So sodium stays in your system for a while? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

starlight66 · 05-13-2008, 09:05 PM

I was so frustrated when I would get up and weigh myself and still be the same weight. My hours are different when it comes to sleeping. I usually exercise at around 2 am and then eat right after at around 3 am...then go to bed around 5 am. So when I would wake up at around 12pm-1pm....the scale would say I was the same weight all the time and I would get so upset.

Well today I got up and was in a rush and I didn't eat until 4pm ..but right before then I weighed myself and I was actually almost 5 pounds LESS than normal! So, I was wondering why in the middle of the day without eating, I weigh less and all I can think of is that sodium stays in my system for a longer time than I thought. So when I eat at 3am, by the time I get up I am still retaining water weight at 1pm the next day. Is this correct? I didn't think it would bloat me for more than a few hours. Sorry if this is confusing lol.

zenor77 · 05-13-2008, 09:34 PM

I'm sure everyone's body is a little different, but I've found that if I have a heavy sodium day (going out for Chinese, Thai, Japanese, etc) the bloat can stay for 2-3 days.

Smiling_Sara · 05-13-2008, 09:47 PM

interesting concept. I wonder if that is what is happening with me. I wake up on Monday weighing 230, then eat well and work out Monday and tonight and I'm still at 233. Makes absolutely no sense to me, but I did have pecan chicken for dinner and for lunch today, wonder if the salt is just staying with me.

starlight66 · 05-13-2008, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BornToFly

interesting concept. I wonder if that is what is happening with me. I wake up on Monday weighing 230, then eat well and work out Monday and tonight and I'm still at 233. Makes absolutely no sense to me, but I did have pecan chicken for dinner and for lunch today, wonder if the salt is just staying with me.

It may be, because although I watch my calories and protein..thats all I watch. I still eat sugar free items and still eat sodium...both cause bloating. I was just happy to know I may not have reached a plateau, and that it is in fact the sodium still in my system. Like the other poster said, I actually think sodium can stay in your system for days which is why weight loss experts are against sodium...but I still eat it cause I am naughty lol hehe

zenor77 · 05-14-2008, 01:34 AM

Another thing to remember is that your weight fluctuates throughout the day regardless. Food, water, clothing, etc. can all account for weight fluctuations, as can sodium.

That's why I always weigh at the same time of day.

JayEll · 05-14-2008, 07:38 AM

What "weight loss experts" are these?

Unless you have high blood pressure, sodium is not an evil thing. But, if you are overeating sodium, it's important to drink water to help flush the excess out. It seems counterintuitive, but that's how the body works. Besides, even 3 pounds of water weight isn't important. It's FAT we want to lose...

Choose one time of day when you will weigh and go by that. You can drive yourself nuts weighing several times a day and trying to figure out why the number changes.

Jay

kaplods · 05-14-2008, 10:21 AM

There's evidence that sodium doesn't even effect all people with high blood pressure, and may not deserve all of its bad reputation. A lot depends on the person's natural biochemistry and the medications they are taking. For example, my mother and I both have high blood pressure, but have a tendency towards low levels of blood sodium, my mother sometimes to dangerous levels (she was even hospitalized once for water intoxication - in which too much sodium is removed from the blood because of drinking too much water).

Naturally low levels of blood sodium are a bit of an oddity, and while we probably don't share the same biochemistry (I'm adopted), we are similar in that we don't eat a lot of salt (because we don't like it), drink quite a lot of water, and take a diuretic high blood pressure medication. Our doctors actually recommend that we not go out of our way to avoid salt (doesn't mean we should down a large bag of chips on a daily basis).

Sodium doesn't raise my blood pressure, but does cause me to retain some water. If I eat asian food, I have to drink a lot of water for a couple days and ignore the jump on the scale.