Sodium intake?

sjanes9
Posts: 19 Member
So, I have only been watching my food for a week and I have noticed that I am taking in a LARGE amount of sodium. I am not sure this is how my diet is all the time as we have had some food this week that seem to be extra high in sodium. I am just curious. Is this a reason that, even though I have low calorie intake, I don't see it on the scales? How quickly does the water retention go away if I get the sodium intake under control? Any other information will be appreciated as well.
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Replies
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Drink extra water and cut out the sodium. For me the water weight will be gone within a few days.
Up your water intake and lower processed foods you eat. Frozen and prepackaged meals are killer on the sodium as well as if you add any salt to your food. Eat fresh,whole foods that weren't made in a factory and your sodium levels will drop.0 -
Your diary is not open to the public. What is the large amount of sodium? How much are you averaging per day? As an adult male, you are ok with 2000 to 2300 miligrams per day.0
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So up-ing my water intake will help flush the excess sodium out of my body?0
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My intake is saying it's around 6000 a day give or take 500, day to day.0
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Yeah, that is very high. Obviously, reduce that amount, get plenty of water and foods with potassium. Potassium and salt intake are interelated and work together to balance fluid retention in your body. Bananas, apples, milk and potatoes are all some potassium rich foods.0
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Wow, that is pretty high! I would definitely try and cut that back. Like already suggested, cut back on processed foods if you are high there but also maybe look in to low-sodium or no salt added alternatives for things. For instance, I buy no salt added cottage cheese and it's delicious. Also be aware of how high some things you wouldn't think of are in sodium. For instance, baking soda and baking powder. I had no idea! So if you are making baked goods at home using those ingredients, those will be on the higher side as well. I try and keep mine under 2300 and manage most days. You can take a look at my diary if you would like, it's open.0
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NOrmally 2500 is the highest you should go. Be careful about how much sodium you regular ingest as it may cause blood pressure issues.
Can you open up your diary so posters can make suggestions on what to change? If you constantly take in that much sodium it will be a long while until you see the scales change0 -
Sodium sucks.....yes, more water will flush it out. Funny how it works because sodium causes your body to hold onto water and store it in the open spaces around your blood vessels. Thats why some people swell up. Drink more water and that sodium will get washed out and you'll probably show a little bit of weight loss as well. Eat as clean as possible, anything you don't make yourself is loaded with sodium for taste and preservation reasons. It might actually be kinda hard to change those habits because you are so used to it things will taste bland. But you'll feel way better without it.0
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That is the crazy thing about it. I don't eat a lot of stuff with salt in it regularly. Nor do I eat out a lot. I can pin it down to a few things that are causing it to be so high right now. But I have just started documenting everything I eat. I am going to be more "Sodium Aware" when I do choose foods from now on. And keep monitoring it. I also talked to my wife about it so we can both be aware as we are planning our meals through out the week.0
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That is the crazy thing about it. I don't eat a lot of stuff with salt in it regularly. Nor do I eat out a lot. I can pin it down to a few things that are causing it to be so high right now. But I have just started documenting everything I eat. I am going to be more "Sodium Aware" when I do choose foods from now on. And keep monitoring it. I also talked to my wife about it so we can both be aware as we are planning our meals through out the week.
EVERYTHING has sodium in it unfortunately. Anything frozen, canned or processed will be full of it. Normally lower calorie and lower fat versions of things have a lot of sodium in it. Sauces, dressings, seasoning packages (like taco or fajita ones for example), etc are killers on the sodium too.0 -
MFP database is sometimes very wrong as well where Sodium is concerned. Any food showing 0 or 1 mg has usually been entered incorrectly. Most folks don't seem to realise the difference between grams miligrams when entering the data for their foods.
If you go into edit mode for that food, you usually see a number entered as 0.387 for example. Always a sure sign that the muppet who entered the data got all confused :flowerforyou:0 -
Doctors order for myself and my 19 y/o son was to lose weight and no more than 2000 mg sodium/day. He recommended MFP to us in August and we both joined. I was shocked to see how much sodium I was taking in and started watching it more carefully. If you MUST eat canned vegetables, rinse them thoroughly with water, it will help wash away the added salt. Try reading labels, for me I'd rather have a little more fat and calories and less sodium. They will use salt to add flavor that the reduced calories and fat took away. Sports drinks, prepackaged foods, restaurant foods, take out etc all are loaded with sodium. I now use dry beans and prepare them myself to cut down on sodium, I also try to use vegetables and fruits as close to raw as I can get. If I need to get anything that isn't fresh I try to buy it frozen or canned low sodium. Soups and broths are pretty bad as well. It is a learning experience so just watch what your putting in and try to adjust it with healthier options.0
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I agree with DPernet - on nearly all the foods on the database that I have checked the sodium has been entered incorrectly. It doesn't help that most UK nutrition information gives the sodium level in grams. A reminder on the chart would help (such as 0.1g = 100mg).0
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The American Heart Association recently revised their guidelines on sodium. They now recommend no more than 1500 mg. per day. Are you eating a lot of canned soups, processed foods, breads, etc.? It's nearly impossible to keep it down if you eat out at all. :flowerforyou:0
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I don't lose with high sodium. I actually will gain. and when I gain, and drink water and lose those pounds again, I don't lose anymore weight that week. only the sodium weight.0
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That much sodium is very bad for your diet, it will raise your blood pressure and also throw off your electrolyte balance. Increasing your potassium will help get rid of the sodium but do so in moderation. Potassium is very important in your heart but too much of it can cause a problem. I would say don't worry about what is already in your system and just eliminate it from your future diet.
Also, sodium will increase water retention, so you'll gain weight in the near future. Don't be discouraged by this, it's a natural thing. Once you cease on sodium, the water weight will also go away.0 -
That much sodium is very bad for your diet, it will raise your blood pressure and also throw off your electrolyte balance. Increasing your potassium will help get rid of the sodium but do so in moderation. Potassium is very important in your heart but too much of it can cause a problem. I would say don't worry about what is already in your system and just eliminate it from your future diet.
Also, sodium will increase water retention, so you'll gain weight in the near future. Don't be discouraged by this, it's a natural thing. Once you cease on sodium, the water weight will also go away.
I'll break the news to you. Salt has little to no effect on Blood pressure. The amount it would take to effect your pressure is 100's of times higher then you eat. You body will naturally flush out excessive salts. Yes you will likely retain a bit more water from eating more of it.
Another poster, said I didn't lose weight... the salt has no effect on weight loss. Does salt have calories? Where do you get this **** from?
Simply google salt doesn't effect blood pressure. You will get some of the latest studies about salt. Stop believing what you read. Learn to think for yourself.0 -
That much sodium is very bad for your diet, it will raise your blood pressure and also throw off your electrolyte balance. Increasing your potassium will help get rid of the sodium but do so in moderation. Potassium is very important in your heart but too much of it can cause a problem. I would say don't worry about what is already in your system and just eliminate it from your future diet.
Also, sodium will increase water retention, so you'll gain weight in the near future. Don't be discouraged by this, it's a natural thing. Once you cease on sodium, the water weight will also go away.
I'll break the news to you. Salt has little to no effect on Blood pressure. The amount it would take to effect your pressure is 100's of times higher then you eat. You body will naturally flush out excessive salts. Yes you will likely retain a bit more water from eating more of it.
Another poster, said I didn't lose weight... the salt has no effect on weight loss. Does salt have calories? Where do you get this **** from?
Simply google salt doesn't effect blood pressure. You will get some of the latest studies about salt. Stop believing what you read. Learn to think for yourself.
The study you mentioned, done somewhere in Europe, was debunked ny Harvard researchers. However, there are reputable studies which suggest that a low salt diet does not necessarily prevent heart attacks. That makes sense because heart disease can have a number of other causes such as diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, extreme stress and so on.0 -
That much sodium is very bad for your diet, it will raise your blood pressure and also throw off your electrolyte balance. Increasing your potassium will help get rid of the sodium but do so in moderation. Potassium is very important in your heart but too much of it can cause a problem. I would say don't worry about what is already in your system and just eliminate it from your future diet.
Also, sodium will increase water retention, so you'll gain weight in the near future. Don't be discouraged by this, it's a natural thing. Once you cease on sodium, the water weight will also go away.
I'll break the news to you. Salt has little to no effect on Blood pressure. The amount it would take to effect your pressure is 100's of times higher then you eat. You body will naturally flush out excessive salts. Yes you will likely retain a bit more water from eating more of it.
Another poster, said I didn't lose weight... the salt has no effect on weight loss. Does salt have calories? Where do you get this **** from?
Simply google salt doesn't effect blood pressure. You will get some of the latest studies about salt. Stop believing what you read. Learn to think for yourself.
Salt/Sodium causes the body to retain water. Incresed fluids in the system puts pressure on the blood vessels, this puts stress on the heart because it is working harder to pump the same amount of blood as it needs to through smaller spaces thus creating more pressure. This is what they call hypertension aka high blood pressure. Sodium also acts as a regulator for fluids, kind of like insulin does for sugars. When there is too much sodium the entire fluid balance of the body gets thrown off, drink water to flush the excess sodium from the system and rebalance the body.0
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