Can I lose my "fat adaptation" status by cheating a few days in a row?

(Bansaw) #1

I’ve been on Keto for 6 months now and felt some benefit, like weight loss and blood glucose levels going down nicely from pre-diabetes to just above normal.

At Christmas now I have had one or two cheat meals, Indian curry with rice, and some bread, and today some sushi-type rolls with white rice.

I am worried about my fat adaptation status. I’d hate to lose that and have to spend a month getting back into it. I’ve not gone crazy and had sugary anything like ice cream, chips or cake, but definitely some bread and rice.

I’m guessing the answer to this question on losing status is “depends” because we’re all different, but any extra insight would be appreciated.

(Jane) #2

Nah, you’ll be fine as long as the trend doesn’t continue. Get back on strict keto as soon as you can. If you keep putting it off it just gets harder.

(Carl Keller) #3

A lot of literature suggest fasting is the fastest way (no pun intended) to get back on track. 16-24 hours will allow your liver to deplete the stored glycogen from those excess carbs pretty quickly… but it’s not necessary.

It might be a day or so before everything goes back to the way it was if you just keep doing what you were doing. Just KCKO.

#4

Hmm, I think you know the answer, are you just wanting someone to somehow validate your falling off the wagon experience :slight_smile: with words like “ah, don’t worry about it we all do it …”. Actually not all do.

And sugar is not your only enemy. Modern corn, wheat, soy hardly resemble the corn, wheat, soy of yesteryear, all heavily modified, and not for the better, found in almost everything and wheat products will raise your blood sugar faster than sucrose (sugar). Yes you read that right, check the gi (glycemic index) of wheat versus sucrose. Big insulin rush.

Yeah you’ll probably live through all this but why… why are you doing it to yourself … why not explore some extra funky keto recipes … something really new and cool …

(Bansaw) #5

Wheat (bread) I have really limited. Its white rice mainly.

#6

There are very few things in life where months worth of effort can be undone in a few days. The gains of 6 months of going to the gym can’t be undone by 3 days of lying in bed. Not brushing your teeth for a few days won’t cause decay if you have a normal routine of good dental hygiene. Months of steady weight loss can’t be undone by a binge eating episode. Our physiology is designed to handle extreme environmental variations, periods of famine and periods of abundance, whilst maintaining a relatively narrow range of homeostasis.

Your insulin resistance wasn’t created by a few days of indulgence. Nor was it improved by a few days of strict dieting. Our habits- what we do most of the time, determine our results.

(Wenchie) #7

Hey love! Well done for 6 months! I would not be too hard on myself. Ja ja ja… we all know that there are better and not so good choices and yes yes yes it most likely would have been the better choice to stay of the carbs but seriously COME ON! we all need to find a way to get comfy with things and a few meals over Christmas will not kill the good effort you put into it. Yes, maybe not everyone „cheats“ but you know what? Most of us do and then we just do something about it and off you go. This is my 2nd Christmas now on Keto and almost my 2nd year on Keto done. I decided to have carbs and am preparing for a New Years fast… and things will be just fine. I made this choices before and it worked for me (over 70pounds down)… it can’t become a habit though.

Make sure to see this carby meals as they should be… ideally not happening but if the happen? KCKO and relax and like others said here… a good fast can help very well to get back into the good routine and lifestyle. Merry Christmas love!

(Bruce) #8

Don’t worry. Get back to some really strict meals for a week to deplete your stored glycogen. I had a few cheat items at Christmas too. Mainly good, fatty lamb, Brussels sprouts with bacon, cauliflower, etc but I did have a roast potato and a roast parsnip plus some cake and Christmas pudding. I suffered for it gut wise and regret it but don’t worry you’ll get back on track. These cheats really aren’t worth it (as I found out). You forget just how many issues were cleared up by diet change.

(Sheri Knauer) #9

Its all about metabolic flexibility. Once you are fat adapted and have been so for a while, having some carbs here and there should not derail you. If you continue to indulge in said carbs, then perhaps, some derangement will occur. This article is good at explaining metabolic flexibility. https://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-to-metabolic-flexibility/

(mole person) #10

Absolutely not. Fat adaptation takes over a month to get into because you are changing at the cellular level. This is not something that gets changed back quickly. It’s not the same as going out of ketosis (which you can do at the drop of a hat with a single carby meal or chocolate bar). But getting back into ketosis is fast and easy. All you do is start eating low carb again and 24-48 hrs later you are right back on track.

I’m never very strict when I go and visit my family. I try to stay low carb but I’m pretty sure I’m not really in ketosis. This happens several times a year for a week at a time and I have zero trouble going back to keto and OMAD the day I return. There is no question that I am still fat adapted.

#11

When I started keto, I could go about half a day ‘off the plan’ before getting out of ketosis. But it was easy to get back in as long as my break was less than 2-3 days. Now, it takes me about 2 days to get out of keto and I can get back in as long as I do it within a week.

Last month, I moved homes and was doing a lot of traveling and I legit fell all the way out of keto. Felt rotten.

(Daisy) #12

Does anyone know: after you lose your fat adaptation, does it take the same amount as before to get back adapted, or does it happen sooner. I have searched and searched and can’t find any info on it. I’ve been back strict for a week after 5 weeks of not so strict lol

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #13

I dunno that anyone has studied it. Let’s say that it will vary from user to user, depending on a number of factors, some completely unknown, and that your mileage will vary.

I’ve been completely off track for a few weeks, and largely off track since mid November. I’ll let you know.

(mole person) #14

As @LeCheffre said, I don’t think it’s been studied. However my guess is that it takes about the same amount of time for your body to shift from efficient fat metabolism back to efficient glucose metabolism as it did to go the other way. Phinney has said in several places that getting un-fat-adapted is a pretty fast process but I never saw where he was getting that info from.

(Daisy) #15

Yeah, it took like a week to get un-adapted lol

(mole person) #16

Then you’re very lucky, It took me a month before i stopped hitting the wall two minutes into my crossfit sessions, but other than the effect on my exercising I didn’t really suffer that much. However, before i was fat adapted I had no idea how much of an effect on my mood and energy the carby diet had been having. I think I’d feel the difference of going back to un-fat-adapted more keenly if I did it again.

(Daisy) #17

Lol auto correct changed un to in. I fixed it. No no, it took 6 weeks for me to get fat adapted, 1 week to get out of it. lol. I’m hoping it won’t take as long this time. I’m over the hypoglycemia and this time I swear I’m never letting myself get un-adapted again!