Oops I ate too much sodium, what next?

unicornpoop
unicornpoop Posts: 178 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone,

I caved and ordered Chinese food when my husband suggested it tonight. I got 2 teriyaki chicken on a sticks and ate 4 pork steamed dumplings. I steamed some broccoli at home to add to my meal. I had a lot of calories to spend at dinner tonight so I said "Why not". Now that I entered my food it says I'm at 10,000 mg of sodium for the day. I feel really foolish that I didnt know that Chinese food had that much salt in it.

What do you do if you eat wayyyyyy to much salt one day? Just chug water, reduce salt intake, and sweat it out the next day?

Replies

  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
    kidney stone
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
    10,000? really??

    Just drink water like you normally would, maybe a couple extra cups. But don't gulp, make sure to sip throughout the day. And don't get on the scale for a good 3 days. :)
  • unicornpoop
    unicornpoop Posts: 178 Member
    "Kidney stone" - Wow, that was helpful.

    Thanks, I think I'll just make sure to cut down on salt. Idk how accurate the sodium was because Chinese food varies from restaurant to restaurant. But that's what it said.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    Drink more water...was told today eating a banana would help too.
  • nikki91950
    nikki91950 Posts: 647
    there's nothing special you can do besides drinking extra water. your body will flush it out on its own! and don't worry about those kidney stones!
  • xMedullaOblongatax
    xMedullaOblongatax Posts: 136
    Hi everyone,

    I caved and ordered Chinese food when my husband suggested it tonight. I got 2 teriyaki chicken on a sticks and ate 4 pork steamed dumplings. I steamed some broccoli at home to add to my meal. I had a lot of calories to spend at dinner tonight so I said "Why not". Now that I entered my food it says I'm at 10,000 mg of sodium for the day. I feel really foolish that I didnt know that Chinese food had that much salt in it.

    What do you do if you eat wayyyyyy to much salt one day? Just chug water, reduce salt intake, and sweat it out the next day?

    Hi! Your name is awesome!

    I would definitely follow CoraGregory's advice and consume more water. Don't get on the scale for a few days and work out all that sodium with cardio!
  • Beezil
    Beezil Posts: 1,677 Member
    I highly doubt there was that much sodium in 4 steamed pork dumplings... I'm not trying to be snarky at all, it's just that I know a full rack of ribs from Chili's has about 6,500mg of sodium, so I find it very hard to believe 4 little dumplings could contain the same amount as an entire rack of pork ribs smothered in BBQ sauce. Where did you get the nutrition info from?
  • live4turns
    live4turns Posts: 314 Member
    there's nothing special you can do besides drinking extra water. your body will flush it out on its own! and don't worry about those kidney stones!

    she's right. Don't go and chug water. Just drink water as you would normally.
  • ILoveFroggies
    ILoveFroggies Posts: 120 Member
    :) Don't fret.

    It's very normal to eat a Chinese takeaway meal, and you wouldn't have noticed the sodium content if you hadn't logged it.

    Nothing drastic will happen if you take in a lot of sodium as a one off. It's only if it becomes habitual that problems may arise.
  • unicornpoop
    unicornpoop Posts: 178 Member
    Thanks everyone! I will probably just drink one extra bottle of water tomorrow and watch the salt for a few days.

    I just entered the names of the foods on MFP and they popped up. IDK if it's accurate either.
  • Hanablu2
    Hanablu2 Posts: 134 Member
    @Unicornpoop That is a lot of sodium I am glad you are aware drinking water is good but another option along with water is buying organic dandelion root tea. You can get it at Target or a whole foods store just steep the tea bag 3-5 minutes and drink, you can add sugar or splenda or nothing based on your taste. Dandelion tea is a natural diuretic. I was temporarily on a blood pressure medication called HCTZ (hydrochlorothiazide) it is also a diuretic. When the doc took me off, it was as if my kidneys could no longer function on their own and I began to have swollen legs and ankles that I never had before. His suggestion was to prop up my feet, it didn't work. I did research and started drinking dandelion root tea and within 2-3wks I no longer had the issue of swollen legs and ankles. Whenever I overdo it with salt or need a flush of my system I drink organic dandelion root tea. Just make sure you have no allergies to dandelion if you decide to try it or talk to you doc about it. Good Luck!
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    there's nothing special you can do besides drinking extra water. your body will flush it out on its own! and don't worry about those kidney stones!

    ^^ This.

    Along with what another poster said about eating a banana if you really are worried about the immediate bloat. Otherwise I would just drink lots of water and let your body do its natural magic and flush out the sodium. Don't panic, you will be good in a couple of days. :)
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
    I highly highly doubt there is actually that much sodium in the food, sounds like someone has entered some incorrect info
  • garnet1483
    garnet1483 Posts: 249 Member
    Just so you know, it's the potassium in the banana that helps. Potassium helps your body process sodium, and calcium helps potassium. It's like a little chain of helpers. ;) Overall, though, Chinese is going to happen for most people. Enjoy it! Don't make it a regular part of your diet. You'll be fine.
  • CMarine3052
    CMarine3052 Posts: 1 Member
    Guys keep in mind that a few beers and a couple of cup-o-noodles will give you 10,000 mg in salt alone.
    So I'm not surprised that some Chinese food places can easily have 10g's or more at times. But I agree
    with the drinking water.... note: hot water will do the job faster.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    Don't worry about it, you'll be fine.....

    You'll likely retain extra water weight for a few days, but it'll soon drop off again.
  • murphinchina
    murphinchina Posts: 72
    Just so you know, it's the potassium in the banana that helps. Potassium helps your body process sodium, and calcium helps potassium. It's like a little chain of helpers. ;) Overall, though, Chinese is going to happen for most people. Enjoy it! Don't make it a regular part of your diet. You'll be fine.

    Don't make it a regular part of my diet??? But... I LIVE in China!!!! OMG!!!! Seriously though, there's probably way more MSG in the food here than back home in the States (in Chinese restaurants). They sell bags of MSG here in the condiment section, right next to the salt, pepper, sugar, etc. I don't know where you are (sorry I'm at work and didn't take the time to look) but in the US, MSG is regulated. So, as an alternate to the MSG used in Chinese food, I can easily see them using more sodium and getting you near that 10K number.

    Other than a headache, as long as it's not a habit, you shouldn't suffer any ill-effects. Just let your body do that voodoo that itdoo.
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    I know that feeling! I go over from time to time, more often than I would like. I just drink extra water for the next couple of days. It really sucks!
  • Lori19509
    Lori19509 Posts: 41 Member
    Iam trying to get my healthy, I have swollen glands, and I am taking an antibiotic. I drank alot today. In May I was told I had low sodium, I believe no test for the retake test yet. The doctor cut down my water.Being sick today I pushed extra water 9 cup I believe. PLEASE advise. TY
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    You can do lots of cardio. Sodium is used for muscle contraction and you sweat it out.
  • tariqelsaid
    tariqelsaid Posts: 1
    Drinking water is good it will flush as they say, but that's not the only think you can do. Running will speed up the process of draining the unwanted sodium. Run and drink water!!! Remember, your body needs only 200mg of sodium a day. More than that and you could be in risk of high blood pressure down the road.
  • skarbo48
    skarbo48 Posts: 2 Member
    Believe it or not it is very easy to hit 10,000mg+ of sodium more often than you think. soup and other thing are very high in sodium....as long as you stay within your other goal limits (cal, fat, carbs ) its ok to do once in awhile. Yes drink water and the water you retain will go away in a few days. Hope this helped!!
  • Iwantahealthierme30
    Iwantahealthierme30 Posts: 293 Member
    you didn't have 10,000mg of sodium, lol

    but drink lots of water and yeah the sodium and water will cause gain, so... unless you like to see that stuff stay off the scale
  • Iwantahealthierme30
    Iwantahealthierme30 Posts: 293 Member
    Whoops 6 year old thread. ahahaha
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    Question was asked in 2012/2013 . . . guessing that sodium has processed out of OP's system by now. 😉

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