Tracking sodium

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lucythe
lucythe Posts: 33
in Food and Nutrition
I just added sodium to my list of nutritional info being tracked. I am way, way over my goal level for sodium intake, slightly over on protein and low on carbs and fats. I'm getting very, very confused. Any advice?

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  • TheYoungRetiree
    TheYoungRetiree Posts: 84 Member
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    I've wondered about this too! I am always ridiculously over on my sodium too and have made an appointment with my doctor to talk about the levels and what to do.
  • Darlis
    Darlis Posts: 191 Member
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    I find most of my sodium comes from processed foods....I am making an effort to avoid them as much as possible...not easy when you work. If I go over on sodium then I up my water intake to help flush it out of my system.
  • CaptainAmerica1970
    CaptainAmerica1970 Posts: 435
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    50 carb, 35 protein, 15 fats, less than 2500 mg sodium.
  • MyJourney11
    MyJourney11 Posts: 97
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    When I had a trainer he insisted that I try to stay under on my sodium and eat well over my protein allowance.
  • NA_Willie
    NA_Willie Posts: 340 Member
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    It is SUPER difficult to stay under on sodium and it is the only number I really care about.
  • atd81
    atd81 Posts: 225 Member
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    The last 2 days for me, I had grossly high sodium intake (before adding sodium to my tracking list) and really felt the weight of it. Weighed myself this morning and found I had gained 2lbs (more than likely due to all that sodium and water retention). Looking back on my diary over the last week and a half though, I had been on the right track and had stayed well below the RDA. Just try to keep your sodium count to below the RDA and you should be fine.

    I sometimes go over the proteins or carbs, but more often than not, I'm below the limit for all of the ones I'm tracking (cals, proteins, carbs, fats and sodium). Processed foods contain a lot of sodium, so as long as you control what goes into the foods you eat, you'll be fine.
  • Hourglass25
    Hourglass25 Posts: 340 Member
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    Sodium comes from processed foods, specially fast foods, and frozen meals. I am usually at 1000 or so, crabs at 100 grams or less protein is abiously high in the 100's, and all of my fat comes from healthy fats like avocado, almonds,or peanut butter.
  • springtrio
    springtrio Posts: 429 Member
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    When I had a trainer he insisted that I try to stay under on my sodium and eat well over my protein allowance.

    I find this nearly impossible (I do so/so on the sodium...win some lose some) but on the protein. I'm pescetarian and I almost never eat over on my protein and some days I find it hard to meet. If I ate two things of chicken in addition to what I'd eat now I'd be good but no meat here.
  • Ghlt4
    Ghlt4 Posts: 241 Member
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    Try to reduce the processed food you eat. That is where all your salt is coming from. I do not eat any processed food and my salt intake is always way below 1700mg. If you are always way over make sure you drink plenty.
  • handley1234
    handley1234 Posts: 13 Member
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    I find sodium much easier to control when you make your own food at home. It's more time consuming, but most of the time you end up getting more food for your money, and you can experiment and find ways to make things better. A lot of things you buy in the store have a lot of sodium in them, when you could make the same thing at home with much, much less sodium content. Also, look for low sodium foods when you shop. There are a lot of things you can buy these days with lower sodium content than the original (condiments, canned veggies, etc.). Eating fresh fruits and veggies is also a great way to cut down on sodium, because a lot of time the cans and jars have a high sodium content. Those little 80mg here and 40mg there sure do add up fast, don't they? lol
  • handley1234
    handley1234 Posts: 13 Member
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    Also, I've heard that drinking plenty of water can help flush some of that sodium out of your system.
  • ryanclemson
    ryanclemson Posts: 4
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    Sodium is a tough one. I never get under 2000 mg/day but as others have said, drink lots of water to flush it out. Too much sodium in your diet can lead to heart problems, especially high blood pressure. I wouldn't worry if you are within 10% of goal. Avoid things like fast food, sandwich meats, breads, soups, and chips, and salad dressings - this is where I rack up all of my sodium. Basically anything you eat while dining out is going to be loaded with the stuff.

    At home, I've even bought Low Sodium Rip-L potato chips just to help chip away at my daily totals. They are surprisingly tasty! One of my favorite meals is a turkey and swiss sandwhich on wheat bread with potato chips, but it probably has nearly half of my sodium for the day. Oh well, that just means dinner is cereal and fruit!
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    As others have said, you need to make your own food. The biggest healthy step you can take it to eat as little processed foods as possible, make as much as you can yourself. For example, if you get a pre-made chicken breast it's likely going to be a good several hundred or more in sodium, where if you just used something sodium free like Mrs. Dash to season the chicken and then grill it yourself...very very little sodium.

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