Sodium struggles

scaye103092
scaye103092 Posts: 48 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I don’t eat out, and I don’t ‘snack’ on stuff like chips or anything but I find that I seem to really be struggling with sodium. I meal prep my lunches, which I don’t use any prepackaged seasonings and use a salt substitute that’s potassium based (which also helps with my low potassium intake), but I still seem to very easily get to just about 2300 mg a day. And when I buy things for recipes I always go for the reduced sodium or no salt added. I think most of my sodium is coming from the fact that I can’t bring myself to cut out cheese and I’m kinda addicted to the quorn/morning star chikn patties. Basically, I’m a lazy girl who preps 14 meals a week (7 for me and 7 for my boyfriend) and can’t bring myself to really cook at night (I work second shift) but I can’t fit more than the 14 meal preps in my fridge with all our other stuff (yogurt, milk, cashew milk, etc.) :(

Replies

  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    2300 is fine unless you have a medical reason to eat less
  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
    Sodium is a killer for me! If I go over my sodium, I know I will be disappointed with the scale the next day. I’ve become kind obsessive about the amount of sodium in everything. Cheese was definitely one thing that was upping my sodium levels so I’ve been reducing how much I use. I used to put 1 oz in my eggs in the morning, now I only put in .5 oz. And pretty much anything frozen has higher levels as well. I do love those morning star chicken patties but I haven’t bought them in a few weeks because of the sodium. It’s just so easy to accidentally go over!
  • My_Butt
    My_Butt Posts: 2,300 Member
    Just snack on more fruits during the day. They’re quick to grab and the water flushes excess fluid.
    Watermelon tends to be an excellent way to move extra water retention from sodium.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    scaye103092 wrote: »
    I don’t eat out, and I don’t ‘snack’ on stuff like chips or anything but I find that I seem to really be struggling with sodium. I meal prep my lunches, which I don’t use any prepackaged seasonings and use a salt substitute that’s potassium based (which also helps with my low potassium intake), but I still seem to very easily get to just about 2300 mg a day. And when I buy things for recipes I always go for the reduced sodium or no salt added. I think most of my sodium is coming from the fact that I can’t bring myself to cut out cheese and I’m kinda addicted to the quorn/morning star chikn patties. Basically, I’m a lazy girl who preps 14 meals a week (7 for me and 7 for my boyfriend) and can’t bring myself to really cook at night (I work second shift) but I can’t fit more than the 14 meal preps in my fridge with all our other stuff (yogurt, milk, cashew milk, etc.) :(

    Sodium isn't a huge concern unless you have hypertension. What drives scale changes is big swings on sodium changes. And if you are active, you need more than 2300mg a sodium a day. Generally, i get 5000mg a day and my BP is 110/70.
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    Usually meal prepping is the easiest way to cut down on sodium. Just because a recipe had for example 1 tbsp soy sauce in it , doesn't mean u have to put the whole tbsp in. You can start with putting .75tbsp of low sodium in and slowly the decrease the amount over time.

    For me, sodium makes me crave sweets and feel dehydrated even though I guzzle water down and gives me headaches so when I make recipes I cut out all the salt or put somewhere to 1/8-1/4 of the original amount.
    I did this because it seems what my body is happy with. Unfortunately anytime I go out to eat I feel like I have eaten a brick of salt.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    I should also note, i would focus more on potassium and magnesium as oppose to sodium. They can help offset the effects of sodium.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Lowest mortality rates are associated with 3000-5000 mg of sodium a day. Below that or higher appears to be of little benefit. Sodium is not bad for you. It's somewhat helpful to eat low sodium if you have high BP.

    TBH, I tend to have low blood pressure so I have to consciously add more sodium to get it above the 2300 mg minimum.

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