Quit blaming salt for failure to lose weight

delilah47

I see on many posts the "experts" are telling people the reason they are not losing weight for long periods of time is that the person is eating too much sodium (salt). Salt can cause a temporary water-weight gain or cause you to retain water for a period of time, but it does not make you gain fat or cause you not to lose fat if you are managing your calories correctly. We probably all know by now, too much salt is not good for you because it may cause you to retain water which can put extra pressure on your heart and blood vessels and cause many organs to work harder. Too much salt is not a good thing, but it is *not* what's causing you to gain or lose fat.

So, yes, if you ate a big ham meal or have been eating more salt than usual the day(s) before your weigh-in, you may appear to gain a few pounds on the scale or remain the same as your last weigh-in, but if you have been following your calorie regime, you will still be losing weight. If you don't lose weight for several weeks, you need to look elsewhere for the reason.

spinitoff

You're using "fat" and "weight" interchangeably here, Delilah. If someone is eating a lot of sodium, or, and this is often the case, has reduced calories but upped sodium (a lot of low-calorie shortcuts are sodium heavy), they may be losing fat while maintaining their weight; that is, they may be shrinking their fatty tissue, but they are not showing this loss on the scale due to water retention from the increase (or abnormally high) sodium intake.

I don't think anyone is blaming salt for not losing fat. However, if you're eating a lot of sodium, it becomes more important that you rely on a measurement other than the scale as a way of tracking your progress.

delilah47

You're using "fat" and "weight" interchangeably here, Delilah. If someone is eating a lot of sodium, or, and this is often the case, has reduced calories but upped sodium (a lot of low-calorie shortcuts are sodium heavy), they may be losing fat while maintaining their weight; that is, they may be shrinking their fatty tissue, but they are not showing this loss on the scale due to water retention from the increase (or abnormally high) sodium intake.

I don't think anyone is blaming salt for not losing fat. However, if you're eating a lot of sodium, it becomes more important that you rely on a measurement other than the scale as a way of tracking your progress.

What? You just said the same thing I said, except for one thing. Measuring: If you are retaining water, it is going to make you bloated. Measuring isn't going to work because water weight gain is water, which has volume, which is what you are measuring. :huh:

fteale

Amen

spinitoff

My point is simply that recognizing the influence of sodium on weight isn't something to be ignored, and I don't think anyone anywhere is implying that high sodium diets are the reason a person isn't losing fat. As for measurements, you don't retain water weight in the same focused locations that you do fat, so yes, clothes will fit better if you've lost 0 weight but have decreased your body fat and increased your water equally I would guess, but I didn't necessarily mean literal measuring tape measurements, I just meant that you should look at your diet and exercise as a central tool for determining success in a given week.

If a person is not losing weight over a couple of weeks despite negative net calories, they might want to look at several things: their basal metabolism calculation, the accuracy of their exercise calculation, or, finally, whether or not they're entering in all of their food. I wouldn't look to sodium for a weight offset excuse for long, but I don't think it's insignificant on a day-to-day basis.

delilah47

My point is simply that recognizing the influence of sodium on weight isn't something to be ignored, and I don't think anyone anywhere is implying that high sodium diets are the reason a person isn't losing fat. As for measurements, you don't retain water weight in the same focused locations that you do fat, so yes, clothes will fit better if you've lost 0 weight but have decreased your body fat and increased your water equally I would guess, but I didn't necessarily mean literal measuring tape measurements, I just meant that you should look at your diet and exercise as a central tool for determining success in a given week.

If a person is not losing weight over a couple of weeks despite negative net calories, they might want to look at several things: their basal metabolism calculation, the accuracy of their exercise calculation, or, finally, whether or not they're entering in all of their food. I wouldn't look to sodium for a weight offset excuse for long, but I don't think it's insignificant on a day-to-day basis.

This is the last reply from me. On measurements:
When you are losing weight, your body "holds space" in your fat cells, temporarily, just in case you are trying to trick it. So, when some of the fat goes out of the fat cell, it is replace with water and held there until the body senses it's safe to let it go. If you are measuring (which you are now backtracking on) the measurement will be, pretty much, the same depending on how much water is being retained and how much is retained because of excess salt consumption.

The reason I posted this is; this very morning I read yet another post with someone telling a person asking for help with the fact they haven't lost weight for months that it is probably sodium that's responsible.

Now, quit trying to be one of those "experts" trying to prove me wrong and move on. You have moved to trying to baffle with BS now.

spinitoff

Well we agree on this: if you are having problems losing weight over a period of months, it's certainly not sodium that is to blame. As for your issues with how I use the word measurement, I simply meant it in the context of however one measures their progress; exclusively using the scale isn't always the best method. I'm not backtracking, I was (as it turns out pointlessly) clarifying what I meant for you.

As for your poor attitude, I would imagine there's likely no easy answer for that either. No one is trying to baffle you with BS. You are, however, surprisingly crabby for almost no reason at all. My mistake was in having responded in the first place.

Nevertheless, you will still always be my first, Delilah. :flowerforyou: Cheer up! Life is short.

paulamarsden

before we descend into yet *another* b1tchy thread...

Salt is the life giver, people are so scared of it.

you can die from having too little.

it was once more prized than gold, the romans traded it instead of money.

MaryMary11

Salt is the life giver, people are so scared of it.

you can die from having too little.

it was once more prized than gold, the romans traded it instead of money.

salt in moderation is a good thing. It is a natural electrolyte and something my dr told me to increase in my diet as I was not getting enough! (I was getting very light headed, low energy, etc.)

spinitoff

Salt is the life giver, people are so scared of it.

you can die from having too little.

it was once more prized than gold, the romans traded it instead of money.

salt in moderation is a good thing. It is a natural electrolyte and something my dr told me to increase in my diet as I was not getting enough! (I was getting very light headed, low energy, etc.)

What a great diagnosis! Hello salty popcorn!! :happy: