Keto Aid!

If you've been following my weight loss journey you know that after hitting a months-long plateau I decided to participate in the Operation No Scale Challenge from June 1st -July 1st. I'm supposed to be focusing on meeting my macros and how much better it makes me feel instead of just the number on the scale. The trouble is, I'm not feeling all that great! I've been having muscle aches and cramps and dizziness, especially when I stand up suddenly. Reading up on it, I found Keto, and any other diet that causes rapid weight loss or water loss, can deplete your electrolyte balance. Thankfully, this is a quick fix with some Keto-Ade. It's a terrific Keto aid, ha ha! Keto-Ade is easy to make and besides helping with muscle cramps it can ease other unpleasant side effects of Keto, Zero-Carb, and Intermittant Fasting, like constipation and insomnia. Here's the recipe:

Keto-Ade
Serves 6
6 cups water (I use distilled water)
1/2 tsp. Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt
Juice of 1 lemon or 1 TBSP bottled lemon juice
2 tsp. Young Living MegaCal calcium and magnesium supplement
10 drops Young Living Lemon Essential Oil
1/4 cup Monkfruit Sweetener, Granulated, or to taste

Mix all ingredients in a glass or metal container (NEVER use plastic with citrus juice or essential oils as it etches the plastic and causes chemicals to leak into the water) until the salt, MegaCal, and sweetener are dissolved. Drink as needed throughout the day to replenish electrolytes. One cup has 2.5 calories and a trace amount of carbohydrates. Please note, magnesium has a laxative effect, so add this drink to your diet gradually to see how much you can tolerate.

This week since my kids are out of town I  decided to try to do either an extended fast or a week of Zero Carb. Yesterday (Monday, Day 1) I tried the full fast, with just water and coffee with a splash of cream in the morning and afternoon, and Keto-Ade, but I was starving to the point I was having trouble concentrating by supper time, so I had four pieces of bacon and a few macadamia nuts. Basically, I'm doing a modified version of Dr. Atkins' "Fat Fast" with some actual fasting. His version was a 1000 calorie per day diet of as close to pure fat as possible, three meals a day, for one week.
​
My one little meal, with a few more cups of Keto-Ade before bed, was enough to fill me up and I was actually able to sleep last night. That's wonderful, because both fasting and zero-carb cause me to suffer from insomnia most of the time. So far today I've had only coffee and Keto-Ade but I'm getting really hungry so I will probably have a small zero-carb meal tonight. Yesterday I swam laps and walked and today I worked in the garden, so I may just be adding too much activity for a complete fast. I'm still barely in ketosis, which is quite disappointing. This could be due to my  little Sunday night red wine and Halo Top fest before starting my fast or possibly the sugar alcohols in the monkfruit sweetener I used in my Keto-Ade are affecting me like carbs. If I'm not deeper in ketosis within the next 12 hours or so I will either remove or change the sweetener. Monkfruit usually isn't a problem for me so I'm thinking it was my indulgence the night before my fast. 

If you wanted, you could remove the juice all together from the drink and substitute essential oil to taste and then you could change the flavor. Lime would probably be really good, or orange. Keep in mind, only Young Living developed Vitality essential oils especially for internal consumption and they are the only brand of oils I recommend. Most essential oils are NOT safe for ingestion. You can purchase the oils and MegaCal supplement from the Home page of this website. I hope you find this recipe as much of an aid to your Keto diet as I have!