Sunday, July 12, 2009

Doctor and BBQ

So yesterday I went to the doctor and was told that I have high blood pressure. So I was told I need a lot of cardio and need to stop eating sodium. Honestly, I didn't even know sodium could be bad for you. Never have I ever looked at how much sodium something contains. Now I look at a diet coke and realize it has 33 grams of sodium per serving. What the hell?
So I have questions. How much sodium per serving is not worth it? Or rather how much sodium should I be intaking a day? And does anyone know of any low sodium foods?
Also I forgot to celebrate. I hit.my 210 milestone. And according to my doctor's scale, I'm 205 in shoes. But I'll wait until I'm 205 on my home scale. My 210 reward was to rent a good movie. I can't wait.
In other news, I went to a bbq today and didn't eat anything except for a turkey dog.no ketchup or mustard. But I was running around all day and I was fine. Now I'm out to a family dinner and I'm barely eating. I guess I'm just not very hungry today.
I really want to get my blood pressure down. It's 120/90. It should be over 70 or 80. If I can't get it down with a lower sodium intake within 2 weeks, I have to go and get bloodwork done. And I really don't want that.

3 comments:

Tricia said...

Seems like everything is packed with sodium these days. Especially a lot of "diet" foods really pack in the sugar and sodium. Just watch the labels and you'll be okay. :)

M said...

Just keep eating healthy. Dont eat fast food unless its Subway, though.

Grace said...

The current recommendation is to consume less than 2,400 mg of sodium a day, which is about 1 teaspoon of table salt per day and includes ALL salt and sodium consumed, including sodium used in cooking and at the table. Now, this is almost impossible to achieve if you look at the sodium level in most prepared foods.

Monica is right. Stay away from fast food. Lunch meats, (like hot dogs) are also very high. Fresh food like vegetables, fruits, etc don't have a lot of sodium. Fortunately most prepared foods are labeled, so you can at least get an idea of what you are consuming.

My hub has high BP, so we are constantly looking at sodium content. Don't try to be perfect, but just do your best. It will make a difference!