Oh salt, why must you do this to me? Looking for low-sodium...sodium?

vegaslounge
vegaslounge Posts: 122 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
Saturday, July 22nd: "166lbs! That's the lowest I've been for 20 years! W00t!" <logs weight immediately, walks around obnoxiously proud for the rest of the day>

Sunday, July 23rd: EATS ALL THE CALORIE-CONTROLLED SALTY PRODUCTS.

Monday, July 24th: "171? Goddamn it."

Sigh. If people can claim sugar addictions, count me in as being crazed for the other white crystallized substance that also isn't cocaine. I love salt. Love, love, love it. In fact my whole family does– my grandmother was known to eat just salt from the palm of her hand. My father's xenomorph-like sweat has eaten through leather watchbands. You will find nary a grain stuck to the rims of our margarita glasses. And, our blood pressure is absolutely fine. Lower than average, even. We just really, really like salt.

So, in order to bust through the same 5lbs I've been gaining and losing for the past 2 months, I've decided to :sob:: go low-sodium. At least for a couple of weeks to see how I feel and if it makes a difference. Any suggestions for going low (or at least lower) sodium? I've never done it before– never even thought to do it, so I have no idea how much I even should be getting or how much overkill I'm currently doing. I've never tracked sodium, never measured it out when tossing it on my dinner. I don't even know how much I should be consuming per day– I'm a 5'6", 171lb (currently, damn you, salt!), 32-year-old female. No medical issues, just an unhealthy relationship with NaCl.

My only legitimate concern is, I'm a tour guide in Southeast Georgia. It is HOT down here and I spend the majority of my week outdoors dressed in 18th century clothing. No way to be delicate about it, I sweat a lot. And the best way to counteract that at the end of the day? Consuming loads of salt.

Damn you, salt. I love you, why must you make me choose?

Replies

  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I consume about 9K mg/day :o
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    edited July 2017
    You need more water.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Hot countries eat salty foods and they must or faint from heat exhaustion.

    The water weight is not fat gained or lost anyways.

    I'm not going to tell you how to sub the salt because you need it.
  • HermanLily
    HermanLily Posts: 217 Member
    I love, love salt too. That was 1 of the many ways they diagnosed my Addisons Disease. I take medication and still love salt. Like you BP is perfect/low.
    I feel, if my body says I need salt, I probably do.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Eat the salt. It may raise your weight a bit but it isn't fat. It's probably water that your body needed.
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
    If it doesn't raise your blood pressure, then you probably need the salt anyways. As for something that helps with eating low sodium, spices like Ms Dash helps a lot. I'm on a sodium restriction diet and I use their lemon pepper blend a lot (it's the only one with a strong flavor imo)
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    Drink lots of water. Disregard the water weight. If you're in the heat in those heavy clothes, you really need to keep doing what you're doing, in my humble opinion.
  • 40lbslighter
    40lbslighter Posts: 479 Member
    Before making any changes, I would first measure and track the amount of sodium you are consuming now.

    "The average American eats about 3,400 mg of sodium a day. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams (mgs) a day and an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults."

    See where you are, if you are way above, consider making gradual changes. Yes, in hot weather salt helps retain water, but other electrolytes do the same job with far less severe long-term consequences. Potassium intake is also vital. Daily recommended potassium intake is a whopping 4,700 mg! (I rarely get 2k in...bad girl!)

    Anyway, I hope this helps. =)

    From: Why Should I Limit Sodium? - American Heart Association
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;url=https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@hcm/documents/downloadable/ucm_300625.pdf&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjSq5W21rDVAhVKj1QKHSmwD_kQFggpMAE&amp;usg=AFQjCNGS0LiCdQ2F-Sz6u7EncY1xBD7GQw
  • Crowned_Clown
    Crowned_Clown Posts: 9 Member
    I live in Florida, so I totally get where you're coming from. We have two seasons: nestled in the armpit of hell and "OH GOD WHY IS THERE FROST ON THE WINDSHIELD".

    My dad had a heart attack at twenty-five from consuming too much salt, and he was the same - he worked in the heat quite a lot. I would definitely advise against rely on additional salt, since you're never too young for a heart attack. :neutral:

    You might be one of those people that would actually benefit from consuming Gatorade, since it replenishes electrolytes and sodium lost when you sweat a lot. There's also recipes out there to make your own. But also, as simplistic as this sounds, consume more water. A general rule I've heard that I find helpful is that you should consume half your weight in oz of water at the least. I'm usually in the 115-120 lbs range, so I should consume at least 60 oz (7.5 cups) of water a day. I usually drink more than that. TMI as it sounds, I gauge it by pee - if it's anything but a clear-ish color, that means I need to drink more.

    There's apps out there that remind you to drink, and some are really cute because you water a plant every time you take a drink. If you dislike plain water, you can jazz it up with stuff like lemons, berries, or - if you're a spoiled *kitten* like me - juice packets like Crystal Lite. (It's too sweet for the 20 oz bottle they recommend, but it's perfect for a 32 oz bottle.)
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Crowned_Clown wrote: »
    I live in Florida, so I totally get where you're coming from. We have two seasons: nestled in the armpit of hell and "OH GOD WHY IS THERE FROST ON THE WINDSHIELD".

    HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
  • junodog1
    junodog1 Posts: 4,792 Member
    Crowned_Clown wrote: »
    I live in Florida, so I totally get where you're coming from. We have two seasons: nestled in the armpit of hell and "OH GOD WHY IS THERE FROST ON THE WINDSHIELD".


    A very good description.
  • emilyyoung4506721
    emilyyoung4506721 Posts: 12 Member
    Sodium doesnt make you gain weight excess calories do. Sodium will just make the scale jump up because of water retention. Just avoid the scale maybe as long as your eating healthy an not eating more calories than you burn i wouldnt worry about it. But i would cut an unhealthy amount of sodium down an do it for your heart health not the number on the scale.
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