So sorry to hear about your heart, Mike. Glad no stent or bypass required. Will you be okay on a restricted diet reading about good food you can't eat?

Exercise is a good thing. Once you get into a routine, you'll enjoy the regimen.

Italian Cook--The yeast does not depend on the salt to make the bread rise, and too much salt can affect yeast negatively. The salt is there in part to control the yeast's rise. A lot of bread recipes strike me as having too much yeast. When I reduce the yeast, I also reduce the salt a bit. However, I have read that salt is important to a bread's structure as well as to its taste, so I proceed cautiously. I suspect that the yeast-salt issue is partly because recipes are designed for the "one-hour" first and second rises. Home bakers have been trained to be impatient.

Tuscan bread does not have salt. I also have a no-salt bread from Bernard Clayton's first edition of his bread book (not in the second) that I used to make for a friend's mother when she would visit her daughter. It did not have the domed rise of a regular bread.

It helps to know that very few of us are going to consume the entire loaf of bread or every roll in a recipe in a single sitting.

In cooking, I have tended to limit salt, even before I met my husband who limits it due to high blood pressure. (Of course, now The Powers That Be are saying that in half the cases of high blood pressure, limiting salt intake makes no difference. Sigh.) Even without limiting it for my husband, I would be limiting salt for me, as it acerbates a facial nerve issue that I have. I like Penzey's Mural Seasoning, which I use on eggs and in my salmon patties. It's a no-go for Mike, however, since it contains garlic. Penzey's Tuscan Seasoning is no-salt, and it is my go-to for pizza topping for me. They also have a Forward seasoning that I need to try that is salt-free. It helps to stay away from most poultry seasoning, which has a lot of salt; instead, I do my own combination of rosemary, sage, thyme, sweet curry (maybe I should check the ingredients on the curry), and fresh parsley.

What we miss most are potato chips! We used to treat ourselves when we were in Indiana by buying "evil potato chips," but we agreed once we moved here permanently to banish them from the pantry. Tortilla chips are an occasional treat, but I buy the brand with the least salt. For snacks, I've been making my own crackers, and that helps for controlling salt, as well as what kind of fat is used.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.

I've been cooking with low sodium stuff for years. And being Asian, there's a ton of soy sauce in everything! Even with bread baking, I tend to go lower on the salt. I do watch the rise by watching the bucket instead of time. Like Bakeraunt, I do miss the chips and when I do have something like that, I'm shocked at how salty everything tastes. The other day, I bought a bag of sweet potato chips. Mentally I was thinking this would be sweet and crunchy. First bite, my thought was - "way too salty!!!" I love to roast vegetables with a simple toss of oil, pepper, and granulated garlic. Just a little bit salt. Even with the low sodium soy sauce, I tend to half the amount asked for in the recipe. Sometimes I just want to taste the actual food and not the salt. Or I'll cook the dish and add the salt as a finisher.

Good luck Mike. I’m sure you will do well.

I’m just trying to get back into the good eating habits I learned while doing South Beach. One of my big goals is always to try to drink more water. The other is to get back into a regular routine of walking. I have a yoga class once a week , but would love to be able to fit in more.

The one thing I’ve put into my planner is my shoulder, neck and hand exercises 3 times a week - they only take about 15 minutes, so I should be able to stick to it. My therapist broke them up into 3 different routines, so I won’t get bored.

I wish everyone a Happy And Healthy New Year.

I feel fortunate to live near a gym that offers several group classes. If you can't self motivate the classes are the way to go. Exercise has helped me physically as well as mentally. It's kinda like brushing your teeth, you have to do it regularly. It's amazing what it can do for you. Good luck on your journey, Mike.