sodium and sugar

heather0416

how bad is it to go over your sodium and sugar? I go over both of them every day. Its so hard not to. Ive been buying some foods that i can find that have less sodium added, but it still adds up in the end.. as far as sugar goes, geez, it seems like everything has quite a bit of sugar. I didnt realize it before i started MFP, how much sugar i was consuming.(I usually go over my sugars eating things like apples, yogurt, milk... Not so much on the sweets anymore except for tonight!) Just wondering if someone can please tell me if im jeopardizing my weight loss by going over my sodium and sugars every day.. Thanks everyone!!!

sweebum

The short term is that sodium causes water retention, so you can feel bloated and not see the scale move.

Sugar is not a great thing to have in excess. It tends to lead to spike your blood sugar causing cravings and sugar crashes.

So to answer your questions, you could see lower results or a stall if you have too much of either on a consistent basis

velvetkat

going over on sodium will cause you to retain water and retain weight. its not hard to stay under the limits that are set. Stay away from processed foods such as sandwich meats and prepackaged meals such as lean cuisine. They taste so good because of the sodium. If you cook your own meals you can regulate how much sodium you injest. I gave up processed foods and white flour foods and my sodium is always between 1000-1500 a day. Every once in a while it will creep up to 2000 but never above that. Read your labels.
Natural sugars arent as bad for you as processed sugars like the kind in cereal. Its very hard to stay under the sugar limit I find. Not sure the answer to that one as I am always over and I eat lots of fruits and veggies.

make sure you drink the 8-10 glasses of water every day.


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heather0416

will drinking more water when i go over my sodium help or make it worse? I havent been drinking as much water as i should either.. Lunch meat huh... dang, any good ideas for substitues? I find it hard to come up with good, healthy lunch ideas. Im a stay at home mom so its kinda whatever i find in the pantry..

RangerSteve

how bad is it to go over your sodium and sugar? I go over both of them every day. Its so hard not to. Ive been buying some foods that i can find that have less sodium added, but it still adds up in the end.. as far as sugar goes, geez, it seems like everything has quite a bit of sugar. I didnt realize it before i started MFP, how much sugar i was consuming.(I usually go over my sugars eating things like apples, yogurt, milk... Not so much on the sweets anymore except for tonight!) Just wondering if someone can please tell me if im jeopardizing my weight loss by going over my sodium and sugars every day.. Thanks everyone!!!

Not necessarily true.

Sugar by itself will cause insulin spikes but sugar mixed with other foods doesn't have the same effect. This is the same reason that the glycemic index fell of the charts. Ingesting single foods at one time on an empty stomach is rarely done. If you put sugar in coffee, it will digest at a different rate than if you put sugar and milk in coffee.

Mixing low/high sugar foods together can balance out a lot of the "effects" of sugar on the blood sugar. This whole idea of being afraid to go over the pre-determined sugar level needs to stop.

RangerSteve

will drinking more water when i go over my sodium help or make it worse? I havent been drinking as much water as i should either.. Lunch meat huh... dang, any good ideas for substitues? I find it hard to come up with good, healthy lunch ideas. Im a stay at home mom so its kinda whatever i find in the pantry..

If you like lunch meat and want less sodium, try rinsing the lunch meat off under the sink and then leaving it for a minute on a paper towel. That'll get rid of a lot of the sodium.

mussmom

I have started to take out lunch meat also. One substitute is hummus. It gives you the taste without the sodium. Load the rest of your sandwich with veggies. Or Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge. I agree with lots of water-for me, I see the scale move down when I intake the daily recommended, and the scale moves up slightly when I am under my water intake. Makes sense when you think about the percentage of your body that is water. I agree with the natural sugar intake, I wouldn't worry about it.

heather0416

I have started to take out lunch meat also. One substitute is hummus. It gives you the taste without the sodium. Load the rest of your sandwich with veggies. Or Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge. I agree with lots of water-for me, I see the scale move down when I intake the daily recommended, and the scale moves up slightly when I am under my water intake. Makes sense when you think about the percentage of your body that is water. I agree with the natural sugar intake, I wouldn't worry about it.

thanks hun!! I have the biggest sweet tooth.. so its hard to stay away from the "bad" sugar but im doing pretty good..