Sodium and Weight Gain

chocolatnoir
chocolatnoir Posts: 182 Member
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Have any of you noticed a difference in your weight as a result of consciously reducing your sodium intake?

I just paid attention to my sodium intake for the first time today (and will from now on!!) because I had gained weight since my last weigh-in (3 lbs) despite working out (running, power yoga, kickboxing etc) 5 days a week and meeting my calorie goals (maybe a little under) and I needed an explanation.- a culprit so I wouldn't feel too dejected.

Anyway I noticed my sodium intake was OBSCENELY high over the past 2 weeks that I have been on MFP. The sodium mainly lurked in the soups (vegetable, low fat) and other comforting hot dishes that I have been eating since the weather turned cold here in Chicago. My vegetable soup (Safeway Selects Signature Cafe) has over 2000mg of sodium in one bowl (but only 360ish calories)It's not even from a can!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Panera veggie soup with fresh pesto also had over 1000mg of sodium. Also, apparently there was a lot of sodium in Thanksgiving food (which I did not overindulge in this year but ate leftovers in moderation, thus stretching out that sodium calamity).

Anyway I'm going to TRY to reduce the sodium and see if it releases any water weight. I don't understand the weight gain, otherwise. My body is sore from all the different workouts I've been doing and I track my calories religiously.

BUT is sodium even that big of a deal, or is it one more annoying thing I have to worry about?

Thanks for reading!

Replies

  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
    Any day that I have a high sodium day, I usually see weight retention or gain for at least 2 days afterwards. I went on vacation this summer and ate a ton of high sodium food (smokies, hot dogs, dip, chips, bacon, margaritas etc) and after 1 week I was up 9 pounds!!!!! However, coming back home, I lost 8 of the 9 pounds within 8 days, so I am pretty sure high sodium and low water intake was the culprit.
  • chicabean420
    chicabean420 Posts: 173 Member
    I think it's a big deal, but it's definitely a tough one to combat. I don't eat a lot of processed foods, but I find my sodium is usually over 1500mg (This is the goal Health Canada has given for those 9-50yrs old)
    http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2006004/article/sodium/4148995-eng.htm

    I try to drink extra water to hopefully flush some of it out....I can only handle so many battles at a time, so once I can win the portion control battle, I will take a BIGGER step towards my sodium battle.
  • Tobi1013
    Tobi1013 Posts: 732 Member
    Sodium is the devil!! lol! All that sodium will have you retaining water like a sponge, so I definitely recommend reducing it and doing your best to stay at or below the limit. Prepared foods (like your Safeway soup) are notoriously high in sodium as you learned the hard way. Is it annoying to have to worry about? Yup. But so worth it! Cut the salt, drink plenty of water, and you will see that number on the scale go down as your body releases the water its been retaining.
  • jlewis2896
    jlewis2896 Posts: 763 Member
    I have always fluctuated a lot with my weight until I started tracking my sodium intake -- hypertension runs in my family, and excessive sodium is one of the causes of this, so I figured I'd pay a little more attention to how much I was taking in -- it was CRAZY!!! Soups are the worst.....

    Now that I stay below the recommended amount on MFP, my weight only fluctuates when Aunt Flo comes to visit. It's nice to have that regularity on the scale --- then if I DO gain weight I don't just blow it off.

    I now buy all low-sodium or no salt added groceries -- the taste difference was noticeable at first, but now I prefer it. Kind of like diet soda, I guess!
  • iampam654
    iampam654 Posts: 28
    sodium if probably a big factor in weight gain/water retention. but also, if you've just started working out your body might be holding on to water as your muscles heal. that happened to me, when I first started going to the gym I went 5 days a week for at least an hour and stayed within my calories and then I weighed myself the next week and had gained a little. I was told that my muscles were probably healing, so the body absorbs extra water. give yourself a few weeks of exercising but definitely cut down on your sodium. I'm pretty sure you're only supposed to have 2000mg of sodium in on DAY, not one meal lol
  • chickadee2010
    chickadee2010 Posts: 1,389 Member
    It's extremely hard for me not to eat sodium. I'm going to try to start watching it better, because I'm up quite a few pounds from last week. There's WAY TOO much salt in food these days! :noway:
  • millermichellelea
    millermichellelea Posts: 226
    I am keeping my sodium under 2500 mg a day. Sodium can interfere with weight loss, as well as java :drinker:

    The Six Week Plan and Jenny Craig both reduce your sodium to speed up the weight loss. I use their guides for intake and it seems to make a lot of difference on my weight. If I go over my calories I don't see as large of imapct as if I go over my calories with sodium.
  • mamaisis09
    mamaisis09 Posts: 143
    Thanks so much for posting this... I had a weight gain this morning too, after going over by about 1500 on sodium yesterday... Boo
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
    Sodium just retains a lot of water which makes your weight go up. I keep it under what the daily intake is for the day because I cannot stand holding in water. If you go over a lot, drink a looooot of water to help flush some of it out.
  • Lisamarie1226
    Lisamarie1226 Posts: 335 Member
    Have you tried making your own? I found some recipes on Allrecipes.com. I use sugar free tomato juice and low sodium chicken or beef broth. One cup of the veggie soup I made was slightly under 500 mg sodium. You can make a big pot of homemade soup and then place them in individual containers so you can just grab and go for work. And it will last several days.

    I don't always have time to cook "real meals" but I try to do stuff Sunday afternoon/evening that will last me a few days.
  • amelia_atlantic
    amelia_atlantic Posts: 926 Member
    I've read in a few articles that bananas and sweet potatoes are great for combating water rentention. I'm pretty sure it's the potassium.

    I love both! Maybe you could try to incorporate both into your days?
  • breakingthecycle
    breakingthecycle Posts: 225 Member
    Hi all,

    Have any of you noticed a difference in your weight as a result of consciously reducing your sodium intake?

    I just paid attention to my sodium intake for the first time today (and will from now on!!) because I had gained weight since my last weigh-in (3 lbs) despite working out (running, power yoga, kickboxing etc) 5 days a week and meeting my calorie goals (maybe a little under) and I needed an explanation.- a culprit so I wouldn't feel too dejected.

    Anyway I'm going to TRY to reduce the sodium and see if it releases any water weight. I don't understand the weight gain, otherwise. My body is sore from all the different workouts I've been doing and I track my calories religiously.


    THIS!!! sooo me right now! :mad:

    I finally checked my reports all the way back to the beginning and realized that foods high in sodium are usually the cause of my weight 'gains'.

    Glad I found this post. Will definitely keep this in mind going forward.

    BTW, I found this post using Google by the way. Glad MFP is showing up in Google search. Hope it leads more to our wonderful place.

    <3 MFP!
  • mylissamitchell1
    mylissamitchell1 Posts: 1 Member
    Yeah sodium always makes me hold on to weight.
  • IShowUp4Me
    IShowUp4Me Posts: 16 Member
    Not all bodies are the same but in general you need sodium however, the 2500mg is a general level. Some people need more and some need a little less. The main thing is to maintain what is best for YOU and YOUR body. I have a tendency to have a LOW BP so for me my body likes a little more sodium then the avg person.

    As far as the scales are concerned yes if you have high sodium levels and you drastically drop those levels the next week you will lose weight but its just a temporary loss. I find that keeping a stable level is best so that weight loss is TRUE weight loss and not just a FLUID SHIFT.. And the Same goes for a GAIN I look back to see was it a TRUE weight gain or a fluid shift from Sodium Levels.

    The reports are so HUGE on MFP love SEEING them and knowing what happened with my sodium levels from week to week. It always EXPLAINS itself...
  • danp1962
    danp1962 Posts: 3
    I cant believe the sodium in all foods on the store shelves !!! its crazy,,,,best thing I do is watch it, and make home made soup when I want it,,,i do a pot and freeze it,,,different kinds on weekends, then during the work week I thaw out an old plastic jar of the kind I want the night before,it works pretty well for me although my freezer is hogged up with soup jars,also date and name them,,,it helps down the road,,,,have fun with it and good luck with MFP program.
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