Sodium/Sodium/Sodium

vetsnatural
vetsnatural Posts: 186 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I am having a hard time controlling my sodium intake to the recommended levels here on MFP. What can I do to control this part of my nutrition. Of course I am working out and getting at least 64 oz of water in daily. Someone please help!

Replies

  • rebecky27
    rebecky27 Posts: 842 Member
    Me too! Will be watching for responses! I made what I thought was a healthy meal the other day.....when I plugged all ingredients into the recipe calculator, I was shocked at the sodium. Darn tomatoes!!
  • vetsnatural
    vetsnatural Posts: 186 Member
    lots of sodium in everything. Geez. You have a recipe calculator... I need one of those as well as a food scale.
  • drb3
    drb3 Posts: 2
    Pre-packaged foods are always high in sodium. Cook fresh. It may take a little longer but it's so much better for you! Spend Sundays prepping fresh foods. Cutting/chopping veggies, pre-cook meats to be heated up later in the week.

    Also, if you drink diet soda some of them have a lot of sodium so watch that too. (I am a soda fiend so this is a big one for me.)

    Keep up the good work with the water! I always feel like I am going to drown if I drink that much water. LOL
  • MissKim
    MissKim Posts: 2,853 Member
    stay away from anything processed...in a package or box. I know that's easier said than done :) but if you stick to real natural foods you won't have a problem with sodium at all. someone mentioned tomatoes. did you use canned tomatoes?? if you had used natural fresh ones it would have been alot less sodium. oh, and fast food, restaurant food is the worse on sodium!!!!
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    Cutting out most processed foods will cut sodium levels to very reasonable levels.

    MFP has a recipe calculator - Go to "Food", click on "Recipes", then click on the "Enter New Recipe" button on the right.
  • musicoflife08
    musicoflife08 Posts: 66
    I've made sure to buy as many things I can that are reduced sodium. I have the same problem. Usually, I'm over, but I don't worry about it too much. It's like trying to not go over your sugar intake for the day, some days it's just impossible!
  • staciekins
    staciekins Posts: 453 Member
    Couldn't have said it better than them ^
    On another note, instead of using salt to season, try other seasonings like garlic and onion powder, ets.
    And never use table salt, replace it with salt substitute for that salty-like taste, but you get lots of potassium in when using salt substitute.
  • staciekins
    staciekins Posts: 453 Member
    Check out other peoples diary to get ideas
  • mikeyml
    mikeyml Posts: 568 Member
    We had a thread about this yesterday. Click the link to get some tips:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231126-tips-on-cutting-sodium
  • SarahofTwins
    SarahofTwins Posts: 1,169 Member
    Same here, It seems like most days I'm going over my sodium. Especially with pickles...dang those good things! lol
  • vetsnatural
    vetsnatural Posts: 186 Member
    Thanks everyone and I will definitely try to get my grocery and farmers market list together and try to make healthier meals at home. I knew processed foods would be a big part of that.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Cook fresh! Meats, Vegetables, Whole grains, Brown rices, and don't add salt. Buy salt free canned foods. Do not! Do not eat packaged meals, gravys or sauces unless you make them yourself, processed meats or fried foods. Make your own salad dressing with little oil and vin. or mustart or lemon. Try lemon , salsa or a little mustard on meats. It is really hard in the beginning but you will get use to it. I add hot pepper to everything it helps with flavor and raises the metabolism.
  • cndraycott
    cndraycott Posts: 16 Member
    Sodium does the more damage the longer it sits in your body. It causes you to retain water, which can seemingly impede your weight loss. My mother always gave me the same piece of advice - If you don't want to retain water, drink water. If you've had a day where you have waaay too much sodium, definitely up your intake of water. If you want, try a B12 or B6 vitamin to help metabolize the sodium and expel it faster.

    That's my advice! hope it helps!
  • ahartery9891
    ahartery9891 Posts: 139 Member
    I'd say just have a look at your diary and see what foods you're eating that are high in sodium. Be aware of them when you do eat them, and try to not have any more if you choose to eat that item during the day. :) That way, you can still eat the foods you love, but in moderation. Cause and Effect.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    Excess sodium really does affect me badly (bloating, raises blood pressure, causes headaches and can even burn my lips and tongue) so I'm careful with it. I love the Mrs Dash salt-free seasinings for the meats that I prep at home. I make my own frozen meals now because too much sodium in almost any of the commercial frozen foods, and I can make them lower cal too. Check my diary maybe it'll give you some ideas.
  • WomanofWorth
    WomanofWorth Posts: 395 Member
    lots of sodium in everything. Geez. You have a recipe calculator... I need one of those as well as a food scale.

    There is a recipe calculator here on MFP. Click on food, then my recipes and you can create a recipe, add the ingredients and get the nutritional info including sodium for a recipe. Eating more real food and less packaged helps, starchy foods like pasta and bread have tons of sodium, as does cheese so reducing the amount of these foods will help a lot. Using more condiments and spices will help a lot as well.
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    I found the only way for me to cut down on sodium was to start cooking and buy fresh. Pre-packaged or eating out is pretty much non existent when watching sodium I think :( I used to stock up on canned veggies etc when they were on sale, not anymore. They are loaded with so much salt its ridiculous.

    Now I buy veggies fresh or frozen (but you have to watch out for frozen too sometimes), I also started finding some of my foods in low sodium options.

    I actually ordered from amazon.com no sodium beef and chicken bouillon which has helped me A LOT, I found a recipe online for low sodium soy sauce that uses the beef bouillon, it comes out to only like 5 sodium vs the 450 in "lower" sodium soy suave you can buy already made.

    But I also started buying things like No Salt Added tomato sauce, I found Jif Simply peanut butter which is only 65 sodium...just things like that. It took me a while to get my sodium down, and I do good like 4 out of 7 days now vs the 0 out of 7 I was a few months ago.
  • BrandNewMia
    BrandNewMia Posts: 461
    You have already gotten a lot of great advice, but I always have to throw in my 2cents :) I think sodium is a very common thing to struggle with, I know I struggle with it every day!

    A few things that have helped me - cut the processed foods. They are full of crap, anyways, so the less you eat, the better! If you do eat processed foods, read labels and only choose the foods that have the LEAST amount of sodium out of all your choices. Look for low sodium versions of everything - cheese, tuna, broth, canned beans or veggies, etc... - and also compare labels for different brands. When I shop for english muffins I am always surprised to see how the sodium can vary greatly just between brands.

    PLAN for high sodium foods. Like if I want a bunch of cottage cheese, or if I know I'll be eating out, I put it on my diary FIRST and plan the day around it so I can try to keep it low. Eating out is a KILLER on the sodium! So eat out as little as possible, or request that your food be prepared with no added salt, and just add a little salt when the food is in front of you.

    Sometimes, I will eat one very low sodium meal a day. It will be all fresh, raw fruits and veggies, maybe some raw nuts. The days I do this, I never go over!

    Lastly - drink more water. 64ozs is a great start, but aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces. I weigh 212, so my daily target for water is 106ozs. I typically drink 15-16 glasses every day.

    Much luck to ya!
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