A different type of Thanksgiving Post

#1

Prior to posting this I spent a few minutes reading “thanksgiving” posts but didn’t see anything along the lines of my questions so I figured I’d create a new post. Some background, I’ve been eating keto for 5 weeks today. I’m down 20 lbs, many inches and overall feeling pretty good. My goal is to lose another 45 lbs.

Thanksgiving is MY holiday; I love to smoke the bird (brined in Jack Daniels and Maple Syrup), I make my grandfathers sausage dressing, Jack Daniels yams, a killer gravy with the drippings from the smoked bird, have all kinds of great wines and spirits etc. We really do Thanksgiving-up up right. Needless to say I won’t be eating/drinking Keto on Thanksgiving, I fully intend on taking the day off from keto or any other meal plan and just enjoy the day with my family and out of town guests, might even enjoy the next day leftovers as well. Then back to keto.

My question is, I’ve been staying around 20 total grams of carbs since day one, will my body go into any kind of “reaction” from this sudden one day carb load? Like reverse keto flu? Also, getting back into ketosis, anything I should worry about there? I’m thinking I’ll fast to get back in.

Thanks in advance!

(Erin Macfarland ) #2

Since you’re only five weeks in you may not even be fully fat adapted yet. So having a large amount of carbs on Thanksgiving will be a shock to your body. Everyone has to do this in whatever way works best for them. But you most likely will feel pretty awful the day after and will probably be very hungry too. So be prepared for that. It might be difficult to get back to keto after as well . I have found over the years that the day of eating “like everyone else” is usually not worth what happens the next day. There are many, many keto friendly holiday recipes out there. But, ultimately it’s up to you. Good luck and have a wonderful holiday!

#3

@emacfarland - Thank you for your reply. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know what “fully fat adapted” was so I had to do some quick reading on it. Yes, I’m no too sure I’m fully fat adapted yet. In my reading I found that it can take weeks to months. The one sign that I do have is that I’m rarely hungry; after eating dinner around 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. my next meal is typically lunch between 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. the following day. Or, if I do eat breakfast I usually don’t eat again until dinner. Other than that I’m not sure if I am or not, however, based on my reading I’m more than likely not.

Yea that not feeling well the next day was something that I’m worried about. I’m thinking I’ll practice moderation, limit my alcohol consumption and pray that I’m fat adapted. Hopefully my being religious about keeping total carbs under 20 has helped out (wishful thinking here).

#4

I seem to remember Dr. Adam Nally, from the older Ketotalk podcast, mention that a carb binge and dehydration are a bad combo. I’m thinking it was in relation to gallstones or kidney stones, and/or gout. So make sure you drink plenty of water.

(Erin Macfarland ) #5

@KetoInVegas you’re welcome. I’m glad that you were willing to look into how becoming fat adapted works, it helps to understand that this process is not immediate and takes time to reach maximum efficacy. Honestly, I have been at this for a very long time and know what it feels like when you eat “all the carbs” or even a higher amount of carbs than you normally eat. You’ll feel it no doubt. It won’t be the end of the world but you’ll probably feel like sh*t for at least a day after, and most likely your hunger will ramp up too. Many people take days off for holidays or special occasions. But after a time you might find you have no desire to eat the high carb or high sugar foods you once enjoyed on these occasions. It’s like drinking too much…usually the hangover is enough to keep you from throwing back booze for a while.

(Doug) #6

No way to tell for sure in advance, you’ll just have to try it :slightly_smiling_face:. I’m doing the same as you - letting it all hang out, not worrying about anything on Thanksgiving. Overall, I’m a badly inconsistent keto eater, and have gone “in and out” many times. I feel comparatively sluggish the next day after eating carbohydrates, but not “bad” at all. No problems at all jumping right back on the keto horse or fasting.

#7

Thought I’d update this thread. Had a great Thanksgiving w/loved ones. Threw keto out the window for the meal and then had a bit too much wine the following day. Felt a bit tired for a couple days after (not sure if that was the meal/booze or just the booze). By Sunday I was back on track. Did stick test and ketones dipped a little, they’re back to moderate/large now, now weight gain etc., no worse for wear I suppose and had a very nice holiday.