The idea that salt is bad for you is a myth -- unless your kidneys don't work right or you're not drinking enough water.

I treat salt like a food group. I eat heavily salted foods and add MORE from the salt shaker. I like the crunchiness of the salt crystals between my teeth and am not really happy eating foods that lack that little crunch. I put salt on everything.

My blood pressure is 100/70 -- this or very close to it is the reading I get every time I go to the doctor.

Just drink plenty of water and you'll be fine.

As for artificially sweetened foods -- there's something to be said for giving up all artificial sweeteners (and not just aspartame, as Dr. Atkins requires). A lot of folks (including me) find that consuming sweet-tasting foods triggers unreasonable appetite and makes it hard to stay within a reasonable calorie range for the day. The last time I ate an Atkins Endulge peanut butter cup I ended up having three whole packages of them! That's just my experience, though -- you may be able to handle the fake sweets better than I can.