How much does sodium affect weight fluctuations?

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Khovde07
Khovde07 Posts: 508 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all!

I've been back on track for almost 2 months now and I'm down almost 10 pounds! I'm loving the changes I'm seeing and feeling. But I weighed myself this morning and was a little sad. I'll admit, I've been struggling the past few days as work has been keeping me on the road and I have to eat out a lot. This tends to get my daily sodium levels very high. I've been consistently losing, but when I got on the scale this morning, I saw that I was up 2.5 pounds! Is it possible I'm just retaining water from too much salt? I'm 26 years old, 5'6" and 217 pounds. I know that sometimes fluctuations happen on this journey and I don't want to get too discouraged, but this just seems like a lot.

Replies

  • Lilisarai
    Lilisarai Posts: 2
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    Great job on your progress. My sister is a personal trainer and she says salt can retain a lot of water. Do you add salt to your foods? What are you eating? I cook my meals and use kosher salt which has half the sodium of regular salt. I use it sparingly as well. Are you also drinking a lot of water?
  • Khovde07
    Khovde07 Posts: 508 Member
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    Also, I know exercise makes you retain water as well and I did a pretty decent workout last night. Not sure if this would affect anything, but figured I'd get all the facts out there.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Yes. Your weight should fluctuate by several pounds based on water retention.
  • Khovde07
    Khovde07 Posts: 508 Member
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    I try to use as little salt as possible in my day to day. I'm usually under my daily recommended sodium and I try to stay as hydrated as possible. I think it's really just been the past few days with having to eat out and eating processed foods. My sodium yesterday was double what it should have been.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Why do you avoid sodium? Research has never shown much benefit from decreasing it except in a small subset of the population. And if you exercise then you need salt. Also, salt adds flavor to food.
  • Lilisarai
    Lilisarai Posts: 2
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    If you HAVE to eat out definitely grilled chicken with salad. If they have veggies available load up on those. Stay away from ANY fried foods and bread. Maybe just stick to whole grain wraps since you still need your carbs for energy.
  • Khovde07
    Khovde07 Posts: 508 Member
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    I don't particularly avoid sodium, just try not to overdo it so I don't bloat like I did today. Instead of having a sweet tooth, I have a salt tooth so it's easy for me to go overboard.
  • ChoctawBeast
    ChoctawBeast Posts: 6 Member
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    Likely you aren't drinking enough water, eating appropriate calorie count, or proportion of your carb/protein/fats to accommodate a healthy FAT loss. We have similar height and weight, and I have lost 30 pounds in 2 months. Find your BMR (Google it) and decrease your intake by 20%, drink water till you hate it then drink more, p/c/f =40/40/20........Recalculate your BMR once a week. Your workout should consist of 3 days of high intensity interval training, pushing yourself hard, and last no longer than 30 minutes. You got this..... The scale should only be there to let you know how to calculate your BMR, progress is in the doing and not what you see on the scale
  • melodyesch
    melodyesch Posts: 49 Member
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    Salt REALLY affects my fluctuations. I know this and know to expect it. Yesterday I didn't drink nearly enough and had popcorn with salt, but ate really well. I knew when I woke up that it was going to show on the scales and it did. 2 pounds up when I have been well within my calorie limits all week.

    So today I drank more than my usual and chose foods that wouldn't put me way up there with sodium. In the next day or two I'll be back down. That's been my experience for the last 6 weeks and I've lost 12 pounds.
  • kyta32
    kyta32 Posts: 670 Member
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    Time of month can affect water retention as well. I tend to lose 2 lbs on the day of my period as a result. My weight loss always seems to come in 1 - 3 lb chunks all at once, never creeping along in 1/2 lb increments. Weight loss isn't linear - a lot of people experience water fluctuations of more than a pound. I gained 6 lbs after one night out... all gone by the end of the week. If you are in your deficit, you should be fine.
  • taraskylit
    taraskylit Posts: 48 Member
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    I would just make sure you're consuming enough water + potassium.
    It will have you fluctuate, just don't freak out.
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
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    I don't know how often you are weighing yourself, but if you're doing it on a daily basis, there will be some fluctuation. I weigh myself every day, and the numbers are sent to a website called "trendweight.com". Basically, it takes out the noise and shows you how you are trending.

    I think there are also other websites/phone apps that basically do the same thing. Anyway, the most I have gained day to day is 4 pounds and the most I have lost in one day is 2.5 pounds. Basically, I just care what the trend shows.

    For reference, I'm 140 pounds currently.

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