How Do I Cut Back On My Sodium Intake

MandaPaigeSparkles88

Hey guys any suggestions on how I can cut back on my sodium intake?

AlphamaleBAMF

Try eating foods that have less sodium in them.

Stuff like chips and take out and baked goods have a lot of sodium. So does tinned food.

Fresh food generally does not.

melaniecheeks

Its all those spiced meats and pepperoni that are putting your over.

happyfeetrebel1

I took a look at your diary. Lunchmeats are super high in sodium and so are some cheeses. Those will fill up your daily macro FAST!

MandaPaigeSparkles88

Thanks guys, I am gonna start cutting back. But all that is really really good lol

bulbadoof

Anything that's been processed is high in sodium. Avoid premade foods as much as possible.

LilacDreamer

Honestly?

First I would change your goal from 2500 (MFP's goal) to somewhere between 1500 and 1800

I have my goal set to 1800. If I know i'm going to go over it, I eat foods that are high in potassium to offset the sodium.

You don't need a lot of sodium for your body to function and MFP's goal is much to high. Pre-packaged sandwich meats are really a killer. Look for foods that are high in potassium if you want to eat the sandwich meats, have them with some avocado. Also, look for lower sodium varieties. I am a vegetarian, but I KNOW they make them, you just have to keep an eye out for them.

Also, making your own meat would not be horrible...like buying some chicken or turkey, cooking it and then slicing it up for sandwiches and salads.

Just be diligent. I am huge on label reading. I NEED to know what's going in to my body. I try to keep everything in proportion....for example, if I'm going to have a meal I will look at the calorie content of the meal and then the sodium. I try to make sure the sodium content will not be more than the calorie total of the meal. That helps too.


http://askville.amazon.com/foods-high-Potassium/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=10048011

ZeroWoIf

I buy my meats from a butcher shop and try to avoid the bagged ones. Or get lean meats from known good places that are not pre-seasoned. Switch to onion powder and garlic. Measure your salt properly.

SEishen

You should also be mindful of your potassium intake, which almost EVERYONE needs to increase! Concentrate on plant-based whole foods (coincidentally, nonprocessed) and you'll take care of both.

JosieRawr

on days that I eat mostly whole meats and foods(as opposed to more processed) I'm well under my sodium limit! I typically don't add salt to things that I cook, I add unsalty minced onions or garlic or pepper or chili pepper to satisfy my "flavor" taste buds.

tvanhooser

I just recently started experimenting with that and I first looked at my diary and the recipes I had entered in the recipe calculator tool and identified the biggest culprits. No surprise that the highest days for sodium were the days we made Chinese food but there were some surprises too, like my deli meats that I use for low-calorie lunch wraps and cottage cheese. Pasta sauce of any kind was also high. Once I knew what was causing the high sodium counts, I started looking for what could be switched to a low or no sodium version such as getting unsalted butter instead of salted. I asked the deli which of the lunch meats were the lowest sodium and got those instead (not that that makes them low because I read that to be able to be labeled "reduced sodium", the rule is it only has to have 25% or more less sodium than the regular version so if the regular is really high, then 25% less can still be alot!) I also started reading the nutrition labels for things that don't have low sodium versions and choosing, for example, the mozzarella with the least sodium mg listed. I also stopped adding salt to most recipes (except for the banana bread I made tonight....you can't really get away with that in baking) and using more pepper, herbs and salt-free seasonings. Honestly, with most recipes, I don't even notice other than that I can taste the actual food and not just the salt -- and the food is good all by its' little old self! ) I read up on sodium recommendations at the Mayo Clinic site and since I am on high blood pressure meds and I wanted to see if lowering my sodium would knock me off the plateau I was on (it seems to have worked!), I customized my goal settings to 1500 mg per day instead of the default 2500 MFP gave me, which is the maximum recommendation for the general population but lower is always better in this case. Then I changed the nutrient tracking setting so it shows me sodium instead of cholesterol since the cholesterol was pretty well under control most days unless I had an egg for breakfast. That helps me keep an eye on where I am as I pre-plan my daily meals and I can make adjustments to the rest of the day if there is one meal or dish that is high in sodium for the day (such as my husband's favorite casserole for tomorrow --even with no ADDED sodium, it has alot of sodium in it!!) so I don't completely go over. If I'm a little over, I don't sweat it cause I've got the setting low anyway so it's still lower than it was when I wasn't paying attention to it. Anyway, that's what I've tried so far and it seems to help so good luck!

AlphamaleBAMF

You should also be mindful of your potassium intake, which almost EVERYONE needs to increase!

That comment has actually been quite helpful for me. I had no idea I needed more potassium. I just checked mine on MFP and it says today I got around 486, which is very low. But would be average for me.

That is why I like these forums, you learn something new every day.

MandaPaigeSparkles88

Thank you guys so much for this information I appreciate it. I guess when I was buying all this lunch meat and chips I was just focused on fat and calories and didn't realize till after a few days I kept going over and over on my sodium intake. I will have a sandwich either once a week or I am going to try to cut it out all together and start eating things like chicken and tuna and start being mindful of what I am putting into my body. And not focus so much on my fat and calories and focus on others things as well. I appreciate your feedback!!!

eireannyoung

I'm also trying to keep my sodium intake low - my sodium goal is around 1500mg per day.
The absolute best thing to do is avoid packaged meat and fish... that stuff is crazy high in sodium! )
Packaged mac 'n cheese and quick dinners are also really high in sodium.
Best thing to do is eat clean, whole foods and reduce the amount of packaged foods you consume.

eireannyoung

I LOVE salami and packaged smoked salmon, but OMG my sodium levels go through the roof on the days I eat them!

mccbabe1

You should also be mindful of your potassium intake, which almost EVERYONE needs to increase!

That comment has actually been quite helpful for me. I had no idea I needed more potassium. I just checked mine on MFP and it says today I got around 486, which is very low. But would be average for me.

That is why I like these forums, you learn something new every day.

love the posotive--ness good stuff.. love good forums w/decent peeps and not meanies...:drinker:

Miss_Aubrey

And basically ANY cheese not in the deli section.. Well all cheese basically has tons of sodium per slice example anywhere from 350-500mg in each slice. Buy Applegate Farms yogurt cheese slices: Only about 100mg per slice.

SEishen

"Balance Sodium with Potassium for Good Health"
http://www.naturalnews.com/024539_potassium_sodium_diet.html

SEishen

You should also be mindful of your potassium intake, which almost EVERYONE needs to increase!

That comment has actually been quite helpful for me. I had no idea I needed more potassium. I just checked mine on MFP and it says today I got around 486, which is very low. But would be average for me.

That is why I like these forums, you learn something new every day.

Actually, 'twas my seriously deficient potassium intake that started me on a journey to very successful healthier diet, and by "diet" I mean the foods that my body needs, not caloric restriction! Just have a look at my food diary for today! Fruits, fruits, veggies, veggies, veggies! And lean chicken. And a bit of yogurt. Mostly plants. ☺

Moveit80

Drink plenty of water but the best thing to balance out sodium is a HIGH potassium intake! ) The most important thing I actually focus on my diet is potassium! Being that the potassium intake is up to 3,500 says something and the recommended amount your supposed to get is SO high. Try adding some of these to your diet: bananas, skim milk with vitamins A&D, Kellogg's All Bran cereal, Red Bell Peppers, low sodium Ragu sauce, I actually have one ALDI Fit & Active chocolate diet shake a day (a slim fast knock off) that one can has 700 in potassium which is higher than slim fast! And it also has protein, calcium, and vitamin c n lots of other vitamins in it too. Just WATCH your SUGAR intake too though! I don't eat any extra things throughout the day that has sugar in them. That can really get you! Just pay attention to the back of everything you have per day to stay within your limit depending on everything you have that day. Message me If you want to know more! Keep up the good work n congrats on your weight loss today too!:D

Moveit80

^^^ Actually the ALDI weight loss shake has 740 mg of potassium in it..... But I jus noticed everyone has it logged in here as 730....but the back of my cans say 740...o well! lol

MandaPaigeSparkles88

I appreciate your guys comments so much, that's why I ask questions because this is my first journey and I know I am going to make mistakes along the way. That's why my food diary is open I want people to say hey you need to be mindful of what you are doing. So thank you guys so very much for your advice