Sodium??? Why can't I stop consuming so much without trying?

Shan1206

Hey Ya'll, What is up with this sodium intake? It is in everything! Is there anyone that has had a low sodium diet?

elliecolorado

Eat as 'clean' as possible. Very little/no processed food is the best way to get your sodium numbers down.

katznkt

Me.

Partly because of my blood pressure and partly because I am just trying to loose weight.

It is really difficult. I basically only eat fresh produce and chicken and don't add salt or oil when I cook. My carbs are either rice or potatoes (1/2 cup per serving 2 times a day)

emilysebastian

You can check my diary if you'd like for ideas! I actually lowered my limit from MFP's default of 2500 to 2000 and stay under about 5/7 days. Just don't look at the last weekend or so--family in town and my birthday

Basically though, I cook a lot from scratch and try to avoid the frozen meals... when I do have a frozen meal, it's usually Kashi or Amy's Organics.

Get to know which foods are your worst enemy (most lunchmeats, for example) and it will be easier to keep it down. I like to use sliced roasted chicken breast to sub for lunchmeat for example.

Good luck!

parvati

Although it is in everything the cleaner you eat, the lower your sodium intake will be. I try to keep my sodium intake to a minimum... The more salt you eat, the mire water you retain...
Feel free to look at my diary if you think it might help you out...

KLo924

A couple months ago my husband was told by his doctor that he needed to go on a low-sodium diet, so we've done an overhaul, although I eat a bit more than him (if you look at my diary, please note that I don't put as much salt in recipes as they call for, but I don't change this when logging them just b/c it's easier).

Anyway - what the person above said - eat as few processed foods as possible. But also, looking at your diary, it looks like you eat a lot of meats - if you do deli meats try to get lower sodium. Cheese also has tons. There are lower sodium cheeses, too, but they still have a lot (except for swiss for some reason). Canned vegetables, beans, etc. are very often packed in salt water so that's why they're high. Oatmeal has none, whereas boxes cereal has tons. And so on -- it really is in SO many foods.

Maybe start by cutting out added salt (i.e., don't salt your food). Food will seem boring for a couple days, but you'd be amazed how quickly you get used to it!! Foods will start to seem to have a lot more flavor on their own

Good luck!

Shan1206

Wow! Thanks so much for the responses! I think I am going to go in my cabinet and throw out all of my salt right now!! I am so tired of water weight gain I don't know what to do.

PrairieRoseNE

Yup, sodium is in just about everything. And yes, I try to stick to a low sodium diet. I've learned to read labels and to watch for sodium in foods you wouldn't expect it to be in. Most days I'm below my allowance, but there are days when it's a struggle.

I've quit buying canned soups and for the canned items I still purchase, I drain & rinse when possible.

Making meals from scratch helps - but too many ingredients that I like to cook with have sodium - it's made grocery shopping a lot tougher!!

Fast foods are terribly high in sodium - so eating out requires alot of research ahead of time.

Good luck with doing the low sodium diet!!

Prairie Rose

barbiecat

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: stay away from anything in a cab, box, or package.........also cheese, bread, deli meats, cereal except oatmeal (the kind you cook, not the instant packages)

eat more veggies----broccoli, green beans, cauliflower :bigsmile:

Mtsidad

TOTALLY my issue as well. For the first few weeks I was like WTF with the sodium levels!?

Today for the first time in four weeks I was *under* my levels. And I'm still OK even 2 hours after my evening snack.

There is no secret beyond reading what's in the food you're eating, and then looking for things you like that have less sodium.

Tonight's dinner was unusual for me in that I had a starchy side (spaghetti noodles) but they were whole-wheat and low in sodium. A tablespoon of fresh Parmesan cheese and a half-cup of roasted chicken and I was set. And I was glad to see that even with the sprinkle of cheese and the addition of meat I didn't blow myself out of the water.

Processed or canned food has lots of salt because it helps preserve the food and it enhances the flavor. We need salt in our diet. I expect most of us, though, unless we're running and sweating, don't need added salt/electrolytes.

So try to wean yourself off high-sodium foods. It might be too much to go cold-turkey.

Oh, and be really careful of baked goods. That was the killer for me as well - I just didn't realize that bread, although not bad for me overall, was adding quite a bit of sodium.