Salt?

Wayne Rust said:

I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5
llbs. Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before
the scale would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb
every 2 days if I can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put
salt on everything I eat these days, and not very little salt either.
Does anyone knnow?

Excess salt will make you retain water which will affect what the scale
shows. As far as I know it doesn't affect fat loss.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5 llbs.
Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before the scale
would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb every 2 days if I
can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put salt on everything I eat
these days, and not very little salt either. Does anyone knnow?

Hi Wayne, welcome to the group!

Yes, sodium can cause most people to retain water. I proved this to
myself when I ate a bunch of pepperoni (more than once) -- I gained 2-3
lbs overnight each time. Since I keep careful track of what I eat and
weigh in a spreadsheet, it was easy to spot the trend. In fact, I
figured out that if I went over 2500 mg of sodium in a day, I was
probably going to be up in weight the next day.

That said, you need to understand that MOST of the weight loss incurred
during Induction IS water, not fat. Each molecule of glycogen stored in
the liver for emergency fuel is bound to 4-5 molecules of water. As you
use up the glycogen during Induction, that water is shed. Once the
extra water in the liver is depleted, the loss will slow down -- usually
to 1-2 lbs per week (sometimes more, sometimes less), but THEN the loss
will most likely be FAT, not transient water.

Unless you regularly sleep all day and are up all night, weighing at
night is pretty much moot because weight fluctuates all day long based
on you water/food intake, exercise, excretion, etc. The best time to
weigh is first thing in the morning, naked after your morning pee. That
way is the most consistent. At that time you haven't (hopefully) eaten
or drunk anything for many hours, and some weight loss might have
occurred overnight -- people often don't realize how much they excrete
through breath and sweat while they sleep. Sleep is nature's way of
doing some housekeeping while you're not paying attention and otherwise
distracting it from doing it's job :-) Some people insist you shouldn't
weigh more than once a week or even once a month. Some people (like me)
weigh every day -- it all depends upon how that weighing affects you.
If you are the type to obsess over it and your entire day depends upon
what the scale reflects, once a week or even once a month is probably
best. If you can be objective about it, once a day, first thing, is
fine. Any MORE than once a day will only serve to torture yourself
unless you are doing it for purposes of objective scientific
experimentation or amusement :-) (I should probably weigh my head again
now that I've lost 60 lbs -- there's GOT to be a fathead joke in there
somewhere :-)

--
Saffire
205/145/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

Thanks.
I have definitely noticed the weight fluctuation between morn and night,
that's why I weigh at night, after I'm done eating for the day. That way
I get the worst/most conservative figure. Weighing myself when I am
fairly dehydrated seems a little self-deceptive. However, philosophies
do vary. Whatever works for the individual.

"Saffire" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5

llbs.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before the

scale

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb every 2 days if

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put salt on everything I

eat

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

these days, and not very little salt either. Does anyone knnow?

Hi Wayne, welcome to the group!

Yes, sodium can cause most people to retain water. I proved this to
myself when I ate a bunch of pepperoni (more than once) -- I gained 2-3
lbs overnight each time. Since I keep careful track of what I eat and
weigh in a spreadsheet, it was easy to spot the trend. In fact, I
figured out that if I went over 2500 mg of sodium in a day, I was
probably going to be up in weight the next day.

That said, you need to understand that MOST of the weight loss incurred
during Induction IS water, not fat. Each molecule of glycogen stored in
the liver for emergency fuel is bound to 4-5 molecules of water. As you
use up the glycogen during Induction, that water is shed. Once the
extra water in the liver is depleted, the loss will slow down -- usually
to 1-2 lbs per week (sometimes more, sometimes less), but THEN the loss
will most likely be FAT, not transient water.

Unless you regularly sleep all day and are up all night, weighing at
night is pretty much moot because weight fluctuates all day long based
on you water/food intake, exercise, excretion, etc. The best time to
weigh is first thing in the morning, naked after your morning pee. That
way is the most consistent. At that time you haven't (hopefully) eaten
or drunk anything for many hours, and some weight loss might have
occurred overnight -- people often don't realize how much they excrete
through breath and sweat while they sleep. Sleep is nature's way of
doing some housekeeping while you're not paying attention and otherwise
distracting it from doing it's job :-) Some people insist you shouldn't
weigh more than once a week or even once a month. Some people (like me)
weigh every day -- it all depends upon how that weighing affects you.
If you are the type to obsess over it and your entire day depends upon
what the scale reflects, once a week or even once a month is probably
best. If you can be objective about it, once a day, first thing, is
fine. Any MORE than once a day will only serve to torture yourself
unless you are doing it for purposes of objective scientific
experimentation or amusement :-) (I should probably weigh my head again
now that I've lost 60 lbs -- there's GOT to be a fathead joke in there
somewhere :-)

--
Saffire
205/145/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

If I don't eat the salt, I get muscle cramps.

--

Eat less, exercise more. -- MFW

--
"Wayne Rust" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5 llbs.
Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before the scale
would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb every 2 days if I
can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put salt on everything I eat
these days, and not very little salt either. Does anyone knnow?

While the initial loss that LC can have is very gratifying, it can create
expectations that may trigger despair when weightloss pauses, reverses, and
proceeds at a rate more like 1 or 2 pounds per week. It is common for
progress to stop for two or three weeks and then resume.

Daily weighing can be useful, if you use it to chart the progress in
software like Fitday. When a mini-stall happens the chart can show the
trend.

IMHO, salt should be managed according to what you believe is healthy.
Changes in salt can produce short term weight changes, but the idea is to
lose fat.

Fitday: http://www.Fitday.com

I have no connection to Fitday, except as a customer.

Cubit
311/199/165

"Wayne Rust" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5

llbs.

Quoted message said:

Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before the scale
would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb every 2 days if I
can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put salt on everything I eat
these days, and not very little salt either. Does anyone knnow?

Wayne Rust wrote:
:: I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about
:: 3.5 llbs. Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2
:: before the scale would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2
:: lb every 2 days if I can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I
:: put salt on everything I eat these days, and not very little salt
:: either. Does anyone knnow?

Yes....too much salt will cause you to retain water weight. Eat some salt,
but why eat a lot of it? Excess water weight has issues of its own.

BTW, unless you are very large and are moving a lot and restricting calories
heavily, don't expect to lose 1/2 lbs ever other day. And even if you can
now, don't expect to keep losing at that pace. Having unrealistic
weightloss expectations can be a killer to your long-term success.

If you expect weight loss to be a straight line progression you are bound to
be disappointed. The body doesn't work like that. You will have stretches
where you lose nothing, then have a "whoosh" and lose several seemingly
overnight.

Salt causes water retention but if you consume the same amount every day
your degree of water retention will be constant. So if someday you eat less
salt you may find a temporary drop in weight which will come back when you
resume normal consumption levels.

In news:[email hidden],
Wayne Rust <[email hidden]> stated
| I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5
| llbs. Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before
| the scale would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb
| every 2 days if I can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put
| salt on everything I eat these days, and not very little salt either.
| Does anyone knnow?

If you expect weight loss to be a straight line progression you are bound to
be disappointed. The body doesn't work like that. You will have stretches
where you lose nothing, then have a "whoosh" and lose several seemingly
overnight.

Salt causes water retention but if you consume the same amount every day
your degree of water retention will be constant. So if someday you eat less
salt you may find a temporary drop in weight which will come back when you
resume normal consumption levels.

In news:[email hidden],
Wayne Rust <[email hidden]> stated
| I started induction on 1/1 and have seen some early losses, about 3.5
| llbs. Last night I had to take 3 weighings and do a 1 and a 2 before
| the scale would read down 1/2 lb. I want to lose at least 1/2 lb
| every 2 days if I can. Does salt screw up a person's weight? I put
| salt on everything I eat these days, and not very little salt either.
| Does anyone knnow?

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Thanks.
I have definitely noticed the weight fluctuation between morn and night,
that's why I weigh at night, after I'm done eating for the day. That way
I get the worst/most conservative figure. Weighing myself when I am
fairly dehydrated seems a little self-deceptive. However, philosophies
do vary. Whatever works for the individual.

Now, see, I have the opposite perception. I got the "revelation" one
day after seeing a loss on the scale the day after I had higher than
usual "output". It suddenly occurred to me that it was something like
straining through a collander -- once the excess water/waste is drained
off, what's left is what I am most interested in. Any excess water and
waste product is NOT fat (at least not ANYMORE), so it doesn't matter as
far as losing/gaining weight goes. Note that I'm NOT saying one should
purge/dehydrate oneself in order to see a lower number on the scale --
I'm just saying that the natural condition of the body first thing in
the morning is more realistic and consistent when it comes to reflecting
the loss of FAT than trying to figure it out after 12-16 hours of
eating/drinking/exercising in varying degrees.

--
Saffire
205/145/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333

Roger Zoul said:

Yes....too much salt will cause you to retain water weight. Eat some salt,
but why eat a lot of it? Excess water weight has issues of its own.

There is actually no reason anyone should salt thier food in the first
place. You can get enough sodium just from what is naturally occuring
in the food you eat.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Jaime said:

Roger Zoul said:

Yes....too much salt will cause you to retain water weight. Eat some salt,
but why eat a lot of it? Excess water weight has issues of its own.

There is actually no reason anyone should salt thier food in the first
place. You can get enough sodium just from what is naturally occuring
in the food you eat.

Uhhh... to improve taste?

--
---
Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com

Chris Smolinski said:

Uhhh... to improve taste?

Seriously you do not need salt to improve taste. That is just your
tastebuds talking. You can season foods in a salt free way with herbs
and spices. I've been doing it for a long time now and my tastebuds
have adjusted well. I was out the other evening at a dinner party
with a friend and took a stuffed queen olive from the appetizer tray
and popped it into my mouth. I had to spit it discreetly into a napkin
because it was just too salty and unpalatable to me.

Chris Smolinski said:

Uhhh... to improve taste?

Seriously you do not need salt to improve taste. That is just your
tastebuds talking. You can season foods in a salt free way with herbs
and spices. I've been doing it for a long time now and my tastebuds
have adjusted well. I was out the other evening at a dinner party
with a friend and took a stuffed queen olive from the appetizer tray
and popped it into my mouth. I had to spit it discreetly into a napkin
because it was just too salty and unpalatable to me.

Everything tastes good to you. That's why you weigh 400 pounds.

--
You take stupid to a new level. -- MFW

"Jaime" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chris Smolinski said:

Uhhh... to improve taste?

Seriously you do not need salt to improve taste. That is just your
tastebuds talking. You can season foods in a salt free way with herbs
and spices. I've been doing it for a long time now and my tastebuds
have adjusted well. I was out the other evening at a dinner party
with a friend and took a stuffed queen olive from the appetizer tray
and popped it into my mouth. I had to spit it discreetly into a napkin
because it was just too salty and unpalatable to me.