Saturday, November 12, 2011

Think You Could Do This?

Try to keep your sodium to almost zero for a day, two days or even a week.
Now, I have to limit my sodium, that is no big secret - but I have been retaining water like a balloon this past week and so I am trying my darndest to cut it down to zero. I do not want to go back to the hospital.

I am getting really close.  How does 22 mg of sodium sound? And bonus, I haven't been hungry all day, YAY! I am getting plenty of nutrients and vitamins in the process.

This was my menu for today - tell me if you would've been hungry.

Breakfast: Twinings Mint Tea [thanks Josie, it's delicious] glass of water, 1/2 banana [cut up] and a strawberry, peach and banana smoothie.
0 mg of sodium

Snack - orange and grapefruit slices
0 mg of sodium

Lunch:  Two cups of cooked oatmeal with blueberries and an apple.
0 mg of sodium

Snack - fruit popsicle and cup of mint tea
0 mg of sodium

Dinner:  Baked potato with 1 tbsp of sour cream and unsalted butter, fruit salad [cantaloupe, grapes and water melon] tossed salad with balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing
7 mg of sodium [from the sour cream]

Dessert: 1/4 cup of Raisinettes [with anti oxidents! :)] and air popped popcorn [awesome mixture!]
15 mg of sodium

I know it sounds boring and not all that appetizing, but when you lose your taste for sodium [as I have] fruits and vegetables tastesweeter and spices taste stronger.  The hardest time I am having is avoiding bread, crackers, cereal, tuna fish, peanut butter and cheese.  When I wasn't retaining water I could budget those things into my diet of less than 1,000 mg of sodium a day and be happy - but when one piece of bread is almost 20 % of my daily intake, it is just best to avoid it for now.

The best part is most of the menu is all you can eat because it is sodium free.  So, if I get hungry I can just pop in the fridge for a salad or a piece of fruit. Or a popsicle. :)

As for the Raisinettes?  Y'all know I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but I like a sweet tidbit [bite size Halloween candy anyone?] and those had the lowest level of sodium of any nosh of chocolate I could find. Perfect.

Please know I have no complaints. I am lucky that my biggest problem is counting milligrams of sodium.  I just want to go back to [as] normal [as I can be] before the holidays come and the whirlwind begins.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend and it is warm and cozy where you are.  See ya' on the flipside!

17 comments:

Juli said...

If I limit anything else, I'll be down to distilled water. :)

My diet:

No wheat.
No oats.
No barley
No rye.
No modified food starches.
No refined sugar.
No caffine.
Low carb foods (so most fruits are a NO)


Yeah. Way fun!

Shelly said...

My sister has congestive heart failure and so we are all very aware of sodium content, to help and support her. It sounds like you are doing a great job-

Crystal Pistol said...

Wow. That's a healthy diet. Good for you for sticking to it! I eat way too much crap. Who knows what maladies with make themselves known in the future.

I especially love salt. Lots of it!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I am a big lover of fruit but I also love my salt........lol I however am no were near as bad as my husband who will add salt to every thing he eats ok not everything but sometimes it seems that way, the man will add salt to pizza or ham...........yes I am shaking my head and our eldest daughter is just as bad........

Knitty said...

I am thinking about making some big changes in my diet without announcing them to anyone in my family or circle of nearby (offline) friends and see how I feel and how hard it might be to maintain.

I don't think I could do without more protein than what you've listed. I get headaches without a little protein and with the number of migraine/sinus headaches I've had in my lifetime, I'll do pretty much anything to avoid them.

CWMartin said...

If I had to go on any of those diets, I'd be eating the table within 2 days. I have nothing but respect for those of you that can (and have to) do it.

As for me, I just hope that I simply explode in spontaneous combustion before an MD makes me do so.

laughingmom said...

I hope that you are feeling a little better these days and are more upright. Sorry that it is so hard!!

Southhamsdarling said...

Hi Skippy. That certainly sounds like a very healthy diet. I certainly hope that it works for you and that you start to feel better and less bloated. It must be a constant battle for you sometimes my friend. Take care. Thinking of you x

Anonymous said...

Hi Janine,
That sounds very healthy to me. It's always hard in the beginning. But you will get use to it, I'm sure. And I hope that you will start to feel better soon.
Have a lovely Sunday!
Big hugs x

Rebecca said...

great menu will have to try this

Confessions from the Hairdresser said...

I'm so glad you're feeling better! (since your last post).

I absolutely commend you for this new lifestyle change, and I'm so glad to hear that you've safely reached that point where your body has adapted to the positive changes and overcome the salt-addiction (that we all have).

Incidentally, I'm so happy that you're satisfied with your healthy choices... ...I couldn't quite do it (says the vegetarian that that doesn't really like vegetables).

life in the mom lane said...

I was getting worried.... since I had not seen you post... I'm glad you're feeling better my friend.

Healthy foods.... but what are you using for protein?

Teresa said...

sounds very healthy and tasty. i'm not a big salt fan (almost never salt anything) and use the Mrs. Dash stuff when I want to season something.

ron's doing better with his salt intake but his limit is 1500-2000 per day, which is easier to maintain than 1000.

hope you're back to "normal" before you know it.

Celia said...

My mom had congestive heart failure, and it was a constant battle of water retention. I'm sorry you are having to go through this.

Rudee said...

In a word, no. I couldn't do it and I'm not heavy handed with the salt to begin with.

I hope you're feeling better.

Anonymous said...

Sodium is something that has never been on my radar, and something I should put back on it.

My co-worker has kidney problems and has to eat less than 1000 mg a day - it's hard with processed food to stay below that!

The one day I added sodium into my view I had 5500 mg that day! Um, turns out deli ham, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and dill pickles have lots of sodium!

Thanks for your pep talk Skippy, you always say the right thing when I need it! :D

Hugs!

Melissa Good Taste said...

Low sodium?! Oh my. THAT IS HARD! Salt is in everything... good luck!