Over/ under on sugar, fiber, sodium, protein

jenswwjourney

As much as I try I seem to ALWAYS go over the 2500 daily suggestion for sodium. Which I know is really bad. Not only for various health reasons but b/c it holds on to extra water too!! But I was wondering if anyone else was having this problem or if they are not having this problem what are you eating to keep your sodium intake at a normal level?!

Also, I am almost always over on my protein and fiber intake which I am not too worried about but is that impacting my weight loss?? I am always under on my fat and sugar intake as well. Is that impacting my weight loss?? Carbs I am normally right on track with. So what are you over/ under on ?!?! And how can we make our eating better?!

bridetobe310711

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ralenda

That's exactly the same pattern I'm having too. Over on sodium, fiber, protein and sugar but under on fat and carbs. Curious if anyone has any insight. Keep up the good work!

barbiecat

:bigsmile: your diary isn't public so I don't know what you're eating but I'm guessing that you eat food that comes from packages, boxes, or cans or foods at restaurants or fast food places. Also cheese, deli meat, bread, and cereal are big sodium offenders.

:bigsmile: preparing your meals from fresh ingredients will be the best approach.....also, look at your food diary and see which foods have the big counts in sodium and sugar and don't eat them :bigsmile:

:flowerforyou: many athletes and people who are active change their goals in protein and fiber and make them much higher

poptastic

If you make your diary public, people can give suggestions on what to change?

In general, a lot of sodium is found in prepackaged foods so that might be holding you back. I'd take the MFP recommendations with a pinch of salt (no pun intended though!) because they are just general guidelines.

Eating good fats is important for your overall health though, and will keep you full, so I think it's more important to watch sugar intake than fat.

krishildy

BUMP!

You're not alone!!!!!!!!

I also have a BIG problem with sodium. I know part of it is my food choices, but I still can't figure out how to stay under 2500 mg without eating just plants and nuts. Even cottage cheese, black beans and tuna (which I used to think was healthy, right?) has a lot of sodium in them. I've practically eliminated 90 percent of dairy products from my diet, and I still manage to go over and by a lot at that too. It's getting to the point where I'm starting to wonder if I should just stop eating once I hit 2,500 mg in sodium -- Being encouraged to eat back our exercise calories isn't helping me either because then the recommended calories go up, but the other stuff doesn't.

jperrysunlover

I would love be over on protein and fiber, and under in sugar and carbs. Sugar is my weakness and it holds fat on your body.
As far as sodium goes, I generally try to eat as fresh and raw as possible. Not easy these days because it is time consuming! I tend to sweat like crazy when I exercise, so it keeps my sodium in check.

Manda1987

I second the anti-packaged food thing. I used to go way over on sodium until I stopped eating canned soup and other pre-made foods. Now I pre-package my own food! My homemade soup beats canned any day, and my little frozen meals are way better than Smart Ones

Even if you're eating healthily, sodium can sneak up on you. I was having problems for a while because I used canned beans and chickpeas in my cooking. Anything canned has loads of sodium: it acts as a preservative.

stormieweather

I changed my nutrient ratio to 40c/30f/30p because I believe I need more protein than MFP allows. This ratio works well for my weight loss, as too many carbs slows me down, due to bloat.

I have issues with sodium too, mainly due to cheese. To help this, I preplan my meals and if I see a certain menu is going to slam my sodium levels, I drop something and readjust. Staying away from processed foods helps a lot. I used to think that making it from a box or can was the quickest, most efficient way, but it really isn't any faster. If I do buy processed, I make sure it's low sodium, if possible. Sugar is a problem when I eat sweets, but I don't count fruit towards my sugar allowance. Fiber is naturally fine as long as you eat plenty of fresh veggies and use whole grains instead of processed .

LillysGranny

I'm usually under on sodium: i eat at home at prepare a lot of my own food so that helps tons! I am also always over on fiber and often on protein. I have been losing slowly but steadily, so I don't think your fiber and protein are the issue. I also include nuts everyday to help get my fat up (but I am still mostly way under).

bizco

MFP's default for fiber is dreadfully low. Aim for at least 25g per day. MFP's default for protien (15% of total calories) is the bare minimum. Aim for 20-30%, especially if you're doing strength training (which you should be doing 2-3 times per week). You can customize your settings by going to My Home>>Goals>>Change Goals>>Custom. Save your changes. I increased fiber to 30g and protein to 25% while decreasing carbs and fat each by 5%. I will eventually increase my protein to 30% as I progress in my weight lifting program.

As for sodium, I'm rarely over 2,500mg and try to keep it under 2,000mg. Are you cooking all your meals from scratch using real, whole foods or are you eating processed foods out of a box, can or package? They're loaded with sodium. Your diary will show which foods are causing the problem. Stop eating them and find alternatives.

As for sugar, there's a huge difference between natural sugars found in whole foods like fruit and milk and "added" or refined sugars. Don't worry too much about natural sugars and try to reduce refined sugars. Read the ingredient list carefully and watch for anything that ends in "ose" such as dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose; along with sweetners, syrups, molasses and fruit juice concentrate.

Good luck!

jenswwjourney

Thank you all for your amazing tips and suggestions!! I just made my diary public. Please feel free to check it out and let me know how I can lower those sodium levls

bizco

BUMP!

You're not alone!!!!!!!!

I also have a BIG problem with sodium. I know part of it is my food choices, but I still can't figure out how to stay under 2500 mg without eating just plants and nuts. Even cottage cheese, black beans and tuna (which I used to think was healthy, right?) has a lot of sodium in them.

If you're buying canned black beans instead of dry beans, drain them and rinse them. This will remove most of the sodium. Buy reduced sodium tuna. I buy Chicken of the Sea 50% less sodium and it contains only 90mg of sodium in a 2oz. serving. Switch grocery stores if needed, it's very easy to find reduced sodium foods, especially since diabetes and high blood pressure are huge health issues in America.

jenswwjourney

what does BUMP mean!? haha

SueInAz

"Bump" is a person's way of either keeping the topic close to the top or putting it into their own topics for later reading.

Looking at your diary for the past week, there are definitely a few big sodium culprits: boca burgers, hot dogs and the Hungry Girl meals. Your breakfasts are usually over 1100 mg of sodium alone. You might look into replacement foods which are lower in sodium. Just pick one thing at a time. Little changes add up to big ones, especially over time.

Helena4

Making your meals fresh if possible, this always helps get rid of the nasty preservatives and sodium in ready meals. Make it public and everyone will be able to help/it will stop you eating any crappy stuff (it helped me!!)because you won't want to eat it and let people see it!!

moremari

hi, I read your post and wanted to see how you achieved your goals. What is Isogenics?

Helena4

Making your meals fresh if possible, this always helps get rid of the nasty preservatives and sodium in ready meals. Make it public and everyone will be able to help/it will stop you eating any crappy stuff (it helped me!!)because you won't want to eat it and let people see it!!

Just read that you made it public, sorry! But had a read - franks & pizzas and processed foods - make them go away and the sodium will go with it

AllyS7

I agree with what others had posted. It took me months to win the battle against sodium. I know a lot of people say not to worry about sodium unless you have blood pressure problems, but I've noticed my body feels and looks better around 1,000mg or less.

Feel free to look at my diary for any help! I've mostly taken out a lot of pre-packaged dinners (not all the time though) and chosen low/reduced sodium foods.

jenswwjourney

Hot dogs are the one thing that I eat at work because it takes litterally 1 minute to make and 1 minute to eat. I am a nurse in the busiest ER in the state. I normally don't get 30 minutes (it is more like 15!!) to eat my dinner. So I need something super quick and easy and something that can be cooked in the microwave or not in need of cooking at all. Suggestions on what to eat at work??

Helena4

Hot dogs are the one thing that I eat at work because it takes litterally 1 minute to make and 1 minute to eat. I am a nurse in the busiest ER in the state. I normally don't get 30 minutes (it is more like 15!!) to eat my dinner. So I need something super quick and easy and something that can be cooked in the microwave or not in need of cooking at all. Suggestions on what to eat at work??

Do you have time the night before to make something to take to work? If so....
Try making some pasta with veggies and a low fat sauce - wack it in the microwave for 30 seconds at work and hey pretso, less sodium, yummier food another one that i like is making some chilli with some mince meat, beans and tomatoes and having it with salad (I had it today - yum!) that can be warmed up in the microwave too. I'd recommend anything in the microwave but chicken because it takes a lot longer to reheat for some reason!

For quicker food...
Or, soup and wholemeal bread? choose a chunkey vegtable (low sodium/salt) soup and get your veggies in and wholemeal is a good filler food - just put the soup in the microwave for a minute.
Or, make up a sub with lots of protein - like tuna and add some light mayo and lots of lettuce

That's just a few things I would try

SueInAz

Hot dogs are definitely easy but ugh! :laugh:

Have you tried throwing together a big salad? You can pre-cut the vegetables over the weekend or the night before and put it all together in advance. No microwaving needed! Add the things you like: meats, cheeses, veggies, chickpeas, corn, black beans, hard boiled eggs, etc so it's nice and filling. Put your dressing in a separate container so it doesn't get all soggy. Just watch the sodium counts of the individual things you're putting in there, of course.

Another easy one is tuna, chicken or egg salad. Bring bread and lettuce/tomato packed separately and you have a quick sandwich. Better yet, eat it with celery sticks as scoops for less carbs AND sodium.

Manda1987

For stuff to bring to work, try batch cooking. Make way more dinner than you really need, then freeze it in individual containers (I like the reusable Ziploc twisties in the 2 cup size) and bring it in. Takes no time to zap it, and it's much healthier than hot dogs! I do it with chili, soup, spaghetti, lasagna, etc. There's only two of us, so it makes it a lot easier to cook extra.

msbrownbeauty87

BUMP

I to have the same problems with sodium and sugar. I dont mind any input so how can i make my food diary avilable for everyone to see ?