Salt - How bad is it if your trying to lose weight?

Salt!! I love it!! I enjoy it and it's so routine to shake it on!!! I'm a newbie to dieting so I'm curious if this could damage what I'm trying to accomplish!?!. Thoughts, opinions, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

salt retains water and can affect weight fluctuation.

salt does not affect energy balance or energy stores(Fat and muscle)

Pretty much this. It may mask actual fat loss with water retention fluctuations, but if your diet is fairly consistent the electrolytes will balance out.

Salt is not meaningful. It doesn't cause you to retain water (that's a myth but repeated all the time). Carbohydrates cause you to retain water and many foods that contain carbohydrates also contain salt! (Pretzels, Potato chips, Triscuits, etc.). So skip the carbs and eat all the salt you want. For information on salt and the mythology surrounding it see the New York Times article cut and past the link below

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/opinion/sunday/we-only-think-we-know-the-truth-about-salt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Salt all you want. I use Himalyan Pink Rock Salt just to be sure I get the minerals we ought to get with our salt. Enjoy.
Watch the carbs!

This post supports water retention from salt.....so.........
Yeaaaaaaaa.

Salt!! I love it!! I enjoy it and it's so routine to shake it on!!! I'm a newbie to dieting so I'm curious if this could damage what I'm trying to accomplish!?!. Thoughts, opinions, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

salt retains water and can affect weight fluctuation.

salt does not affect energy balance or energy stores(Fat and muscle)

Lol, that's why Asians cook with it all the time!

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Are you trying to lose water or fat? I eat plenty of sea salt and the only time I notice bloating is if I eat gluten, or other foods that I've found I'm sensitive to. MAYBE I could lose a tiny bit more water weight by cutting salt, but that's not really what I'm after. You NEED some salt for your body to function properly. And if you're eating unprocessed foods, it's probably fine to add it how you like. If you're eating a lot of processed, pre-salted foods, you probably should watch it.

Don't always base your progress on weight because it can be fickle and fluctuate. If the scale seems to be outrageous, then before flipping out, consider that many foods we consume contain water in themselves, such as fruit, veggies and carbs. Don't skip out on anything because that will give you a false sense of weight loss. For instance, when I exercise vigorously...I usually sweat and sometimes (forgive my bluntness) take a nice big dump...I will lose anywhere from a pound to three. So don't worry too much about a little half pound or pound here & there that seems to spike up or down. Salt shouldn't affect your weight loss too much BUT I've studied the dynamics of what salt does to your cells...if there's more salt in your extracellular fluids (outside your cells) then it will cause your cells to shrink. If there's more salt inside your cells than in your extracellular fluids, it will cause your cells to swell up. Salt definitely affects your blood pressure, so avoid processed foods and boost up on the potassium, which is known to reduce your blood pressure. But hey, salt away, because I am a salt fiend myself and I couldn't live without salt! But I do avoid canned soups, ramen noodles, tv dinners, packaged lunch meat because those have wayyyy too much salt. I've actually been tempted (I probably will) measure how many shakes it takes to equal a teaspoon of salt lol But I think it might take like about 20 or so lol

Salt is not meaningful. It doesn't cause you to retain water (that's a myth but repeated all the time). Carbohydrates cause you to retain water and many foods that contain carbohydrates also contain salt! (Pretzels, Potato chips, Triscuits, etc.). So skip the carbs and eat all the salt you want. For information on salt and the mythology surrounding it see the New York Times article cut and past the link below

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/opinion/sunday/we-only-think-we-know-the-truth-about-salt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Salt all you want. I use Himalyan Pink Rock Salt just to be sure I get the minerals we ought to get with our salt. Enjoy.
Watch the carbs!

you're right

salt doesn't cause you to retain water. Potassium chloride salts wont do that to us
Sodium which is found in normal table salt does.
Did you eve read the article it said?
water follows sodium

Eat more salt and your body retains water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium in your blood. This is why eating salty food tends to make us thirsty: we drink more; we retain water. The result can be a temporary increase in blood pressure, which will persist until our kidneys eliminate both salt and water.

I tend not to add salt to anything. And I sometimes watch sodium levels in things but I do a lot of watching of processed foods. Meaning I don't do a lot of processed foods (a lot of things are amazing if you check any labels..and if you get into it..you'll realize just what you're actually putting into your body nutrition wise). So I do a lot of produce and lean protein, complex carbohydrates (multigrain etc.). Specific things when added with salt can make you retain water. It's because it's not natural in the environment. I'm not getting into a biology lesson here. Also the messaging boards aren't meant to argue on..so hopefully if you love salt..you can figure out moderation. Which is what I do with all of my diet. I even do really good rich food..in portion control. Good luck!