Sodium, Sodium, Sodium!!!

look at the sodium intake before u prepare something that way ull know how much ur getting

Always drain canned food to remove some of that excess, unwanted sodium.

i'm waay over every day

I almost never reach my sodium limit for the day, usually way under. I think the biggest thing is that I very rarely will use boxed mixes or bottled dressings, don't eat much in the way of canned goods, cook mostly everything fresh from raw ingredients. Cold cuts, especially ham, are terrible with sodium. Sneaky places for sodium...soda, beer...so READ READ READ LABELS!!

I'm under in sodium, but probably only because I switched out my sodium for tons of sugar today!

The biggest change that helped my sodium was to buy deli cut meat and freeze it in sandwich portions for my lunches.

My heart dr told me for a few years "nothing out of a can, nothing frozen, no fast food" ...wish I had listened to him sooner!!

It is do-able though, I started on MFP Feb 4th and have been under 2000 minus three days when I was barely over!! If I can do it anyone can!!!

I pack a food bag for work every day with breakfast, lunch and snacks and try to make most of my own meals. Fresh protien and fruit and veggies, and I'm very choosy on what processed food I use. Have also switched to sea salt as it helps aid digestion and not full of fake stuff like table salt. Unsalted real butter. Lightly salted nuts. Anything canned gets rinsed and I only buy low sodium canned products.

I have the same problem. We took our son our for lunch today to celebrate his piano performance and I had an under 550 cal entree from Applebys that eclipsed by daily total by 1000 in and of itself. It's hard but most days I can keep it near or under my limit now that I've started watching it.

BirdsEye Streamfresh has a couple of really good brown and wild rice veggie mixes. There is no sauce and VERY little sodium. I usually take one for dinner at work and add a pouch of low sodium tuna. For a little added flavor try a Mrs. Dash with it.

Another good site is mayoclinic.com

1 tsp of table salt is 2,325 mg sodium. 1 Tbsp soy sauce = 1,000 mg.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans - limit sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day, or 1,500 mg if you are 51 or older, or if you are black, or have high B/P, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Keep in mind that these are upper limits & less is usually best.

The American Heart Association - adults who are healthy should have no more than 2,300 mg sodium.

Your body needs some sodium to function properly because ti helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body; helps transmit nerve impulses & influences the contraction & relaxation of muscles (including heart).

1. Cut down on salt gradually so you adjust to flavor.
2. Don't add salt to water that you steam or cook with.
3. Remove salt shaker from table.
4. Use seasonings & spices for flavor, checking label that they have no sodium.
5. Read all labels for sodium levels on nutrition info list - even if it says lower sodium, light sodium, etc., because they still might be over your goal.
6. You will find that some foods are ridiculously high in sodium - cheese, soup, pizza, deli meats, condiments.
7. Be aware that packaged foods that are low fat or fat-free might be very high in sodium to make up for flavor loss.
8. MSG, baking soda, etc are types of sodium.
9. Before eating out at a restaurant, check their menu online. Some have nutrient info available. If not available, find out what similar foods are, by searching on-line. Try to pre plan selections so you are in control when eating out.
10. Experiment with recipes.

the adults in my family kept telling me it would dry up my blood...lol:bigsmile:

lol

this made sense to me...

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/How-Salt-Contributes-to-High-Blood-Pressure-Video

While making my son's lunch, I ate one slice of deli turkey. All I can taste 10 minutes later is salt!! Definitely staying away from coldcuts is a good idea to lower sodium.

Does anyone here exercise?

http://www.healthcastle.com/sports_nutrition_sodium.shtml

The RDI's are a bit too black and white. The sodium needs of a couch potato are going to vary a lot compared to someone who is exercising regularly.

I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us are not exercising for 3+ hours a day. I exercise anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour a day, and I keep my Salt to 2,000mg a day. That's plenty enough salt. The sad truth is that many of us eat 5,000, 6,000, 10,000 mg of sodium a day without even realizing it. Unless you are doing a triathlon, that amount of salt can do some serious damage to your body over time.

Salt is nowhere as bad as made out UNLESS you have a blood pressure condition. I wouldn't worry too much.

How in the world do you manage to control your sodium intake? I'm driving myself crazy trying to find food and recipes that are below "horse-killing" levels of sodium.

What do you eat?
What do you cook?

I don't add salt to almost anything. I cook at home using fresh, whole ingredients. Even on days I allow a more high-sodium treat, I rarely go above 1,500 mg. It isn't that difficult if you don't eat a lot of prepackaged or processed foods and you don't eat in restaurants a lot.

Eat foods with less preservatives.