3500 mg Potassium in 1200 calories? Diet suggestions?

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Replies

  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    COFFEE!!!!!!!! Om g
    I never knew it had potassium! Another reason to love it so!!!
  • xtinarson
    xtinarson Posts: 1 Member
    I have found that homemade veggie soup has a ton of potassium as well as green leafy salads. I eat a huge salad everyday. Nuts have a lot of potassium, too. In a pinch you can drink low sodium V-8 but I really wonder about the true amount of vitamins and minerals in it because it is pasteurized and sits on a shelf in light.
  • lomaxbridges16
    lomaxbridges16 Posts: 1 Member
    Bok Choy steamed has over 600 mg in one cup and only 20-30 calories. It has to be cooked though; it doesn't have as much in raw form. Also Asian red beans (adzuki beans) has about 1200 mg in one cup boiled, but about 300 calories. They're usually available at Asian grocery stores in both can and raw form. These are life savers for low calorie diets. :-)
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Have you had a blood test? Are you actually deficient in potassium?
  • aspen326
    aspen326 Posts: 1 Member
    Hey! I know exactly how you feel. I consume 1300-1500 calories a day and find that I have to be very intentional to meet my potassium requirements. Many people have mentioned that a lot of foods in MFP don't have the potassium content listed. I've noticed this particularly for beans. Here's what getting 3500 mg of potassium in about 1300 calories looks like for me:

    BREAKFAST:

    1/4 cup beans (I like black beans)
    1 egg
    1/2 cup cooked spinach (measure after cooking)
    1 tsp hot sauce

    LUNCH: for lunch I had a veggie salad at Chipotle. (Note I ask for half servings of salsa to cut back on sodium and I don't have sour cream or cheese. I also pass on the vinaigrette.)

    3/4 cup romaine
    4 oz black beans
    2.5 oz fajita veggies
    2 oz mild salsa
    1 oz medium salsa
    2 oz corn salsa
    4 oz guacamole


    DINNER:

    1/3 cup sweet potato
    4 oz chicken breast
    20 g steamed broccoli

    SNACK:

    17 oz coconut water
    2 medium nectarines
    2 squares 72% Trader Joe's dark chocolate

    1263 calories
    45% carbs
    33% fat
    22% protein

    35 grams fiber
    3767 mg potassium

    Since I don't consume dairy, I usually take a calcium supplement. Other than that, you should reach or come very close to your vitamin and mineral requirements. Hope this helps!!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    aspen326 wrote: »
    Hey! I know exactly how you feel. I consume 1300-1500 calories a day and find that I have to be very intentional to meet my potassium requirements. Many people have mentioned that a lot of foods in MFP don't have the potassium content listed. I've noticed this particularly for beans. Here's what getting 3500 mg of potassium in about 1300 calories looks like for me:

    BREAKFAST:

    1/4 cup beans (I like black beans)
    1 egg
    1/2 cup cooked spinach (measure after cooking)
    1 tsp hot sauce

    LUNCH: for lunch I had a veggie salad at Chipotle. (Note I ask for half servings of salsa to cut back on sodium and I don't have sour cream or cheese. I also pass on the vinaigrette.)

    3/4 cup romaine
    4 oz black beans
    2.5 oz fajita veggies
    2 oz mild salsa
    1 oz medium salsa
    2 oz corn salsa
    4 oz guacamole


    DINNER:

    1/3 cup sweet potato
    4 oz chicken breast
    20 g steamed broccoli

    SNACK:

    17 oz coconut water
    2 medium nectarines
    2 squares 72% Trader Joe's dark chocolate

    1263 calories
    45% carbs
    33% fat
    22% protein

    35 grams fiber
    3767 mg potassium

    Since I don't consume dairy, I usually take a calcium supplement. Other than that, you should reach or come very close to your vitamin and mineral requirements. Hope this helps!!

    This thread is four years old and the OP has not visited in years
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited June 2017
    I track potassium and what I've found is some things have it but don't list it... I had to make some custom entries for things like yogurt with the nutrition data from the label x-ref the USDA potassium amounts. My potassium rich go to's are the following:

    Cantaloupe
    Sweet Potato
    Tomato (and tomato paste or juice)
    Spinach

    Those are the big ones ... I get a decent amount from

    Plain non-fat yogurt
    Chicken
    Kiwi
    Strawberry

    If you're eating a variety of fresh whole foods you're probably getting more than you think.

    Another thing I did was searched my food with "USDA potassium" and I've found a few that way.

    For what it's worth I find it tricky to get 3500mg on 1600 calories unless I'm eating clean af and that's no fun. Good luck on 1200... if I were you I'd try and earn more calories through exercise... not sure if that's an option or if you're really short and petite; I didn't read all the replies! Sorry if I missed it
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    aspen326 wrote: »
    Hey! I know exactly how you feel. I consume 1300-1500 calories a day and find that I have to be very intentional to meet my potassium requirements. Many people have mentioned that a lot of foods in MFP don't have the potassium content listed. I've noticed this particularly for beans. Here's what getting 3500 mg of potassium in about 1300 calories looks like for me:

    BREAKFAST:

    1/4 cup beans (I like black beans)
    1 egg
    1/2 cup cooked spinach (measure after cooking)
    1 tsp hot sauce

    LUNCH: for lunch I had a veggie salad at Chipotle. (Note I ask for half servings of salsa to cut back on sodium and I don't have sour cream or cheese. I also pass on the vinaigrette.)

    3/4 cup romaine
    4 oz black beans
    2.5 oz fajita veggies
    2 oz mild salsa
    1 oz medium salsa
    2 oz corn salsa
    4 oz guacamole


    DINNER:

    1/3 cup sweet potato
    4 oz chicken breast
    20 g steamed broccoli

    SNACK:

    17 oz coconut water
    2 medium nectarines
    2 squares 72% Trader Joe's dark chocolate

    1263 calories
    45% carbs
    33% fat
    22% protein

    35 grams fiber
    3767 mg potassium

    Since I don't consume dairy, I usually take a calcium supplement. Other than that, you should reach or come very close to your vitamin and mineral requirements. Hope this helps!!

    This thread is four years old and the OP has not visited in years

    god damn it... I spent like 5 minutes typing that out ffs lol
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
    The low sodium V-8 is my go-to source when I start getting leg cramps. The mini cans are only 30 calories with 700 mgs of potassium. Plus, V-8 is yummy.
  • bribucks
    bribucks Posts: 431 Member
    Glad I found this thread! I am on 1300 cals and also struggling to reach potassium levels. I didn't realize that it wasn't required on nutrition labels ... there are probably a lot of things I recorded in MFP that didn't list the potassium. I'm going to keep looking into it ...
  • lesleytaylor555
    lesleytaylor555 Posts: 1 Member
    edited July 2017
    I was skeptical about getting potassium through diet and what research this # is based on. And bear in mind we're talking averages, likely based on 2000 cal/day. If you're below average weight/height there may be a difference. So, 3500mg is based on what the researchers tested for. They didn't test 2500, for example, so we don't know if that would be just as effective.

    I started wondering about this when I thought I'd have to eat a can of beans and 5 bananas a day. :# I'm trying to get all nutrients on 1500 cal/day. It's challenging, but sort of fun. :)
  • kimkimcoleman
    kimkimcoleman Posts: 105 Member
    Potatoes have a lot of potassium.
  • oldyogi66
    oldyogi66 Posts: 45 Member
    My calorie goal is 1800 and my Potassium goal is 4700mg. Spinach is loaded and one of my favorite, someone mentioned potatoes, especially sweet potatoes, beans, oranges. Greek non fat yogurt, tomatoes.
  • eminater
    eminater Posts: 2,477 Member
    I am also tracking Potassium, I usually have to check if Potassium is listed in the nutritional info though to get anything accurate. Today I hit 4,000 mg on my 1,200 cals.

    For lunch I had 0.8 cup white beans, 1/4 cup chickpeas, 2 tomatoes, 1 cup of stir-fried cabbage - so came in at over 2,500mg.

    For dinner I made a cabbage/tomato/dahl dish for nearly 1000 mg potassium and under 300 cals

    I also had a cup of watermelon, a couple of coffees and 2 brazil nuts.

    On days I have lots of legumes - very common, lots of cups of greens, well especially cabbage, - also very common, then when you add some tomatoes / other veggies / some fruits - on those days I am hitting my nutrients across the board for 1,200 cals. (I am not a fan of supplements)

    But today I was 1,100 on the above foods, and then I had a slice of carrot cake - I tracked that as 0 potassium although I used a lot of carrots! - so actually today I was at 1250! Ooops ... that cake.
  • anewell28
    anewell28 Posts: 79 Member
    I just take Potassium tablets, ill take about 400-500mg to balance out the sodium I've consumed throughout the day. I tend to retain water a lot, and taking the potassium has helped with reducing that.
  • rocknrobin65
    rocknrobin65 Posts: 28 Member
    Regular plain yogurt (not the Greek stuff) has an impressive 573 mg of potassium per cup. Plus, it packs nearly half your daily calcium needs.

    My potassium goal is 4,700 because I consume a lot of sodium (Keto). In addition to plain yogurt - beets, chard, spinach, butternut squash are all higher in potassium than bananas.
  • tirowow12385
    tirowow12385 Posts: 697 Member
    Turkey breasts.
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