Sodium Levels

Rachel6901
Rachel6901 Posts: 105 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
How many others struggle with their sodium intake daily? I have been able to stay within my caloric intake per day, I exercise regularly, and do fairly well on all of my other levels. Sodium, however, has been a struggle for me. I know part of it is because I told myself to work on the calories first and then when I had that under control, switch my focus to lowering my Sodium intake. I will just have to focus more on avoiding certain processed foods and watch the amount of salt our recipes call for. Any other suggestions or thoughts from people?

Replies

  • abookreader2
    abookreader2 Posts: 49 Member
    What is a good sodium goal to stay under?
  • poesch77
    poesch77 Posts: 1,005 Member
    I have a hard time with this too....sodium is in everythng!! Usually I have like over 200-400 calories left and sodium is over!! Forget about pizza!! I have been buying low sodium canned stuff and no salt added veggies....more aware now cuz it really does affect the scale!!
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    The best thing to do is to cut out as many processed, canned, frozen, pre-cooked stuff as possible. Fresh is best! I know that's not always possible, but do the best you can.

    To reduce the effects of too much sodium drink lots of water and make sure to get enough potassium.

    I have a blog post about the importance of sodium and potassium working together.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Jorra/view/why-you-need-a-sodium-potassium-balance-109745
  • guppygirl322
    guppygirl322 Posts: 408 Member
    If it comes in a can or box, ditch it. Anything processed has a tremendous amount of sodium in it.

    Don't add salt to your food. Learn to like the way it tastes without, or use other seasonings, pepper, Mrs. Dash, etc. This is a hard one, especially if you are used to the amount of salt in processed food. It takes a while, but once you are used to it, anything salted tastes REALLY salty.

    Cheese has a lot of salt.
  • bpe101
    bpe101 Posts: 53 Member
    What is a good sodium goal to stay under?

    You should really keep your sodium under 2500 mg a day, which is like a 1/4 a teaspoon of salt. When you look at it in a measuring spoon, you realize just how little that is. And don't forget all the hidden sodium in bread, chips, cheese, etc.....


    The more sodium you take in, the more water you retain and the more at risk you are for hypertension (high blood pressure). It is yummy, but its just not good for you to take in too much. If you are an extreme athelete, you can get away with a little more sodium because of all the sweating you do.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    What is a good sodium goal to stay under?

    Best recommendation is between 1500mg and 2300mg per day. MFP gave me a 2500mg goal, but I lowered it myself to 2000mg.
  • Rachel6901
    Rachel6901 Posts: 105 Member
    I have a hard time with this too....sodium is in everythng!! Usually I have like over 200-400 calories left and sodium is over!! Forget about pizza!! I have been buying low sodium canned stuff and no salt added veggies....more aware now cuz it really does affect the scale!!

    I have a hard time with these things too. Especially when you are trying to cook for a family in a hurry. It's one of those things I KNOW I need to change, but has not been on my front burner. Guess it's time to move it up!! One of my favorite things is sandwiches. I have found a fat free turkey, but now I need to look for lower sodium as well. Slow and steady!!!!!
  • Rachel6901
    Rachel6901 Posts: 105 Member
    All very helpful information. Thanks!!! I am gradually going to start replacing some of my new favorites with lower sodium items!!
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    The new food guidelines via the government are 1500 mg
  • tnkhart
    tnkhart Posts: 72 Member
    Some great info here. Thanks for sharing !!
  • Rachel6901
    Rachel6901 Posts: 105 Member
    The new food guidelines via the government are 1500 mg

    HOLY COW!!! I have a TON more work to do then!! lol.
  • poesch77
    poesch77 Posts: 1,005 Member
    I also bought some low sodium turkey bacon so we shall see how that tastes....a BLT sounds very good!! And they have low sodium cottage cheese too.....I love cottage cheese but it is very very high in sodium!!
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
    Low sodium canned stuff is a bit of an oxymoron since sodium is one of the things used to make canned goods shelf stable. When you buy veg, if it's a choice between canned or frozen, choose frozen. As mentioned cut down or eliminate processed foods. Use herbs and spices instead of salt. It takes getting use to the taste of food instead of the taste of salt but you can do it.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Low sodium canned stuff is a bit of an oxymoron since sodium is one of the things used to make canned goods shelf stable. When you buy veg, if it's a choice between canned or frozen, choose frozen. As mentioned cut down or eliminate processed foods. Use herbs and spices instead of salt. It takes getting use to the taste of food instead of the taste of salt but you can do it.

    This. If you look at the sodium content in canned vegetables, it's still over 300mg. It's better than the usually 500-700mg, but frozen can have less than 100mg. Frozen broccoli is my go-to. I find many things that claim less sodium are still not good because they are just less than the very high sodium that is normal.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    1500mg for me here.

    The best thing to do is to constantly read labels, buy only fresh foods and prep yourself. This is eliminate canned, processed, frozen, pre-made, etc. meals.

    You should also watch out for "low fat" foods because often they replace fat with salt.

    Just take your time grocery shopping and read the labels more carefully. Start cooking more of your own meals, and it'll improve :)
  • abookreader2
    abookreader2 Posts: 49 Member
    Thank you so much for the info.
  • DrHDLM
    DrHDLM Posts: 43 Member
    OK, here's the deal, i've noticed that some of you say that to prevent the increased amount of sodium in your blood you have to increase the amount of water intake, that sounds about right, but its actually a wrong thing to do.

    i mean yes, you will dilute your blood but this doesn't means you're lowering the complete amount of sodium your intaking per day.

    Sodium (salt), you all know where it comes from, if you eat processed food you'll see in the back of packages how much you're eating. The problem with sodium is that it always attracts water, by that it means it will keep your blood pressure above what you're supposed to when you're drinking the right amount of water and that's a problem for you, because it increases the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases and this is not mentioning the risk we have just by being overweight.

    in conclusion, is better to lower your sodium intake to your body requirements.

    in case you have any questions please contact me, i'll be happy to help, by the way i am a medical doctor and I've been through everything that concerns weigh loosing, the correct way of doing it and all that stuff.
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