Going over sodium and sugar?

misseseaj2010
misseseaj2010 Posts: 47
in Food and Nutrition
I have been going over my sodium and sugar everyday. I mostly care about the calories and fat, but it does bother me to keep going over the other categories.

I think the problem with the sodium is eating processed food like canned soup/vegetables or like oatmeal packets. I was wondering how many other people go over the salt and if you don't, how do you not?

I think my problem with sugar is not planning/thinking about balancing my food enough. Like for breakfast eat flavored oatmeal and fruit and then that's the majority of my sugar for the day instead of trying to split it up. Your thoughts on this?

Any suggestions on how to not go over sugar and sodium would be appreciated.

Replies

  • sk_pirate
    sk_pirate Posts: 282 Member
    I thought that I would be over my sodium lots but as it turns out, preparing foods at home is pretty low in sodium! I'm mindful to buy low sodium options though. I make sure my spices for steak, chicken and veggies are all low or no salt. There's enough sodium in everyday foods, I think? If you like salt as a seasoning (I do!!) i'd try sea salt in a grinder rather than table salt. Table salt is brutal.

    When I do eat prepackaged foods on days I am lazy, I bulk the rest of the day up with raw veggies and things of that sort.

    As for sugar, I can't help you there. I don't even have it on my visible macros because I know MFP calculates it wonky and eating 2 apples or something like that will put you over. So unrealistic. As long as you're not a Homer Simpson and eat spoonsful of sugar out of the bag, you're probably fine :flowerforyou:
  • Brads2ndLife
    Brads2ndLife Posts: 72
    As for sugar, I can't help you there. I don't even have it on my visible macros because I know MFP calculates it wonky and eating 2 apples or something like that will put you over. So unrealistic. As long as you're not a Homer Simpson and eat spoonsful of sugar out of the bag, you're probably fine :flowerforyou:

    I wondered about that myself. The sugar target makes it impossible to eat much fruit.
  • TLWallperson
    TLWallperson Posts: 125
    Have the same problem...drives me crazy that I continually go over my sodium and sugar, especially when most of my sugar intake is coming from fruits. I eat half a grapefruit for breakfast and I'm already halfway to my sugar for the day...GRRRRRR!:grumble:
    Personally I have ZERO idea as how to keep from going over, but I would also like to know if anyone has any suggestions or whether it even matters that much.:indifferent:
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Ignore the sugar. It's just a subset of the carbs.

    As for sodium - watch out for pre-packaged food, and things like deli meat. I was amazed when I saw how much salt was in a slice of lunch meat! Maybe try frozen or fresh veggies instead of the canned ones, and look for the low sodium soups (or make your own!).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The sugar recommendation on MFP is based upon the recommendation from the AHA for ADDED/REFINED sugar. This recommendation does not consider fruit and veg. There is no standardized recommendation for total sugar that I am aware of. The recommendation for added sugar relates to the obesity epidemic and the link between that and high fructose corn syrup and added sugars in many refined/processed carbohydrates.

    If you're eating a lot of refined/processed, prepackaged foods, you are most likely getting a lot of sugar there, and definitely a boat load of salt. If you're really worried about it (i.e. you have a medical condition that warrants worrying about it) cut out foods with high fructose corn syrup and/or added sugar and generally eat more natural, whole foods.

    I have to watch both due to medical considerations, but I still go over on sugar with my fruit intake...but having eliminated high fructose corn syrup from my diet as well as reducing my added sugars and carbohydrates overall has completely reversed my pre-diabetic issue I was having before.
  • maa59115
    maa59115 Posts: 29 Member
    Don't worry about sugar and sodium, just keep an eye on your macros and calories. If you notice your eating too much sodium eat less prepacked foods. Keep water intake up as well!
  • Brads2ndLife
    Brads2ndLife Posts: 72
    Don't worry about sugar and sodium, just keep an eye on your macros and calories. If you notice your eating too much sodium eat less prepacked foods. Keep water intake up as well!

    What do you mean by macros?
  • DOMIDEAN
    DOMIDEAN Posts: 1
    i tend to go over too. hummm . for now i will focus on fat carbs calories. since in losing! and dont have bp issues
    im certain mine is from soup and el pollo loco chicken.
  • AboutT1ME
    AboutT1ME Posts: 39 Member
    Almost every day.
  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    I try to stay within my sugars but realized after I made a big salad for dinner that my cherry tomatoes put me over my sugar. At that point I dont look too much at sugar when I total up the good sugars. As long as you arent eating refined sugars you should be fine.
    As for salt the American Heart Assoc recommends no more than 1500 mg a day. So I try to watch that. I dont put extra salt and I buy stuff that has no salt or low salt.
    I worry more about protein than anything else. Being a Pesca/Vegatarian I have to watch protein more.
    In the morning try making your own oatmeal packets and add fresh fruit to sweeten it. That should cut down on sugars.
  • Johanne1957
    Johanne1957 Posts: 167 Member
    Was told by a nutritionist that MFP sugars are too low anyway...Sodium, well as someone said earlier, cooking at home with fresh ingredients helps a lot to keep that part down...

    Anything out of a box, bag or frozen will add to daily sodium amounts big time!
  • delvallegarza
    delvallegarza Posts: 1 Member
    I have always had this problem with my sugar intake. At the end of the day, I am trying to figure out what to eat that is super low or does not contain sugar. I have started to log my food every morning. This way, I can adjust what I am eating before breakfast and it is already calculated though dinner. I have a few calories left, so if I need an extra snack, I can verify that ai have enough calories and I am good to go. Doing this, I am not going over in any category. Good luck!
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Don't worry about sugar and sodium, just keep an eye on your macros and calories. If you notice your eating too much sodium eat less prepacked foods. Keep water intake up as well!

    What do you mean by macros?

    Macronutrients: protein, fat and carbohydrates.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I try and stay under on sodium but some days I totally blow it (like today... I had smoked salmon. Ok I had to use a generic entry, but yeah, it probably had my daily 2500 just in there). I don't care that much about it anyway, I mostly use it to get an idea of what's higher in sodium than I thought.

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