I have been very frusterated the last few days at my lack of weight loss. I've been exercising a lot more than usual, zig-zagging my calories, eating more veggies, but somehow I'd managed to GAIN almost 3 pounds! So I decided to take a look into my FitDay account... lo and behold, my average sodium intake for the last two weeks was 3800mg, 1400mg more than the AHA recommended amount! So yesterday I stuck mostly with fruits, veggies, and whole grains, as well as drinking a little bit more water, and today I woke up 2 1/2 pounds lighter. It's amazing what little changes can do. I'm definitely going to head for foods that are lower sodium, because one day last week I consumed over 4300mg of sodium, oy!

So for anyone who's experiencing a weight gain or plateau even through your best effort, look at your sodium and water consumption. It may just be the problem!

Yep, that sodium is evil.

lol

Where on Fitday is the recommended sodium number? Mine just says "-----" . I've only been using Fitday for a little over a week (contemplating moving to the PC version, but for now using the online version), and for the past week my average sodium was 1775.

How/where can I find the recommended?

Edit: Whoops, I mis-read. I get it now. Sodium for adults should be no higher than 2400. I assume, the lower, the better.

Oh yeah, and it affects some people REALLY strongly. Anytime my mom and I go out for Chinese (sodium central!), the next day I'll be fine but she'll be swollen so much that she won't even be able to get her rings off!

Miaka, yep. Absolutely. That's why if you eat a lot of sodium, you need to drink plenty of fluids in order to flush the excess out of your system.

Yep, I gained 3 lbs at Christmas due to my sodium levels being between 4800 and 6000 those two days. Everything else was fine, calories, fat, carbs, etc...that darn sodium just about did me in!