a good guideline i saw was to try to keep everything around 100mg or less per serving, which means fresh, fresh, fresh really. Pretty much everything packaged has sodium in it, and the only way to get the best bang for your buck is to read the labels. Literally the exact same food item varies greatly in sodium content depending on the brand, whether it's low fat or regular, and even different flavors! like with chips.. some are 140mg per serving of 17 chips for like, spicy chipotle, but the sour cream and onion will have twice as much sodium.. just as an example.
I literally read the lable of everything i buy and buy the lesser of all evils. I look at sodium, fat, and sugar, and buy the one that seems most balanced. It is a daily struggle. Most things that are low in fat are higher in sodium. It's shocking and awful.
The breads i buy are about 120mg per serving, but im not sure about carbs.. right now im eating Sara Lee Healthy Whole Wheat. Things like sausages, brats, bacon, i just dont eat any more at all. Before i knew i had high blood pressure i noticed my hands and feet would swell after eating sausages, so now i dont feel its worth the risk to my health.
Because even meat you buy raw and cook yourself has some sodium in it, it's important to not ADD to it. So i use ALOT of seasonings like garlic, all types of pepper, and Mrs. Dash no salt blends. For yogurt i like Light N Fit. It's middle of the road on sugar and sodium, and has no fat. I've also been eating Oikos but it has a ton more sugar than Light N Fit.
Salad dressing i only use ranch and it doesnt actually have a ton of sodium if its regular, and NOT low fat or fat free. I just stick to the serving size.
As always, feel free to troll my food diary and if you have any specific questions, just message me!

i know exactly how you feel! Thats why i started this group, even if all we can do is complain about it, at least we know someone feels our pain! haha
It's a sad state of affairs for sure. I see all these products that have the heart symbol on them for Cholesterol, and the sodium is 300, 400, 500mg! How is THAT heart healthy?!? The government should really do more about how manufacturers label food. And how they make it, in general! There is no reason one peanut butter can have only 100mg of sodium per serving, and another brand of virtually the same item with 3x that amount! That just proves it isnt necessary, so it shouldnt be allowed.

I agree wholeheartedly with reading labels. One of my favorite meals is spaghetti (using whole wheat pasta) but most sauces are loaded with sodium, about 500+ mg per half a cup. But I've found some really tasty brands with much less than half of that. For a lower carb option you might use spaghetti squash instead of pasta.

I'm a big salad eater and dressings are full of calories and sodium. One trick I use is to put a tablespoon or two of dressing in a small bowel. Dip your fork lightly in the dressing and then spear your salad. I use much less dressing that way, usually on the order of half a tablespoon.

I treat sodium just like I do calories. I get a daily allotment that I try not to exceed. By planning what I will eat for the day in advance, I can usually stay under my daily limit for both.

By avoiding the sodium... i am finding that my caloric intake is down and I am losing weight. but I have also noticed that after a bad sodium day (like yesterday) my weight shoots up several pounds. I guess the whole salt and water retention thing is real. hard for me to tell, the bp med's I'm on cause my ankles to swell regardless.

I am also a soda-holic. most people think I must be a beer drinker, but I have to tell them that's not a beer belly, that's a soda belly. I read somewhere that one 20 oz soda per day will add 10lbs a year in weight... I am now forcing myself to drink diet soda's.

So, if anyone is interested, here is the sodium info for diet beverages:

20 oz coke zero - 70 mg sodium
20 oz diet pepsi - 25 mg sodium
20 oz diet dr. pepper - 88 mg sodium
20 oz diet mt. dew - 35 mg sodium
20 oz diet coke - 70 mg sodium

Here's a green smoothie that might be of help

2 cups spinach
2 large kale leaves, chopped (1.5 cups)
3/4 cup water
1 large frozen banana, chopped
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen peach
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter, optional

Start by blending the spinach, kale and water on a low speed. Once it begins to break down, go to medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend for approximately one minute or until the desired consistency is achieved.

Calories 157, Total Fat 2g, Sodium 48mg, Potassium 807mg, Total Carbohydrate 35g (Dietary Fiber 7g, Sugars 16 g), Protien 5g

see if your grocer has "Annie's Naturals" - salad dressing. the Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette has 60mg sodium, and Fat Free Mango Vinaigrette has 5mg sodium.

Those are the only two dressings i have found so far low in salt.

https://annies.alice.com/products/1276083

Low Sodium Smoothie

Green Avocado Smoothie (added to MFP food search)

1 cup chopped kale
3/4 - 1 cup water
1 green apple
2 small kiwifruit, peeled and halved
1 small avocado, pitted, peeled, and chopped
1 tangerine, peeled and separated into segments
3-4 ice cubes

Place the kale and water in a blender. Start blending on low, and as the kale begins to break down, increase to medium speed until it is completely broken down and smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend on medium to high speed until desired consistency is achieved, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

I've been trying to cut down my sodium and decided to lower the amount of breads I eat and in place of that use a corn tortilla which has NO SODIUM as opposed to 150-200 per slice of bread. I recently made a tuna taco and it was delicious, I also had a corn tortilla with my egg and bacon instead of making a sandwich with bread. I make a wrap with my burgers also and I'm loving it although if I desire a hot dog I'll just eat it with the bread because it's not all that tasty on a tortilla lol.

Great find on the low sodium salad dressing. Today I had a Turkey Bacon BLT on a corn taco shell which has no sodium and it was absolutely delicious!!! My bacon is the Butterball Thin only 30 calories and 180 mgs of sodium for 2 strips, I also use a lower sodium mayo that only has 70 mgs and 105 calories it was so good.

Found a great low sodium pizza crust recipe

http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/free/WholeWheatPizzaDough.htm