# Sodium control..



## Mythos (Jan 20, 2016)

So over the last few years every time I have my BP checked for work it's been somewhat high.. bear in mind that I work graveyards and every time I've had it taken I've been chewing and drinking coffee for hours trying to stay awake for the physical. 
That being said, I want to try to get it under control to the point where I'm near 120/80 at any given time before I start my first cycle. Efforts to dial back the caffeine and quit chewing are underway, but I started looking at my sodium intake during my current bulk cycle and it's well over DRV.. mind you I never eat out at all  to better control macros and my diet is actually pretty good. I just wonder what's going to happen when I am running a cycle and I have to increase calories even more..
Anybody else ever tracked their sodium intake? Am I really going to have to do a raw type diet to get Na intake under recommended value for a bulking phase?  Thanks


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## John Ziegler (Jan 20, 2016)

I haven't tracked the sodium.

Nothing will help you bulk up like quitting nicotine will. Its like unplugging an I V constantly dripping poison into your blood stream.


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## gymrat827 (Jan 20, 2016)

Zeigler Robertson said:


> I haven't tracked the sodium.
> 
> *Nothing will help you bulk up like quitting nicotine will. Its like unplugging an I V constantly dripping poison into your blood stream*.



yes, yes & yes.  i am ashamed to say i still smoke 1 fa king cigarette a day.  its terrible and i just cant let that one go.  

But i remember cutting back from say 7/8 to 1 a day.  I gained 10lbs doing no more than i did before......same workouts, same diet, sleep, etc.  Nothing changed at all aside those 7 cigs.  all it took was like 8/9wks.  


as far as the salt goes, just try to take in less and less then you are now.  a 1k jump in cals and only half the sodium increase would "lean' out your intake in a sense.


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## Bro Bundy (Jan 20, 2016)

Its hard to avoid sodium since its in almost everything.When u use the gear expect your bp to rise.


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## Mythos (Jan 21, 2016)

Zeigler Robertson said:


> I haven't tracked the sodium.
> 
> Nothing will help you bulk up like quitting nicotine will. Its like unplugging an I V constantly dripping poison into your blood stream.



Yeah..you're definitely right about that. I have nicotine pegged as the #1 contributor to my high bp too. Now I'm at the point where I only chew at work, but it's still a lot. It's going to be hard since I work in a stressful environment (ER). I really like how you put that though; poison IV drip.. that's exactly what it feels like too. I'm going to try to remember that when I'm quitting.  Thanks


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## Mythos (Jan 21, 2016)

gymrat827 said:


> yes, yes & yes.  i am ashamed to say i still smoke 1 fa king cigarette a day.  its terrible and i just cant let that one go.
> 
> But i remember cutting back from say 7/8 to 1 a day.  I gained 10lbs doing no more than i did before......same workouts, same diet, sleep, etc.  Nothing changed at all aside those 7 cigs.  all it took was like 8/9wks.
> 
> ...



You know , I never associated quitting nicotine with lean mass but it makes sense. It's good motivation too. 
Ha yeah...I might try some low sodium diet experiments and see what happens. Without being able to say for certain, I think I do feel better when my sodium intake is under the DRV.


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## PillarofBalance (Jan 21, 2016)

Hydrate better.


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## Mythos (Jan 21, 2016)

Pillars I used to think I could offset sodium intake with water...I drink a lot every day..but apparently it doesn't really work that way according to what I've read .


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## Onrek (Jan 22, 2016)

The issue might not be with hydrating more or lowering sodium, but you might actually need to increase your potassium, magnesium and _possibly_ calcium to compensate for the higher sodium. The body (and your muscles) likes a certain ratio of those minerals together. When any one of them starts getting out of balance it can cause a lot of weird things. I've never had any issues with sodium but I've had some heart scares from low magnesium and low potassium during different time periods.

So in essence what Pillar said is right. Hydrate *better*.


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## monster-ish (Jan 22, 2016)

I always try to lower my sodium intake on cycle. It makes me bloated and puffy specially on cycle for some reason


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## Mythos (Jan 22, 2016)

Well , I haven't yet made the connection between my high BP and sodium, in fact it's probably something else. But when I stopped to count what I take in it's pretty damn high by daily recommended value standards. I do take potassium and magnesium supplements, though maybe 3x a week.


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