SALT!!

HalloweenMom
HalloweenMom Posts: 53
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I've been very healthy for the past week (minus the crazy weekend), but I've realized that most of the "healthy" foods I eat have not many calories but excessive sodium, for example ... my cactus (nopales), I love them but they are super high in sodium. Will I gain weight? I know I can retain water, but how long after will it get out of my system? I weigh in on Fridays, when should I stop eating so much sodium? I don't want to weigh the same next Friday just because of my salts, but I need salt right now since most of the foods don't have flavor.

Help!

Replies

  • smae1980
    smae1980 Posts: 794 Member
    How far over are you in sodium? If you are still under 3000 mg of sodium, you're probably ok. To cut out table salt , try using vinegars to add flavor as well as herbs and spices. Cut out the salt slowly and you won't notice and by the time you get to the point of not using it at the table, you won't miss it
  • HalloweenMom
    HalloweenMom Posts: 53
    How far over are you in sodium? If you are still under 3000 mg of sodium, you're probably ok. To cut out table salt , try using vinegars to add flavor as well as herbs and spices. Cut out the salt slowly and you won't notice and by the time you get to the point of not using it at the table, you won't miss it

    Thank you very much! I'm going to check my food diary.
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
    Yeah salty food is not good for you..it does allow the body to retain water and thus make you weigh heavier on the scale.

    I would say try and drink loads of water and try and flush your system out of all that salt.

    Try and track your salt intake if you are not already doing so and keep it as low as possible.

    Plus too much salt is not good for you can lead to high blood pressure which can cause a stroke, which I think is the most important thing to take in account.
  • kimmyonherway
    kimmyonherway Posts: 35 Member
    I would say everyone is different. For me, I hold onto sodium for about 2 days. I have to consume a large amount of water the day after eating a lot of sodium in order to drop the 2 usual pounds I gain. I go by this concept ( and again, everyone is different)

    1. I never eat two items from a can in the same day. This is soup, veggies, beans etc.

    2. If i see myself going over in sodium (which i watch very closely everyday) I drink tons more water. If I don't drink more water, the scale will show and like I said, it takes about 2 days for me to recover.

    3. I avoid prepared foods as much as possible. This means I avoid consume microwave dinners, fast foods and canned items. There are tons of items with high sodium but they are a few that I learned i enjoy, but can't seem to recover from easily.

    Everyone has their favorites, so I enjoy what I like the best. I'm not anywhere near where I want to be with my diet, but it's a learning process. Sodium is a killer for me and it creeps up like a snake on weekends! One day at a time. Hope I was helpful!
  • HalloweenMom
    HalloweenMom Posts: 53
    I would say everyone is different. For me, I hold onto sodium for about 2 days. I have to consume a large amount of water the day after eating a lot of sodium in order to drop the 2 usual pounds I gain. I go by this concept ( and again, everyone is different)

    1. I never eat two items from a can in the same day. This is soup, veggies, beans etc.

    2. If i see myself going over in sodium (which i watch very closely everyday) I drink tons more water. If I don't drink more water, the scale will show and like I said, it takes about 2 days for me to recover.

    3. I avoid prepared foods as much as possible. This means I avoid consume microwave dinners, fast foods and canned items. There are tons of items with high sodium but they are a few that I learned i enjoy, but can't seem to recover from easily.

    Everyone has their favorites, so I enjoy what I like the best. I'm not anywhere near where I want to be with my diet, but it's a learning process. Sodium is a killer for me and it creeps up like a snake on weekends! One day at a time. Hope I was helpful!

    Yes, OMG. Thank you. I needed info. Graciasss!!!
  • tiggertiffin87
    tiggertiffin87 Posts: 14
    I tend to be the same as Kimmy...about 2 days retaining water. Recently though I decided to track how much sodium I was getting through the week and how many pounds I lost. On weeks where I went over the recommended amount (everyone is different depending on how many calories you eat, my max is 2500mg) I would retain water and not lose very much that week. It really didn't matter what day I had too much sodium, it affected me the rest of the week. Spark people has a tool where you can see the range for sodium intake based on the calorie range they recommend. You could try that as a starting point, then never go over the max. You actually don't need salt for flavor as much as you think. Try Kimmy's recommendation on alternative spices for flavor. Don't add salt when cooking oatmeal, rice, etc even though the instructions say too... don't add salt to anything until you taste it first, you might find out you don't even need it.
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