New to Weight Loss, Need Help on Food Items

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JVela2467
JVela2467 Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
I've just started my great quest to lose weight, but I've sort of hit a bump in the road straight off of the bat. With all the food choices at the market, I've gotten lost on what I should get and how I should balance it out. It seems over half the items have enough sodium to go over my rather generous allowance, which is 2500mg. My biggest issue is, whenever I try to go for low sodium foods, I lose out on calorie intake (Been 1k under for the last two days). However, whenever I try to go for caloric foods, my sodium limits exceed. Combined with the fact that I'm a fresh starting college student with no food experience beyond whatever was in a box, I've been stuck on what I should get.

I would like to break this question down into two sections. The first, should I be concerned about my sodium limit? I do have a family history with high blood pressure and diabetes, although I don't have any of the symptoms yet. The second question is, when I do go to make a shopping list, how should I go about doing it, making sure I get enough ingredients for a healthy, but satisfactory meal? Any advice for this newbie would be appreciated.

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  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Processed foods are going to have the most sodium, so the more you cook from scratch the less sodium. Try and shop the perimeter of the store as much as possible - fresh veggies and lean meats.

    With the history in your family sodium might be something you want to keep in check.

    Search online for easy healthy recipes - start simple. Try a couple recipes a month. Gradually increase your recipe base and decrease the processed foods. I find egg dishes to be really easy, healthy and a good start into cooking. Scramble some eggs, throw in a bunch of veggies, some canadian bacon or ham (okay there's the sodium), top w/some avocado & salsa - yum!
  • JVela2467
    JVela2467 Posts: 8
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    Thanks! Sorry for the delay, I was waiting on other possible responses. However, I started out a few recipes, and will organize a shopping list in accordance to that the next time I go to the store. Hope you don't mind if I borrow your egg idea though! Hehehehe.

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