(fast-paced instrumental music)
- Hi, I'm Jim.
- And I'm Denae.
We're on location with the Check It, Change It reality show.
And today we're checking in on Doug.
Doug's doctor told him he needs to reduce the salt,
or sodium, in his diet.
So we're going to pop in on him and see how he's doing
with his Check It, Change It goals.
Let's go.
- Let's go.
- Hey Doug.
- Hey Doug, how are you?
You know who we are?
- Yeah, you guys are from the Check It, Change It show.
- That's right.
- That's right, and do you know why we're here, Doug?
- Not entirely.
You're either wanting to see me do some exercises
or you're wanting to see what I'm eating.
- You got it.
So tell us, what you got here?
- I think I've done pretty well.
I didn't order anything with fries, or
I knew that was going to add a lot of salt.
So, I did the salad.
Salad has to be good for you, right?
- Let's take a look at how much sodium is actually
in that chicken Caesar salad.
Okay, now Doug, are you ready for this?
- I guess so.
- Okay, this actually has 4,100 milligrams of sodium.
- Are you kidding me?
- Nope, sodium actually hides in lots of foods,
like salad dressing, croutons,
those little crispy wonton things.
A lot of times meat can have a lot of sodium
added to it as well.
- Well, 4,100 milligrams is just past my limit.
- That's right, this much salt has about 1,500
milligrams of sodium. and that's your daily allowance.
And this is the amount that's in your salad.
Yeah, not so good.
So let's take a look at what you
could have ordered, thank you.
This is the salmon with broccoli.
It has about 450 milligrams of sodium.
This is the lemon chicken with sauteed vegetables.
It has about 600 milligrams of sodium.
Both a lot better choices than your choice today.
At most restaurants, a waiter can help you choose
a low-sodium food.
You know, Doug, I think you could benefit from a little
bit of grocery coaching.
Let's say we meet at your house after work.
- Are you serious?
- Of course.
- Okay.
- [Denae] Okay Doug, the first thing we're going to do
is stop adding extra salt to your foods.
- Okay, I guess I can take the salt shakers
off the table, and put it in the pantry.
That way it'll help me remember.
- Good, and don't add any salt to your cooking, either.
Just remembering those first two tips
will help you out a lot.
Next, we're going to write down what you eat
over the next two days, okay?
We're going to start reading the labels, too.
Let's pull something that you normally have for breakfast.
We'll start with cereal.
Check the sodium and write it down here.
Good, do you notice the heart check marker
on the side of the box?
- Yes.
- It's a good indicator of a low-sodium, low-fat food.
We also need to check portion size as well.
This is the amount of sodium in one cup.
Is that how much you're usually eat?
- [Doug] Yeah, but I usually have two bowls.
- [Denae] Ah, so we need to write them both down then.
- I also add fruit.
Is that going to add any hidden sodium.
- Not likely, you can bet with when you go
with a fresh fruit or vegetable or even meats
like chicken or fish, you'll be pretty okay.
- Okay.
- Train yourself to shop the fresh food sections
instead of the package sections, and you should be okay.
- But read the labels Doug, all right, don't forget.
Oh also, we brought you a gift.
- You did?
- Yes, we did.
We brought you a low-sodium cookbook.
This is going to help you put together an eating plan
that's going to work for you.
Also it's going to teach you new ways to enjoy food
with a lot less sodium.
And our viewers can stop by any library and pick up
a low-sodium cookbook.
Giving it focused attention, even for a few days
will help you learn new habits that you can practice
for several weeks.
- Well okay, Doug, we just got a few things to go over
with you as well.
But first we need to sign off with our Check It, Change It
reality show.
Do you have anything left you want to say to our viewers?
- Well, I do know that this is important.
It's just going to take me a little bit of practice.
- That's the spirit, Doug.
Let's get that blood pressure down, man.
- Good job.