Potassium Goal crazy hard even with right food/labelling
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sharondesfor935 wrote: »Daisy_Girl2019 wrote: »What is up with members here being obsesses with potassiun?
Potassium is present in most fruits and veggies, and potassium is well regulated in our body. As long as your you don't have any underlying health problems causing you to loose potassium you shouldn't worry about.
I obsess over everything, Daisy. In fact, I'm so OCD I use Cronometer in addition to MFP so I can track my nutrients down to the individual amino acids. In my defense, A) I'm a nerd and I adore numbers and spreadsheets and graphs, and B ) I'm in the process of transitioning to a 80%-ish plant-based diet. Coming from a lifetime meat/starch/fat/junk food background, I'm having to learn "everything nutrition" from the ground up. It's been fun, actually.
I love looking at all the nutrients on Cron too. It actually makes logging more fun.
I do too - always curious about what's going on!2 -
I usually make or surpass the goal for potassium because I eat a lot of squash (even zucchini is high) and mushrooms, eggplant, and other random vegetables. From what I've read, potassium supplements are not the greatest solution, the RDA is too low, and despite doctors rarely mentioning it, potassium is important for many reasons, one big one being it can help keep blood pressure under control. I log for it using USDA entries when I am able to find them. I want to know I'm getting close at least. Just one quick overview: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-does-potassium-do#section7
Sufficient potassium is one of the ideas behind the DASH diet, which is focused on blood pressure, as well as being just generally healthy (fiber is another one).
I find that when I eat lots of vegetables and a variety, which is my preference anyway, my potassium numbers are good.
Same here, and I like vegetables and fruits. I do find that if I ignore meat for any real length of time, I get a headache, but one nice serving of meat (anywhere from 3 to 5 ounces) a day is all I need, and the protein builds up nicely from my other choices.1 -
Hearts of palm (canned in water), per 100g, 28 calories, 177mg potassium.
https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168569/nutrients1 -
I usually make or surpass the goal for potassium because I eat a lot of squash (even zucchini is high) and mushrooms, eggplant, and other random vegetables. From what I've read, potassium supplements are not the greatest solution, the RDA is too low, and despite doctors rarely mentioning it, potassium is important for many reasons, one big one being it can help keep blood pressure under control. I log for it using USDA entries when I am able to find them. I want to know I'm getting close at least. Just one quick overview: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-does-potassium-do#section7
Sufficient potassium is one of the ideas behind the DASH diet, which is focused on blood pressure, as well as being just generally healthy (fiber is another one).
I find that when I eat lots of vegetables and a variety, which is my preference anyway, my potassium numbers are good.
Same here, and I like vegetables and fruits. I do find that if I ignore meat for any real length of time, I get a headache, but one nice serving of meat (anywhere from 3 to 5 ounces) a day is all I need, and the protein builds up nicely from my other choices.
Yeah, I'm pretty much the same. I tend to have meat at one meal a day, not all days, but more often than not.0 -
Who questions salt/seasoning your food for cooking ! I can only imagine what Gordon Ramsay would say.adding a bit of salt when cooking intensifies flavors and while that sounds possibly questionable
No idea about the potassium salt for cooking, sounds weird though, maybe just use less salt.
Isn't salt just an issue for the average person if you are not eating healthily? (Junk food/processed etc)
I'm often over recommended salt levels via foods like raw sauerkraut, kim chi, miso, cheese . . . certainly processed, but not what I'd consider "junk" or (outside of the salt
) "unhealthy". I do like salt unnaturally much, though. (BP is fine, BTW.)
Oh my gosh same, I LOVE salt, I put it on nearly everything. BP is also fine, sometimes more on the low side.1 -
Out of curiosity I have been looking at my nutrient levels since switching to a plant based diet because I was worried I would fall short on calcium but nope, no calcium problems.
The one nutrient MFP has me lacking in is potassium despite the fact that I eat tons of produce, even more now than before. My labs always show my potassium to be perfectly normal so maybe I shouldn’t worry about it though.0 -
Out of curiosity I have been looking at my nutrient levels since switching to a plant based diet because I was worried I would fall short on calcium but nope, no calcium problems.
The one nutrient MFP has me lacking in is potassium despite the fact that I eat tons of produce, even more now than before. My labs always show my potassium to be perfectly normal so maybe I shouldn’t worry about it though.
I find that this kind of thing is what "USDA" in the MYF database; Cronometer; and Nutritindata are for: often, the ingredient list on products don't include info on potassium. When that happens, I fall back on the info in one of the above sources, enter the potassium amount as a potassium pill, and keep track that way. You'd be pleasantly surprised...!1 -
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I'm glad I'm not the only person wondering about this - I never come anywhere near the RDA for potassium, but I'm not going to supplement because I take an ACE inhibitor for my hypertension, a class of drug that is known to cause high serum potassium levels in some people. Otherwise, I would probably just take a pill and not worry about it. No way I can eat that much potassium since I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories a day on my current diet. So I don't see a solution, at least not for me.1
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colleenphillips399 wrote: »I'm glad I'm not the only person wondering about this - I never come anywhere near the RDA for potassium, but I'm not going to supplement because I take an ACE inhibitor for my hypertension, a class of drug that is known to cause high serum potassium levels in some people. Otherwise, I would probably just take a pill and not worry about it. No way I can eat that much potassium since I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories a day on my current diet. So I don't see a solution, at least not for me.
1000 calories is crazy low unless you are very short and sedentary. I would hope you are under a doctor's care to make sure you aren't hurting yourself and an RD to make sure your diet is getting you at least basic nutritional needs. Please take care of yourself.2 -
colleenphillips399 wrote: »I'm glad I'm not the only person wondering about this - I never come anywhere near the RDA for potassium, but I'm not going to supplement because I take an ACE inhibitor for my hypertension, a class of drug that is known to cause high serum potassium levels in some people. Otherwise, I would probably just take a pill and not worry about it. No way I can eat that much potassium since I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories a day on my current diet. So I don't see a solution, at least not for me.
1000 calories is crazy low unless you are very short and sedentary. I would hope you are under a doctor's care to make sure you aren't hurting yourself and an RD to make sure your diet is getting you at least basic nutritional needs. Please take care of yourself.
Ah, Kimny, your concern is lovely, but once you get over the age of 50, 1000 calories just isn't so low anymore.
I don't know Colleen's age, so I'll use myself as an example. At my age of 58, my weight of 121, and my height of 5'2", my BMR is 1078. Thankfully, I've reached maintenance now, but while I was losing the weight, I was definitely consuming well under 1000 net calories daily.
It's definitely doable, though you try not to hold those kinds of intake numbers too long because there is definitely some careful skimping on nutrients. You cover all your essential amino acids, but you don't get any extra protein. You cover your omega 3 needs, but let the omega 6 go short a few days a week. You supplement with multivitamins and calcium. You prioritize your iron RDI over potassium.
In the end, we can only be as careful as we have the knowledge to be, assuming we care enough to worry about it. But in all honesty, I believe that we on MFP are probably far more careful about our nutrient intake than the average person. By definition, we care enough to log every bite we take. MFP puts a fair number of the major nutrients front and center on the Nutrition tab. If you're checking your net calories and your macros, you can't help but see your nutrient log nestled between them.0 -
sharondesfor935 wrote: »colleenphillips399 wrote: »I'm glad I'm not the only person wondering about this - I never come anywhere near the RDA for potassium, but I'm not going to supplement because I take an ACE inhibitor for my hypertension, a class of drug that is known to cause high serum potassium levels in some people. Otherwise, I would probably just take a pill and not worry about it. No way I can eat that much potassium since I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories a day on my current diet. So I don't see a solution, at least not for me.
1000 calories is crazy low unless you are very short and sedentary. I would hope you are under a doctor's care to make sure you aren't hurting yourself and an RD to make sure your diet is getting you at least basic nutritional needs. Please take care of yourself.
Ah, Kimny, your concern is lovely, but once you get over the age of 50, 1000 calories just isn't so low anymore.
I don't know Colleen's age, so I'll use myself as an example. At my age of 58, my weight of 121, and my height of 5'2", my BMR is 1078. Thankfully, I've reached maintenance now, but while I was losing the weight, I was definitely consuming well under 1000 net calories daily.
It's definitely doable, though you try not to hold those kinds of intake numbers too long because there is definitely some careful skimping on nutrients. You cover all your essential amino acids, but you don't get any extra protein. You cover your omega 3 needs, but let the omega 6 go short a few days a week. You supplement with multivitamins and calcium. You prioritize your iron RDI over potassium.
In the end, we can only be as careful as we have the knowledge to be, assuming we care enough to worry about it. But in all honesty, I believe that we on MFP are probably far more careful about our nutrient intake than the average person. By definition, we care enough to log every bite we take. MFP puts a fair number of the major nutrients front and center on the Nutrition tab. If you're checking your net calories and your macros, you can't help but see your nutrient log nestled between them.
Obviously I cannot speak to your personal circumstances, but it is not in any way normal to have to eat that little to lose weight. You need a deficit from your TDEE to lose weight, not your BMR. I'm 46 so not that far from 50 and there are lots of women here over 50 who lost weight eating the calories MFP gave them.
While it might have worked out fine for you, I'll reiterate again that no one should be eating well under 1000 calories without a doctor's supervision. Especially as so many of the posters here are younger women, imho it's important to be clear that the vast majority of us don't have to eat such small amounts to lose weight.4 -
sharondesfor935 wrote: »colleenphillips399 wrote: »I'm glad I'm not the only person wondering about this - I never come anywhere near the RDA for potassium, but I'm not going to supplement because I take an ACE inhibitor for my hypertension, a class of drug that is known to cause high serum potassium levels in some people. Otherwise, I would probably just take a pill and not worry about it. No way I can eat that much potassium since I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories a day on my current diet. So I don't see a solution, at least not for me.
1000 calories is crazy low unless you are very short and sedentary. I would hope you are under a doctor's care to make sure you aren't hurting yourself and an RD to make sure your diet is getting you at least basic nutritional needs. Please take care of yourself.
Ah, Kimny, your concern is lovely, but once you get over the age of 50, 1000 calories just isn't so low anymore.
I don't know Colleen's age, so I'll use myself as an example. At my age of 58, my weight of 121, and my height of 5'2", my BMR is 1078. Thankfully, I've reached maintenance now, but while I was losing the weight, I was definitely consuming well under 1000 net calories daily.
It's definitely doable, though you try not to hold those kinds of intake numbers too long because there is definitely some careful skimping on nutrients. You cover all your essential amino acids, but you don't get any extra protein. You cover your omega 3 needs, but let the omega 6 go short a few days a week. You supplement with multivitamins and calcium. You prioritize your iron RDI over potassium.
In the end, we can only be as careful as we have the knowledge to be, assuming we care enough to worry about it. But in all honesty, I believe that we on MFP are probably far more careful about our nutrient intake than the average person. By definition, we care enough to log every bite we take. MFP puts a fair number of the major nutrients front and center on the Nutrition tab. If you're checking your net calories and your macros, you can't help but see your nutrient log nestled between them.
As Kimny said, I can't speak to your specific situation, but often when people think they need to go so low on their calories to lose weight, it's because they are not far from their goal weight, perhaps even already a healthy weight and just trying to lose "vanity pounds," and yet are still trying to lose a pound a week, rather than dialing it back to a half pound a week, or possibly even less, if you're short.
For someone with a BMR of 1078, their TDEE even if they're sedentary is going to be around 1300 or 1350 (I've seen both 1.2 and 1.25 as the sedentary factor), so they would still be losing weight at 1200 kcal, albeit slowly.4 -
sharondesfor935 wrote: »colleenphillips399 wrote: »I'm glad I'm not the only person wondering about this - I never come anywhere near the RDA for potassium, but I'm not going to supplement because I take an ACE inhibitor for my hypertension, a class of drug that is known to cause high serum potassium levels in some people. Otherwise, I would probably just take a pill and not worry about it. No way I can eat that much potassium since I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories a day on my current diet. So I don't see a solution, at least not for me.
1000 calories is crazy low unless you are very short and sedentary. I would hope you are under a doctor's care to make sure you aren't hurting yourself and an RD to make sure your diet is getting you at least basic nutritional needs. Please take care of yourself.
Ah, Kimny, your concern is lovely, but once you get over the age of 50, 1000 calories just isn't so low anymore.
I don't know Colleen's age, so I'll use myself as an example. At my age of 58, my weight of 121, and my height of 5'2", my BMR is 1078. Thankfully, I've reached maintenance now, but while I was losing the weight, I was definitely consuming well under 1000 net calories daily.
It's definitely doable, though you try not to hold those kinds of intake numbers too long because there is definitely some careful skimping on nutrients. You cover all your essential amino acids, but you don't get any extra protein. You cover your omega 3 needs, but let the omega 6 go short a few days a week. You supplement with multivitamins and calcium. You prioritize your iron RDI over potassium.
In the end, we can only be as careful as we have the knowledge to be, assuming we care enough to worry about it. But in all honesty, I believe that we on MFP are probably far more careful about our nutrient intake than the average person. By definition, we care enough to log every bite we take. MFP puts a fair number of the major nutrients front and center on the Nutrition tab. If you're checking your net calories and your macros, you can't help but see your nutrient log nestled between them.
And it's not purely an age thing, either . . . lest others believe it to be.
I'm not much taller than you (5'5"), retired/ sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and 1200 plus all exercise calories had me losing way too fast at age 59, plus hypothyroid.
It's true that some people have low TDEEs, and they may need to eat surprisingly few calories to lose at what's still a sensibly moderate rate. Very few able-bodied people of normal stature need go below 1200.
Don't try to generalize it to an "all older women . . ." thing. I'm 63 now, at a healthy weight, and 1200 gross calories would put me in a hospital in about 8 months, if I were stupid enough (and committed enough) to stick to it.1 -
Ok, just saying... I NEVER worry, or even try to count, my potassium ... and yet when I have my regular blood testing, I always come in at the high end of the potassium scale. So personally? I don't worry about it, at all! If you're normally low on it, then yeah, might be good to keep track of it. If not? Forget it and worry about those micros you can;/need to control. ;-)
As for older women needing less calories? I call BS! lol I'll be 68 in two months, just reach my goal weight, and did it eating MORE than MFP gives me. They set me at 1200 calories a day, and that worked for me when I had a lot of weight to lose. As I got closer to goal (within about 30 pounds) I stalled for months and was told to try upping the calories. Seemed counterproductive, but I did it. I now have myself set for 1300 calories a day, I NEVER eat all of my exercise calories (though I will use an extra 100-200 if I eat a high calorie meal) and it's what got me to goal and under. Again... just saying. lol1
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