Sugar/Sodium Overhaul?

I've recently been struggling with some of my micro numbers including sodium, and sugar. I've noticed that almost daily I go over the reccomended 48g of sugar, and the 2,500mg of sodium. I feel frustrated because my calorie count overall is almost always below my goal by 100-200.... The worst part is I'm not even eating bad foods, most of my sugar intake is from milk and fresh fruits, and sodium is coming from ceral, meat, etc....I just get a negative feeling when I see those red numbers for some of the micro items.

How important are these micro-isms? Is it okay to just eat towards my Macro and not worry about the in betweens?

I'm still losing weight, but don't know if I need to correct these things as I move along?

Any input would be much appreciated!

These are two things that I most pay attention to when I review my patient's food records.

As far as the sugar goes, if it is primarily from fruit (not juice) and dairy, just make sure you are not going overboard with the quantities daily. Recommended intake is about 3 servings from dairy and about 3-4 from fruit. A serving is considered 8 ounces of milk or 6 ounces of yogurt for dairy and about a fistfull-size of fresh fruit (a regular banana is actually considered to be 2 fruit servings) or 1/2 cup canned fruit. I recommend fruit rather than fruit juice to help control portions better. But overall, sugar is a carb and is included in your carb total. So as long as the sources are as you say - fruit/dairy - I wouldn't worry too much.

Sodium is a different matter. High sodium intake can lead to fluid retention and swelling which in turn can lead to high blood pressure and heart problems. The largest source of sodium in the American diet is processed foods. Very little comes from actually salting food. Because sodium is a preservative, it is highly used in any processed food processing. Reading labels, using less processed foods, cooking from scratch as much as possible, including a lot of vegetables, and drinking plenty of water can help lower the total socium intake. FYI, canned vegetables are okay to use but should be drained and rinsed before cooking. This will help decrease a lot, but not all, of the sodium used in processing.

Hope this helps.