General Sodium Intake Tips/Ideas?

jeremybise
jeremybise Posts: 9
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I just started MFP yesterday and the ease of using it seems super sweet. At any rate, as someone with high blood pressure, I'm trying to keep an eye on the sodium as MFP tracks it. It seems nearly impossible to keep to the 2500mg its recommending me. I guess I'll have to cut out pretty much all packaged foods, but even so far today I'm sitting at 1/4 of my suggested calories and almost 3/4 of the suggested sodium and I've had very little pre-packaged.

Does anybody have any general tips or advice on hitting the calories without the sodium?

Replies

  • hauer01
    hauer01 Posts: 516 Member
    I struggled with this as well. I don't eat very much pre-packaged food anymore. I plan my (eating) week out on Sundays. I make sure that I have enough fruit and veggies to snack on, home-made meals (I make them ahead of time). If I do eat out or eat something high sodium, I make sure that I am REALLY good on sodium the rest of my meals. I still go over once in a while, but I have learned to cut down on sodium a lot!
  • geezer99
    geezer99 Posts: 92
    Unfortunately you have named the problem -- processed foods. Yes, it is nearly impossible to hit your sodium target if you use much in the way of processed food. This is especially true if your doctor wants you on reduced sodium.

    What to do? First, pay attention -- some processed foods are much worse than others and you can't figure it out by guessing. Second, watch your seasonings -- some seasoning mixes are heavily salt based. For example, it is hard to find oriental condiments that are low sodium (even low sodium soy sauce has a lot of salt.) Third, a good rule is never add salt while cooking and rarely add salt at the table.
  • marsellient
    marsellient Posts: 591 Member
    At any rate, as someone with high blood pressure, I'm trying to keep an eye on the sodium as MFP tracks it. It seems nearly impossible to keep to the 2500mg its recommending me. I guess I'll have to cut out pretty much all packaged foods, but even so far today I'm sitting at 1/4 of my suggested calories and almost 3/4 of the suggested sodium and I've had very little pre-packaged.

    Ummm....check with your doctor, but if you have high BP, the recommendation is closer to 1500mg/day. That said, I keep an eye on this, too, and yes, you need to really watch the processed food in your diet. Eating out is very difficult, too. The amount of sodium in restaurant food is scary. Even some of the low sodium products on the market are pretty high. A few suggestions: make your own salad dressings, avoid canned soups, look at restaurant nutrition before you go out, and don't stress if you go over once in awhile...that's bad for BP, too!
  • jeremybise
    jeremybise Posts: 9
    Thanks, folks. They of course have me on pills, which does stabilize my BP very well. I've been one of those bad patients who doesn't pay much attention to tracking what the doctor tells me track. Now I'm looking at it because one of my biggest motivations is to quit feeling like crap as a result of the BP and to get off those pills. This app just happens to make it easy to track it, so it's sort of shocking to see the sodium I am eating.

    I appreciate the input and suppose I'll be looking up some inspiration online for lower sodium recipes!
  • bonnasaurusrex
    bonnasaurusrex Posts: 10 Member
    Something that I don't think was mentioned here is also to stay hydrated! That has helped me feel a lot better since MFP has made me more conscious of it :)
  • kealambert
    kealambert Posts: 961 Member
    if you open your diary up, we can get a better view of what you're eating.

    generally speaking, i overindulge in sodium myself. I have just been aware of what I purchase at the supermarket when it comes to sauces and dressings. lower sodium usually means higher fat/sugar, but honestly, I can live with a bit more of those, as I cut those out of other things through the day. beware of things like pasta sauce, chicken broth, canned soups, etc
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