There are a few new things I’m changing in my weight loss journey. Nothing big but just a few little changes that may or may not make a difference, we shall see.
Potassium
The first thing I am trying to do is add more potassium to my diet, or at least monitor it more. I was reading a few articles on what the effects are if there isn’t enough potassium in my diet. Here are a few of the problems when there isn’t enough potassium:
1. Fatigue and weakness in muscles.
2. Inactive reflexes.
3. Abnormal heartbeat and heart palpitations.
4. Anemia and severe headaches.
5. High blood pressure.
I always felt that my multivitamin would be sufficient to make up for the lack of any vitamin I don’t get in my everyday diet. Well, my multivitamin doesn’t have potassium in it. There are a few out there that do but it’s only like 80 mg. From what I’ve read, please always do your own research; I should be getting about 2,000 mg a day. I was nowhere near that level. I have been feeling fatigued for no good reason, I also have issues with heart palpitations (although I have been to a doctor for that and have been diagnosed with something), and once in a while I do have pretty bad headaches. No, I didn’t go to a doctor to do blood tests to see if I actually have a shortage of potassium, it’s just a hunch. If it’s something you are really serious about then maybe you should go to a doctor to see if potassium levels are low.
There are potassium supplements but I’ve read a few side effects from getting too much potassium. Once again do research and there is such a thing as getting too many vitamins. I personally would like to try and get my potassium from natural sources because those sources also have other benefits. I’m not really worried about overdoing the potassium because I’m writing in my journal and keeping track of the mg I am getting. I don’t usually get 2,000 mg but closer to 1800.
I found a handy dandy chart of different foods that are rich in potassium from the following website:
http://www.thepotassiumrichfoods.com/
| Foods with Potassium | Serving Size | Potassium (mg) |
| Apricots, dried | 10 halves | 407 |
| Avocados, raw | 1 ounce | 180 |
| Bananas, raw | 1 cup | 594 |
| Beets, cooked | 1 cup | 519 |
| Brussel sprouts, cooked | 1 cup | 504 |
| Cantaloupe | 1 cup | 494 |
| Dates, dry | 5 dates | 271 |
| Figs, dry | 2 figs | 271 |
| Kiwi fruit, raw | 1 medium | 252 |
| Lima beans | 1 cup | 955 |
| Melons, honeydew | 1 cup | 461 |
| Milk, fat free or skim | 1 cup | 407 |
| Nectarines | 1 nectarine | 288 |
| Orange juice | 1 cup | 496 |
| Oranges | 1 orange | 237 |
| Pears (fresh) | 1 pear | 208 |
| Peanuts dry roasted, unsalted | 1 ounce | 187 |
| Potatoes, baked, | 1 potato | 1081 |
| Prune juice | 1 cup | 707 |
| Prunes, dried | 1 cup | 828 |
| Raisins | 1 cup | 1089 |
| Spinach, cooked | 1 cup | 839 |
| Tomato products, canned sauce | 1 cup | 909 |
| Winter squash | 1 cup | 896 |
| Yogurt plain, skim milk | 8 ounces | 579 |
As you can see, eat your fruits and vegetables! Don’t be like me and skip bananas because they are starchy. They are very good for you, I’ve really missed bananas!
Food Tracking
So monitoring my potassium intake has been one change, the other is how I’m tracking my food. I’ve decided to try an online program through Calorie King. I have been writing things down in notebooks for the last two years and have just felt like I needed to change up something. Sometimes just a little change is all you need. I’ve used the Calorie King site for years, I can just type a food in the search box and it will find the calories for me. I just haven’t used the food tracker program until now.
They give you a seven day trial, which is nice. After the seven days I can evaluate if it was worth the time and either stop using it, pay month by month, or pay for a whole year. I’ve only been using the site for three days but it’s going well so far. I like that I can create custom foods and it will always have that in my database so I don’t have to keep figuring out the calories. There are also articles to read that are very beneficial. They also have message boards and groups to join so if I need a little help or support I can reach out to other people who are going through this same journey.
If you would like to give it a try and check it out here is the website:
This is really interesting information. I do eat a banana a day and thought that “sorta” covered the potassium. Hmmm….Thanks for posting.
Definitely do research, it helped me to look back at my food and see what I was eating that was on the potassium list. I always thought bananas would be good enough but apparently not. I’ve started eating tomatoes more than ever, which my parents were trying to do for years when I was a kid!
Hi Kim, thanks for the info! I just recently found the ‘Lose It!’ app and love it! It’s free and super easy to use on your phone. Though i havent tried their website yet. They also have a bar code scanner which is one of the best I have found. Good luck and will post this chart on the fridge.
You’re welcome!
Potassium is a crucial mineral for the functioning of the heart and tissues. This mineral aids muscle function and digestion, and it plays a vital role in nerve function. Additionally, potassium functions as an electrolyte in the body, meaning it conducts electricity. Some studies indicate that potassium may be instrumental in b^
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