The "Sparky Diet" and Blood Electrolyte Imbalances

This past February, Thing One announced her engagement, which was the worst kept secret in our family. Assuming a vaccine by then, we're on track to be parents of the bride in October 2021.

So when the announcement came, so to did my return to Spark with newfound zealotry and gusto. I re-embraced tracking, drinking loads of water and restricting sodium (the last because salt makes mounds of pounds stick around).

And stick around they did not. They vanished in ones, twos, threes, and fours per week. Nine months in, I have dropped nearly 60 in the course of "Shedding For the Wedding." Photography for the wedding, you know.

Enter, "Blue4You." Wellness health screening that my new employer provides as a company benefit. I was my own employer for 20 years, but sold the company now two years ago so now I do what I do (environmental consulting) as a regional VP. Once again, I have a boss (who does not interfere with what I do as long as the company makes money). I traded independence for a soft landing spot for my employees and a more stable retirement for myself in a few year.

So "Blue4You" entails a blood test for standard parameters at the local lab, after an overnight fast. I checked the box to send the report to my primary care physician. My Doc then told me that we should repeat that test, this time without fasting, as a few of the numbers looked atypical and inconsistent with my own past. So back to the lab I go...

And the second results showed the same thing. Low concentrations of sodium and potassium. (I'm not doing Keto, but this is akin to a Keto Diet side-effect in many ways. So sayeth Doctor Internet). A further chat with the Doc went something like this:

Doc (puzzled look like Admiral Kirk when first encountering the Starship Reliant in the opening battle scene in The Wrath of Khan): "... this is damn peculiar... yellow alert..."

Me (with Alex Keaton smugness): "Doc, it's the Sparky diet. Sodium restriction. Flooding myself with water. All that peeing..."

Doc (still a doubting Thomas): "Maybe, but other parameters are not looking diluted."

So (not wanting to assume that I just Keto-ed myself) the Doc directed me to eat like I would have 100 years ago. Put the Sparky diet aside for 10 days. Have a normal Thanksgiving. Salt your food liberally. Lay off the water. No more than one glass a day, beyond thirst, etc. (for now, not permanently probably). Then back to the lab 1st of December for more comprehensive blood and urine.

If I live that long I'll blog about the outcome. Meanwhile, adherents to the Sparky diet, caveat emptor I guess. More to come.