HELP, how to eat 2330 cal and stay under my sodium intake?

Open your diary! If you are eating a lot of processed and/or restaurant food, that's an issue. You save a lot of sodium and sugar by cooking for yourself from scratch and not putting it in there!

Why are you desperately trying to stay under sugar and sodium intake? Are you a diabetic?

DRINK MORE WATER! Sit in a Sauna for 10 minutes. START COOKING YOUR OWN FOOD. Umm, eat clean I suppose. Honestly, eat things like egg whites, brown rice, grilled chicken, yams, oats, honey, fresh peanut butter, frozen veggies are great, avocado, etc.

You can do it! Whatever you do, AVOID FAST FOOD AND DELI MEATS!~

I'm trying to stay under or at all my reccomended levels. I'm guess I'm a little confused about what are the most important levels to be at or under.

Don't use MFP's "recommended levels" for anything. They are pretty arbitrary... the only one that matters for weight loss is the calories.

Sodium is not a problem unless you have a medical issue (like hypertension) that requires you to regulate it. Drinking 10-16 cups of water a way will flush it all out anyway.

Sugar is a problem for diabetics. Unless your doctor has a recommendation for sodium or sugar, ignore those columns.

The protein setting on MFP is notoriously low, especially if you are trying to build muscle.

Unless you have an existing medical condition such as being pre-diabetic, diabetic, PCOS ignore the sugar as eating any fruit will put you over. If you have these conditions or ones related to them then you need to watch sugar, but realize the level this site gives is very low so you may need to change it.

In terms of sodium, unless you have high blood pressure don't obsess about it. This is even more the case when you realize even among people with high blood pressure, excess salt is not always a causal factor, in other words, it is not the salt that gives them high blood pressure and their body processes it just fine. If you do have blood pressure issues, fruits (but they will put you over on your sugar) veggies, and lean meats all spices with herbs instead of salt.

At this point the most important number is your calories and staying within your calorie goal, and to a smaller extent your macros, that is Carbs, Protein, Fat; especially Protein and Fat since getting sufficient amounts of both will help with feeling full and with maintaining muscle mass. Personally I go with a 40%Carb, 30% Protein and 30% Fat split which is far different than MFP, but my main concern is the calories as that is what will take off the fat.

Thank you all! This is making me feel so much better! My husband just started using MFP and has a colestrol problem so I will make sure he stays under that and keeps his calories where he should. So calories is what matters. Yay! :drinker:

The cholesterol level in your blood is unrelated to the cholesterol level in the food you eat - you most likely don't need to track that, either.

Too much sodium in your body can cause health related issues. So it is an important number to pay attention to long term. Having a few days of too much sodium isn't a bad thing but if it's an every day thing then you may develop problems. Not to mention, too much sodium makes you retain water and your blood volume will increase and make your heart have to work harder to get it all through your body.

Drink enough water and avoid processed foods.

2nd this. too much sodium long term can definitely lead to health problems. it's not arbitrary. the levels MFP sets may not always be accurate but it's still something you want to keep in check the best you can.

You need to look in really specific places. Start with very low sodium basics: unsalted Ezekiel bread, oatmeal, shredded wheat (all 0 sodium), most unsalted nuts and nut butters, corn tortillas, swiss cheese, most fresh vegetables and fruits.

Put "no salt added" in the search box, or see http://salt.globe1234.com for more suggestions. Stay away from "low sodium" and "reduced sodium" which are too high.

Milk, eggs and meats, even when cooked at home, have 50-150 mg sodium per serving, so those are unavoidable. That's why you need to use the salt-free basics, to keep the total down.

Deli meats are killer. So are stuff that make meat taste good (like soy sauce, gochujang, rubs).

I'm not sure. If you find a way let me know.

I think sodium/potassium ratio is more important than sodium level. Most vegetables have more potassium than sodium.