Cutting Back on the Salt Habit?

oceanbreeze22

Sweets have always been an issue for me and apparently salt is bad habit I have too.

Never realized how much salt I intake or add to my food.

So, I'm wondering if any of you out here have had a bad salt habit and how have you been able to cut back your salt intake while still enjoying flavor?

I just bought some Mrs Dash for work and I have some at home too.

dogwhisperette

I have sodium marked in my food diary and this helps me alot with keeping track of how much I put in my body. After the intital shock from discovering where sodium hides I decided to make the change. I no longer add salt when I am cooking. There is usually enough in the ingredients I am using. There is a product called NO SALT for salt replacement which I don't mind but it took me some time to like it. Now that I am use to having low sodium in my food I can tell when something is high is sodium and am sooooo thristy afterwards. It takes time but its worth it. I have sodium in my diary marked as 1500mg. MFP said 2500 but I have high blood pressure so my Dr. suggested 1500. I rarely go over it. Lastly, read all the labels when grocery shopping, it will blow you away when you start to see how much sodium is out there. Good luck and I hope this helps

HeidiMightyRawr

I have this problem with salt and I don't even add any to meals, or eat ready meals often.
I just try and keep it as low as I can, you've got to have a look through your diary and work out where most of your salt comes from and whether you can live without that product, or at least cut it down. The more natural the food is, the lower the salt content will be. Most things low in salt are; fresh fruit, vegetables, meats (add seasoning yourself rather than getting already seasoned meat) pasta, rice.

Most of my salt comes from bread, sausages, gravy, protein shakes, certain cereals, pasta sauces, cheese, and prepacked frozen food such as quiche.
I've managed to find sausages, gravy, and pasta sauces that are all lower than the majority, (usually around half the sodium, but still the same great taste) I don't know if your in the UK or not but if you are I can let you know the names of the products that are reduced salt) Better still you can make your own of alot of things. Other things you just have to find a better alternative

ProTFitness

Once you cut back on sodium and you are detoxed from processed sugar and artifical sweetner You will taste what the food should taste like.

If you have something to salty or sweet you will know it. Aim for natrual sweetners like honey, real maple suryup and agava necter. THere is natrual occuring sodium in some of your veggies.

I never new how much salt i was taking in untill I added the tracker to keep track of it. Now I keep it between 1500-2000 and it was not that hard to do. I just had to be more aware of the food I was eating with high amounts in it.

patiencez2

It is a very hard habit to break. as I am sure you know from being on here. There is so much sodium in food already.
I still go over sodium a lot with out adding salt to anything. I started off taking the salt shaker off the table. I don't use salt in anything I cook.
It has taken me 5 months to get away from a salt shaker come to think of it.
I don't like Ms dash but what ever works for you. Try new spices, I use a lot of garlic and onions. Now there is just some things that you will want salt on at first. I use Sea salt grinders and just barely put salt on those things. sea salt is still bad but has less sodium in it. Try to stay away from pre packed things like TV Dinners , Anything that is prepacked has way more sodium then we need. It is a hard battle and I don't know if this has helped, Salt is just very Bad for us So Good luck and if you keep trying you will break the habit!

estrellas98

I also had a love affair with salt. I'm not going to lie, cutting back was difficult because food tasted bland. However, after about a month, my taste changed. The old sodium-laden foods I used to eat were simply too salty for me to enjoy. Tortilla chips and pizza became self-regulating because I couldn't take the sodium. The other motivation for me is watching the sodium count on MFP. I shoot for 1500 mg or less a day. It's difficult to see when that number goes over 1500!
Some things I've done are:
1. No more boxed cereal. I switched to oatmeal, which has 0mg of sodium. I do add 1/2 tsp of butter, but the sodium is still lower in the long run. When I do want cereal, I go for the organic/natural selection like "Back to Nature Granola." I get it at Kroger and it doesn't have any sodium.
2. No more soup, unless I make it myself. Boxed and canned chicken broth has a ton of sodium. I go for soups that don't necessarily have a broth base. And when I season it I use more spices and less salt. I don't cut salt out completely when I'm making soup, but I control how much I add and it's almost always less than what you'll find in canned soups.
3. When I eat out, I look up the nutrition facts before I go. Subway lists all of the nutrition facts on their sandwiches. Even the "6 grams of fat or less" sandwiches can be loaded down with salt.
4. More fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Greek plain non-fat yogurt. It's a little tangy, but add some fresh blueberries and organic granola and it'll sing.
6. Lots of water. It helps to make you feel full for longer and avoid snacking on those pre-packaged snacks.

I still allow myself to have treats now and then. Pizza is my weakness. Now when I have it I'll only have one slice, not four.

Hang in there. You'll find ways to work around the sodium.

servilia

You will find this easy once you switch to whole foods and eat as little processed food as possible. As you lower your salt intake, your taste buds and receptors will become used to it and you'll be able to taste the natural sodium in your foods. In my case I eat as little processed foods as possible. I just checked my sodium report and in 30 days I've gone over 1500mg 4 times. I think my average is about 1000mg.