How I gave up salt for a week: an editorial experiment

The editors of WANT.ua took the risk of changing their diet for a week. I decided not to eat salt for 7 days.

Diet mistakes for those who want to lose weight

It’s not a new thing for me to give up any product in my diet, because I’m one of those “always losing weight who never loses weight.” I try to adhere to proper nutrition, based on a balanced intake of proteins, fats and carbohydrates and an understanding of what, when and why to eat. However, over the previous weekend we went to barbecues a couple of times. As you know, where there are kebabs, there is wine and different snacks, so in the end I gained a couple of extra pounds. To get rid of them, I decided to give up salt for a week, since I don’t eat enough sweets.

My trainer believes (and I agree with him) that giving up salt for a long time is extremely harmful to health. In Auschwitz, people died from sodium deficiency, and in Switzerland, residents of inaccessible high mountain areas developed various abnormalities in brain function due to a lack of iodine in their bodies. Central Ukraine is also not rich in iodine content in products, so it is advisable to give up salt for no longer than a week. It was quite difficult to get used to the bland taste of salad and meat, but after 2-3 days my taste buds completely adapted.

After a week of such a diet, you begin to feel and appreciate the natural taste of foods in a new way. It turns out that I don't need that much salt to make my food taste incredibly delicious! And, yes: I lost 1.5 kilograms.

Making such restrictions is definitely useful, because they relate to a greater extent to frankly harmful products or relatively harmful ones (if they are abused). The restriction should be chosen after self-analysis: I think everyone knows about their “drug product” and some discomfort that it subsequently causes (excess weight, rashes on the face, insomnia, etc.). You should not make a 100% refusal of the product, because... our subconscious comes from childhood, when any prohibition caused a completely opposite reaction. Subsequently, after some time of such “food celibacy”, an irresistible craving for a forbidden product arises. And the reason is not so much the habit of regularly consuming a specific product, but rather a psychological factor.

Adviсe:

1. Allow yourself a prohibited product 1-2 times a week as a reward for self-discipline during the week. Or, reduce portions of the prohibited product during the day - this is an easier option. In search of a healthy alternative, you will always discover new tastes, products, recipes that are likely to suit your taste even more than the usual product.

2. The purpose of such restrictions is to improve your diet and create, on an ongoing basis, a food set from the most natural, unrefined products. Therefore, the very concept of “restriction” should be correctly replaced with a comfortable “replacement with a healthier option.”