Sodium

MissMingLeee
MissMingLeee Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What's Everyone's take on sodium? What are your daily averages and do you monitor it closely while trying to lose fat/weight?

Replies

  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    Doesnt effect fat loss it can just make you retain water, which isnt a bad thing. Specific medical reasons aside of course. I figure im made of water my body likes water why focus on flushing out water so i dnt pay attention to sodium. If anything though id think id likely need more sodium in my diet. Only time it bothers me is after a huge salty fatty meal where im all pregnant looking for a few days and its uncomfortable lol.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Doesnt effect fat loss it can just make you retain water, which isnt a bad thing. Specific medical reasons aside of course. I figure im made of water my body likes water why focus on flushing out water so i dnt pay attention to sodium. If anything though id think id likely need more sodium in my diet. Only time it bothers me is after a huge salty fatty meal where im all pregnant looking for a few days and its uncomfortable lol.

    Yeah I go back and look if I am uncomfortably bloated otherwise I don't pay attention to sodium. The only reason to look is to see if maybe I should not eat x the same day as y.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Sodium is so inconsequential to 'weight loss' that I don't even care how much I consume.

    Sodium is so important to life and good health that I eat some every day.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I have no medical reason to monitor Sodium. I swapped it and Sugar for Fiber and Iron. These are more useful for me to track as meeting my fiber goal helps me stay in a calorie deficit and I'm anemic.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Salt has no calories.
  • MissMingLeee
    MissMingLeee Posts: 17 Member
    And for the record I know salt has no calories & causes retention of water & not fat gain but some people monitor it heavily because they dont like to see the scale go up or feel puffy. I watch it but not often. A friend of mine stated that his trainer told him low to no sodium and I thought that was interesting. He has no medical condition and he is not competing. Thanks for the input all. Love to see others on the same page.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    A reason for watching sodium would be if you have high blood pressure. DASH diet would limit sodium based on your doctors recommendations. I haven’t ever worried about it until recently when learning about DASH
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Unless you are salt sensitive and hypertensive or have kidney or heart failure, monitoring sodium isnt necessary imo. It is less harmful to eat lots of salt than to eat lots of trans fat or refined sugar imo.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I've been told a few times I don't get enough salt. I usually get about 3-4 grams a day, but usually closer to 3 so I keep track to make sure I'm getting enough and if not add some to my food especially if I've been exercising and also I have excessive sweating so I'm guessing I'll lose salt through that too.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 518 Member
    I have HBP, which is controlled by meds, I always try to watch my sodium, but I eat too many processed foods, so most days my sodium is higher then I'd prefer, but this is strictly for HBP, not at all for weight loss/control.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition in which you have to monitor sodium, it's not really an issue (unless you have too little). I don't monitor mine, partially as I live in a very hot climate so I sweat, a lot... It is currently 93° with an expected high right under 100° today.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    Unless your sodium is in the form of iodized salt and you're eating enough of it to exceed upper levels of iodine (1100 mcg in adults), I wouldn't worry about it. I do personally try to keep sodium more or less the same day to day, though, just for a bit more consistency in day to day weights. However, carb levels have similar effects, and you can't really control for everything that can cause water retention.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    As someone who eats low carb, I am more likely to get low in sodium. I try to get at least 3000-5000mg of sodium a day - at least 2 tsp of salt. It is also the level associated with the lowest mortality risk.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    As someone who eats low carb, I am more likely to get low in sodium. I try to get at least 3000-5000mg of sodium a day - at least 2 tsp of salt. It is also the level associated with the lowest mortality risk.

    3000-5000mg of sodium a day is 7-12 grams of salt. In the UK we're recommended to have no more than 6 grams of salt.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    I keep an eye on my sodium because all four of my grandparents and my dad had/have cardiac issues and I am allergic to iodine. (Kosher salt is my cooking choice) If I do choose to splurge on salty food, I notice that I gain a pound overnight. Because I don't eat a lot of it, I am quite sensitive to it.


  • amberellen12
    amberellen12 Posts: 248 Member
    High blood pressure. Been told to try to keep my sodium down to around 1200 grams a day till I get it down.
  • amberellen12
    amberellen12 Posts: 248 Member
    Mg I meant
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,152 Member
    US recommendations for adults < 2300mg sodium per day

    Avg ACTUAL sodium intake per adult in USA = 3400 mg

    Over the age of 50, the recommendation is 1500mg

    A teaspoon of salt has 2300 mg of sodium

    Kidney Disease is an epidemic in the US. There is NO CURE and it is irreversible & it is called the silent killer because we do not know we’ve irreversibly damaged our kidneys until much much later.

    Dialysis and Kidney Transplant both have HUGE negative outcomes, but are better than death. THEY ARE NOT CURES.

    Please pay attention to this so you do not lose your quality of life & good health because of salt.

    If this helps one person, I will be happy.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    fr33sia12 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    As someone who eats low carb, I am more likely to get low in sodium. I try to get at least 3000-5000mg of sodium a day - at least 2 tsp of salt. It is also the level associated with the lowest mortality risk.

    3000-5000mg of sodium a day is 7-12 grams of salt. In the UK we're recommended to have no more than 6 grams of salt.

    If someone is ketogenic, they have to have no less than 3000mg of salt because their body is depleting it since they aren't holding glycogen. Without it, it's harder to maintain electrolytes which is why people experience ketoflu.


    I maintain around 5000mg... I am active and push hard in my workouts, so I need higher salt. My BP, heart rate and metabolic numbers, are all in great shape. If you aren't active, you can probably be good with 2300 to 3000mg. Active people can stand to use more.


    BTW, the bigger issues are huge swings in sodium, which is why you see huge drops and increases. But even if you maintained a high number like mine, it should be fine. Below is a good video.

    https://youtu.be/UbKk9tbNrfQ
  • MissMingLeee
    MissMingLeee Posts: 17 Member
    For me the weekends kill me lol. I eat great during the week and then ill have a meal high in sodium on Saturday and/or Sunday. Then go back to normal eating and while the scale has gone up and repeating once it's gone back down by the following weekend. I'm still getting this nutrition thing down pack but I'm glad to see I'm not alone from reading the comments!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    The scale number will be up some days and down some others. Just log your calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    MissMingLeee wrote: »
    What's Everyone's take on sodium? What are your daily averages and do you monitor it closely while trying to lose fat/weight?

    My thoughts are that sodium has nothing to do with fat loss...sodium is an essential electrolyte...too little is just as bad as too much.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    I don't actively manage sodium very much, more worried about total calories and maybe my macros here and there, but I hate it when I log my food diary and MFP tells me my goal was to stay under 2,300mg of sodium and I haven't added one grain of salt to anything! Grrr....! I'm like, "And what do you want me to do about it?"
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    MissMingLeee wrote: »
    And for the record I know salt has no calories & causes retention of water & not fat gain but some people monitor it heavily because they dont like to see the scale go up or feel puffy. I watch it but not often. A friend of mine stated that his trainer told him low to no sodium and I thought that was interesting. He has no medical condition and he is not competing. Thanks for the input all. Love to see others on the same page.

    I would seriously question that trainer. No sodium can be dangerous.

    I don't track it myself because I don't have a medical reason to. Weight fluctuations are going to happen regardless, so if I'm up I can usually pinpoint why.

    Agreed! I spent the day in the hospital on a saline drip because of an electrolyte imbalance. My sodium and potassium were low and it was causing dangerously low blood pressure. 80s6fzfavr5b.jpeg
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    MissMingLeee wrote: »
    And for the record I know salt has no calories & causes retention of water & not fat gain but some people monitor it heavily because they dont like to see the scale go up or feel puffy. I watch it but not often. A friend of mine stated that his trainer told him low to no sodium and I thought that was interesting. He has no medical condition and he is not competing. Thanks for the input all. Love to see others on the same page.

    If your friend is listening to this person they need to read this and find a new trainer
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/symptoms-causes/syc-20373711

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