We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Finding it hard to keep under my sodium goal

woodhouse_j2
woodhouse_j2 Posts: 20 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I am fairly new to My fitness pal, I needed some help after a recent blood test showed i was at a pre diabetic stage and basically had a 50/50 chance of getting type 2 diabetes so i needed a dramatic change of lifestyle to avoid this. The app has helped me immensely since my visit to the doctor's i was 20st 4lb and started logging everything in the app from around the 19st 10lbs mark. I am happy i am hitting all the macros the majority of the time (excluding the 2 Manhattans for a weekend stag do) except for sodium. My limit of 2300 i am regularly going over, is this something i should be worried about?

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    You should view that as a maximum

    Are you eating a lot of ready-meals? they tend to be high in sodium
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Re sodium: it depends. Did the doc ask you to cut back on sodium specifically?
    If not, you can ignore the MFP settings or change them to track something else like fiber.
    Or look at your diary to see which entries have the sodium and modify them or work up a repertoire of three or four meals you can cook at home with ingredients that are not out of can or package.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    According to the NHS website adults should eat no more than 6g salt a day
    6g salt = 6000mg salt
    6000mg salt = 2400mg sodium

    According to US recommendations it's 2300mg

    MFP is set to 2300mg per day

    Although I'm pretty sure for certain groups it's lower - eg those with hypertension and the middle-aged

    I think it's a decent enough guideline for general health, with or without doctor's advice
  • woodhouse_j2
    woodhouse_j2 Posts: 20 Member
    Sugar was the main thing i was told to cut back on which i am well under every day the doctor didn't go into details on all nutrition. My diet was terrible and there was no exercise so im hoping now i have changed that the next blood tests will be taking me away from type 2 diabetes. 2300 sodium seems to be swallowed up so quick. A tin of tomato soup one of your 5 a day contains 1000. I am due to see the doctor again next month so will ask him then. I dread to think the amount i was having before i started the diet.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I'd concentrate on calories the most at the moment - sodium can come later

  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Unless you have a medical reason to limit your sodium intake I wouldn't worry about going over at this point.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Unless your doctor specifically told you to avoid sodium, don't worry about it. If you successfully nail down every other aspect of your diet: calories, macro's, added sugar, 5-9 servings of fruits veggies, 30 grams fiber, etc., THEN you can start to worry about your sodium. But it's much less important than calories.
  • woodhouse_j2
    woodhouse_j2 Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks for the replys guys, its appreciated
This discussion has been closed.

Categories