How big a factor is sodium (water retention) when dieting?

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mauridaher
mauridaher Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I don't usually put extra salt to my food. However, recently I've come to the conclusion I eat (drink? have?) too much soy sauce. I basically add it to most of my foods, whenever I feel like adding a bit more of flavor to them. Obviously soy sauce is packed with sodium.

I think that may be the reason why I'm losing weight slower than usual (I am losing weight though). Any thoughts? And any alternatives to soy sauce? Maybe something a bit less salty.

Replies

  • KhatLady
    KhatLady Posts: 51 Member
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    You can try reduced sodium soy sauces, or something like these soy sauce "substitutes"

    http://chinesefood.about.com/od/sauces/r/soy_sauce_sub.htm

    http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/9-sodium-substitutes.html


    Either way, too much salt is never good for you and it adds up fast, especially with pre-packaged foods.

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/sodium/art-20045479
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Salt may cause you to retain fluids, but that has zero effect on long term weight loss.
  • LaCane77
    LaCane77 Posts: 16 Member
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    Fat loss none...

    I had a quest bar addiction, and that was throwing my scale weight off, calories were on point and for like a month i lost like 3.6 pounds, i cut the quest bars out and scale says i lost 4.6 pounds in a week.
  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
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    Instead of soy sauce, use Braggs Liquid Aminos. Tastes exactly like soy sauce, but it has no salt.
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
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    Salt may cause you to retain fluids, but that has zero effect on long term weight loss.

    Exactly this. Sodium and water retention are complete non-issues when it comes to actual fat loss. Your body can only retain so much water (probably anywhere between 3 to 15 pounds worth, depending on your size) and it can also lose that water very quickly. If seeing the scale go up by 10lbs within a few days is going to freak you out, then go ahead and cut out sodium. But if you're interested in losing fat as opposed to just pounds, a more sustainable approach is to ignore water weight and just eat whatever amount of sodium you're comfortable with.
  • ajaylynn
    ajaylynn Posts: 2 Member
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    Sodium is a huge factor for me.... especially since I have high blood pressure. So I try to focus on cutting it down when I can... like using fresh vegetables instead of canned... or at least choose the low sodium versions. I have tried to avoid as much processed food as possible.

    If I find I have a day that I can't avoid it...I do try to up my water consumption to flush it out. It is extremely hard to meet the RDA's...but it is a work in progress.
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
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    Sodium is a huge factor for me.... especially since I have high blood pressure.

    I'm just going to leave this here...

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/

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