Hydration 101: The Ultimate Guide

Hydration 101: The Ultimate Guide
Photo by manu schwendener / Unsplash

Alright, alright... so maybe it's not the "ultimate" guide to staying hydrated but after almost two and a half years on Keto we have put a lot of effort into making sure William stays hydrated. Dehydration, constipation and in some cases, kidney stones can be unfortunate side effects of being on the diet. Our Keto Kids are going through so much already, so proper hydration to help prevent these side effects has to be top of mind. And just like everything else with medical Keto, there are rules about staying hydrated.

William currently has a goal to consume a minimum of 48 oz per day. We meet this goal by breaking it down to 8 oz with each meal, on a schedule of 6 meals a day. Obviously we all know that water is the low carb king but my toddler isn't exactly begging me to drink 50 oz of water every day. Over the years I've had to get a little creative and now I get to share my favorite hydration hacks with you! So, water we waiting for? Let's get to it...

Keto Friendly Quenchers

  • Water
  • Ice Chips
  • Water Sweetened with Erythritol, Monk Fruit & Stevia (use Stevia sparingly)
  • Add Extracts and Sugar Free Syrups (no more than 15 drops a day)
  • Flavored Waters (must be caffeine, carb and calorie free)
  • Hot or Iced Caffeine-Free Herbal Tea
  • Zero Sugar Kool-Aid Jammers
  • Zero Sugar Caffeine Free Soda
  • Electrolyte Enhanced Water (365 Whole Foods and Trader Joes brand)
  • Homemade Snow Cone (shaved ice topped with a sugar-free drink ie. Poweraid Zero)
  • Homemade Ice Pops (using your favorite sugar-free drink and silicone popsicle molds)
  • Propel Unflavored Electrolyte Water
  • Hint Water (available in bottles and juice boxes)
  • Smart Water Vapor Distilled Water
  • Fruit 2-o (original, not vitamin enhanced)
  • Pure Life Natural Fruit Flavored Water
  • Gatorade Zero
  • Powerade Zero
  • Pedialyte Ice Pops (must be calculated as part of a meal)
  • Key Nutrients Keto Cocoa Powder (great hot or cold, must be calculated into a meal)
  • Sugar-Free Electrolyte Powders (currently loving the Key Nutrients brand)
  • Heavy Cream (must be calculated into a meal and can be watered down)
  • Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives (such as Almond Milk, must be calculated into a meal)
  • Sugar-Free Jello
  • Ketovie (available by prescription and must be calculated as a meal)
  • Soups
  • Smoothies
  • Yogurt (yes, yogurt counts as a liquid!)
  • Eating Foods with High Water Content**
IMPORTANT NOTE: Several of these products contain artificial sweeteners which affect everyone differently and should be used in moderation. I recommend contacting your doctor/dietician when trying new products that contain artificial sweeteners. You should also slowly incorporate drinks into your child's routine, water them down when possible and limit overall daily intake of artificially sweetened drinks. It's important to avoid agave nectar, aspartame and saccharine due to various negative effects it can have with the diet.

Hydration Hacks

  • As a personal rule of thumb I usually water down pre-made drinks and always use less than the recommended serving size for powders (unless its weight is calculated into a recipe). It's a great way to avoid over using artificial sweeteners while still providing variety.
  • Water down your heavy cream - even if you are just adding a few ounces of water. Turn the calculated heavy cream into a few ounces of "milk" followed by a juice box and BAM! you just hit 8 ounces for a single meal.
  • **Foods that can help you stay hydrated include tomatoes, watermelons, lettuce, cucumbers, celery, green peppers, cauliflower, and spinach.
  • Having trouble getting your Keto Kid to take their medications or supplements? I had my doubts when my husband suggested mixing zero sugar gingerale with William's supplements but this hack has saved us. It has just enough bubbles and sweetness to cut through bitter tasting medications such as crushed Aleve, daily baking soda doses and vitamins.
  • Find a variety of light weight, inexpensive water bottles/sippy cups. Of course a nice insulated water bottle is great to have on hand but you are going to be prepping a lot drinks, sometimes multiple in advanced for traveling/school. I prefer Take & Toss cups or reusing Good2Grow brand juice bottles. William loves picking out Good2Grow character bottles (which I empty and clean) and I love that they can be run through the dishwasher.
  • We love bringing a miniature can of zero calorie soda along with us to the movies, fairs, bowling, zoo etc to make William feel included. Just bring your can and ask for a small cup of ice from the concession stand or a vendor!
  • Make ice pops using silicone molds, craft sticks and your child's favorite keto friendly drink!
  • If you're looking for an amazing Hot Chocolate recipe, look no further! Key Nutrients has a tasty cocoa powder that's perfect for cold winter days. It's also great cold as a chocolate milk treat.
  • Serve up a bowl of cereal for breakfast! Create a recipe using heavy cream and cereal, then add a few ounces of water to your cream to make milk. William's go-to cereals are plain Cheerios and various flavors from the Catalina Crunch brand. Check out this Dark Chocolate Cereal recipe!

What's William's Favorite Drink?

William started Keto at a time when there were still grocery shortages due to the pandemic. At the time he was being very stubborn about drinking and having issues with constipation as we desperately sought a solution. His dietician suggested a brand of juice we hadn't yet tried and that was when William officially entered his Jammer Era. At first we could buy Sugar-Free Kool-Aid Jammers just about anywhere and since it was the only thing he would drink it was a battle we were willing to concede. Then just like that they disappeared off every grocery store shelf in the state. I would drive around from store to store, town to town hoping to find just one box. I literally went as far as contacting Kool-Aid customer service for distribution information and came very close to ordering them online for a whopping $25 per box. As the months went on, our amazing family joined forces as we all scoured our respective corners of the state in search of Jammers, buying up every last box we could find. It's sort of funny to look back on but it made all the difference at the time. It takes a village.

Not much has changed over the years - William still loves his Jammers and it's the easiest way to get him to drink a few ounces. I often wonder what our local grocery store thinks of me every time I clean out the SF Jammer shelf while quitely contemplating how much we've spent on juice boxes over the years. Every so often, while standing at the register, I'll start running the rough numbers and then quickly decide I'd rather not know - all in the name of Keto!

happy hydrating!

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