Cutting out salt

suecoyston wrote: »

discuss..
It was suggested by a friend that if salt is cut out completely from a diet then the body finds it easier to lose weight as your body doesn't retain so much water

Yes, sodium can make you retain/hold water. Why would anyone care about losing water weight though? Fat loss is the goal.

Nope.

Once I had a week where I was over 5000mg of sodium every day and didn't gain a pound.

Meats and dairy have naturally occurring sodium. I understand cutting out added sodium (soups, salt added to eggs) for blood pressure reasons, but cutting out all sources of sodium would kill you. Your body needs sodium to function.

Unless you have issues with blood pressure, there is no real reason to do this. Unless you *really* like bland food I guess. Salt is an important nutrient.

Also remember that your body NEEDS chloride and iodine. Two chemicals which are nearly impossible to get without eating table salt.

That being said, 2g of iodized table salt a day is enough to get you the sodium, chloride and iodine you need.

1.) It's impossible to cut out all sodium. You can cut out table salt that you add to your meals, yes, but a lot of foods have sodium content without you adding anything to it.
2.) As someone already stated, our bodies need sodium to function.
3.) Excess sodium causes water retention - it has nothing to do with how much fat you lose. Drink plenty of water and the fluid retention likely won't even be noticeable on the scale.
4.) Your friend is a moron. Never listen to this person again. Seriously.

It is virtually impossible to completely cut salt and as others have mentioned, you need some salt to function. We have reduced salt in our household as a preventative against high blood pressure.

I wonder sometimes if the low-carbers are fooling themselves in to weight loss by losing water weight, and then freaking out the first time they eat some serious carbs again. Water weight is not fat gain.

If you want to reduce your salt intake, I suggest adapting slowly. You'll be doing a lot more home cooking because most prepared foods have too much salt. My flavour enhancers include mustard, garlic, onion, and stronger flavoured vegetables like parsnip.

Camo_xxx wrote: »

We don't require salt, we require sodium.
Salt, or table salt is sodium chloride and is used as a seasoning and preservative.
Cutting out salt is possible. don't use it and don't eat processed foods.
Sodium on the other hand is present in many foods like vegetables and meat and in general the sodium
from these will provide the body the required sodium it needs to function.

Carrying a bag of carrots is challenging on marathon runs though. just kidding.

jgnatca wrote: »

I wonder sometimes if the low-carbers are fooling themselves in to weight loss by losing water weight, and then freaking out the first time they eat some serious carbs again. Water weight is not fat gain.

Most low carbers have chosen that path as a long term lifestyle change for very specific reasons that are appropriate for them. And are well aware that fat and water are not one in the same.

Stbarber1 wrote: »

Most low carbers have chosen that path as a long term lifestyle change for very specific reasons that are appropriate for them. And are well aware that fat and water are not one in the same.

Then why do I see posts where low carbers claim they can't start eating carbs again because they gain weight right away?

I'd likely be kinder to the low-carb trend if it wasn't so.....trendy.