Sodium

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JolieTaheri
JolieTaheri Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Today's day one of my weight loss plan. Two questions, what are good ways to reduce sodium, and what about CRAVINGS? :)

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  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    Cook from scratch and read labels. Prepackaged foods can be very high in sodium. Even simple things like chicken broth can be very high in sodium. After a while you'll get used to eating less salty food. Save some of your salt allowance for foods that you can't bear to eat without salt. Like potatoes.
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I just prelog and move stuff around til it is at or close to 2000Mgs.
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
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    I always look for low sodium alternatives, especially for soup! Honestly, I hardly even eat soup though, because even certain low sodium soups still have a ton of sodium in them for the serving size. If using canned beans, try to rinse them off before eating them (you may not be able to log the sodium lost through this, but your body will recognize it, and salt isn't a source of calories so it shouldn't interfere with anything else).
    Also be mindful of the salt in dressings, toppings, and especially (I can't stress this enough) deli meat.
    Any kind of frozen/prepared food item will generally have a lot of salt, so stick to small portions and try to eat more fresh food, when possible.
    Also be careful with breads, cereals, pastries, etc., sometimes they're a sneaky little source of sodium!

    But hey, if today is your first day of your weight loss plan and sodium is your biggest concern, then kudos to you! Keep up the good work and good luck! Unless you're salt sensitive or have high blood pressure, you shouldn't worry TOO MUCH about salt ;)
  • JolieTaheri
    JolieTaheri Posts: 2 Member
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    hgycta wrote: »
    I always look for low sodium alternatives, especially for soup! Honestly, I hardly even eat soup though, because even certain low sodium soups still have a ton of sodium in them for the serving size. If using canned beans, try to rinse them off before eating them (you may not be able to log the sodium lost through this, but your body will recognize it, and salt isn't a source of calories so it shouldn't interfere with anything else).
    Also be mindful of the salt in dressings, toppings, and especially (I can't stress this enough) deli meat.
    Any kind of frozen/prepared food item will generally have a lot of salt, so stick to small portions and try to eat more fresh food, when possible.
    Also be careful with breads, cereals, pastries, etc., sometimes they're a sneaky little source of sodium!

    But hey, if today is your first day of your weight loss plan and sodium is your biggest concern, then kudos to you! Keep up the good work and good luck! Unless you're salt sensitive or have high blood pressure, you shouldn't worry TOO MUCH about salt ;)

    That was helpful :)
  • kathyk519
    kathyk519 Posts: 197 Member
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    I agree with everyone. Cook your own food - use low sodium broth for cooking and soup, rinse your beans, use herbs and spices for your food instead of salt. You would be amazed how adding spices to recipes makes it so you don't want to add salt because it tastes great. I would be wary of pre-packaged seasonings like taco, etc - just figure out spices to put it, and go from there. If you are going to go with pre-packaged foods - soups - add a tons of veggies, and use it as multiple servings, for seasonings - use 1/2 and see if you need more - there are ways to cut it out, and it is okay to do it slowly. Try cooking with out salt, and then only add it if you need it.
  • MichaelRobinson1994
    MichaelRobinson1994 Posts: 83 Member
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    As someone who would identify as somebody with a 'salt-tooth' as opposed to sweet, I know how tough cravings can be!

    For me, I kicked crisps, replaced my lunchtime bag of them with an apple, and then removed all table salt from the house!
    You can get all the sodium you need from your food without adding more and without eating salty, processed stuff - tough it out and replace salted thing with fresh stuff and it'll only get easier!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    JolieTaheri wrote: »
    Today's day one of my weight loss plan. Two questions, what are good ways to reduce sodium, and what about CRAVINGS? :)

    less commercially processed foods, less eating out...cook at home using scratch, whole ingredients.

    I still salt my food to some degree, but nowhere near the levels I used to. The nice part is that I soon realized I was hardly ever tasting the actual food...just a bunch of salt. I've actually become a better cook in that with the copious amounts of salt out of the way I can work on more complexities of flavor and texture which are what truly makes a meal great.
  • trina1049
    trina1049 Posts: 593 Member
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    Beware of restaurant food -- all salt bombs! I have to stay at 1500 mg so home cook here; avoid restaurants and use low salt or unsalted frozen foods. Good info posted above. Use herbs and spices and soon you'll actually taste the food, not the salt. I've been on 1500 mg for a couple of years now and can immediately tell if something has been salted.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Increase your Potassium, as this will balance out (lower) the Sodium. Most people get too little Potassium,
    and THAT's why Sodium becomes a problem. Start with 99mg tablet 3 times/day with each main meal.

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