Sodium intake - how much is too much?

I'm on a 1200-1500 calorie diet.  I have no idea how much sodium is too much.  I was just looking at the nutritional info for a Tim Horton's sandwich (toasted chicken club) that is only 7g of fat and 440 calories (not bad for what it is), but it has 1070mg of sodium.  Is that too much?  I really wanted some hot food so I was going to just have their hearty vegetable soup (70 cal, 0.4 g fat) but then I noticed that it had 1060mg of sodium. Almost as much as that whole sandwich!  Also, I don't think that small soup would fill me up, so can anyone suggest something I could have with the soup to make it a healthy, low-cal lunch?

(By the way, I almost never eat out.  This would be a treat for me.  I brought a healthy lunch but it's all cold food and I know that eating it will leave me unsatisfied, craving other foods, and generally unhappy for the rest of the day at my dull office job.)

Normally when I eat I never add salt to anything, so maybe it's alright because I dont' get a lot of sodium in other ways?

Sorry if it's an obvious question, but I haven't found the answer yet!

Well you're only supposed to have 2400mg a day, but more than that won't kill you - just bloat you :)

So if you eat a lot of sodium rich foods and weigh more the next day, you know why.

Of course I could elaborate, but that's the short of it!

I aim to keep mine below 2000mg -- I read in one of the threads here that the recommended amt to stay under was 2500mg -- mayo clinic reference perhaps?

Alright then.  So I should be ok eating that sandwich and/or soup.  I don't normally eat other sodium-rich foods so I should be fine.   

Good to know, thank you!

P.S. what are some foods with a ton of sodium that I should try to avoid?

Processed foods.

But you shouldn't be avoiding these foods. Healthy Choice meals and Lean Cuisine, etc. are a GREAT idea for dieters, although higer in sodium. Sodium can be evil, but it's not your enemy!!!

Your body requires a MINIMUM of 500mg-2400mg a day to function. And table salt is not the same as sodium, it's sodium chloride. (40% sodium).

Like I said, you can eat 1000's more sodium, and you'll just retain water for a day. If you suffer from high blood pressure, and are on medication, then your doctor should have already told you, you MUST have a low sodium diet. A lot of sodium of a long period of time will effect blood pressure, so if high blood press. runs in your family, lay off the sodium.

But there is no reason you should be avoiding processed foods just because of the extra sodium. For example, I eat Progresso soups a lot. They have great low fat and low cal soups that really fill you up. But yes they are a bit high in sodium. It won't kill you :) Any take out food, processed food, ect. will be high in sodium.

I told you I could elaborate. :)

Thank you so much!  I really appreciate the fast, detailed reply!

healthy choice soups are pretty low in sodium and so are most of there frozen entrees. lower than other brands i mean, but not lower than cooking fresh meals yourself.