Z. Griggs asked:
How would sodium make you fat? An excess of sodium in your system causes water retention as you know. Over a long period of time, that retained water builds up and stays locked between your cells. You may have or have seen a potbelly on a man that almost seems firm, like he has a watermelon in his stomach. The skin is tight around the stomach rather than rolls of fat hanging off. This is from water being retained and held around the abdomen. While there is almost certainly some excess fat stored there as well, much of the weight and size can be attributed to fluid retention. In fact, it is possible for a person to be 100 lbs. overweight but not be obese in terms of body fat percentage.
The most obvious cause of this would be an excess of dietary sodium. One source that often sneaks into our diet is MSG. Besides the fact that it makes the food taste better by exciting our taste buds and inspiring us to over eat, it is also made up of sodium. We have all felt how swollen our joints, usually our hands, feel the day after eating at a Chinese or Mexican restaurant. Even though they may not put MSG into the food themselves, it’s in most of the sauces and seasonings they use. It’s in many of the sauces and seasonings we buy in the grocery store too. It has many names these days so start checking labels for the following ingredients: hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, glutamic acid and carrageenan.
Another, perhaps surprising, cause of high sodium in the body is the intake of sugar and starchy foods. The metabolism and storage of sugar requires the use of potassium. The more you eat, the more potassium you use. When your body’s sodium is out of balance with its potassium, it will retain water. Drinking more water, alone, won’t cure this. Reducing sugar intake and increasing potassium in the diet is the most effective way to bring balance back to these electrolytes. A great example of this is seen when people start a low carb or no carb diet, like the Adkins Diet, and drop a lot of weight in the first few weeks and find that they are peeing all the time. This is often discounted by critics as only water weight. In my opinion, weight is weight and if you are losing excess weight then it’s a good thing. A person can only burn off about 2 lbs. of fat a week at best so any more than that is either water or muscle.
Raw or lightly steamed vegetables are the best source of dietary potassium. Increasing the amount of vegetables you eat and decreasing the amount of sugar and starch you eat will not only cause you to lose water weight but will increase fat burning as well. For some, the water weight may start come off right away and for others it may take some time to build up the body’s potassium levels. It is a great way to improve your health and drop some weight quickly, as well as improve fat burning for the long haul.
If your diet is full of sodium and/or sugar, and lacks a significant amount of raw vegetables, then you are probably retaining some water weight. If you are wanting to start losing weight, then getting rid of excess water weight is a great way to start.
Elite Trainers
How would sodium make you fat? An excess of sodium in your system causes water retention as you know. Over a long period of time, that retained water builds up and stays locked between your cells. You may have or have seen a potbelly on a man that almost seems firm, like he has a watermelon in his stomach. The skin is tight around the stomach rather than rolls of fat hanging off. This is from water being retained and held around the abdomen. While there is almost certainly some excess fat stored there as well, much of the weight and size can be attributed to fluid retention. In fact, it is possible for a person to be 100 lbs. overweight but not be obese in terms of body fat percentage.
The most obvious cause of this would be an excess of dietary sodium. One source that often sneaks into our diet is MSG. Besides the fact that it makes the food taste better by exciting our taste buds and inspiring us to over eat, it is also made up of sodium. We have all felt how swollen our joints, usually our hands, feel the day after eating at a Chinese or Mexican restaurant. Even though they may not put MSG into the food themselves, it’s in most of the sauces and seasonings they use. It’s in many of the sauces and seasonings we buy in the grocery store too. It has many names these days so start checking labels for the following ingredients: hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, glutamic acid and carrageenan.
Another, perhaps surprising, cause of high sodium in the body is the intake of sugar and starchy foods. The metabolism and storage of sugar requires the use of potassium. The more you eat, the more potassium you use. When your body’s sodium is out of balance with its potassium, it will retain water. Drinking more water, alone, won’t cure this. Reducing sugar intake and increasing potassium in the diet is the most effective way to bring balance back to these electrolytes. A great example of this is seen when people start a low carb or no carb diet, like the Adkins Diet, and drop a lot of weight in the first few weeks and find that they are peeing all the time. This is often discounted by critics as only water weight. In my opinion, weight is weight and if you are losing excess weight then it’s a good thing. A person can only burn off about 2 lbs. of fat a week at best so any more than that is either water or muscle.
Raw or lightly steamed vegetables are the best source of dietary potassium. Increasing the amount of vegetables you eat and decreasing the amount of sugar and starch you eat will not only cause you to lose water weight but will increase fat burning as well. For some, the water weight may start come off right away and for others it may take some time to build up the body’s potassium levels. It is a great way to improve your health and drop some weight quickly, as well as improve fat burning for the long haul.
If your diet is full of sodium and/or sugar, and lacks a significant amount of raw vegetables, then you are probably retaining some water weight. If you are wanting to start losing weight, then getting rid of excess water weight is a great way to start.
Elite Trainers
