Should I be avoiding sodium?

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lovmindbodysoul
lovmindbodysoul Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have 6-10 pounds to lose and I'm not sure how important it is for me to be avoiding sodium. I understand I shouldn't be consuming more that 23000 mg a day but will cutting out sodium help me to lose the weight I have left? Please help!!!!

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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Unless you have high blood pressure you don't have to cut sodium. All it does is affect water weight, which isn't the same thing as fat loss. So what if you temporarily drop the water pounds? They'll be back next week anyways.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Excess sodium can cause water retention which can mask weight loss, but it doesn't prevent weight loss. As long as you're eating at a deficit, you will lose weight.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Unless you have high blood pressure you don't have to cut sodium. All it does is affect water weight, which isn't the same thing as fat loss. So what if you temporarily drop the water pounds? They'll be back next week anyways.

    Even if you cut down your sodium, unless you have edema you will only permanently keep off about 1/2 lb. of excess water. Just cut your total calories by 500 for a couple of months and you will get rid of that 6-10 lb of fat.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    If you're healthy and your kidneys are working, going beneath 2300 mg/day will not harm you but its not going to speed up fat loss.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
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    Yeah. It's a health concern for some; otherwise it's just a temporary vanity issue. I've been doing a weight loss challenge here for several months and I think twice about Chinese carry out before I'm trying to make a low weight at my weigh ins. I love soy sauce & the sodium there always jacks me up a couple of pounds for 2-3 days.
  • jennarayee96
    jennarayee96 Posts: 13 Member
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    I been told if you are very obese with a very high blood pressure than you should cut back. One of the first things I tried was cutting low on sodium and fat in general. Cutting sodium to a very low number did not make a difference to me. Exercise or having a deficit is what has helped me personally.
  • drspearman750
    drspearman750 Posts: 3 Member
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    I thought if I had good kidneys sodium wouldn't hurt. Any ideas ?
  • kay_norton
    kay_norton Posts: 23 Member
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    Hi!

    So you should be consuming about 2300 mg of sodium per day. Sodium is lost through sweat when you exercise, so any sodium that you lose, you want to make sure you replace. What goes along with sodium is water. Ideally, you want to have an equal balance of water and sodium. If you know that what you're eating has a higher sodium content, just make sure you balance that out with adequate amounts of water :smile:

    Cheers,
    Kay

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