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Nutrition & Training · Hydration & electrolytes · continued

Sodium, potassium and magnesium when intake drops posts 61–79

This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1 · go to the accepted answer.

DO
dr_okonkwoTL4 Moderator16 Jul 2025#61
HHidalgo, post #16: Narrowing post #14, because the general version has more than one answer. Lab testing: if symptoms are severe or persistent, checking electrolytes and minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium) and interpreting them in context of losses during weight loss is reasonable. Go to post

Magnesium: deficiency during weight loss is common and symptoms (fatigue, muscle cramps) are nonspecific. Supplementation is inexpensive and low-risk if needed.

0 likes in reply to #16 12mo
JF
j.fonsecaTL216 Jul 2025#62

Something worth flagging about sodium: the strongest-sounding claims in this thread are the ones with no source attached, which is the usual pattern and not a coincidence.

4 likes 12mo
PW
PharmNotes_WhitfieldTL4Pharmacist17 Jul 2025#63

Post #60 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.

Sodium intake often falls sharply when processed food intake falls, and that transition is abrupt rather than gradual for many people.

That is what I would do. It may not be what is correct.

13 likes 12mo
NB
n.brobergTL218 Jul 2025#64

Constipation and hydration: dehydration makes constipation worse. Increasing fluid intake is the first intervention for constipation alongside other measures.

The literature is thinner on this than the confidence in the thread implies.

26 likes 12mo
OO
orbitrap_olaTL3Mass spectrometrist18 Jul 2025#65
h.oyelowo, post #10: The most useful posts here describe what was measured, what was changed, and what happened, in that order. Go to post

Sodium has a well-known answer and a correct answer, and the interesting work is establishing that they are the same. Nobody has done that here yet.

1 like in reply to #10 12mo
IA
i.almeidaTL219 Jul 2025 · edited#66
figure_review, post #25: Marking my place. If it changes for me I will come back and say so. Go to post

Helpful, and easy to find again, which is half of what a good reply is.

7 likes in reply to #25 12mo
DS
dr_seongTL3Physician20 Jul 2025#67

Narrowing post #64, because the general version has more than one answer.

Supplementing without measuring is the default approach described here and it carries its own risks, particularly for potassium.

That has been true for the cases I have seen and I have not seen many.

18 likes 12mo
RF
ro.friskTL220 Jul 2025#68

Everything in post #67 holds. The case it does not cover is the one I have.

Orthostatic symptoms: dizziness on standing after lying down can indicate dehydration or electrolyte depletion. Increasing fluids, salt, and potassium usually resolves it.

I have changed my mind on this once already, so take it as current rather than settled.

0 likes 12mo
DY
d.yilmazTL221 Jul 2025#69

Post #68 is the version of this I will quote in future. One addition.

Sodium: losing weight involves losing some sodium. Electrolyte drinks or salty foods help maintain sodium balance. Very low sodium intake on these compounds raises orthostatic symptoms risk.

Written from notes rather than memory, which is why the numbers are specific.

4 likes 12mo
ML
m.lindqvistTL221 Jul 2025#70
k.brandl_de, post #48: Lab testing: if symptoms are severe or persistent, checking electrolytes and minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium) and interpreting them in context of losses during weight loss is reasonable. That holds under the stated conditions and I have stated them. Go to post

Where I part company with post #67, and it is a narrow parting.

Magnesium supplementation is widely recommended in this space with very little supporting evidence for the indications it is recommended for.

A modest claim, modestly supported.

12 likes in reply to #48 12mo
HA
h.agyemanTL222 Jul 2025#71

Taking sodium seriously for a moment rather than deflecting: the honest position is that the community has observations and no controlled comparison, and those two things support very different sentences.

0 likes 12mo
NA
n.abernathyTL3Analytical chemist23 Jul 2025#72

Reduced intake reduces electrolyte intake alongside everything else, which is the mechanism behind most of what gets attributed to the compound here.

25 likes 12mo
NK
n.kuuselaTL223 Jul 2025#73

Saving this. It is the version I will quote when the question comes round again.

11 likes 12mo
PW
PharmNotes_WhitfieldTL4Pharmacist24 Jul 2025#74
sa.vogel, post #34: Magnesium: deficiency during weight loss is common and symptoms (fatigue, muscle cramps) are nonspecific. Supplementation is inexpensive and low-risk if needed. Go to post

Fluid intake: baseline needs increase with gastrointestinal effects and exercise. Thirst is not a reliable guide during appetite suppression. Drinking regularly (not just when thirsty) is prudent.

3 likes in reply to #34 12mo
YA
y.asanteTL224 Jul 2025#75
sterile_table, post #2: The opening post and I disagree about the size of the effect, not about the direction. The very ordinary causes of week-two malaise: inadequate hydration, low sodium intake, too-rapid calorie deficit, and inadequate sleep are more common causes of fatigue and malaise than compound toxicity. I would put the burden of proof on the… Go to post

What I would want before treating sodium as settled: the method, the sample, and whether anyone tried to find the opposite result. Two of the three are usually missing.

0 likes in reply to #2 12mo
JW
journalclub_wrenTL3Regular25 Jul 2025#76

Reading back through the sodium threads from last year, the same three questions come up every time and only one of them has ever been answered properly. That seems like a documentation gap rather than a knowledge gap.

33 likes 12mo
EH
e.halonenTL226 Jul 2025#77

Answering the question post #74 raises rather than the one it answers.

Fluid intake and electrolyte intake are separate questions and drinking more water alone can make a dilutional problem worse.

The general case is well covered; this is the awkward specific one.

17 likes 12mo
DH
dietitian_hollisTL3Dietitian26 Jul 2025 · edited#78
e.kuipers, post #28: Orthostatic symptoms: dizziness on standing after lying down can indicate dehydration or electrolyte depletion. Increasing fluids, salt, and potassium usually resolves it. Genuinely open to being wrong about this one. Go to post

The arithmetic in post #77 is right; the assumption feeding it is the part to check.

Baseline measurements before a substantial change in intake give you something to compare against, and almost nobody has them.

That is the shape of it. The detail is where I would expect to be corrected.

7 likes in reply to #28 12mo
TP
t.pereiraTL227 Jul 2025#79

Coming back to post #77, because the follow-up matters more than the original answer.

Potassium: similar to sodium; losing weight involves some potassium loss. Bananas, sweet potatoes, and other potassium-rich foods help. Severe depletion is rare but symptomatic (weakness, palpitations).

Not a strong opinion, just a consistent one.

1 like 12mo

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