Sodium? What do you aim for?

Dozrzz
Dozrzz Posts: 245
in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys! I was just wondering what you all use as a guideline for sodium? My trainer has started me tracking my sodium as well as my calories. She wants me to try to stay under 1500 but I am having an extremely hard time with that! I am finding that towards the end of the day I may have 300 calories left to reach 1200 (as my minimum) but that I have blown all my sodium. I am wondering if 2000 for the sodium would be a more realistic goal for me. And then MFP has it set to 2500. So I just don't know...

My trouble is that I really rely on food such as LeanCuisines and such that I can grab and go quickly. I love to cook and prepare fresh but I rarely have time for it. Plus some of my go-to foods from before have a suprisingly high amount of sodium in them (canned chicken/tuna, soup, etc.) and I just am not sure what to do now. I am keeping my calories under control easily but definitely struggling with the sodium. Any suggestions? What do you guys aim for? Any ideas on quick grab and go foods that won't take alot of prep but don't have a ton of sodium?

Replies

  • mcleodconnor
    mcleodconnor Posts: 70
    To be honest, I don't track my sodium. I figure that with working out and drinking a decent amount of water, it really doesn't matter.
  • skoshness
    skoshness Posts: 175
    Would you have time sometimes to batch cook and freeze individual portions? Then you could use less salt. I do this a lot, it's realy handy for lunches and if I'm in a hurry in the evening :smile:
  • Dozrzz
    Dozrzz Posts: 245
    And I drink a ton of water! So I never really paid attention either but then my trainer just got me thinking about it. So I'm torn because I was doing fine when I wasn't tracking it but now I'm not so sure. Maybe I can find a way to not really track it so strictly as I do my calories...kind of a compromise of sorts..
  • Dozrzz
    Dozrzz Posts: 245
    Would you have time sometimes to batch cook and freeze individual portions? Then you could use less salt. I do this a lot, it's realy handy for lunches and if I'm in a hurry in the evening :smile:

    I would if I was sure how to go about doing it. Whenever I cook, I'm usually cooking for my family as well so there tends to not be any leftovers left! haha but then I'm also not sure about what time of recipes work well for that sort of cooking and freezing..?
  • oldmanstauf
    oldmanstauf Posts: 202 Member
    Unless you suffer from elevated or high blood pressure, 1,500 for sodium is rather low. 2,000 - 2,500 is probably fine. Of course I'm no doctor either. You may want to consult.
  • BuckeyeLife
    BuckeyeLife Posts: 313 Member
    I always kill my sodium. I also work out hard and drink a lot of water... That being said, sodium I think effects females a little different than males for weight, but I think that is only related to water weight really. Ultimately, you should try and watch it, it does effect your BP and all.

    I have been trying to watch mine(and eating out just kills it, but I usually eat out after I have put in a big workout and sweated a lot, so a little less worried.) Biggest thing would be to start doing meal prep on a set day. Like do your own chicken breasts in bulk Sunday, then separate into bags to use during the week. Just grab, reheat, and bam. The Tyson chicken strips I have pre-cooked and all that crap is something ridic like 450 sodium per serving and I could put away 2 servings without blinking. Cannot wait to get these things used up and out of my freezer. After this I am going to switch to making only my own and cut the sodium down drastically. I will eventually have to find a fish to change for daily consumption in place of my tuna as well, as that is another sodium packed monster. Just have to prep ahead of time.
  • Dozrzz
    Dozrzz Posts: 245
    Unless you suffer from elevated or high blood pressure, 1,500 for sodium is rather low. 2,000 - 2,500 is probably fine. Of course I'm no doctor either. You may want to consult.

    Nope, no high blood pressure either... I'm thinking my trainer is just a very extremely healthy, eat only fresh, organic, no sodium foods kind of person. lol Thats not how I work... :laugh:
  • Dozrzz
    Dozrzz Posts: 245
    I always kill my sodium. I also work out hard and drink a lot of water... That being said, sodium I think effects females a little different than males for weight, but I think that is only related to water weight really. Ultimately, you should try and watch it, it does effect your BP and all.

    I have been trying to watch mine(and eating out just kills it, but I usually eat out after I have put in a big workout and sweated a lot, so a little less worried.) Biggest thing would be to start doing meal prep on a set day. Like do your own chicken breasts in bulk Sunday, then separate into bags to use during the week. Just grab, reheat, and bam. The Tyson chicken strips I have pre-cooked and all that crap is something ridic like 450 sodium per serving and I could put away 2 servings without blinking. Cannot wait to get these things used up and out of my freezer. After this I am going to switch to making only my own and cut the sodium down drastically. I will eventually have to find a fish to change for daily consumption in place of my tuna as well, as that is another sodium packed monster. Just have to prep ahead of time.

    My concern with that is how to go about freezing the food without it getting ruined by freezer burn, etc. I want to do the make ahead prep stuff but I just haven't figured out the best way to store anything...
  • skoshness
    skoshness Posts: 175
    Would you have time sometimes to batch cook and freeze individual portions? Then you could use less salt. I do this a lot, it's realy handy for lunches and if I'm in a hurry in the evening :smile:

    I would if I was sure how to go about doing it. Whenever I cook, I'm usually cooking for my family as well so there tends to not be any leftovers left! haha but then I'm also not sure about what time of recipes work well for that sort of cooking and freezing..?

    I know what you mean about the family thing, my son's really good at eating up leftovers! What I do sometimes is make twice the amount, soups always good for freezing and other types of meals I freeze are mostly stuff like chilli, curries, bolognaise etc (but don't freeze pasta or rice). But I'm sure you could find out what meals are suitable on the internet. Saves a lot of money too :smile:
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    MFP gives me 2500. I actually try to aim for half of that. I can tell when I have had too much sodium, my body just feels bad. I still drink a good amount of water which probably helps, but for me it's just personal choice. Eating too much sodium really doesn't seem to have a benefit for me. Sometimes I meet it at half, sometimes I go higher than the half. I don't think I have ever gone over the 2500 entirely though.
  • chevere94501
    chevere94501 Posts: 29
    I don't use salt and I uses garlic and other spices to cook.
  • BuckeyeLife
    BuckeyeLife Posts: 313 Member
    I always kill my sodium. I also work out hard and drink a lot of water... That being said, sodium I think effects females a little different than males for weight, but I think that is only related to water weight really. Ultimately, you should try and watch it, it does effect your BP and all.

    I have been trying to watch mine(and eating out just kills it, but I usually eat out after I have put in a big workout and sweated a lot, so a little less worried.) Biggest thing would be to start doing meal prep on a set day. Like do your own chicken breasts in bulk Sunday, then separate into bags to use during the week. Just grab, reheat, and bam. The Tyson chicken strips I have pre-cooked and all that crap is something ridic like 450 sodium per serving and I could put away 2 servings without blinking. Cannot wait to get these things used up and out of my freezer. After this I am going to switch to making only my own and cut the sodium down drastically. I will eventually have to find a fish to change for daily consumption in place of my tuna as well, as that is another sodium packed monster. Just have to prep ahead of time.

    My concern with that is how to go about freezing the food without it getting ruined by freezer burn, etc. I want to do the make ahead prep stuff but I just haven't figured out the best way to store anything...

    Google is your friend. :D

    http://www.favoritefreezerfoods.com/freezing-chicken.html

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