Well I went to weigh in this afternoon ( normally go in evening) . I lost zippo I was glad I did not gain but to lose nothing was a bummer. She thinks it was starches I had 4 instead of 2 by error.. She told me to count the bun as a bagel because it was not light , it was just whole wheat.

So ok I screwed up there! Then I thought about it on the way home and wonder if it was the dressing it says "Light" on it not free. well the sodium was 270 on the bottle and I noticed that is should be under 1?? . So I am not sure if I retained water from the dressing all weekend, the starch or what.

I am no longer constipated so I don't think that is it but then again who knows.

HOw much sodium is to much in food anyhow??

I'm wondering about that myself. I don't put salt on my food or use it in cooking but so many ordinary foods (condiments I guess) have salt already in them. I have been using my 1/2 salt though.

I hope the scale shows a big loss for you next time you step on it.

well atleast I am not alone!

I don't salt any of my food either,and when i used condiments mostof the time it was dressing.

What dressings are that low in sodium?????????????

I try to look at sodium in this way: it's in everything. Or nearly everything, anyway. I don't avoid foods altogether just because they have sodium in them. I think a better approach is to compare different types of the same thing and go with the lower sodium option. For example, when buying Lean Cuisines (which are pretty much guaranteed to be super high in sodium), I try to choose the lower ones. The way I see it, even some LAWL products are pretty high in sodium; the key is not to consume it needlessly (ie. using high sodium products when low sodium ones are available, eating salted nuts or potato chips, etc.). I don't know exactly how much is "too much," I just try to reduce as much as possible, without letting the salt shaker control my life

That having been said, there are times when I feel like I've had way too much (like after the aforementioned Lean Cuisines!), and I pretty much just drown myself in water and/or hot lemon water to cleanse.

Well, I don't have "Salt Police" by my name for nothing..

The fact is that sodium is in just about everything we eat, so it's pointless to drive yourself nuts to avoid it.. But there are prudent ways to do it..

When it comes to lunchmeat, try to find a deli that either sells or makes low sodium meats.. Boars Head makes a low sodium turkey that is fantastic and a beef that, while a bit bland, has only 50 mgs...

Canned veggies and soups have a ton of sodium, so it's best to avoid them when you can, unless they specifically say "low sodium", but even then, "low" on the lable doesn't really mean "low" for you and me...

Comparing different brands' sodium content is the trick, Sarah, you're right on..

Water is also the key. Drink more than the required 64 oz. I always try to get in at least 100 oz.. It's hard at first, but you can do it.. Buy one of those big Aquafina 33.5 ouncers and then just refill it and drink it through the day.

Hot water with lemon is also effective in flushing a lot of the salt..

Above all, don't get discouraged if you don't show weight loss every time... You bodies are going through changes and they are having to react to the things your are doing.

Remember, you HAVE to stick to the plan to the letter.. Think of it as balancing your tires.. If you cheat or don't get in all your portions, you can throw off your balance and that can disrupt what you're trying to do, just like if one of your tires is lower in air.. That throws your car off and they start to wear out faster...

Sorry for the "guy" analogy, but it's all I got!

thanks Dan...

So how much lemon do you put in the water? Just as strong as you can stand?

A "No Added Salt" diet can be 2000 mg in a day. If the doctor restricts your sodium intake it can be much lower. I dont know if this will help you. This amount includes the natural sodium in your meals.

I really try never to eat salt (ie use the salt shaker) and keep those foods with a lot of salt out of my diet. I am so used to this now that I really taste salty foods now and I don't like it as much as I used to. The point being that we can train ourselves to learn not to crave it as much. Hope this is helpful.

well I took half a lemon and squeezed it into the 8oz water and then microwaved it and drank it down.

I hope this works if that was the problem, guess I will find out.

How long does it take to work?

Not sure.. It's different for everyone.. And, like most things, it takes time for your system to adjust... Liz and I use the "Real Lemon" concentrate, which isn't quite as effective.. I also don't use the hot stuff.. I usually just put a couple healthy squirts in my cold water with dinner and such...

if the lemon water is hard to take you can also put lemon juice in crystal lite lemonade and it tastes great--hot or cold. Also--green tea or green tea extract has the same effect (diuretic) for me.

coffee works for me. or a cappuccino...........mmmmmmm .... I'll be right back......

Any lemon product will give the dieuretic effect, but from what I've heard, it is the lemon oils that really help. My COD says to squeeze half of a lemon into the water and then drop the half into the water and microwave it. I don't really like mine hot, so I only microwave it for 20-30 seconds.

I do just what Dan does and drop real lemon right into the water. If I know I'm eating light that day, I'll squeeze half a cup into a 32 oz bottle of water and count it as a fruit.

Seeing that the scale doesn't like me the way the tape measure does, I can't tell you if it actually works or not.

As for not losing I am the queen of the plateau. The scale has stayed within the same 3 pounds since X-mas! However in the same time I dropped 2 sizes, so when at Easter I was happy at the measurements I came off weight loss. It's really tough to stomache, but sometimes your body loses and it's not the scale that shows it.

I prepare my hot lemon water like Steph does. My COD says the lemon oil from the peel does the trick. Sometimes if I am short a fruit I drop both halves in and scrape them out after microwaving for 2 minutes in the water (I usually let it steep and cool off for 5 minutes before drinking) then I count it as a fruit. My COD freaks if I have concentrate of any kind so I had to quit using the Real Lemon (which I prefer for ease of preparation).