and soup in a dinner recipe. I'm showing a 3 pound increase since Tuesday or Wednesday morning. I know it's sodium - almost 4000mg yesterday. and I'm usually pretty good with keeping in under 2000mg

On a good note, research and check out the connection between potassium and sodium. Keeping potassium high can counteract the sodium.

LUV2CRUZ

Keeping potassium too high can kill you! Be careful with that too. Look up Dr. OZ for info on sodium. I'm having the same problem and the recommended daily amount has now been lowered to 1500.....it's really hard.

jen0619

Also to note the settings they have defaulted here are higher than the RDA. They have 2500 is which an older amount the updated RDA is 2300.

Lstrode

Sodium sneaks up on you everywhere.. even drinks. Since Keith had his heart attack, he has to really watch his sodium. Even some things you find that you suspect to be "healthy" can be packed with them. It can make you bloated, and everything else that people have already commented on. I'd watch it close since you're worried about heart attacks..