sodium Intake

Okay , So I'm fairly new at this . I do great eating up to my calories for each day, I'm allowed 1200 a day. I do exercise daily and try to eat more depending on how much I worked out. I'm trying to loose 20 lbs. I have been eating soup since it is low in calories one meal a day but the sodium is killing me. I'm negative most days.
I was at first doing My Fitnesspal on my phone but someone showed me you don't get has much out of it. Like the break down of carbs, sugar, sodium ect. a day. Now that i'm doing it on my laptop it has opened my eyes.

So should I avoid soup even though it's low in calories and filling?

Thanks
Getting frustrated on how and what to eat :frown:

Replies

  • TurtleTape
    TurtleTape Posts: 254 Member
    Unless you have a medical issue, sodium really isn't that big of a deal. It does cause water retention, but it won't cause any real health problems unless you already have a sodium-sensitive issue.

    Can you make your own soups? That way you could easily control how much sodium is in them. A big crockpot soup can be portioned out into multiple meals and frozen, and it'll have much less sodium than canned soups.
  • Okay, I have not made my own soup but I like the advice and I'm going to give it a try. I certainly don't like the water retention thing. I want these 20 lbs OFF.
  • nicailyzee
    nicailyzee Posts: 183 Member
    Anything that is in a can or frozen especially frozen meals tend to have a ton of sodium and sugar as preservatives. Fast food, processed food, cheese, deli meats etc are usually high in sodium. With that being said there are lower sodium versions of soup and a lot of canned goods as well because manufacturers have seen the need for it. Maybe you should look for those and see if they are worth the try. Like turtle tape said the sodium won't kill you unless you have an issue with it but too much of anything is no good. Your best bet is to make your own foods if you can. If you cannot cook find someone who can help you to do so and monitor your ingredients. Google low sodium soup. Good luck!
  • LilMissRaptr
    LilMissRaptr Posts: 37 Member
    If you click the different break downs on the phone app, you can view vitamins and sodium and all that too, makes a good mobile option. Also make, your own soup in big crockpot batches and then you can freeze baggies of it for quick meals! :) It's cheaper, healthier, and usually tastier than the canned variety!
  • sandsofarabia
    sandsofarabia Posts: 95 Member
    Yeah it is a major cause of "water weight"...

    If you have eaten too much sodium without knowing i would just increase your normal intake of water to balance it out but i would avoid consuming too much...

    I like that idea of buying low sodium soups (but i bet they taste awful anyways).

    I stopped eating soup when i started eating healthy just because of the sodium. I also started putting pepper instead of salt for flavor. I think that can really help keep the water weight off so losing actual fat will be easier/faster.
  • Thank you everyone,
    I'm going to try and make my own soup in crockpot and freeze in baggies. I really like that idea.
    Thank you for the help. Everyone on here is always so very helpful. I believe for the first time I can get this weight off.
  • TurtleTape
    TurtleTape Posts: 254 Member
    Make sure you freeze it flat for optimum storage.
  • happieharpie
    happieharpie Posts: 229 Member
    I've read, and it is true for me, that sodium can cause carb cravings in sensitive people. I've done MUCH better since I eliminated all added salt.
    I also don't eat processed food, which notoriously is loaded with sodium.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    why soup? i eat 1200 net calories per day and eat actual food, and i'm losing slowly and steadily.

    here's a really quick and easy one - Dr. McDougall's Vegan Lower Sodium Black Bean and Rice Soup. low sodium, fat and decent calories. tastes great with a little light sour cream or yogurt stirred in. i use half the water and it makes a tasty dip, too. they made some other lower sodium products, which can be bought on amazon.

    there's also amy's light frozen meals. the black bean one has only 240 calories, not sure about the rest. any's also has gluten-free dairy free burritos (i'm allergic to wheat) that are fairly low in sodium and only 240 calories a piece.

    i eat veggie burgers on a single slice of bread (my faves are sol cuisine) with mustard

    non-fat greek yogurt (fage is my favorite) with strawberries or without

    egg beaters with a single serving of frozen hash browns (they have only 70 calories per serving)

    broccoli and asparagus

    oatmeal 1/3 cup dry made with non-fat milk and sweetened with stevia and sometimes flavored with cinnamon

    a medium baked potato with light sour cream and lots of pepper

    dry mashed potato flakes made with milk then stir in a little light sour cream or yogurt. yummy with broccoli tossed with light italian dressing.

    half serving of rice or barley with light blue cheese dressing and chicken free chicken pieces (works with a little chicken breast, too)
  • skalkbrenn
    skalkbrenn Posts: 47 Member
    There is a website www.skinnytaste.com and she has AMAZING soup recipes :-). Most call for low sodium broth or tomato sauce. I retain water extremely bad when I eat canned soups