Does anyone else have this problem?

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Makterbro
Makterbro Posts: 101 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It always seems impossible to eat 1,200cal without going over 2300mg sodium limit. I only ate 803cal so for today but I only have 107mg of sodium left allowed. Does anyone struggle with maintaining a low sodium diet? If I go over to sodium limit by a 500mg will it matter all that much?

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  • kagenw
    kagenw Posts: 260 Member
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    The American diet of processed food isn't conducive to keeping your sodium intake low. Almost any processed food that you eat is going to be very high in sodium. I was checking out your food diary and you could probably replace those Chicken Strips with homemade chicken breasts cut into strips with some natural seasonings and cut out the sodium almost completely.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    Do you have a solid reason to worry about keeping sodium to 2500mg? MFP recommendations aren't a substitute for reality.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    You are probably eating a lot of processed food.... Switch over to fresh homemade food, and it will be easy to stay under....I had susi today, as well as Costco lasagna, and I am still under.....It is a high sodium day for me, and I can feel it in my swollen fingers ans feet.....
  • Makterbro
    Makterbro Posts: 101 Member
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    The American diet of processed food isn't conducive to keeping your sodium intake low. Almost any processed food that you eat is going to be very high in sodium. I was checking out your food diary and you could probably replace those Chicken Strips with homemade chicken breasts cut into strips with some natural seasonings and cut out the sodium almost completely.
    I really wish I could but I am bus with work and school and I don't have much time to cook homemade chicken breasts.
  • jennifurballs
    jennifurballs Posts: 247 Member
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    I grill 10 chicken breasts a week and heat them up when I need to. I also roast several pans of veggies and prep salad stuff. I may spend a good part of one day prepping food, but it makes it super easy to follow my meal plan and eat fresh, nutritious food. Once you get into the habit of it, it ain't so bad.
  • cpeacy
    cpeacy Posts: 27
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    I have been struggling a lot with this. I started a healthy eating group for support on facebook. If anyone is interested in some extra support you are welcome to message me for more information.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    If you have been ordered to monitor your sodium by a doctor, perhaps due to hypertension, then do as the doctor says. Otherwise you could be setting yourself up for trouble.

    For example, I tend to have low blood pressure it seems. So when I started recently getting into shape I noticed some light headedness occasionally when standing up. At my most recent doctor appointment I had low blood pressure and he asked if I had any symptoms, I did. So the doctor told me to up my sodium and my water intake. I hadn't been tracking my sodium, so I began (here on MFP in fact) and found that I was getting anywehre from 50% to 100% MORE sodium on average per day than MFP recommended...and the doc told me to up it even further. I had also been limiting myself to the 8 glassed of water per day recommended by MFP, prior to that I was getting 12+. I am back to 12+ at this point to keep blood pressure up.

    For what it's worth, if anything.
  • Rachinator92
    Rachinator92 Posts: 62 Member
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    As long as your blood pressure is okay, you drink a LOT of water, and you don't mind a little bloating... don't worry too bad about it. Unless you're missing a vital organ... like a kidney.

    Oh... and if you're shooting to like 3500-4000mg.
  • GrammyPeachy
    GrammyPeachy Posts: 1,723 Member
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    NM
  • GrammyPeachy
    GrammyPeachy Posts: 1,723 Member
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    If you have been ordered to monitor your sodium by a doctor, perhaps due to hypertension, then do as the doctor says. Otherwise you could be setting yourself up for trouble.

    For example, I tend to have low blood pressure it seems. So when I started recently getting into shape I noticed some light headedness occasionally when standing up. At my most recent doctor appointment I had low blood pressure and he asked if I had any symptoms, I did. So the doctor told me to up my sodium and my water intake. I hadn't been tracking my sodium, so I began (here on MFP in fact) and found that I was getting anywehre from 50% to 100% MORE sodium on average per day than MFP recommended...and the doc told me to up it even further. I had also been limiting myself to the 8 glassed of water per day recommended by MFP, prior to that I was getting 12+. I am back to 12+ at this point to keep blood pressure up.

    For what it's worth, if anything.
    MFP recommends, "AT LEAST",8 cups of water per day. There's no reason to limit it.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
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    Unless you have a medical reason for keeping sodium low, I wouldn't worry about being a little over. I think my intake is generally anywhere from 2400-3500 for a normal day. If I go a little food crazy, it can get around 4000.
  • bkthandler
    bkthandler Posts: 247 Member
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    Grill chicken breasts or thighs on a gas grill or george forman and leave them in the fridge....cuts way back on the sodium and has quick protein at your finger tips.

    I just microwave a bag of bird's eye veggie and let them warm the chicken.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Nope. It's not an issue if you don't eat much fast food OR much pre-packaged heavily processed convenience foods.
    I'm not advocating for eating the heavily processed stuff, but do wonder how much the sodium matters, if you're otherwise healthy. Ask your doc.

    ETA: for the sake of discussion, I just post logged my day. I'm at 1320 for sodium, and 1300 for calories, and I haven't had my final snack/dessert/wine/whatever yet. Just for comparison sake.
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
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    I grill 10 chicken breasts a week and heat them up when I need to. I also roast several pans of veggies and prep salad stuff. I may spend a good part of one day prepping food, but it makes it super easy to follow my meal plan and eat fresh, nutritious food. Once you get into the habit of it, it ain't so bad.

    This. Make time once a week to prep. Also, unless you have some medical reason, your low calorie and sodium diet may not be necessary for your success. (I.e. you may be able to eat 1500a day, lose a little slower, and ultimately be happier).
  • NoMoreBlameGame
    NoMoreBlameGame Posts: 236 Member
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    I used to have that problem because I used to just cook whatever could be thrown in the oven whole and done (pre-made stuff I just had to heat up). I'm making almost everything from lean meats, veggies and fruits now...my sodium ranges between like 800 and 1000 per day. That said...I'm also on a 1500mg/day sodium restriction (Doctor's orders). The only way I could manage it was to stop cooking easy stuff and start taking the time to make healthy foods.

    I still have sodium days (I like cottage cheese, lol), but on average, it's going well. My doc said I might be able to stop my Lopressor (blood pressure meds) if I keep this up. That's incentive enough...one less med to fuss with.

    Anyway...healthy, raw foods (meat out of the animal instead of the machines, and veggies/fruit from Earth rather than planet Addalottasauce) is what is doing it for me (so far).

    Edited To Add: Mrs. Dash has become a very good friend to me, hehe.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I'm wondering the same thing. I don't even eat processed foods really. I just love salt. I'm almost always over :(
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If you eat anything processed, sodium will quickly become an issue.

    Ham and pickles are loaded with it.

    Yes, I have sodium problems. You aren't alone.

    And before you dismiss it as "no problem", ask your doctor what he thinks. A lot of people will say you shouldn't worry about it until it causes you to have cardiovascular issues, but it might be a good idea to consider the sodium intake before it actually causes problems.

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