SODIUM - A few questions related to weight loss

johnguitarman

I recently noticed that I have been going over on my sodium intake on average of 1500 to 2500mg each day. I see where MFP says I should get a total of 2250 for the whole day. How much can you go over and still be pretty safe with sodium intake? I am still working out the kinks in my diet and plan to start incorporating better choices with lower sodium and ditch the processed junk.

I was wondering if you eat alot of sodium and it turns into water weight when does your body flush it out? Is it when you workout and sweat or do you hold onto it for days at a time? Also can holding onto water weight from an increase in sodium mask true fat loss making you think you are not losing but in reality you did lose a bit.

Thanks

shadow2soul

I'm always over on my sodium (way over). Depending on how much water I drink during the day, depends on if I retain the water or not the next day. But it hasn't had a negative impact on my weight loss.

The longest I've held onto water weight was 6 days. After which, I lost the water weight and an additional pound.

sapphire318

Bumping

sarah44254

sodium is pretty person dependent.

some folks can eat 4000mg a day and not retain water, others start seeing negative effects at 2000mg

if your blood pressure, and other health areas are average/normal, keeping it at 2300-2800 should be ok. with practice and vigilance, you can spot high sodium foods and decide how to reduce them in your daily intake. often making home meals has less sodium than eating out or having packaged items.

and if you ever feel like you've just had WAY too much sodium that day, down a half gallon extra in water and it will help reduce water retention.

sarah44254

oh i didn't read your post well enough, sorry!

you seem to know whats going on. water weight from sodium can last anywhere from hours to two weeks (whoaaaaa)

ChristineS_51

Hi there - I think the sodium is monitored because we tend to over eat sodium due to the amount of processed foods in the average diet.

I try and avoid sodium where I can because when I eat something with a lot of sodium my weight immediately shoots up next morning. (I weigh daily, know I shouldn't!!) eg bacon, corned beef, restaurant meals. If I do have something with more sodium I try and boost my water intake on the principle that it will "flush" it out - not sure if that is actually the case :laugh: . I am old, fairly sedentary, so not sure how it works with a young man doing workouts etc. Our bodies do need sodium, but not in the amounts ingested by the average person.

I would also watch items in the database, some things added by other users don't have correct/any sodium, presumably they don't worry about it!

Punching in what you eat, and tweaking, substituting healthier, fresher options will help you. Again, be careful of foods that say Low Salt or Low Fat - usually that means they have high something else - like sugar / sodium / fats! Eliminating highly processed / ready foods is a good plan. Good luck

mudmonkeyonwheels

Sodium only really needs to be limited if you have high bp or big problems with water retention. I know personally if my sodium gets below 2000mg a day, my bp drop even lower and I get dizzy spells!

Wilmingtonbelle

I share my MFP diary with my doctor and she freaked when she saw it had 2,500 mg of sodium. She said that's way too high and my target should be around 1,500. Processed foods, diet drinks, freezer meals like Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers are very high. She said to focus on preparing my own food and use salt alternatives such as Mrs. Dash, Braggs Amino Spray and fresh juices like lemon or citrus on salads and veggies. She also reminded me to drink my 8 glasses of water which helps flush the system. It's tough because I grew up on well water and live in the city now. It tastes like a swimming pool...:grumble:

I tend to retain water with salt so I am focusing on reducing my sodium to the recomended amount by my doctor.

DISCLAIMER: This is the advice my doctor gave me so you can generalize it to your own situation and consult your doctor/nutritionist. Don't flame me if you don't agree (sad I have to post this as 99% of the people here are respectful...but...)

Slainte! :drinker:

tinkermommc

http://www.cdc.gov/salt/

I notice a difference when my sodium is over 1500. But if I have a high day I can usually counterbalance it with lots of water to wash it out. How much water are you drinking?

Hadabetter

The number on the scale that results from the water retention of a high Sodium diet should be the least of your concerns. It's the increase in your blood pressure that you should worry about.

Your body takes on more water in order to dilute high Sodium concentrations down to a range that it prefers. Yes, this extra water has weight, but like over filling a balloon, the extra volume in your circulatory system raises you blood pressure. The added weight and pressure are not going to go down until you get your Sodium levels down to recommended levels, or until you take medication that is designed to do it for you.

krhn

To be honest unless you have medical conditions that do prohibit you from taking lots of sodium, it's fine as long as you take enough water...
I for one can take above 3500mg but if I don't drink enough water, the next morning I'll wake up to extremely dry lips ... Different symptoms for different people.

The water weight it retains will gradually drop ack off assuming you don't continue taking high doses of sodium daily

CMB1979

It really depends on the person. I try to limit my sodium but living in South Korea, I get (easily) 4,000 - 6,000/day which is normal for the Korean diet of fermented/pickled/salted foods.

seanezekiel

I eat around 4000-5000 a day, not noticeable. A turkey sub from subway can have like 3000. I wouldnt worry about it.

kerricus

High intake of sodium can contribute to high blood pressure/hypertension.

Personally, I try to keep my sodium down because it makes me feel awful. My joints are swollen, my knees ache, I can't take my ring off my finger, etc. I also feel constantly thirsty, a feeling I can sometimes mistake for hunger (so then I over-eat).

Why not go lower sodium for a while and see how you feel?

Hadabetter

Trust me guys, you can eat all the Sodium you like for years and years with no noticeable ill-effects, except water retention. But one day you will most likely develop hypertension, and you too will get to enjoy all the fun stuff that goes along with that.

Doodlewhopper

Trust me guys, you can eat all the Sodium you like for years and years with no noticeable ill-effects, except water retention. But one day you will most likely develop hypertension, and you too will get to enjoy all the fun stuff that goes along with that.

^^^^^THIS

If you dont have problems today you will soon enough. High sodium diets will shorten your life - and you probably wont have the luxury of a quick death, you can expect to be bed ridden for a couple of years having someone wiping your nose for you cuz you cant move.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/8-health-dangers-of-a-high-sodium-diet/

<<<About 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet. Too much sodium increases a person's risk for high blood pressure. High blood pressure often leads to heart disease and stroke. More than 800,000 people die each year from heart disease, stroke and other vascular diseases, costing the nation $273 billion health care dollars in 2010. Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed foods and foods prepared in restaurants. >>>>

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/sodium/