salt and weight gain

[Loriblue]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to bring something up that I have been going through with Atkins and pass it on.

When I looked at labels, I paid the most attention to carbs and sugar. I didn't look at salt content at all. I began buying rotisserie chickens and eating about 4 ounces of sausage or so a day with my veggies (lettuce wrap). I began yo-yoing on the scale, and when I got my period, I shot up like 4 pounds, and it took a week and a half to get back to where I was before my period. It was water weight!

When I realized what was going on, I started looking at the salt content on the things I was eating. You are only supposed to have around 1500 mg or so a day, give or take. I was eating around 3000-3500. It's not just the water weight, its supremely unhealthy.

So pay attention to salt!

[mizski]

Great point about the sodium. It does cause water retention in a lot of people. Processed/packaged foods are usually loaded with it too. That's why it really is best to do homemade and stay away from too much bacon and store-bought sausages, etc. Fresh meats/poultry/seafood and veggies have very little sodium.

Another thought...I notice a lot of newbies have a lot of bacon and store-bought sausage. Why is that? Just wondering out loud here as to why you don't see more fresh meats/poultry/fish? I never really gave it much thought before but I wonder when we see all those "I haven't lost any weight and I'm going to jump off a cliff" posts if maybe it's all the bacon and sausages resulting in water retention that might be contributing to their lack of weight loss.

Thanks for bringing this up...it will probably help a lot of people out there.

[Georgiana]

I've moved this thread from the OWL forum to the Main Atkins Diet Forum.

[liv]

Rotisseri chicken may also have some sugars in it. All of the ones around here do. That would certainly make you gain weight and water.

[niko772]

One thing to keep in mind. You NEED to have salt in your diet...in moderation. Muscle spasms are a sign of low sodium. Make sure you have between 1-3 teaspoons per day.

[mizski]

Originally Posted by niko772

One thing to keep in mind. You NEED to have salt in your diet...in moderation. Muscle spasms are a sign of low sodium. Make sure you have between 1-3 teaspoons per day.

Really? Hmmm...I seldom use salt (but do use a little sea salt when needed sometimes in cooking) and neither me nor Mr. Ski get any muscle spasms. I wonder how much sodium is in 1-3 tsp? I know we get some sodium from foods such as celery and tomatoes but I don't think it's that much. And we don't have celery or tomatoes every day.

I think I need to check out my sodium intake over on FitDay...not that I know what to do with that information.

ETA: OK, so I checked out my FitDay. I forgot, I get most of my sodium from cheese. Also checked out the sodium contained in 1-3 tsp. of salt:
1 tsp = 2325 mg and 3 tsp = 6976 mg That much in addition to the sodium in foods is a LOT.

[LageNomAi]

I didn't discover my salt sensitivity until starting Atkins back in April, when in theory, salt consumption naturally drops quite a bit. I find that my weight is all over the place if I consume any high-salt foods, something that didn't used to be a problem for me when I was younger. Now I'm very cognizant of my salt intake, which not only keeps my weight more stable but is probably better for me overall anyway.