Soo I've noticed a lot of you beautiful ladies talking about high sodium days etc.

I have to be honest (and I'm probably the only one who doesn't have a clue) but I really haven't paid attention to sodium so much. Just calories and fat calories...I guess I should start paying attention! I don't drink anythign but water (and milk after a work out) but I don't track my sodium intake.

What would you say is your daily sodium intake? And what is the range you try to stay within?

Thanks for any answers! I'm just about to google this now =)

I don't aim for a particular sodium "goal," I just know that I have a tendency to retain water very easily from sodium.

When I was paying attention, I try to stay below 1000 mg a day, but this is REALLY hard.

I think the 'recommended' amount is something like 2400mg.. (I think this is a teaspoon-ish amount) but this is more like a boundary than a goal. The amount of sodium required in a diet is actually considerably low. I personally don't count up my sodium in one day, but I do consider it in my food choices and try to stay as low as possible. I have to watch it or my blood pressure sky rockets to where I can't sleep and I literally can feel my heart beating through all my body..For these reasons I try to stay away from it. If I go anywhere near 2500 or 3000 mg of sodium, my blood pressure is out the roof.

If you want to reduce sodium, there are salt alternatives (potassium chloride, widely used in reduced sodium foods and healthy choice meals etc) but they can be dangerous. Potassium Chloride (in high doses) is the same compound used in lethal injection and abortions to cause the heart to arrest. This is because potassium has a part in heart beat.. but, that's a different subject.

I also just watch what the sodium levels are and don't really aim for a range but some things you think are healthy may be really high in sodium like salad dresssings!

I do try to pay attention and shy away from things that are so high in sodium that it will lead to bloating (canned soups are a great example of something that is overwhelmingly high in sodium). The RDA is 2400mg, but some people tolerate it better than others. I have low blood pressure so I don't have to watch my intake, but do because I find salt bloat to be THAT unpleasant. Obviously if you are prone to high blood pressure there is a reason to pay attention.

I don't really watch my sodium intake but probably should pay more attention. My body tends to retain a lot of water (but that's probably due to eating more foods higher in sodium). I take that into account when I weigh in the morning (my hands swell easily and I can tell by how my rings fit).

Like Jen said, processed foods are always much higher in sodium.

Also - I was REALLY surprised at just how much sodium food from Panera has in it. It's RIDICULOUS.

The RDA for sodium is 2,400 mg, like others have said. Unless you have issues with high blood pressure, then it's better to stick to around 1,500 mg or less. The minimum required is around 500 mg, I think. I had problems with pre-hypertension as a teenager, so I aim for under 2,000 mg.

My average for the past few weeks has been 1,700-1,800 mg. On days where the majority of my calories are coming from fresh fruits and veggies, I'll have very low intakes of 500-700 mg, whereas on days where I go out to eat, they'll be more up in the 2,000+ area, so it all depends on the day.

to be honest, i never really pay attention to it I couldnt tell you any recommended numbers off the top of my head. I just go by if it tastes salty then it probably is salty. So I avoid having that kind of stuff too often. And when I cook, I usually dont add salt except sometimes a bit to season. I LOVE salt so i have to be careful not to go too nuts with it

Japanese food is loaded up with sodium so I try to DIY and cook my own food whenever possible. Pretty much any time I eat out I will see gains the next morning.

I don't think I eat too much sodium normally. I never add salt to things and I try to eat fresh food as much as possible.

Feral I'm very sad to hear that about Panera. I love that place and was counting on it as my to-go-to eating out place when I move back to the States.

yeah, i never even knew about it before i came on here. just watched calories.... although it does explain why i don't seem to lose as much weight sometimes...

that said, i LOVE salty food and am totally not ready to give it up!!! i mean, i already have to give up sweets and carbs, now you want me to watch my sodium too?! ha! ain't gonna happen....

I don't shoot for a specific number, but I'm always amazed at how much sodium gets sneaked into foods. I occasionally track my foods at Daily Plate, and it automatically counts sodium - I'll have some peanut butter, lunch meat and canned pasta sauce and be pretty darn close to the daily target #!

That, and I automatically assume that going out to eat is going to be high sodium. I almost always try to have a bunch of extra water the next day to compensate!

I don't really look at it that much, but that being said...if something tastes super salty, I can kind of guess I'll be up rather than the same or down on the scale the next day.
I didn't think about it at all actually until a few weeks ago when I had a VERY salty restaurant meal and was up for the first time in my journey...and realised it was due to the salt!

Daily plate is very helpful with all areas of your daily intake. I just dont like how some things are a little inaccurate.Like some of the cal. are off, or the sodium or sometimes its just not there at all and you dont get a complete reading. Well i guess i'll have start writing it down.

Thank you for the input ladies! All VERY helpful!

I guess for now I'll stick to not worrying about it too much. I figure I'm losing at a decent pace and if it ain't broke, don't fix it! But, I will begin to pay attention more to the sodium on labels and make sure it's nothing outrageous.

Thank you!

Yeahhhhh... it's ridiculous. I'm not sure I would use it as a "go to place" but every once in a while isn't so bad. The nutritional info will scare the crap out of you though.