BIGGEST NUTRIENT DOWNFALL?!?

rjcogirl13

I don't know about you, but I am extremely negative on my sodium intake. I'm taking in nearly double what I should!

How do I fix that? What foods are highest in sodium that I should avoid?

What is your biggest problem?

BeautifulScarsWECHANGED

Processed foods and a lot of take out or restaurant foods are high in sodium. Chinese is crazy high!

wrubsie76

Processed/prepackaged meals are very high in sodium. Whenever possible, make meals from scratch using products with as little additives as possible.

ladybg81

I see you eat out A LOT! There's your issue. Make foods at home; much better for you.

Are you even trying to change your eating habits. I think it's great that you have at least made the first step in trying to track everything you are eating. Maybe you need to go back several weeks and look at everyday and see the kind of crap foods you are eating. Those are the types of things most of us were eating that caused us to gain weight. If you continue eating crap food but stay under your calorie goals (which you rarely do), you might reach your goals but you will gain it all back plus some once you get off this"diet."

Good luck with that is all I have to say.

SarahofTwins

Processed/prepackaged meals are very high in sodium. Whenever possible, make meals from scratch using products with as little additives as possible.

Yes especially in soups...I wish they would lower the count.

Guess if you want something good you gotta do it yourself :ohwell:

cillytilly

I went and looked at your diary and I agree it is all the processed foods. EAting out in particular and eating frozen meals or anything that is easy on preperation really is high in sodium. They use it as falvoring and also a preservative. It is better to spend a little time doing it yourself because in the end you will save calories and sodium and get some of the same great flavors.

SimplyDeLish

One look at your diary tells you the answer - you are eating way too much fast/restaurant food and way too much processed food.

Start eating cleaner and you'll not only cut the sodium but drop the weight faster too.

rjcogirl13

I live in a family of 9. I am the oldest of 7 kids and my parents order fast food or pizza or Chinese every night. So if it is impossible to stop eating fast food, then do you have any recommendations for what to eat at those places that is better for me?

I really do wish I could just eat separately, but they don't allow that...

Rilke

I live in a family of 9. I am the oldest of 7 kids and my parents order fast food or pizza or Chinese every night. So if it is impossible to stop eating fast food, then do you have any recommendations for what to eat at those places that is better for me?

I really do wish I could just eat separately, but they don't allow that...

They won't let you cook your own food? Or even buy some frozen veggies for yourself? :S

If not, nearly every fast food place now (with the exception of some of the pizza chains) has a few halfway decent salads. Try to have salad for one meal every day. Go easy on the croutons and dressing and don't get fried chicken on top. Salads should be mostly veggies.

joejccva71

Lunch meats are pretty high in sodium. Chinese food is high. Sausages, cheeses, etc.

Shalimarmandy

I give you major credit for trying!!! At 18 I'm not sure I would even be trying especially since you aren't in full control of your daily meals! You've made the first step - congrats!!

For the second step might i recommend trying out better versions or choices at the resturants your parents choose... I saw olive garden on your diary they have several great choices on the menu I love their pasta fagioli and it is very low and calories and very filling! Watch out for the salad there the dressing is horribly fattening and high in calories. At the fast food resturants try smaller sizes and avoid the fries if you can. For chinese avoid battered and fried things - I avoid the fried rice and get the plain white rice instead and I season it with pepper instead of salt.

You may want to try and talk to your parents and explain that you would love healthier food options and see if they would be willing to help you make better choices by stocking the house with a few things that are for you only.


Good luck to you!!

Riley4ever

Hi, Sorry to hear your dinner options are limited to fast food & takeaways, this will make losing weight very tough for you. If you have to select off a takeaway menu, always look to see if they have any specific options advertised as 'light' or 'healthy' and choose from these e.g. grilled chicken or tuna salad etc. Avoid adding salt to any of your food and avoid or have a reduced amount of any sauces and dressings provided. If you are ordering from a chinese menu this is particularly tricky as a lot of restaurants use Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG) which means salt & sodium content of these meals is excessive. I would try to stick to steamed rice & vegetables & maybe tofu/bean curd wherever possible and avoid any dishes where the base is soya/fish/oyster sauce all of which have very high salt/sodium content (from a calorie point of view stay well away from prawn crackers and anything deep fried in batter!). Also watch your portion size, if having Pizza - go for ones with minimal amount of cheese (no four cheeses!) and cured meats (no salami/pepperoni); veggie pizza's with only a bit of mozzarella are probably best - and choose a small/individual size. If you have to go along with whatever the family order then try and have fewer slices. Try and avoid Fries which are also heavy in salt/sodium and calories.

I am assuming you can exercise some influence over what you eat for breakfast & lunch so Porridge is a good option (check salt content on packet as some brands add salt) with a bit of added jam or honey. Lunch try to go for fish/chicken & salad and fresh fruit. Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) for sodium varies based on your daily calorie amount and which source is quoting it! normally you would expect your intake to be between 1500 to 2300 mg's per day - this upper limit is the equivalent to 1 teaspoon of salt to give you an idea! Even a slice of bread can have 100-200mg's sodium so it is good to start looking at food labels to see what the salt & sodium levels are.

Good luck

anelahm

i am always majoryly over on my carbs and sugars, sometimes proteins...but i still manage to lose weight. sodium is a tricky one. i have to monitor that one more than anything.

hbrekkaas

Maybe look up the info on the restaurants you go to most and see what is high in calories/sodium, and what isn't. Write it down if you need to so you don't forget.

Even if you have no control over where you eat, take control over what you eat. There are tons of options. I noticed in one meal at Wendys you had a baked potato with sour cream, fries and nuggets. You could have a plain baked potato, or a grilled chicken breast, they will sell it to you witout the bun, or you could take the bun off. Salad, chili, lots of other things there. Maybe decide not to have the breadsticks one day at Olive Garden, or have one instead of two.

And portion control! 5 slices of pizza for dinner are not a healthy choice. Try one or two peices of pizza instead and some fruit/veggies.

MinnieInMaine

Not sure if I missed something in your post about limitations but how about volunteering to make dinner a few times a week? It would be good to get used to cooking now anyway for when you're out on your own. Summer is a great time to start because there are all kind of fresh veggies. Just start out with some simple recipes that you think everyone would enjoy and tweak them to be a bit healthier. There are all kinds of resources online for yummy but healthy dinners. I would even bet you're going to save your family some money too. Take out makes life easy but it can get REALLY expensive, espeically when feeding so many!