How do you keep sodium down??

Okay the FB cooking group is much larger (over 500) and more active, but I've started one here as well. Anyone welcome to join either!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/16412-au-naturel

http://facebook.com/groups/aunaturel

i don't use salt on my foods and i don't eat processed foods

I don't add salt to any of my food. When I shop for prepackaged foods I try to watch for sodium under 250 I also changed my goals to include no more than 2000 sodium some good days I am under 600. I have Hugh blood pressure so this is very important to me.

i don't use salt on my foods and i don't eat processed foods

I haven't had a banana in a month, but you don't see me bragging about it, do you?

like everyone else said, process, boxed, frozen, canned food are all high in sodium. As are some meats, one of my problems is frozen meals, lots of sodium, and deli/lunchmeats are high in sodium too. Instead of say boxed rice, cook your own rice, and add to it, even something like a baked potato instead would be lower in sodium. I am finding it very hard to keep sodium within the limits, but days that I follow these I am able to.

...(I think sodium is one cause of the stall) but sodium just seems to be so high in everything. Aside from cooking everything I eat, has anyone had success at maintaining low levels of sodium?

Personally I don't think this is possible unless you are eating things pulled right from the ground, fresh off the hoof, etc. In another post you noted that you were going to have to learn to cook. It isn't that hard, find a good cookbook. Two years ago I was getting my breakfast from fast food chains, my lunch from a deli or take out and dinner sitting down at a restaurant. If I ate at home it was a PB&J sandwich a potpie, frozen pizza or something along those lines. I've now reached a point I hate to eat out and one of those reasons is actually because I taste nothing but salt in many of the things others fix.

My sodium levels now run between 1300 and 1800 with a day here and there that will be over that. Sometimes, rarely it'll be over 3000, but those are days I eat out. People have made a lot of suggestions, most involve cooking. Fruit and veggies from the produce section will have little to "no" sodium. That is pretty much going to be it unless you can obtain freshly killed meat.

Salt is a preservative which is why you find it in so many foods. Someone questioned pork chops having 400mg (?), but in reality it is up there at that level from everything I've seen. Buying food in a health food market doesn't always help. It may be healthier than buying from a regular grocery store as food may be nitrate free, but because of that preservative effect of sodium it is likely still going to be high and maybe higher at a health food market.

Now this requires cooking to some extent, but I will reiterate what others have said. Low/lower sodium products are a huge help. I occasionally buy canned chicken, but it is a lower sodium product than its neighbors on the shelf. If I buy canned veggies I look for the same. Lower sodium bacon is excellent. If you don't like to cook, cook a batch of bacon in the oven (roughly 30 minutes without any involvement once it is in the oven) and then warm it in the microwave each morning. If you like peanut butter, PB2 is a great product if you are watching sodium and also need/want to cut fats. I don't do chips much any more, but have had a craving lately. Thinly sliced a potato the other day, sprayed a plate with a cooking spray, laid out the slices on the plate and lightly sprayed the tops of the potatoes before putting them in the microwave to cook them. Much better than a bagged chip in my opinion and you can add your own seasoning. This is to say that I don't think you can get the sodium down without doing some label reading and including some cooking with it.

I pretty much refuse to walk through the center of the store because it is all of the highly processed foods.

Lots of fresh fruits and veggies throughout the day. That is all I have found to solve this issue, as even the so-called "healthy" processed stuff is usually ladened with tons of sodium. Sucks, I know. Right now my average (taking all days in a week into account) is somewhere around 1500 per day. Sometimes less, sometimes way over. Good luck and I am so on board with you in regards to sodium causing stalls and whatnot.

It's always amusing to me how many people seem to only read and respond to the subject line. Most of these responses seem not to have even read the OP.

To be fair, not that long ago, I read a post and responded to the post rather than just the thread subject line and got berated by the OP over and over and over for not responding solely to the subject line.

I think I am logging some foods incorrectly. There is no way my fresh kale has 10 grams of sodium. I think when I use the generic food option I am sometimes logging things incorrectly. Or am I? Not really sure.

10 grams? No. 10 milligrams? Definitely. Raw kale has about 38 mg sodium per 100 grams.

While it is important to keep your sodium in check please remember that some sodium in your diet is essential. It is an important electrolyte that regulates cellular activity and helps to balance fluids in the body. It also helps send nerve impulses and is needed for muscle contraction. The best advice you have received is to cook as much of your own food as possible and steer clear of the boxed and canned stuff. Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies when you can. It is tough and I sometimes find that I am way over my sodium as well because I do eat out occasionally. Restaurant food is about the worst for sodium. Good luck.