Too much sodium = weight plateau?

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jteammom
jteammom Posts: 173
in Health and Weight Loss
Recently I asked for advice on getting off this plateau that I have been stuck on forever. One of my MFP friends suggested that perhaps it is water retention due to too much sodium. I thought that might be a possibility but didn't do much about it. Today I added sodium to the nutrients my diary tracks and was stunned to see that I go over the recommended amount almost 50% of the time. That is a bad thing. The other thing I noticed was that on many of the days I went over it was SALAD DRESSING that put me over the top! Has anyone recently made an effort to reduce the amount of sodium in their diet? Did it make any difference in weight and/or water retention?

Replies

  • polo571
    polo571 Posts: 708 Member
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    Sodium does it everytime. I have an awesome place to get salad dressing. Its called Galeos and you can have it delivered to your house. I saw bob on biggest loser talk about it. i like the miso dijonaise. Actually look for my blog and weighin this week I have been using a body media HRM and I cut back on my sodium and increased my water intake and I think its going to be pretty good.
  • sarahleelee
    sarahleelee Posts: 79 Member
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    The only way I lose weight is if I keep my sodium under 2000mg. It's difficult if you're eating processed foods but can be done by limiting your processed foods and adding in fresh, not treated foods.

    It's annoying and I wish that I didn't have to watch my sodium, but I drop weight quickly if I do!
  • WhiteStar2351
    WhiteStar2351 Posts: 87
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    Your body requires sodium - the more exercise you need, the more sodium you require. The bare minimums you can get by on are around 500mg per day. The average adult should usually limit themselves to 2000-2300mg per day. However - if you exercise intensely, regularly, then you will require more sodium as it is used up by the central nervous systems, muscles, etc (not to mention sweat).

    A lot of people 'verbally regurgitate' extracts they've read from magazines/websites - but at the end of the day, sodium only causes minor fluid retention (unless you're heavily OD'ing on it). If you're eating less then 2,300mg a day its nothing to worry about. If you're exercising regularly then you should be absolutely fine and notice no real side effects anywhere up to 3,000mg (even higher for males).

    Sodium is getting the same bad reputation as fat had in the 90s, and carbs had in the 00s. The media always look for a particular aspect of a diet which makes it 'unhealthy' where as in reality there is no one single thing that makes a diet dangerous.

    What is your current calorie intake? If you cut your calories too quickly you will hit a plateau as your body will adapt. If you've cut them to an unhealthily low number like 1200calories per day you will actually need to slowly increase what you're eating to continue losing weight. (Nobody should eat that few calories full stop! It kills leptin production and halts fat loss).
  • Bigpelly8
    Bigpelly8 Posts: 504 Member
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    The days that my scale doesn't move, are the days I have too much sodium because all the water I drink stays put!!!
  • OLP76
    OLP76 Posts: 768 Member
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    Sodium...is my weakness! Also my enemy. Most people forget about Sodium. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, just a salt tooth :laugh: In the month of December I didn't watch my sodium, I ate A&W, subway (cause I thought it was good), baked chips ( don't be fooled by those)...After learnin' the hard way my 'Cheat meals' & my 'baked chips' weren't doin' me any good. In January I finally commited to myself in a very strict diet. It works for me and may not work for anyone else. I know what I can eat and what I shouldn't eat.
    Processed foods! Those easy *kitten* foods aren't your friends either! :frown: I also drink 3 bottle of water that hold 1.5L per day, just because I want to, I know it's way over the 8 glasses.
    But, I also workout twice a day - once mid mornin' & mid afternoon.

    As long as you know what is causin' your weight plateau' and changin' your diet and exercise - you should see results in no time. Patience as my Husband keeps remindin' me at times :)

    Read the labels on the packagin' as well...You'd be surprised at the Sodium levels on some labels...Have a great day! :flowerforyou:
  • ukgirly01
    ukgirly01 Posts: 523 Member
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    Your body requires sodium - the more exercise you need, the more sodium you require. The bare minimums you can get by on are around 500mg per day. The average adult should usually limit themselves to 2000-2300mg per day. However - if you exercise intensely, regularly, then you will require more sodium as it is used up by the central nervous systems, muscles, etc (not to mention sweat).

    A lot of people 'verbally regurgitate' extracts they've read from magazines/websites - but at the end of the day, sodium only causes minor fluid retention (unless you're heavily OD'ing on it). If you're eating less then 2,300mg a day its nothing to worry about. If you're exercising regularly then you should be absolutely fine and notice no real side effects anywhere up to 3,000mg (even higher for males).

    Sodium is getting the same bad reputation as fat had in the 90s, and carbs had in the 00s. The media always look for a particular aspect of a diet which makes it 'unhealthy' where as in reality there is no one single thing that makes a diet dangerous.

    What is your current calorie intake? If you cut your calories too quickly you will hit a plateau as your body will adapt. If you've cut them to an unhealthily low number like 1200calories per day you will actually need to slowly increase what you're eating to continue losing weight. (Nobody should eat that few calories full stop! It kills leptin production and halts fat loss).

    MFP tells me to eat 1280 a day, do you think thats too low then?
  • LadyPersia
    LadyPersia Posts: 1,444 Member
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    Sodium is my down fall. I retain four-seven pounds of water when I go over 2500mg. I stopped all sodium for a week and noticed a five pound loss.

    Water is my friend. Good luck.
  • WhiteStar2351
    WhiteStar2351 Posts: 87
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    Definitely! I would recommend for an average adult that doesn't exercise / lightly exercise around 1500-1800mg per day minimum. For somebody that does exercise more intensely (4+ hours per week) increase to higher levels (2000-2500mg). Plenty of body builders I've worked with have had sodium intakes closer to 4000mg per day.

    What people don't realise is that your body is perfectly able to control the amount of salt that is within it. If you have too much salt, you become thirsty and drink more to rebalance the electrolytes in the blood. The excess salt is then passed in urine. Obviously if you continuously bombard your body with too much salt it will damage this equilibrium, but if you're having a sensible intake then your body will filter out the excess itself! :o)
  • Cristy_AZ
    Cristy_AZ Posts: 986
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    I have been tracking my sodium at my doctor's suggestion and also was floored by the amounts in dressings and other preppared foods, like ketchup etc. I had already cut out all boxed up "diet" foods and canned soups, but found I still had a lot of work to do, I only use oil and vinager with seasoning (not the kind in the packets.. WAY high in sodium) for dressing and buy everything I can (like chicken broth) low or no sodium. I think it makes a huge difference in weight loss and over all health! And it is amazing to track it and see how it sneaks up everywhere!! Good luck!
  • Cristy_AZ
    Cristy_AZ Posts: 986
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    My Dr. recommended between 1500 and 2000.... but that's for ME, with my cholesteral/heart risk issues, and working out 45 - 60 minutes 5 times a week.
  • RedfootDaddy
    RedfootDaddy Posts: 274 Member
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    I watch my sodium because I have high blood pressure, so there's more benefits to tracking sodium than just weight loss!

    Portion control is your friend, especially when it comes to salad dressing.

    My wife has started to make her own chicken and vegetable stock and then freezing it, because even the "low sodium" stuff in the stores is still waaaay too high to be good for you. Same with soups. Unless it's a cream-based soup - we found this out the hard way - they freeze easily. There are low-sodium recipes for cream of mushroom, etc, all the soups you use for recipes. Crock pots = awesome.
  • sarahleelee
    sarahleelee Posts: 79 Member
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    Definitely! I would recommend for an average adult that doesn't exercise / lightly exercise around 1500-1800mg per day minimum. For somebody that does exercise more intensely (4+ hours per week) increase to higher levels (2000-2500mg). Plenty of body builders I've worked with have had sodium intakes closer to 4000mg per day.

    What people don't realise is that your body is perfectly able to control the amount of salt that is within it. If you have too much salt, you become thirsty and drink more to rebalance the electrolytes in the blood. The excess salt is then passed in urine. Obviously if you continuously bombard your body with too much salt it will damage this equilibrium, but if you're having a sensible intake then your body will filter out the excess itself! :o)

    Unless you're like me and have very low chloirde...which means sodium affects me greatly. Sadface. I love pizza.
  • WhiteStar2351
    WhiteStar2351 Posts: 87
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    Unless you're like me and have very low chloirde...which means sodium affects me greatly. Sadface. I love pizza.

    Ahhh - in which case you're not average - you're special! :smile:

    A good way I came up with to get around the ultra-high carbs in pizza is to cook up a thick omlette and use that as a base (3 whole eggs for me, but any combination of yolks/whites works). Then put the usual (healthy option) toppings on. Not quite as nice as proper pizza but it does the job! :happy:
  • sacfrazier
    sacfrazier Posts: 53
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    For the first three weeks that I was here, I wasn't paying much attention to my sodium. The first week I lost 5 pounds, the second 3, and the third week 1 pound. I was a little upset with the one pound because I worked my tail off and watched what I ate. In the fourth week, I added sodium to my tracker and was surprised at how much I was eating. After a week of watching my sodium intake, I got back on the scale and was surprised to have lost 3 pounds! I do think that it matters. I will now watch my sodium intake, drink tons of water, eat healthy and exercise an hour a day 5-6 days a week. It's working for me right now anyway.
  • shreddingit
    shreddingit Posts: 1,133 Member
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    well sodium is bad in high amounts, you can retain water. are you checking your sugar too?
  • jteammom
    jteammom Posts: 173
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    This has been VERY informative. I will definitely be watching my sodium intake now. I knew it was not a good thing for you, but since I have never had blood pressure issues I never paid attention to it. Guess I'd better change that tune!

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