Ugh....Sodium Help, Please!

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UmbraForzare
UmbraForzare Posts: 137
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,

Okay, so I did something really dumb a couple of days back and had some potato chips.
I did NOT realize how high the salt content was until I'd eaten them and promptly inflated like a pufferfish under attack.

My own fault entirely but thanks to that mistake I've now gained back 3 of the 11 lbs that I'd lost; which considering how long it's taken to me to actually get both brain and body into "hey lets finally do this" mode is really freaking annoying.

Normally I do not eat stuff with a high salt content because I don't like the taste of salt; but for some reason belly saw chips and said "GIMME!".

I usually drink around 2 liters of water per day (sometimes more than that) and often have 1 or 2 cups of green tea per day (not every day though) and I know that drinking plenty of water is the best way of flushing an salt infested system; but these 3 lbs seem to love me so much that they've set up camp and aren't budging.

Any ideas?

Oh, if it helps - my diet normally (when I'm not making silly mistakes like that!) consists of chicken, fish, fruits (2-3 different types a day) and vegetables (2-3 different types per day) and as I said, around 2 liters of water.

Thanks in advance for any help!
:happy:

Replies

  • puebloboy316
    puebloboy316 Posts: 1 Member
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    Don't forget that salt makes you retain water like crazy. Don't beat yourself up over it. Def keep drinking water, but maybe do an incline walk on a treadmill and some sauna time. You just need to sweat it out.
  • UmbraForzare
    UmbraForzare Posts: 137
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    The treadmill and sauna are not things I have access to/can do easily (due to a disability) BUT I have managed to get myself out for a walk both yesterday AND today (and am planning on doing that as much as I can each day anyway).

    The water I have covered, I barely drink anything else :laugh:

    I have heard that pure cranberry juice helps to eliminate things like that from your system - anyone tried that?
  • kent4j
    kent4j Posts: 391 Member
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    OMG I have the same issue as you this week except I had some canned soup which has mega sodium. I gained 2 pounds back of the 8 I had lost . I've been so good with my exercise and diet that it was a little discouraging. I've actually been trying to keep a good eye on my sodium intake since it also makes me blow up. Finally today the scale budged and I lost the 2 pounds plus some. It took 3-4 days. Like you I just kept drinking loads of water and green tea. Keep chugging!!
  • sprinkies
    sprinkies Posts: 309 Member
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    how many chips did you eat? you can have 2500mg of sodium per day, so to go over that, it must have been more salty things than just a few chips. if it was the salt, you should've been back to normal within 2 days after you became accountable and the water weight should have gone away. is it your TOM? that can easily make you gain a pound or two. definitely just watch that you're not adding any extra salt to anything (that adds up FAST... a 1/4 tsp is like 40% dv? i dunno, something crazy like that).

    good luck!
  • UmbraForzare
    UmbraForzare Posts: 137
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    @kent4j - how much does it SUCK? :laugh: hopefully my body will decide that it's much better to let go of it than keep it sooner rather than later!!

    @sprinkies - to be honest, I do not eat salty foods that often (if at all) and I don't add any at all to cooking (like I said, I hate the taste), so although the usual intake for me would be 2500mg of sodium, if I eat more than normal for me it affects me really badly - I think I'm a bit sensitive to excess salt.
    Nowhere near TOM, although if I was I'd be up like a balloon (thank you, water retention!!)
  • LazyMogg
    LazyMogg Posts: 162
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    I think we all go through those "got to have it" moments mostly, perhaps, because we try too hard to ban these foods.

    If the regained weight is to do with water retention following a high sodium intake then it's a matter of being patient and putting the mistake behind you. We all do it - just try to be prepared for such an attack next time by asking yourself what it was that made you think you wanted that salty food? Did you really want it? Were you hungry or just bored? Try avoidance tactics next time and see if the craving passes but I know, also, that it's hard to do that.

    Don't be too hard on yourself and you'll soon lose it again. You've still lost 8lbs so focus on that success. :smile:
  • sgreb
    sgreb Posts: 6
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    All I can say is lots of water. In my case, my sodium intake is too low. I just had bloodwork done and thought that to be impossible, but apparently I am too diluted with water. I have my coffee in the morning (my one true weakness) and I drink nothing but water the rest of the day. Water and walking will definitely help!
  • UmbraForzare
    UmbraForzare Posts: 137
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    Thanks guys :happy:

    I'm putting it behind me as a daft thing to have done and I'm still celebrating the whole "I lost 8lbs" thing :laugh:

    Lots of water (I'm going to try for 2.5L for a while to try and flush the nasties out of my system) and no more of those potato chips (although they were damn tasty!!)
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Just give it time. It's just water weight and will go away.

    I "gained" seven pounds between Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon from going over on sodium. More than half of it was gone by this morning, and I'm betting the rest will be gone by tomorrow.
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
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    Water retention can sometimes take more than just a couple days to flush out...depends on how sensitive you are to it.
    Also, I know Canada lowered their sodium intake to 1500. I changed my goals to that, 2500 seems so high....and hypertension is a problem if there is a history of it in your family.

    Good luck!
  • dawn454
    dawn454 Posts: 42 Member
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    I am so hating the sodium!!!:mad: It's in everything and way too much. I'm not even sure how to really cut back. I don't add salt to anything but I can't afford to buy everything fresh and not packaged. Any suggestions would be appreciated! :smile:
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
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    I am so hating the sodium!!!:mad: It's in everything and way too much. I'm not even sure how to really cut back. I don't add salt to anything but I can't afford to buy everything fresh and not packaged. Any suggestions would be appreciated! :smile:

    I have high blood pressure, and one thing the dr told me is to season foods with garlic to give boring foods flavor. Also, I know that frozen veggies tend to be less sodium than canned. Canned veggies are pretty high. Also, anything processed is going to be high.
    If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.
    Good luck!
  • LazyMogg
    LazyMogg Posts: 162
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    I have high blood pressure, and one thing the dr told me is to season foods with garlic to give boring foods flavor. Also, I know that frozen veggies tend to be less sodium than canned. Canned veggies are pretty high. Also, anything processed is going to be high.
    If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.
    Good luck!
    [/quote]

    I have high BP too Lucy and like you I have to be aware of where sodium is hiding. I think as long as we don't indulge in processed food all the time, these things will balance out okay. It gets my goat sometimes, though, when you see these TV chefs banging on about seasoning in food and criticising people for not using enough. They really chuck that salt in as well sometimes and I often think they ought to be promoting healthier ways of cooking.

    Dawn: I think that if you buy canned veg and drain it well (possibly even rinse it too), you should be fine with using them as most of the salt will then be washed away. If, like me, you like the occasional gammon steak or bacon then try to balance it with something sodium free - like a salad or steamed veg. Hope that helps and I don't know if links are allowed in posts but I googled how to cut down on salt and found this (it's British): http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/cut-down-salt.aspx . It might give you some ideas. xx
  • Shawna0101
    Shawna0101 Posts: 76 Member
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    I buy frozen and fresh veggies but I am finding the sodium in soups (even the reduced sodium varietes) its in my bread, its even in the protein drink I use. Buying everything fresh (especially chicken) is much too expensive. Its not really about me adding salt after the fact its the salt thats hiding in everything it seems.
  • Ms_Natalie
    Ms_Natalie Posts: 1,030 Member
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    Drink that water!! They will come off soon...don't you worry about it.

    One thing to note is in the MFP food database...many people leave off sodium levels when adding new foods. It is always best, if possible to double check the sodium listed in the ingredients. This may also be hindering your progress.

    Good Luck :flowerforyou:
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
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    Drink that water!! They will come off soon...don't you worry about it.

    One thing to note is in the MFP food database...many people leave off sodium levels when adding new foods. It is always best, if possible to double check the sodium listed in the ingredients. This may also be hindering your progress.

    Good Luck :flowerforyou:

    So true about people not adding sodium! Or the rest of the nutrition info for that matter. If you don't put it all in....DON'T MAKE IT PUBLIC! Sorry...just drives me nuts...
  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
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    Have to agree with the sodium not getting listed on the uploaded foods. Drives me nuts since I track my sodium every day.

    I wish my gf didn't prefer the canned veggies, 'cause I'd prefer to go with the fresh/frozen stuff exclusively otherwise. I didn't track sodium the first week, then took a look at it and realized I was going over nearly every day. Since I started tracking it, I've been under all but 2-3 days (out of nearly 2 months). Look for "no salt added" versions of things like canned tomatoes. Makes a huge difference. I have worked on seasoning things without using salt or seasonings that have salt included (or just use a 1/2 serving - it is amazing that you can still get at least a decent bit of taste without a whole lot of seasoning).

    The big thing is to pay attention to it and be more aware of it - that way, you can more easily cut down on it here and there to make the overall daily total not so high.

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