Is it important to keep track of sodium and sugar intake too

I was just curious as to how many of you also keep track of your sodium and sugar intake daily? I'm fairly new to this site and was playing around w/ all the features tonight and discovered that I can add things besides the calories, carbs, fats and proteins....then I went back and looked at my food diary and sure saw a lot of RED for my sodium and sugar! Oops!! Weird that I was doing good on everything else...maybe b/c I was knew I was tracking it. It will be interesting to see if I can keep my sodium and sugar levels down now too. No more mints and twizzlers (fat free doesn't equal sugar free I suppose!)
I have heard that sodium can make you retain water so I guess it does make sense to watch how much of it I am consuming. No more Chicken noodle soup that's for sure...I saw on the day I had that I was like -1000 for sodium....talk about loaded w/ salt!!!
I am loving this site though for sure...what a great way to hold myself accountable for the foods that I eat. No more eating a half a bag of cheetos....I wouldn't now b/c I would be thinking if I logged that into MFP it would be half my daily calories! Since joining this site I have also became more aware of the high calorie content of alcohol. I was never a big drinker before...just once a month on date night for my hubby and me. Well this month we were out and I was logging onto MFP w/ his phone checking out the calorie content in the drink I was about to order, when b/4 I would have just drank to my heart's content and drank 1000 calories away. Not this time...I had 3 captain and diet cokes (only 60 calories each).
Sorry this started out as a question about sodium and has turned into a ramble.... :laugh:
~ Kim

Replies

xraychick77

its important to limit these things of themselves..they by themselves have little effect on weight loss. but they can be unhealthy in other ways.

tjradd73

I always "keep an eye" on my sodium and try not to go over by too much if at all....the sugars are a mute point, IMO (unless you are doing low carb) there is SOOOOO much sugar in fruits that you will most likely be over every day! Just try to watch what kind of sugar goes into your body...and stay away from empty calorie and sugared foods (i.e. candy, soda, sweetners).

kirstinkrueger

You can go to diary settings and set it to track sodium and sugar, if you haven't already! It is important to try to stay close to your daily values on those!

added sugars are typically processed and unlike the ones that occur naturally in foods. They usually make your insulin levels spike after eating the sugar which makes you feel hungrier. and processed sugars are empty calories- they take the place of nutritious fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Too much Sodium can cause weak bones and teeth, it's linked to high blood pressure, linked to cancer. and can cause dehydration!

realme56

I do. Salt plays a role in managing fluid and other electrolytes in your body. Too much is not so good but neither is too little. Sugar is a quick energy source. Natural sugars from fruits is best, avoid processed sugars when possible

auntiebabs

its important to limit these things of themselves..they by themselves have little effect on weight loss. but they can be unhealthy in other ways.

I disagree.
Sugar and artificial sweeteners increase your appetite.

I've had the science explained to me by valid sources (biochemists, diabetics and nutritionists), but it was something I'd recognized in my own body before I knew the science behind it.

I track sugar for 2 reasons.

One being that if I eat too much sugar i simply cannot keep to my target calorie goals.
(If I have a DIET coke, really it's all over. and that's FAKE SUGAR)

I've really been amazed at how much sugar I've found in "REAL FOOD" Food manufacturers add a lot of sugar under a lot of different unrecognizable names into products, because it's cheap and it increases your appetite, so you eat more.

(I picked up a lean cuisine one evening forgot to check the sugar went to enter it to find out it had 30g of sugar, now

A) I only get 25g a day,

my favorite cookies are 9g for 15 cookies. If I'm going to eat sugar I want to enjoy a treat!!!

Also watch out for yogurts there usually very high in sugar, by plain and add a little hershey syrup or jam or cukes & dill at least YOU will be controlling your intake.)

The other reason is that diabetes runnings (gallops maybe) in my family and I want to keep it at bay as long as possible.

Sodium I should watch better, but with the family history of cholesterol and diabetes, those are the issues I'm tackling first.

kimberg75

its important to limit these things of themselves..they by themselves have little effect on weight loss. but they can be unhealthy in other ways.

I disagree.
Sugar and artificial sweeteners increase your appetite.

I've had the science explained to me by valid sources (biochemists, diabetics and nutritionists), but it was something I'd recognized in my own body before I knew the science behind it.

I track sugar for 2 reasons.

One being that if I eat too much sugar i simply cannot keep to my target calorie goals.
(If I have a DIET coke, really it's all over. and that's FAKE SUGAR)

I've really been amazed at how much sugar I've found in "REAL FOOD" Food manufacturers add a lot of sugar under a lot of different unrecognizable names into products, because it's cheap and it increases your appetite, so you eat more.

(I picked up a lean cuisine one evening forgot to check the sugar went to enter it to find out it had 30g of sugar, now

A) I only get 25g a day,
my favorite cookies are 9g for 15 cookies. If I'm going to eat sugar I want to enjoy a treat!!!

Also watch out for yogurts there usually very high in sugar, by plain and add a little hershey syrup or jam or cukes & dill at least YOU will be controlling your intake.)

The other reason is that diabetes runnings (gallops maybe) in my family and I want to keep it at bay as long as possible.

Sodium I should watch better, but with the family history of cholesterol and diabetes, those are the issues I'm tackling first.

Say it ain't so....I love my diet dr. pepper....and I also use Splenda! Oops!!! I can't go cold turkey though, and if I quit with those they would be replaced w/ my old favorite Pepsi and then sugar in my coffee and tea. So not sure what to do?!?

shreddingit

those are the most important!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is how I see it:

sugar up to 35gr
sodium up to 2400
fat up to 60gr
fiber at least 30gr
protein 1gr per lb for whatever your goal weight is

ditch low fat, fat free and sugar free
no canned soups or noddle soup

keep checking everything before you eat....

kirstinkrueger

its important to limit these things of themselves..they by themselves have little effect on weight loss. but they can be unhealthy in other ways.

I disagree.
Sugar and artificial sweeteners increase your appetite.

I've had the science explained to me by valid sources (biochemists, diabetics and nutritionists), but it was something I'd recognized in my own body before I knew the science behind it.

I track sugar for 2 reasons.

One being that if I eat too much sugar i simply cannot keep to my target calorie goals.
(If I have a DIET coke, really it's all over. and that's FAKE SUGAR)

I've really been amazed at how much sugar I've found in "REAL FOOD" Food manufacturers add a lot of sugar under a lot of different unrecognizable names into products, because it's cheap and it increases your appetite, so you eat more.

(I picked up a lean cuisine one evening forgot to check the sugar went to enter it to find out it had 30g of sugar, now

A) I only get 25g a day,
my favorite cookies are 9g for 15 cookies. If I'm going to eat sugar I want to enjoy a treat!!!

Also watch out for yogurts there usually very high in sugar, by plain and add a little hershey syrup or jam or cukes & dill at least YOU will be controlling your intake.)

The other reason is that diabetes runnings (gallops maybe) in my family and I want to keep it at bay as long as possible.

Sodium I should watch better, but with the family history of cholesterol and diabetes, those are the issues I'm tackling first.

Say it ain't so....I love my diet dr. pepper....and I also use Splenda! Oops!!! I can't go cold turkey though, and if I quit with those they would be replaced w/ my old favorite Pepsi and then sugar in my coffee and tea. So not sure what to do?!?

as far as soda goes, just limit yourself, to one a day if you have to have any! I cut it out and lost 10lbs in 2 weeks doing nothing else, and in my opinion, normal soda is better than diet because of the artificial sweeteners, but the debate goes both ways. As far as sugar goes, look into truvia, its an all natural sugar derived from plants and fruits so its like the sugar you would get eating a strawberry.

kimberg75

Thanks everyone! I changed it so I am also tracking sugar and sodium. Also I have been wanting to try Truvia so I'm putting it on my grocery list right now. Maybe just one diet pop a day won't hurt then I will drink water the rest of the time. I really need to work on drinking at least 8 glasses a day....somehow I only find myself consuming about 4-5 glasses a day.