Ahh, Now Things Get Fun!

So, as you know, I am always asking for comments, and to be fair, I haven't asked for positive comments only! So I received the following anonymous comment that I would like to explore further...

"As a registered nurse, it is not surprising to me that you are having problems losing weight on this diet. While the calorie count might be in line with weight loss goals, the sodium level of products like these is extremely high. This is not at all healthy and can cause water retention leaving you bloated and heavier. You may think this is a fun pop culture experiment, but don't think that you are the next Jared from Subway. His experiment was at least healthy."

I am of course taking this comment as a nurse who is concerned for my health, and I am most appreciative of this. And yes, like most packaged food, sodium is indeed a concern. So of course this piqued my interest. Maybe she's right - perhaps this is the reason my weight stalled last week. So I of course investigated. Of all the hot pocket varieties in my freezer the HIGHEST amount of sodium was 760mg. That comes out to 32% of your suggested daily intake.

If you look at the nutritional info supplied by Subway, there are only two sandwich's that have less sodium than my highest sodium Hot Pocket. There is a chicken sandwich at 750mg of sodium (so it is 10mg less, but I would call that negligible) and the veggie sub at 410mg. This value is also without the addition of mayo or mustard. They would add 90mg or 55mg per teaspoon respectively.

http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/nutritionlist.aspx?id=sandwich

Unfortunately, the Hot Pocket web site does not have their nutrition info spelled out, which is quite disappointing, but like I said, I have quite a few varieties in my freezer and have pretty much settled into these as my "normal eats" with the highest being 760mg. So that being said, if I have 3 (of my highest sodium) Hot Pockets a day, that would put me at 96% of my suggested daily intake of sodium.

To put things in further perspective a serving of Campbell's tomato soup has 880 mg of sodium. Lean Cuisine's Sesame Chicken has 640 mg of sodium. (yes sometimes they find their way into my freezer too)

I think we all realize that anything packaged and frozen is going to have sodium. Anything that has cold cuts on/in it is going to have sodium.

So how do I combat that? Well I only drink water (and one cup a coffee every morning). I also supplement with fruit, veggies and yogurt. Just like the "subway" diet, this diet is about convenience. Its about proving a point that you don't have to buy "diet" food for more money when you can find products with similar nutritional values. Its about the busy mom, dad, student, whatever that can't or simply isn't going to spend time cooking. It's about finding a way to limit your calorie intake while still actually enjoying what you are eating.

And like I said in a previous post, I'm much cuter than Jared. LOL. Only 26 lbs to go!

So keep the comments coming! All of them really are appreciated. Had this sodium issue not have been brought up, I may not have looked into it. Now I can feel even better about my Hot Pockets!