Your body uses sodium for nerve and muscle function, and to regulate blood pressure. But too much sodium in your diet can cause kidney stones or lead to high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Sodium attracts water -- the more sodium in your bloodstream, the more blood volume you'll have, increasing your blood pressure. High levels of sodium in your diet cause water retention and subsequent weight gain.
Because your body needs sodium, almost all whole foods, including fruits, vegetables and legumes, contain some sodium. When people refer to a "low-sodium" or "no-sodium" diet, they are referring to added salt and sodium in processed foods.
Step 1
Eliminate packaged processed foods from your diet. Once you drastically reduce your sodium intake, you'll quickly lose excess water weight. It's important to note that this weight loss isn't fat loss. Salt alone will not cause fat gain or fat loss -- if you start to eat processed foods again, you'll regain any lost water weight. That being said, eliminating processed snacks and junk foods might help you lose fat, if you replace the junk food with nutrient-dense whole foods -- such as fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. These foods contain the small amount of sodium your body needs to maintain muscle function and proper blood pressure.
Step 2
Read food labels carefully. Some foods are naturally higher in sodium than others. Just because a label says "no sodium added" doesn't mean that product is sodium-free. You can't judge the sodium content of a food by its taste. Baked goods are often high in sodium because they contain baking soda -- or sodium bicarbonate -- which helps dough rise. A whole grain bagel can have as much as 500 mg of sodium. Watch out for sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, sodium benzoate and monosodium glutamate, or MSG, found in products such as soy sauce and bouillon cubes.
Step 3
Cook at home. Restaurant foods, especially fast foods, can be very high in sodium. Eat a balanced diet that limits packaged convenience foods and emphasizes fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes and lean proteins. Avoid processed meats, such as lunch meats and sausages, which are high in sodium. Any food preserved using nitrates or nitrites will contain sodium. If you can't get fresh vegetables, choose frozen rather than canned. Canned foods are almost always very high in sodium, which is used as a preserving agent. To lose weight, you'll still need to practice portion control -- even a high-quality whole foods diet can cause weight can if you consume more calories than you burn.
Tips and Warnings
- Use herbs and spices instead of salt to add flavor to your food. Salt is an acquired taste -- you can wean yourself off the taste of salt by slowly decreasing it over a period of a few weeks.
- Although the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that you limit sodium to 2,300 mg daily, people with high blood pressure should limit sodium intake to no more than 1,500 mg per day. The National Institutes of Health reports that "those with congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis and kidney disease might need much lower amounts."
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