Too much sodium...is it really that bad??

Lunachic77

I have successfully lost approximately 20 lbs since October. For the last 3 weeks I have been hanging around 118-119 but not losing any weight. I still eat 1200 cals per day and do 30 minute sessions of cardio 3x per week. I have one cheat day (Saturday) where I typically don't go over 1800 cals. I am pretty mindful of my calorie intake Mon-Fri..I may go over by 50-100 cals but I think it's not the end of the world. So this morning I weigh myself as it is my once-a-week weigh in day and now I am at 122 lbs which is a 4 lb gain from the previous week. I am scratching my head all morning wondering what I did or what I didn't do correctly...then it hits me. Last night I had an incredibly high sodium meal...so high in sodium that my daily intake was 4200 mg of sodium over than what my intake should be. Could this day of high sodium contributed to the weight gain? I know salt retains water...but 4lbs of water..really? I also didn't get to drink a lot of water yesterday...maybe a total of 24 oz.

Vicky14174

makes you retain water.

robertf57

You can easily hold onto 2-4 lbs of water. I bought one of those body composition scales and have been more focused on muscle mass and fat percentage myself, given the fluctuations in weight that are not meaningful. DOn't get discouraged by it! Keep to your program

Good luck

absolament

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was the sodium contributing to your temporary weight gain. High sodium is terrible on the body.

miqisha

Yes, sodium is that bad.....Drink tons of water, and flush out your system.....Congrats on your success so far.....

hpsnickers1

You might need to recalculate your goals. If you're set up to lose 2lbs per week - switch it to 1lb. If you're set at 1lb, switch to .5lb. You're getting smaller, your body is becoming more efficient and probably needs more calories in the day. This will up your Daily NET calories and help you get off the plateau. (I lost 5.5 out of 10 then switched over to maintenance which upped my calories and dropped another 1 1/2 pounds in a couple of weeks). And maybe switch up your routine and add some strength training. When doing only diet and cardio we lose muscle mass and fat mass. Lifting weights will help build up some muscle. That muscle increases your metabolism and you burn more during rest and through normal daily activities (and while sleeping). You won't bulk up. That's almost impossible for women to do especially while on calorie restriction.

And sodium will cause water retention. USDA recommends for people without hypertension issues to take in no more than 2500g daily.
Check out the connection of sodium and potassium. Getting enough potassium can help counteract high sodium. (People with low potassium numbers also can suffer from high blood pressure). Unfortunately you don't see it on most nutrition labels.

And as you get smaller you will see more number fluctuations on the scale. My eating patterns change a bit on the weekends and I don't usually log (I don't go crazy but that is usually when I have my sweets and/or pizza, etc). My weight will go up on the weekends (2-4 pounds). Then by Wednesday I'm back to normal. If there is a loss I will see it between Thursday and Saturday morning. I'm 123 right now. I can drop 2-3 pound overnight.

MSDRIZZ

The sodium debate has raged on with some health proffesionals saying everybody gets too much of it. Others say that as long as you don't have high blood pressure or heart disease then don't worry about it. Have you considered that you areat the lowest weight your body can be and still be healthy. Even at your height you are still at the lowest end of your BMI.

mamagooskie

Yes sodium could have made you retain that much.

Its not real weight gain though, so just keep drinking water and it eventually will go away.

Fieldsy

I normally gain 8lbs every weekend because of high sodium foods. It really is only a 1lb gain though.