So I have made some insane changes in my lifestyle and I showed my trainer my dailyplate....

She said my sodium was too high. I know that it is...as it is well above 2,000mg a day

But I don't know what else to do...even my beloved laughing cow has 260mg! Even my boca veggie burgers have 300......and my 100 calorie packs have sodium which I only have 1 a day

Deli turkey, ham, salad spray, lite orange juice...everything

I will stop salting my food, but I can't eat PLAIN oven cooked, skinless chicken breast

What CAN I eat?

How far above 2400mg is it? If you don't have issues with high blood pressure and you are drinking plenty of water and the amount isn't insanely high, I don't see the issue. It's easy to look at something on paper without taking into account other factors. Lite orange juice, laughing cow, packaged meat- those are all very processed foods. You could look into more whole foods to cut the sodium, but if that's what is working for you and you don't have elevated blood pressure, I think you're ok...

Sounds like you're eating a lot of processed foods. Deli meat, boca burgers, snack packs ... all highly processed.

What about trying to find non processed alternatives? You could bake a chicken breast and cut it up (or a turkey breast) instead of doing sliced deli meat. You could make your own baked veggie chips instead of eating a snack pack. (Not sure what to do for the boca burgers! ).

Try to add some less processed food to your diet and that will greatly help reduce sodium.

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So i think the main concern is that all this sodium is being taken in because you're eating mainly processed foods. Try adding more fruits, veggies (not canned), nuts and seeds (not processed, but raw). If you're going to get canned soup or veggies, look for the no sodium added ones. Processed foods are full of sodium mainly for its preservative and flavor qualities, but natural foods are so full of flavor on their own!

yesterday my sodium intake was 2,333mg

I drink plenty of water, stopped drinking diet coke at home, my blood pressure 119/78 which is awesome

I am eating a lot of fruit and veggies..1-2 servings at every meal and even for snacks

I think my boca burgers, deli meat and cheese are the problem but I am usually 110 calories below 1,500 which is my daily intake.

Any ideas for low sodium lunches and less processed food?

Instead of salad spray, try an olive-oil based dressing. Yes, it's higher in calories, but you are getting the "good" fats.

Instead of deli meat which is notorious for being loaded with crap, use non-processed meats. Break up a chicken breast to use in sandwiches. Tuna is good, too. Or if you just like the deli meat, use less of it and pack your sandwich with veggies, too.

Instead of "lite" juice, have a piece of real fruit instead. If it's the flavor you're after, there's always Crystal Lite and the like (although I don't know the sodium amount on that). I would think that with light juices, the added stuff kind of negates the benefits of the fruit inside.

Also, at 2300mg, you are below the RDA of 2400. While I'm a whole foods girl myself for lots of reasons, I don't understand why your trainer is having a problem with your sodium intake. Did she tell you why, or did she just say to decrease your intake?

I am just going to look for lower sodium deli meat and reducing my use of boca burgers and stop salting my food.

Using chicken breast is a good idea - but I eat chicken for 98% of my dinners and it's expensive! I am also going to look for different sauces to put on my chicken at dinners.

I can't stop eating laughing cow, it's a staple of my diet! The fats in my food are really low as are the calories.

Well no one is telling you to lose the laughing cow, because that would just be plain crazy!

I know, right! Who here would live without laughing cow?

I am going to stop eating 100 calorie packs and stick to lite rye crackers which are 70mg of sodium which is a lot less than cheese-its, stop salting my meals and looking for better deli meat

Taylor - what kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches? I was using American and have switched to swiss - usually only 40-80mg/serving - much better than the 300+mg in American cheese - I also use provolone which is about 120mg sodium....I have been fine at losing and keeping my sodium below 2400mg - I personally would not fret as long as you stay below 2400 mg/day - the average American unfortunately takes in wayyyy more than that - some days I'm at 1600mg, some days at about 2300mg, it's just learning to read labels and find out good alternatives....Melba Toast has a low sodium cracker that you can use for your Laughing Cow Wedges as well....oh, and Boar's Head Brand meats have lists of their low sodium foods in a nice brochure at the counter - I don't like Roast Beef, but it is the lowest in sodium, I usually get the Honey Maple Turkey - which is the most reasonable....

Thanks for the advice guys!

I think my trainer was just picking at diet - but sometime that really upsets me because I have already turned my life upside down. But hey - why not try lowering my sodium?

I also bought "fake" salt because I do love salting my food so hopefully that will workout. I will also look into that deli meat and swiss cheese.

I also NEED to drink more water. I pee so often when I drink it though - I guess that another goal

Oh I just caught that you said you salt your food.

So if your sodium intake from the food you track is between 2500 and 3500, then you salt your food on top of that, I can see why your trainer might want you to cut back. A couple of shakes from a salt shaker can add another 1000mg to your sodium for the day. If you're salting your food more than once a day, you could be consuming as much as 6000mg of salt a day (or more, depending on how much you eat and how heavy handed with the salt shaker you are), between your food and your additional salt "habit".

You'll find, I think, that as you cut out salt, you'll find that you don't need as much to get the "salty" taste you crave. Your tastebuds do become adapted to salt and you need more and more to taste it. Eventually, as you cut down, you'll find that things that you never thought tasted salty suddenly are way too salty for you.

You'll also start to taste the real taste of food more!

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Ah, yes. I think that is what she was getting at. Not only is my salt intake just add if not above the right amount but I also salt my food.

I read somewhere that 2300 mg is the recommended amount of sodium a person should eat a day. I don't know if that is right, but if you seem very close to this so I wouldn't stress about it too much.

I wish I had your problem though. I used to keep to a low sodium diet (I just don't like salty stuff) and I was dehydrated from it. I kept blacking out every time I stood up. My doctor said since I sweat a lot and drink a lot of water when I work out, I need to eat more salt to balance it out. You know how sweat tastes like salt? ... its because there is sodium in it. He put me on salt pills 500 mg twice a day! Its literally a pill made of salt and its gross, but I stopped blacking out so that must have been why. I don't know if I should say this since I'm not a doctor but maybe if you do some extra cardio that makes you sweat and then drink LOTS of water you can afford more salt in your diet. But then again it might be safer if you just cut back.

I sweat a lot anyway. I am one of those people who only own black shirts for that reason. When I am working out I sweat past my boobs!!!

I got some deli meat with lower sodium in it, replaced my table salt with the fake stuff and going to boil my own brown rice instead of the microwavable kind.

I am also going to limit my 100 calorie packs to one a day instead of 2 a day - I also bought some Mrs. Dash to cook my chicken in

I just can't go without my laughing cow or low-fat cheeses!