Sodium--holy moly (and other epiphanies)

lmbecker12
lmbecker12 Posts: 46 Member
edited December 1 in Health and Weight Loss
I've really been focused the last month on not only losing weight, but just overall being healthier with my food choices and activity. I've come to realize that sodium is the devil! Holy cow--I can easily gain 2-4 lbs in a single day with sodium. The plus, is I can explain the weight gain, but on the negative size--talk about feeling bloated and yucky...

Anyone else come to any realizations when going through this process?

Replies

  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Agree with the sodium! After 3 years I can stay under 2000 pretty easily but now a high sodium day KILLS me. I feel like a whale!
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    Yup. I also find eating more starches (bread, rice, sugary stuff) also has the same effect. Easily 2 lbs overnight.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    I never really watched my sodium or was even concerned about it until I started using MFP. I never put salt on anything, ever (don't like the taste), so I assumed I was good. Wow, was I wrong! There is so much sodium in the foods I already eat, I can go over the limit MFP set for me (2,300 mg) if I don't watch it! I don't freak out if I do go over a bit, its never by much when I do, but... jeez Louise, people! Anything in a box, can or package seems to be salted to the hilt!
  • lmbecker12
    lmbecker12 Posts: 46 Member
    brian_gunther wrote: »
    I never really watched my sodium or was even concerned about it until I started using MFP. I never put salt on anything, ever (don't like the taste), so I assumed I was good. Wow, was I wrong! There is so much sodium in the foods I already eat, I can go over the limit MFP set for me (2,300 mg) if I don't watch it! I don't freak out if I do go over a bit, its never by much when I do, but... jeez Louise, people! Anything in a box, can or package seems to be salted to the hilt!

    I know---this is exactly how I was! Never really paid attention because I didn't salt anything and most of my seasonings I use were low salt/no salt. Couldn't believe what a can of soup or something simple could do to me!!
  • Nausicca55
    Nausicca55 Posts: 56 Member
    edited April 2016
    Completely agree! There seems to be sodium in everything. I'm starting to think that the only way to avoid it is to eat mud pies.
  • TheLegendaryBrandonHarris
    TheLegendaryBrandonHarris Posts: 502 Member


    I've had lunch today. That's it.
    My lunch was 519 calories but almost 2200 mg of sodium.

  • wsrep
    wsrep Posts: 20 Member
    Yup it's in almost everything. That's the reason I stopped buying turkey/chicken slices for sandwiches. It's just loaded with sodium.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Sodium issues are almost never a result of one salting their own foods...it's the use of highly processed foods and having those types of foods as a prominent part of one's diet. I salt my food, but I don't eat much in the way of processed foods...I'm hypertensive, so too much sodium can really mess with my blood pressure. When using processed foods, I try to find lower sodium options as much as possible which is easy to find when you're talking about minimally processed foods...harder to find if you're talking about highly processed foods.

    Keep in mind though that sodium really isn't the "devil"...it is an essential electrolyte and not having enough can cause issues too. Also keep in mind that the more active you are (and sweating and stuff) the more you need to keep your electrolytes in balance.

    For me, this can be a tricky balancing act...I'm hypertensive, but I'm also a highly active individual...too much sodium gets my blood pressure all whacked out...not enough and I start cramping and having other electrolyte deficiency issues.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I find my cheat days are less about calories and more about high sodium.
  • kthompson601
    kthompson601 Posts: 174 Member
    Sodium is in everything, it's so hard to avoid. When I cook I never add it, or if I do I add just a pinch and never the teaspoons a recipe might call for. It is crazy how much of it is stuffed into processed foods and restaurant meals.

    I've never really focused on cutting out sodium, but by doing a lot of my own cooking and using ingredients instead of prepackaged stuff (like making my own sauces and dressings), I've cut a lot out. Now, when I eat at certain restaurants, I can really taste the salt. I used to love to go to IHOP for pancakes, but the last two times I went, they tasted so salty! So I don't go anymore.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    lmbecker12 wrote: »
    I've really been focused the last month on not only losing weight, but just overall being healthier with my food choices and activity. I've come to realize that sodium is the devil! Holy cow--I can easily gain 2-4 lbs in a single day with sodium. The plus, is I can explain the weight gain, but on the negative size--talk about feeling bloated and yucky...

    Anyone else come to any realizations when going through this process?

    High sodium days may be irritating on the scale, but if you have normal blood pressure and kidney function there's no harm caused by having a lot. And the effect on the scale typically just lasts one day.
  • yoyeen1981
    yoyeen1981 Posts: 14 Member
    I had a VERY high sodium day (4,239mg according to MFP) yesterday after over a month of eating relatively low sodium due to calorie counting, not as a conscious decision. And holy crap, I was nauseous, my head hurt, and I could feel my heart beating harder.

    Never again.
  • JaimusWilliams
    JaimusWilliams Posts: 84 Member
    wsrep wrote: »
    Yup it's in almost everything. That's the reason I stopped buying turkey/chicken slices for sandwiches. It's just loaded with sodium.

    Thin N Trim lunch meats are lower in sodium. 2 slices of low sodium ezekial bread, 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese, 4oz (or 2) of thin n trim buffalo chicken , lettuce/whatever else. Nets about 250-300 calories with a few hundred grams (200-500) depending on toppings/mount used) which isnt to bad in the grand scheme of things.
  • rsleighty
    rsleighty Posts: 214 Member
    Sargento baby swiss has just 20 mg sodium per slice.

    My blood pressure went up so I began watching my sodium. I had NO idea I was eating that much. Holy *kitten* I feel SO much better now. My feet don't swell at the end of the day!

  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    lmbecker12 wrote: »
    I've come to realize that sodium is the devil!

    EVERYTHING has tons of sodium it seems.

    sd4rUhh.gif


  • chocowalnut
    chocowalnut Posts: 23 Member
    You will still lose weight though if you consume a lot of sodium but stay under your cals right? I've been eating soups and highly seasoned veggies to lower my cals, but the sodium is high.
  • BiggDaddy58
    BiggDaddy58 Posts: 406 Member
    Sodium! Man..I started using MFP in early March..and I put myself on a very low cal diet and the one thing that I kept going over on..was Sodium..That beyatch is in everything! It takes work to keep it under my daily allowance.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'm a little surprised that so many people are so surprised that processed foods have a lot of sodium (hence it's in everything)...it's a preservative...that's how all of that stuff can sit on the shelf for all of eternity.

    To keep sodium down you have to use primarily whole foods and limit eating out at restaurants.
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I'm a little surprised that so many people are so surprised that processed foods have a lot of sodium (hence it's in everything)...it's a preservative...that's how all of that stuff can sit on the shelf for all of eternity.

    To keep sodium down you have to use primarily whole foods and limit eating out at restaurants.

    I am also surprised that people don't know this about processed foods. It's mentioned everywhere. I eat pretty much fresh meats, veg and some grains, and am consistently under the sodium level by several hundred mg.
  • rsleighty
    rsleighty Posts: 214 Member
    The one that really surprised me was the amount of sodium in individually frozen fish and chicken breast. The kind you buy in the bag...
  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
    Crazy how much sodium processed foods have. I usually have a turkey, kraft fat free cheese slice in a tortilla(wrap) for an afternoon snack and that has over 1000mg of sodium! So for about the same amount of calories/macros i made a chocolate mug cake with chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, egg whites, all purpose flour and zero cal sweetener that that only had about 150mg of sodium. What a difference. I may start paying more attention to sodium as my numbers usually hover around 7-10kmg per day.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Sodium makes me bloat like no other. No matter how much water I drink.
  • wsrep
    wsrep Posts: 20 Member
    JaimusWilliams wrote: »
    wsrep wrote: »
    Yup it's in almost everything. That's the reason I stopped buying turkey/chicken slices for sandwiches. It's just loaded with sodium.

    Thin N Trim lunch meats are lower in sodium. 2 slices of low sodium ezekial bread, 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese, 4oz (or 2) of thin n trim buffalo chicken , lettuce/whatever else. Nets about 250-300 calories with a few hundred grams (200-500) depending on toppings/mount used) which isnt to bad in the grand scheme of things.

    Thanks for the tip. Do you know if they have that here in LA?

  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    rsleighty wrote: »
    The one that really surprised me was the amount of sodium in individually frozen fish and chicken breast. The kind you buy in the bag...

    Most of that frozen meat is injected with a sodium solution to increase its weight.
  • lmbecker12
    lmbecker12 Posts: 46 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I'm a little surprised that so many people are so surprised that processed foods have a lot of sodium (hence it's in everything)...it's a preservative...that's how all of that stuff can sit on the shelf for all of eternity.

    To keep sodium down you have to use primarily whole foods and limit eating out at restaurants.

    It's not that I'm surprised...I guess I always knew processed foods had a lot of sodium, but it's really hit home now that I've focused on eating healthy (along with losing weight). Things I had really thought about like cheeses and English muffins...stuff like that. It has also really made me realize how much it affects me too!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    rsleighty wrote: »
    The one that really surprised me was the amount of sodium in individually frozen fish and chicken breast. The kind you buy in the bag...

    some sodium is added, but fish, meat, and poultry have naturally occurring sodium as well. A fresh wild cod filet has about 82 mg of sodium occurring naturally. The frozen cod I buy at Costco has 100 Mg...nothing I would consider crazy high sodium.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    IDK, I have no problem sticking to a 1200 mg sodium diet. I need to because my bp is high and I am also on meds for it. [It's not due to weight but constricted arteries]
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