How do you keep sodium down??

Some products are made with lower sodium and usually says so on the front of the package (still a little high in sodium, but if you only use 1 processed thing a day, it helps). But other than that, you've really answered your own question, you have to cook everything you eat.

make as much as you can from scratch and whole foods if possible, nothing from a box or package

and absolutely no fast food or restaurant food, loaded with sodium

I hear that and it was one of my first issues when I joined MFP. There are certain foods like bacon for example that you might enjoy too much to give up completely but it is loaded with sodium. There are reduced sodium bacons out there that taste every bit as good as regular bacon and the levels are like half to one third of regular bacon as far as sodium is concerned.

Once you get used to cutting it down, you will notice that foods that you may have added salt and pepper to in the past--now taste salty w/o adding any. Cottage cheese comes to mind. There is reduced sodium cottage cheese and it isnt as drastic a reduction as the bacon but it brings it down to a much more acceptable and manageable level. Just keep watching those sodium levels in everything you are eating and you will get a much better feel for it. You will also start to learn what foods have that hidden sodium in them too which should also help. Good luck--I am sure you will get better at it over time. FWIW--I am an avid cook so that helps quite a bit but it is never to late to learn to cook and as they say--practice makes perfect.

The VAST majority of what you eat should come from the perimeter of the grocery store if you want to keep sodium down (and really, it should come from there anyway). Fresh fruits, veggies, dairy, eggs, meat.

I struggle with sodium, too. My diary's open, feel free to take a look.
If most of your stuff is truly 'scratch made' (e.g. plain raw chicken breast NOT the breaded, or prepped, or marinated stuff) then I'd look to the sauces and spices that you use. McCormick has a series of "no salt" seasonings that I swear by! Sauces/condiments are a big issue as they often have >300mg sodium per tbsp. Here are a few that I use that have 'lower than average' sodium:
• La Choy Sweet N Sour sauce
• La Choy Duck sauce
• Panda Express orange sauce
• Mrs. Campbell's Chow-Chow (great sub for pickle relish)
Additionally, I rarely eat cold cuts and usually sub with my own alternatives:
• Pork loin subs for ham
• London broil subs for roast beef
• Boneless, skinless chicken breast subs for... DUH!
• Turkey breast... you get the idea

There are several recipe websites (e.g. AllRecipes) that offer low-sodium recipes as well, especially for sauces/condiments/dressings. Google that!

*ETA: I still eat boxed/canned stuff, but in moderation and sodium is the FIRST thing I look at in the store. If I want that 900mg sodium/serving entree for dinner (e.g. Chicken Parmigiana, Hamburger Helper, etc.), then I need to spend my breakfast and lunch with low/no sodium items (e.g. fresh fruits and vegs, etc.) to save room in my 2,500mg/day. For sides, Gunnoe's has 'lower than average sodium' for slaws and salads. Frozen bag veggies are WAY better than most canned ones, but Walmart has some "no sodium added" canned veggies as well. If I want a restaurant meal, then the day before or the day after should be low sodium all day with plenty of water throughout.
The proof is in the pudding. This approach has gotten me off of HBP meds (3 weeks and counting).

I need to learn to cook then lol. I really don't think I'd like cooking but I'll try anything to keep seeing positive results.

Well sodium doesn't prevent fat loss, but it can definitely stall the scale, which may make you feel discouraged.

Actually now that I think about it most meals my wife makes do come from a box, bag or can, at least the side dishes. My family has always eaten like this so it never occurred to me I guess.

Well start slow, I know it can seem overwhelming, pick one thing per meal to make from scratch. Like rice, buy it in bulk and add your own low salt seasoning to it, there are a lot of recipes online.

Once you have that down, try something else with a different part of the meal. Before you know it, it will be second nature.

Try upping your potassium. On paper, your sodium will still be high, but the potassium will help you expel said sodium.

Easy- Don't eat anything from a package or chain restaurant. I have high-ish blood pressure and that is the easiest way to keep in down.

Also, keep in mind that if something needs a lot of salt to taste good, it's because it isn't good (tasting or for you).

It's pretty easy to bake a huge pan of chicken breasts on a weekend, make a large pot of rice and a huge thing of veggies to pack into smaller containers to take with you. Snacks should always either be a piece of fruit, unsalted nuts, veggies, or something like an avocado, and none of those have salt.

My day usually goes like this:

Morning: 1/2 cup oatmeal (easy to make in the work microwave) with cinnamon and maybe a little dried fruit
+ 1 mini "quiche" (egg whites, chopped veggies and spices, baked into a cupcake tin. I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds to heat it up)

Snack - piece of fruit and some unsalted nuts (8ish)

Lunch - Chicken + 2 cups of veggies + 1/2 cup of brown rice (made at home, microwaved at work)

Snack - 1/2 avocado and a few nuts (8ish)
Snack - Raw veggies

Dinner - Brown rice pasta, 2 cups veggies, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, spices, chicken, shrimp, cut up Trader Joe's turkey burger or tofu.

As I said, I cook all my chicken and eggs on a day off, which takes about 1/2 hour. I also cook a huge thing of veggies and rice for meals.

Dinners take 1 pot and 1 pan tops, with 5 minutes of prep time, 10 minutes of cook time and 10 minutes of clean up.

I don't spend a lot of time cooking and I don't cook with much, if any salt. It is a largely unnecessary seasoning when food is high quality and prepared correctly. Eating healthy throughout the week is easy, if you devote 1 hour to shopping and one hour to cooking and prepping each week.

Cooking for yourself is really the way to go. I come in WAY under my sodium limits for the day, save money (my meals average $2.00 - $4.00 per serving and don't have to worry about what is in my food near as much as I would otherwise.

Food in tins (like soup or beans) often tend to be high in sodium, as do smoked foods like smoked salmon or cheese. The best way to avoid high sodium is to eat whole, natural foods and limit the processed stuff. :flowerforyou:

Try upping your potassium. On paper, your sodium will still be high, but the potassium will help you expel said sodium.

^^^This^^^...in addition to cooking with fresh ingredients, without packaged or canned foods and staying away from lunch meats.