there is so much sodium in everything

johnashton904108 wrote: »

Sodium is everywhere, in my nonfat milk 135mg and sugar 12g, what's up with that? How much sodium is considered ok?

You do know that sodium is naturally occurring, right?

MFP gives you 2300mg of sodium a day.

In my opinion, neither of the things you listed are high in sodium.

You need a certain amount of sodium, or you die. Generally, people don't need to be too worried about their sodium unless they have a pre-existing issue. You will never eradicate all sodium, and nor should you!

Some people are sensitive to sodium (we're talking sodium chloride as in table salt), but for most people the only issues are water retention and making sure you balance it out with potassium to maintain your electrolyte levels.

I also find that I go over my sodium every day. I tend to concentrate only on total calories and I tend to eat too many packaged foods (breakfast sandwiches, etc.) and eat lower calorie restaurant food a couple times a week. It hasn't seemed to keep me from losing weight but it is something that I'd like to clean up a little in the future. Does anyone have a decent sample diary of about 1500 calories a day that remains below 2300 mg of sodium? Just looking for some examples of foods I could substitute to lower sodium intake. In the past, I haven't included no-calorie drinks (diet pop) in my food log and sometimes I would skip low calorie condiments (sriracha sauce) and now that I'm adding those, my sodium is even higher!

I am low sodium. I allow less than 2000 mcg daily. Raw veggies, raw fruits, lettuce, etc.. are all low natural sodium.

It is processed things like Milk, Cheese, Processed Foods (stay away from these), salad dressings, condiments (ketchup, bbq sauce, mayo) all are terrible.

I do allow them in my diet. I have to have my salad dressing, my creamer with my coffee and ketchup! I have eliminated all extra table salt.

I drink 1/2 gallon water a day. I works and helps me beat the horrible sodium issues! I hate being bloated, my hands and feet swelling and hurting... I can gain 2 - 3 lbs easy on the scale.

Drink more water and only allow about 1900 to 2000 mcg if possible a day and you will see a huge difference! Some days it is almost impossible to stay under 2300 but it is doable -

or eat green peas, I hear they are an excellent source of iodine

Sodium added to foods is the problem, not sodium naturally occurring in foods.
Packaged foods have both sodium and sugar added (as well as preservatives). Preparing your own meals from fresh ingredients will eliminate quite a bit of this if you are concerned about these amounts. Another thing to be aware of is if you go out to eat there is also a lot of sodium and sugar put into the food that restaurants serve.
I was very surprised to find out that frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts have a lot of added sodium. Now I buy only fresh and never get the frozen ones even though they are less expensive. Reading labels is second nature to me now, and most of the time, it goes right back on the shelf.

2300 mg a day is fairly easy to stay under until you start eating a lot of processed foods or go out to dinner. For example, if you go to Chilis and order the boneless Buffalo chicken salad, you get over 1000 kcal and a whopping 3730 mg of sodium.

Frozen and canned food tends to have the most sodium.

With all the things that some one can spend a lot of money for; I'm surprised there isnt pre-measured packets of salt (sodium). Measured down to the gnat's butt.

I just started monitoring my food in early December. The calories werent so much a problem to achieve a goal as the damned salt. Actually; when I first started - I was only looking at my cals.

I've really worked hard to keep with the 1200 cals. I also am almost to a goal of 3500 cals exercise burned per week, which I do not eat back currently. I've been slowly working towards a 2 pounds per week goal. 1 pound loss via eaten cals and 1 pound loss via exercise cals. I have not found this difficult; but it has been a 7 day commitment.
I am not there yet. Feb.!!

I (started to) use iOS 8 to log my activities. It was the little bit of inspiration to prioritize my day. Every 'diet' I've ever started began on a Monday. So, Monday, 12/08, I jumped on the treadmill @ 11.5% grade in granny gear. 3.0 mph . I walked for 20 minutes. 208 cals, I think. It as do-able, but I was winded. About Wed that week, I decided to start logging my cals using MFP. My walk on the treadmill when I started limiting cals was tough. I felt nauseous one or two days. I think this was because I was over my max BPM in heart rate. I would take a shower right after this and it was tough to keep my hands over my head while I washed my hair. I felt weak washing my hair. ??!!

I bought a HRM. Two of them actually. Results surprised me; but am making forward progress.

In Dec, my plan was to keep with 1200 (food) cals. I also was adding just +10 cals a day to my 7 day workout. I planned for some treats and holiday meals. I was generally on track. To be clear, every day I add 10 cals to my goal before I stop my exercise.

Thanks to some MFP awareness; I've eliminated a fair amount of sodium from breakfast and lunch. Dinner, for two, usually involves some sort of boxed meal (using what we have). I'm trying to weed out the high sodium items in the pantry. But just one really makes a difference.

Getting to my point; I would really like to see a pre-measured option for sodium. My scale wont go that low (I think).

My mom has congestive heart failure and sodium can be deadly to her. It is not difficult to cook for her in a low-sodium manner, but the posts that indicate prepared foods, restaurant dishes, etc. are all high in sodium are right on. Salt can be deadly for mom. That doesn't mean she can't have some nachos once a week, but she can't have them 3 days in a row. So, read labels, cook your own food and don't add salt. You usually get enough sodium in your diet with just normal eating. If you don't pay attention, it is really easy to get too much. That's the beauty of MFP, you can track things so you know how to adjust your behavior and choices.