Sodium. Why do you care about it?

monty619

sodium is the last thing u should track... end of story.

LoggingForLife

sodium is the last thing u should track... end of story.

Unless you have high blood pressure....which could lead to the end of your story!

birdieaz

Because I swell up like crazy when I eat too much. My fingers will feel tight and uncomfortable. I set my daily goal for 2000 and that works for me.

heidiberr

High Blood Pressure runs in the family so I'm trying to ensure I don't have a problem with it as I usually am on the high end of normal/prehypertension when I go to the doctors.

Culley34

For me - I drink a ton of water and that only partially neglects the effects of sodium.

For instance -- yesterday was NFL sunday. I had some pizza, breaksticks, and buffalo wings. I could tell they had a ton of sodium. Despite drinking water all day long, I wake up and my knuckles and fingers are swollen. I can especially feel it when I clench my fists.

Aside from the adverse health factors (e.g., high blood pressue) mentioned by other posters, it really forces me to retain a lot of water weight. I'll see 5-8 lb water weight swings in as little as 1-3 days as a result of getting rid of excess sodium in my body.

monty619

sodium is the last thing u should track... end of story.

Unless you have high blood pressure....which could lead to the end of your story!

well assuming everyone here is trying to eat healthfully and lose weight blood pressure shouldnt be an issue if exercising and controlling calories.

heidiberr

sodium is the last thing u should track... end of story.

Unless you have high blood pressure....which could lead to the end of your story!

well assuming everyone here is trying to eat healthfully and lose weight blood pressure shouldnt be an issue if exercising and controlling calories.

While this usually is the case, blood pressure can also be hereditary. You can do everything right and still have high blood pressure. I exercise frequently, eat right, lost 95 pounds, and I still need to be very conscious of my sodium intake.

See here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/DS00100/DSECTION=risk-factors

monty619

sodium is the last thing u should track... end of story.

Unless you have high blood pressure....which could lead to the end of your story!

well assuming everyone here is trying to eat healthfully and lose weight blood pressure shouldnt be an issue if exercising and controlling calories.

While this usually is the case, blood pressure can also be hereditary. You can do everything right and still have high blood pressure. I exercise frequently, eat right, lost 95 pounds, and I still need to be very conscious of my sodium intake.

See here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/DS00100/DSECTION=risk-factors

i know sodium impacts blood pressure yadda yadda, but so does exercise and body composition which should come waay before you track sodium intake... also the main thing about sodium is that you eat it consistantly and the same level because there is a hormone that is realeased when sodium amounts fluctuate greatly (forgot the name).. so if you eat low sodium then stay like that, if you eat moderate or high sodium stay like that... just dont fluctuate all over the place by eating different levels on a daily basis... basically season food the same every day and be consistant.

cbrrabbit25

I track sodium because it bloats me and makes me look fatter in my legs. i seem to hold it in so its hard to get rid of in my body.

elishazf

I find that if I eat too much sodium I start to bloat so I really watch what has a lot of sodium and what doesn't

ohnoetry

I track it because I used to have high blood pressure when I was younger. I was on BP meds at the tail end of my teen years, so I lost some weight and started watching my salt intake more, no more HBP! I still keep track of it though because you never know, and I'm also a diabetic so it's easier to strain the ol' kidneys.

arcticfox04

I don't have HBP or anything heart related. My issue with Sodium I seem to soak up water weight like a sponge when I go over 2500mg's with all the water I drink 20+ cups a day.

needamulligan

I track sodium for a variety of reasons: blood pressure, my husband's kidney specialist told him that there wouldn't be any kidney damage if it weren't for salt, if I take in too much sodium the scale won't move for days after-at least now I know why. I'm getting older and I need to know where the pitfalls are.

ki4yxo

I had high blood pressure until I started using MFP. I tracked
my sodium, and am now off of my blood pressure medications.

Before that I was taking in about 6,000 mg per day. Pickles,
canned soups, and store bought salsa add up really quick!