Sodium, Daily

cannman

Hi everyone,

In the past, I never really tracked anything besides calories, but recently I noticed that I might have a sodium problem! Blood pressure is fine and no major health issues to report, but I just love my salt! So I'm making an effort to slow it down. MFP gives me 2500mg a day to consume. Should I strive to meet this number or should I fight to keep it as LOW as possible?

thanks!

-CM

jaceface87

From what others have said as well, It seems that if you go too much over your alotted amount on sodium that your body will retain more water weight and can cause you to feel bloated and can even make your weight go up on the scale. I wasn't happy to learn of this being a salt lover myself.

Acg67

From what others have said as well, It seems that if you go too much over your alotted amount on sodium that your body will retain more water weight and can cause you to feel bloated and can even make your weight go up on the scale. I wasn't happy to learn of this being a salt lover myself.

That is true, but since it's just water it's not a big deal. Even if you gain some water weight, it's easily lost

mommyhas4boyss

i also have a problem with sodium..... i CAN NOT seem to get it down!! i try to watch it everyday but i go over everyday. blah.

jaceface87

If you eat a lot of processed foods, (cereals, lean cuisines, special K bars, soups, even canned vegetables) that could be where a lot of your sodium is coming from. I figured this out recently too, since sodium wasn't something I was too concerned with starting out until I realized that I'd been working really hard and GAINING weight instead of losing due to water retention. Now I'm trying to cut out the processed foods, buying reduced sodium soups even though they don't taste the greatest haha, and eating more fresh fruit than snack bars. Hope that helps a little. I also heard that increasing your potassium intake can help balance out high sodium levels. Not completely sure on the validity of that theory, but it's worth looking into.

mollyanne01

I try to keep my sodium as low as possible since I'm very sensitive to it. What everyone else has said is true! It makes you retain so much water and although it is just water, high sodium levels are a bad habit to keep. I never realized how much sodium is in our everyday foods. I had to switch to a purely clean diet (NOTHING processed) in order to stay under 2300 mg per day. I miss the salt, but I don't miss how it made me feel.

mrsdizzyd84

I have HBP so I've been ordered by my Doc to keep my sodium down. I'm supposed to keep it at or around 1500mg, but that is damn near impossible for me. Instead, I focus on keeping it down to 2000mg or less. I can usually do this so long as I don't eat out or eat much processed food. I've started planning out my meals for the whole day, and this helps to make sure I stay within my goals.