QUESTION ON SODIUM

Tiffanyluvsaaron

SINCE IVE STARTED MY WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY I NOTICE THAT WHENEVER I EAT THINGS WITH A LITTLE SODIUM LIKE THE LEAN CUISINE OR SMART ONE MEALS I MAY GAIN! IS THERE ANY VEGGIES THAT HELP WITH THAT? I KNOW DRINKING WATER HELPS WHICH I DRINK ALOT OF THAT ALREADY..I ONLY GAIN MAYBE A 1LB WHEN I DONT WATCH OUT FOR THE SODIUM LIKE A HALK, BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU JUST EAT IT ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT LOL..I ALSO HAVE THYROIDS AND I RETAIN FLUID MORE THAN OTHERS..ANY SUGGESTIONS?

erickirb

PLEASE STOP YELLING AT US. All caps is very hard to read and makes people think you are yelling at them. That being said you just have to drink more water or eat veggies that are full of water (lettuces, cucumber, etc.) but the best thing to do is to avoid the foods that are high in sodium.

jennyfair24

Best thing is to cut back on sodium, which isn't easy. Its in everything...even milk. Drinking lots of water will help flush some of it from your system. Lean Cuisine and most processed foods are packed with sodium. We've become avid label readers and its helped tremendously!

NAMsMommy

I don't really know. I have a HORRIBLE time with my sodium intake and don't even use salt! Its ridiculous and did you see the FDA changed the guidelines on how much you should have a day. (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215214.php) I think you just need to really watch the canned goods and prepackaged stuff. That can really be loaded with sodium. As for veggies that help with water retention, I have no idea! Sorry. :-(

aflane

There's a really simple solution, stop eating Lean Cuisine and Smart One meals. They're both loaded with sodium, which is making you retain fluids. Instead of having the 'quick' microwave lunches, pack your lunch every day (or the night before, if necessary). My local grocery store carries "Ready Pac" salads, which are 230-280 calories each (including dressing). I don't really care for salad dressing, so I bring extra raw veggies to make up for the salad dressing. So today I have a caesar salad (no dressing), carrot sticks and sugar snap peas. For desert a big juicy pear. All for about the same cals as the Lean Cuisine. Just an idea.

suzi67

Increasing your potassium levels helps alot, too. I'm not a fan of bananas, but have started adding them to my eating plan to balance out my sodium. It's a rare day that I make it to the recommended 3500 mg, but as long as my sodium numbers and potassium numbers are close, I relax. I have also reduced my sodium allowance to 1500 mg, the more recommended level.

tammyquinnlmt

Sodium is in almost all processed foods. If you are doing lean cuisines because they are convienent, my suggestion would be to find a few favorite low fat recipes and make your own tv dinners that can be frozen for a week or two. Pick a prep day and cook up a few varieties. Then every week make a couple more. That will keep you from getting bored as well. Good luck!

Tiffanyluvsaaron

thanks

lloydrt

tiff, so much of processed foods, ones that come in the pretty shiny box, located in the middle of the store, or ones in the freezer are loaded with sodium and sugars. i.e, processed sugar, corn syrup, fructose

last summer, when berries were cheap as well as produce, 80 percent of my diet made up fruits and vegs, and the protein I ate was from grilled chicken breasts, and pinto beans with cilantro.........that was it....
I did notice one thing ,and this applied to only me, but when I continuously ate cucumbers, brocolli and dark green vegetables, I lost lots of lbs......again, this applies to me, but after eating and getting used to eating healthier fruits and vegs, not only did I lose a lot of weight, but my liver functions level returned to normal...........I had calcium deposits/stones in my gall bladder, so the last thing I was wanting to do, was to lose weight too fast..........you can screw up your gall bladder if you starve yourself..........

again, this happened to me, Im not a medical expert, but eating dark greens are very beneficial ,ie., brocolli and cucumbers, as well as squash and zuchinni..................
Good luck, keep me informed, I know that sodium is rough in a weight loss program ,and literally, everything processed has some or lots of sodium..................Lloyd

jlmnk1313

I use to have alot of issues with my sodium intake because with my lifestyle (work, kids etc) it was just way easier and faster to eat food that was already prepared or partially prepared. I have learned that if you will cook your foods instead of the prepackaged foods you will significantly cut your sodium. Fresh foods are way better for you anyway and it will take a week or so to get a handle on it but it really isn't much harder to cook from fresh! Also stay away from canned foods. I use to make chili with canned tomato juice and it was unbelievably higher in sodium. If you can find these kind of foods in a glass jar it has less sodium too. Hope this helps!