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Old 03-13-2009, 11:28 AM   #1  
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Default Sodium???

Okay so, this week was a rough one and someone said something very interesting to me...I could have retained a lot of weight because of an increase in my sodium intake. I took a look at my food journal and it seems to make to since to me. Last week I had very little sodium in my diet, I ate whole foods and cooked everything. This week I had less time to relied on a lot of prepared foods like canned soups and vegetables or precooked pasta dishes (low calorie or course) which could have played a part in me retaining a lot of water weight.

What is you guy's experience with sodium and weight loss? Does this make sense? Do you think this explains why I lost 10 pounds last week and none this week?

Give me your thoughts.
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Old 03-13-2009, 11:38 AM   #2  
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That's certainly possible. Whenever I significantly increase my sodium intake I blow up like a balloon, and thus, don't see a loss on the scale. But sometimes I also don't see a loss even when I stay on-plan and do everything "right." Despite my consistency, sometimes I lose a lot, sometimes not... that's just the way weight loss works. It's rarely ever linear, which means most people should expect some variability in their weekly totals. Just keep at it, and don't let one week without a loss worry you!
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Old 03-13-2009, 11:41 AM   #3  
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Oh my CALISA . . . some of us (me for example) are soooooo impacted by sodidum it's insane and it looks like you might be another one. One slice of ham or one slice of pizza is good for a pound of water retention for me and Chinese Food . . . OMG, totally unbelievable.

Don't know if it would explain a whole ten pounds. Remember that the body doesn't always work on the schedule we would prefer. There is never anything 'straight-line' about the downward journey.

All you can do is your best -- and avoid those high salt foods whenever possible. When you do get bitten by the salt-bug, drink plenty of exta water for a couple of days; it does help.

Having said that, I'm planning ham for dinner and will just avoid weighing tomorrow morning.

Last edited by meowee; 03-13-2009 at 11:42 AM. Reason: too bad I can't type this afternoon.
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Old 03-13-2009, 01:24 PM   #4  
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I am another one who retains water if I eat too many sodium-rich foods.

I've started logging my foods using the daily plate, and I am absolutely AMAZED at how much sodium is in some of the foods I eat (especially because they don't taste exceptionally salty). For example, one wedge of laughing cow cheese (one of my favorites) contains 300mg of sodium. I went to a party New Year's Eve and was eating laughing cow like tic tacs. I'd hate to see my sodium intake that day!

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Old 03-13-2009, 02:06 PM   #5  
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Two dietary habits seem to increase water retention for me. High sodium, and high carbohydrate. If I have a high sodium AND high carbohydrate day, even if low calorie, I can put on several pounds overnight. Yesterday and the day before was such a day, and I'm up 4 lbs (at least better than my PMS average of 10 lbs or more).

Since I know it's water, I'm not changing my ticker, but I'm drinking water like mad today (because water flushes water), watching my sodium, and eating lower carb than I usually do. I follow an exchange plan and I limit those that can be high in carbs: dairy, fruit, and bread servings to two each and then have several exchanges that I can spend on other exchanges (usually I spend about half on higher carb exchanges and half on protein). When I'm trying to flush water retention, I use only protein exchanges for my optional exchanges, and make sure my dairy choices are low carb, and my fruit choices are fairly low-carb (berries, rather than a banana, for example).

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Old 03-15-2009, 10:01 AM   #6  
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Cool Sodium is bad

Hi, sodium is bad for me. I try to stay away from alot of salt. It spikes my weight and blood pressure. I have found alot of foods have hidden sodium. I try to keep my levels low. I hate that most convenience foods are so salty. Some days after work it seems like such a pain to cook from scratch, but, if I start opening boxes to make a quick dinner I know I will pay the salt price,on the scale in the morning. dreaded salt........
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Old 03-15-2009, 10:28 AM   #7  
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One thing to note, though. Not all people, even people with high blood pressure are sensitive to sodium. I tend to have abnormally low blood levels of sodium (in fact, before a surgery a few years ago, I had to take sodium supplements (salt pills), because my levels were too low for surgery). Part of the reason I tend towards low sodium, the doctors tell me are my diet (I'm not a big salt fan), my blood pressure meds (most blood pressure meds tend to either wash sodium or potassium out of your blood, since the american diet is much high in sodium than potassium, the sodium-depleting meds are most often used), and thirdly genetics, it's just a natural fluke.

I'm a bit of a freak of nature, apparently, but there've also been studies that show that not all folks, even with high blood pressure are sensitive to salt. That doesn't mean that a little bit of water retention wouldn't occur. For example, when I had to take the salt pills, I did retain quite a bit of water. And when my blood levels get low and my doctor tells me to go out for chinese or eat a bag of chips or something (how's that for a fun prescription), I do gain a pound or two of water. But a pound or two of water is a lot better than a heart attack (that's what critically low sodium usually results in).

Again, I'm a freak. Most people will never have to worry about low sodium. But that doesn't mean most folks have to be overly worried about high sodium, either - especially if they don't have high blood pressure and/or drink extra water when they eat extra salt.
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