I've been going through some major salt cravings this week and while this isn't uncommon for me I've never tracked my weight while doing it before. I'm still losing a little weight though and I know that sodium can lead to water retention and water weight gain. I just want to make sure that this is a temporary thing right? When I get off the salt kick I'll lose the water weight right? I mean I'm being careful not to cure the craves with things like chips but I've been salting all my vegetables, popcorn, celery, boiled eggs you name it! And I'm not concerned with my blood pressure as low BP runs in the family and the last time I was sick I finally managed to get up into the middle normal range. Edit: I suspect this might have something to do with the huge amounts of water I've started drinking right before this started. :P

I hear you on the salt cravings. I have not totally kicked the habit but I switched from salt to something called NOSALT and it helped me lessen my salt habit over time.

I rarely salt food anymore now even though I do use things like salted butter (sparingly...only a teasoon at a time) when frying up my morning eggs. I found that the salt in the butter was just enough to flavour my eggs.

Now if I want real salt I don't use the shaker over my food. I shake some into the palm of my hand and use a pinch from that to sprinkle onto my food. The rest goes into the sink.

If there is no medical reason you need to be low sodium, go for it. So what if you retain some water? You can burn fat just fine while retaining water, it just might make your numbers go up a little for a day or so. It won't change what is actually happening to your body or anything.

what should a daily amount of sodium be?

I believe you need no less than 1000mg and no more than 2400mg on a single day for a healthy person. If you eat a little more on one day and a little less on another, as long as it is not a habit, it should be okay.