How much sodium do you have each day? Help please

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13

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  • KariQuiteContrary
    KariQuiteContrary Posts: 274 Member
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    I usually try to stay under 2500 but if it doesn't it doesn't. I just chug some extra water.
  • saugonda1
    saugonda1 Posts: 145 Member
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    i drink plenty of water, Besides i have lost 50 pounds not worrying about sodium,sometimes i'm low most of the times i'm high
  • Discoveri
    Discoveri Posts: 435 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/UponThisRock/view/flushing-the-sodium-237431

    Good post, thanks for that.
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
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    I try and keep it under 2,500. On average it's usually under 2000 and some days under 1000.
  • dansls1
    dansls1 Posts: 309 Member
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    Concerns about high blood pressure were what originally got me on the kick about getting healthy - so I track it to make sure I stay on course. I don't worry if I'm a little over here and there because the average is under - but the BP is why I track it - not to do with losing weight per se.
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    While I know that the FDA generally recommends everyone stay under 1800, when I try to drop my sodium/salt that far, I actually get sick. My BP bottoms out, I get BAD muscle spasms, and I'm miserable. People repeatedly told me that it could be accounting for my weight retention, but I found that when I cut it out, I gained back weight as well.

    I think it's really individual and depends on your body. If you feel bloated or you eat a lot of processed foods and stuff, then I'd look into it. However, it's one area where I let my body tell me, and I find that since I stopped tracking it (it's really hard to stay under 2500mg when you have to eat over 3k a day) I felt a lot better.

    I concentrate more on sugars than anything, because they easily get out of control, and are what impacts insulin levels.
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
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    No point tracking sodium, any "weight" it causes you to gain is just water. Unless you have an unusually high sodium day before weigh in it isn't going to make any difference.

    That's fine if you are only on here to lose weight. For me and lots of others it's very much about optimising our health. I use all the nutritional breakdown to make sure everything's as good as I can realistically get it.
  • Diandra81
    Diandra81 Posts: 128 Member
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    I try to have no more than 1200 mg daily....
  • MontagneGitane
    MontagneGitane Posts: 127 Member
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    No point tracking sodium, any "weight" it causes you to gain is just water. Unless you have an unusually high sodium day before weigh in it isn't going to make any difference.

    That's fine if you are only on here to lose weight. For me and lots of others it's very much about optimising our health. I use all the nutritional breakdown to make sure everything's as good as I can realistically get it.

    exactly
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    While I know that the FDA generally recommends everyone stay under 1800, when I try to drop my sodium/salt that far, I actually get sick. My BP bottoms out, I get BAD muscle spasms, and I'm miserable. People repeatedly told me that it could be accounting for my weight retention, but I found that when I cut it out, I gained back weight as well.

    I think it's really individual and depends on your body. If you feel bloated or you eat a lot of processed foods and stuff, then I'd look into it. However, it's one area where I let my body tell me, and I find that since I stopped tracking it (it's really hard to stay under 2500mg when you have to eat over 3k a day) I felt a lot better.

    I concentrate more on sugars than anything, because they easily get out of control, and are what impacts insulin levels.

    EXACT same thing was happening to me. Turns out I'm hypotensive (exact opposite of hypertensive).

    FWIW, protein also induces insulin spikes. Unless you're diabetic or eating chocolate all day every day, don't worry about the sugar either. Just focus on calories and eating as much whole quality food as you can.
  • saiabone
    saiabone Posts: 29 Member
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    Can someone check out my diary to see how I am doing..Please be somewhat nice I am learning
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
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    Your diary looks pretty good on the whole, and your sodium levels aren't all that high.

    If you're concerned about just cut back on processed stuff - weightwatchers products, highly processed cheese etc. You could also have whole eggs which are nutritionally very good instead of egg beaters (which I've only come across since using this site, I don't think we have this product in the UK. Euuugh!)
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
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    No point tracking sodium, any "weight" it causes you to gain is just water. Unless you have an unusually high sodium day before weigh in it isn't going to make any difference.

    That's fine if you are only on here to lose weight. For me and lots of others it's very much about optimising our health. I use all the nutritional breakdown to make sure everything's as good as I can realistically get it.

    exactly

    I'm totally not bothered about health I guess

    *lights cigarette, swigs gin*
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Can someone check out my diary to see how I am doing..Please be somewhat nice I am learning

    Overall looks okay, but you're only netting about 1,000 calories per day. I'd suggest increasing your calorie intake by about 200 calories. You're burning 600-800 calories in workouts on a regular basis. Otherwise, it's looks great. Good job!
  • saiabone
    saiabone Posts: 29 Member
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    Your diary looks pretty good on the whole, and your sodium levels aren't all that high.

    If you're concerned about just cut back on processed stuff - weightwatchers products, highly processed cheese etc. You could also have whole eggs which are nutritionally very good instead of egg beaters (which I've only come across since using this site, I don't think we have this product in the UK. Euuugh!)

    The weight watchers food are recipes I have entered not the frozen kind 95% of the time...and ok about the eggs! I was actually going to eat a hard boiled egg later
  • saiabone
    saiabone Posts: 29 Member
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    Thanks for the help everyone so far!
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
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    I don't add salt to anything. I literally haven't picked up the salt shaker in months, which is saying something for someone who loves salty food, and I still end up over my sodium limit on a lot of days. I've started taking a potassium supplement, and my BP is very good, but I still need to cut the sodium some more.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    If you're only here to lose weight it doesn't matter very much. An abundance of sodium in your diet may cause you to retain water but even if you're constantly retaining (say) 5lbs of water, that 5lbs of water is going to be consistent whether you're losing fat or not. So when you're losing weight, you're losing weight regardless of water retention.

    That said... I do not care about my sodium intake because I don't usually eat food from a can or a package.
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
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    Mine is usually 600 - 1000 a day. I try to eat clean as much as poss and avoid tins/packets I cook everything from scratch.
  • HealthyIsMyNewNormal
    HealthyIsMyNewNormal Posts: 5 Member
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    So the thing about sodium is this: the amount you should consume depends on how physical you are in the day.

    Athletes actually drink more sodium-rich drinks like Gatorade because sweating depletes salt from the body (yes, we all need salt in healthy amounts). If you're active (60 minutes of exercise a day), it's okay to go a little over MFP daily sodium recommendations. If you're not active, it really is a good idea to find ways to limit your sodium to the daily amount on this site.

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