Salt is of the Devil

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melodyesch
melodyesch Posts: 49 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have not been logging extra salt into MFP. You know, the salt that comes out of my shaker onto my food?

Had grits for breakfast, added salt. Had popcorn for a snack, added salt. Dinner was chicken tacos. The taco seasoning was WAY over the top for salt and almost that alone put me over on my sodium macros. But this morning I KNEW I was in trouble when I woke up dying of thirst and then the scale laughed at me.

Guess who is going to start logging every grain of salt? Yes, that would be me!

Replies

  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
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    Your thirst could also indicate high blood sugar. I don't use extra salt (or very rarely) so I don't log it but I do pay attention to how much I get in a day.
  • Jolinia
    Jolinia Posts: 846 Member
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    You could try spicy seasonings on your food with just a tiny sprinkle of salt and see if that helps get your intake where you want it to be.
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I'm on a low sodium diet, my MFP is set for 1500 mg of salt. It's something I have to watch CONSTANTLY. I can't even think how many times I've had straight fruit for dinner because something I ate during the day had WAY more sodium than I thought it would (or should) and a regular meal would put me grossly over.
  • melodyesch
    melodyesch Posts: 49 Member
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    No, I don't have high blood sugar. It was all sodium. And normally I don't add a lot of salt, but over the course of the day yesterday, my choices were such that I would add extra salt.

    And yes, I do think spicy seasonings would be a help. I just need to pay more attention to food pairings when something I have planned is high in sodium.
  • kamakazeekim
    kamakazeekim Posts: 1,183 Member
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    I'm on a high sodium diet for my heat...I never get enough sodium :( I'm supposed to be eating like 4+ tsp a day!
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,324 Member
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    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.
  • MissHolidayGolightly
    MissHolidayGolightly Posts: 857 Member
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    It's not the devil unless you have a medical condition. It's also not a macro. Just drink more water to help counteract the bloat and thirst. If you want to cut back, try adding less to get yourself accustomed until you're rarely adding it.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
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    skullshank wrote: »
    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.

    Sodium is what causes us to retain weight, it's carbs and salt that are the issue, not overall calories in our diets!


  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
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    melodyesch wrote: »
    No, I don't have high blood sugar. It was all sodium.
    You don't really know this though, not unless you checked your blood sugar. It's worth getting checked out next time you have a doctor appointment but otherwise I hope cutting out some of that salt works for you.

  • otheliemoor
    otheliemoor Posts: 50 Member
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    As someone who grew up in a high salt house, my mother added extra salt to everything changing that took time. I made the changes by buying expensive salt, that I felt like I couldn't use so much of and not adding salt at the table.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Escloflowne wrote: »
    skullshank wrote: »
    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.

    Sodium is what causes us to retain weight, it's carbs and salt that are the issue, not overall calories in our diets!



    Um, no it's not. Sodium causes us to retain water,as do excess carbs. What causes us to keep on weight is excess calories.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    Escloflowne wrote: »
    skullshank wrote: »
    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.

    Sodium is what causes us to retain weight, it's carbs and salt that are the issue, not overall calories in our diets!


    No. OP, please ignore this.

    It's totally calories that are the issue.

    Regarding sodium, as has been stated, unless you have a medical condition, there's no need to worry about extra salt. Just drink some more water and the scale issue will resolve itself.

  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
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    What? No. Don't track it unless you have a medical condition or are curious. Salt is actually important for the body, too.

    I was up 3 lbs for two days because of the weekend. I pooped and I'm all better.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,731 Member
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    Mmmmm...salt, salt, salty salt. Make it bacon salt and you're in heaven. http://www.jdfoods.net/
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    melodyesch wrote: »
    But this morning I KNEW I was in trouble when I woke up dying of thirst and then the scale laughed at me.

    That just means the salt caused you to retain some water. That has no effect on long term weight loss. Water weight comes and goes quickly.

    Unless you have high blood pressure or other certain health issues (eg heart, kidneys) then feel free to enjoy salt.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    Escloflowne wrote: »
    skullshank wrote: »
    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.

    Sodium is what causes us to retain weight, it's carbs and salt that are the issue, not overall calories in our diets!

    I hope this is a trolly comment....
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    jkwolly wrote: »
    Escloflowne wrote: »
    skullshank wrote: »
    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.

    Sodium is what causes us to retain weight, it's carbs and salt that are the issue, not overall calories in our diets!

    I hope this is a trolly comment....
    I think it was sarcasm. That's how I took it. Obviously salt does little to nothing to affect your weight.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    edited February 2015
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    skullshank wrote: »
    1. sodium is not a macro
    2. unless you have a medical reason to lower it, sodium is fine.

    ^This

    Just for your info, macros consist of protein, carbs, and fat :)

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