Sodium and Weight Gain

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ibleedunionblue
ibleedunionblue Posts: 324 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
My weight is up 2 pounds today from yesterday. That is despite eating 2000 calories and running 10 miles. But as I analyze yesterdays diet - I noted that I had 2 servings of vegetable soup for both lunch and supper - and the sodium content is 3000 per meal. My daily total was 7018, where the goal was 2500.

I also noted that last Monday, I had ham - and the sodium content was 4500. I was well over the 2500 goal. The next morning, I was up 1.5 pounds. Also, on Nov 10th, I had the same vegetable soup recipe, was considerably over 2500 goal, and my weight was up 1.2 pounds the next morning.

I'm not panicking because each time, the weight was off 1 - 2 days later. But I wonder for veteran maintainers - does sodium cause this kind of weight gain, which I presume is water weight?

Replies

  • TheRealJigsaw
    TheRealJigsaw Posts: 295 Member
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    Yep
  • Ke22yB
    Ke22yB Posts: 969 Member
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    Could be a combination of things on days after my long runs my muscles hold a fair amount of fluids as they recover. I can drink up to a quart of water when i finish my run and I dont pee that out right away its a day or two later I am peeing more and the color is almost clear as I rid that fluid. My weight can drop a pound or two the next morning.
    I would suspect if I added high sodium to that I could retain even more fluid.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    Absolutely!

    Everyone is different in their tolerance of sodium but I can tell you from experience that if I had a day that high I would be up 5 lbs the next day.
  • celtbell3
    celtbell3 Posts: 738 Member
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    I had veggie beef soup yesterday too. Homemade. and I love salt. Yes, sodium does it to me, too. I am up three lbs today compared to yesterday, in spite of hard hiking through the snow for over two hours and other workouts.
  • bellevie86
    bellevie86 Posts: 301 Member
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    Yup salt is usually always the culprit (that or that time of the month for us gals).....sometimes I purposely try to keep my salt below 1500mg one day and drink a ton of water to see my true weight.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I'm not panicking because each time, the weight was off 1 - 2 days later. But I wonder for veteran maintainers - does sodium cause this kind of weight gain, which I presume is water weight?

    Yep. I'm dealing with this as we speak. Four of the last five days have been high sodium for me, and it shows up more or less immediately as water gain.

    Trigger point for everyone is a bit different. my danger zone starts at ~3500 mg/day.
  • ibleedunionblue
    ibleedunionblue Posts: 324 Member
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    Yep. I'm dealing with this as we speak. Four of the last five days have been high sodium for me, and it shows up more or less immediately as water gain.

    Trigger point for everyone is a bit different. my danger zone starts at ~3500 mg/day.

    Interesting you mention a trigger point - I will watch that closely and see if I notice the same thing. Thanks!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    yeah...that and also, you're maintenance isn't static. Nobody weighs exactly XXX Lbs. I fluctuate a good 2-3 Lbs either way, up or down from my maintenance weight...that pretty much gives me a 5 Lb or so range of weight that would be my maintenance. I also hold onto water when I increase my weights or otherwise change up my fitness regimen.
  • mshoneysmile7
    mshoneysmile7 Posts: 80 Member
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    I just posted about this two weeks ago. I went on a salty treat binge and when I checked my weight the following day, I was 6 lbs heavier! I was devistated. The I started again drinking more water and the weight disappeared. Maybe it will help if you drink more water to flush your system when you eat something high in sodium.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Yes. It's quite remarkable what sodium does for water retention.

    As the previous person says, if you drink a lot of water with the salts you can flush it out. Although it seems counterintuitive. Forget the weight, all that salt is not good for your kidneys.
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    Water follows sodium, thanks to the power of osmosis. The more sodium you have, the more water you'll hang on to.

    Since your metabolism can only account for AT MOST a half-pound of weight per day (meaning anything over a half pound is going to be water), then you're likely correct. You're just retaining water thanks to higher sodium intake.

    Actually, in the medical field, the main thing that we use daily weights for is to measure hydration and water status. For severely dehydrated people (like those in diabetic ketoacidosis), they can gain a good 10-15lbs in a single 24 hour period just from rehydration.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    Absolutely, and I am seldomly over 1500!

    Sodium, grain carbs and intense exercise do this to me... But now that I know this, it's no reason to freak out and the weight is gone a few days later.

    Just drink alot of water and the retained water and sodium will be washed out of your system.
  • ibleedunionblue
    ibleedunionblue Posts: 324 Member
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    Sunday - 144.6 * Ate Soup but under total calories
    Monday - 146.4
    Tuesday - 144.6

    So yeah - Sodium did it to me again. But a day later I was back under 145 :)
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
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    Yes, sodium can cause weight gain. Just increase your water intake if your sodium intake is also high. These need to be balanced.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    It's much more important to balance potassium intake with sodium than to just drink more water. Eating a ton of sodium, then trying to flush it out with water will eventually lead to a potassium deficiency.

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