Cheat days


(Chris) #3

A “cheat” would imply a shortcut in order to get ahead.

That’s not what this is.


(Natasha) #4

I found that I really had to discipline myself in the beginning but my sweet cravings are now much more under control. For me, it helped to cut out all treats (obviously regular treats but also ‘keto friendly’ ones) for the first 6 weeks or so. The exception to this was that I drank (still do) one cup of peppermint and licorice herbal tea every evening, those ingredients are naturally sweet but in the early weeks I also used to add 4 drops of toffee flavour stevia.

There are so many really tasty keto friendly dessert recipes, some people find these useful to satisfy sweet cravings. It doesn’t work for me though, the more I eat that stuff, the more I want it and recently a bowl of delicious orange chocolate ganache (keto) humbled me into the realisation that I am still vulnerable to cravings and am not yet master of my food choices! Keto friendly replacements might work for you though so you could try searching some recipes?


(Avocado a day keeps the doctor away.) #6

I don’t “cheat” but I do allow for “treats”. They’re not scheduled and they’re not whole days. It’s a judgement call as to whether something or some event is worth indulging for. For example, I did have a slice of my brother’s birthday cake Monday but won’t have anything but turkey and bacon brussel sprouts on Thanksgiving because I’m not a fan of Thanksgiving foods so they’re not worth eating to me.


(Carl Keller) #7

Hello April and welcome. :slight_smile:

Whenever I found myself craving sweets, when I first started keto, I would snack on pork rinds, cheese sticks, lower carb nuts or deviled eggs. But I wouldn’t gorge on those things. 3-4 nuts, 3-4 pork rinds or a few deviled egg halves etc and the craving would be manageable. After about a week and half, I found the cravings were just a memory and my body and mind had accepted that fat was going to be the primary fuel source.

Most of us have endured cravings for most of our lives, but I can assure you that it’s possible to put them behind you. You just have to keep pumping in the fat every time your brain starts pouting for carbs. It will adjust.

Initally, I don’t believe there’s such a thing as too much fat (as long as you stay under 20 net carbs), but later too much fat can be counterproductive to losing weight simply because your body is running on the fat in your belly as opposed to the fat on your body. But first things first.


(Frank) #8

I’m not sure if this is a positive or not but the longer I’ve gone without regular sweets, the worse I feel when I do have them. It has become a self reinforcing issue at this point. Sugar just gives me gut rot, so now I avoid it because of that alone.


(Brennan) #9

I started making my own chocolates from scratch. Cacao butter, cocoa powder, powdered Swerve, just a bit of coconut oil to give them a nice gloss finish. I’ve been experimenting with using coconut cream powder to make a Keto friendly white chocolate. I do it in a glass bowl over a pot on the stove and monitor the temperature to keep it under ~95-100 F so it stays tempered and the finished product won’t melt in your hand. *I haven’t got a perfected recipe yet.

I find that making the treats from scratch especially when I get the cravings, tricks my brain into postponing the craving. Almost like I’m negotiating with my lizard brain, which I guess I am. By the time I make them, clean up afterwards and they have set in the fridge I’ve had time to consider the craving and I don’t end up binging or overdoing it.

A simpler option as a pop/soda replacement that I’ve been experimenting with is sparkling water and extracts (maple, vanilla, mint etc…) with a liquid sweetener (I use SkinnyGirl Stevia extract). Vanilla, sweetener and sparkling water tastes a little like root beer. Be careful with mint or peppermint extract, a little goes a long way and it can easily overpower the drink.

[Yes I know most extracts have alcohol in them, I’m only talking 1/8 - 1/4 of a tsp of each. It doesn’t kick me out of ketosis but I wouldn’t take it while fasting.]


(Heather Meyer) #10

Lets see… I cheated last April
Its now the end of November
I didnt stop cheating until now and i also gained 60lbs in the process
Cheating can be a glorious demise.
I wouldnt recommend it


(Alex ) #11

for me a cheat would be to just eat dramatically more calories outside of my general targeted deficit but to still stay mostly on plan with the food groups - one of the reasons I chose ketosis lifestyle is because I love meat, so if I REALLY needed a blowout, it would be a meat fest - but I still wouldnt play around with more carbs, it would be fatal and I couldnt cope with being put back by days on end.

And if i REALLY needed a drink along with this, it would be neat vodka on ice… but I honestly have no plans to cheat, quite happy with things as they are.


#12

Yep, as a few others have said. If you feel like cheating just treat yourself with some extra special keto cheats. Tonight as a treat I made my wife and I a keto friendly lemon and strawberry cheesecake. All keto ingredients but I tell you, it felt like we were cheating.


(Laura) #13

I agree that Keto and ‘cheat’ days are not compatible. You have to get the taste for sugar and processed carbs out of your system. I remember that it took me almost a year to get over bread cravings.

The good news is that resisting the craving gets easier the longer you abstain. I found that sugar free jello with whipped heavy cream folded in was a godsend, as well as heavy cream whipped into a mousse (I would add cocoa and splenda). Now, I find that if I even taste something with sugar, my stomach burns.

Just hang in there and you will feel so much better once you are clear of all the junk.


#14

Ditto! :heart:


(less is more, more or less) #15

Here’s my “Cheat Day” ice cream:

In other words, you cheat yourself and help nothing with this “cheat” nonsense.


(April T) #16

I have gotten alittle better resisting stuff I’m not supposed to eat


(less is more, more or less) #17

I believe most of us have been in your shoes. Early on, the craving for sweets can be unnerving. Yet, it will come. Hang in there!


(John) #18

Since I know some of my faults and weaknesses from prior weight-loss (and regain) cycles, I chose to approach this new way of eating as though high-carb foods (and especially sweets) were an addictive substance, that I had sworn off of forever.

So thinking about “cheat days” early on in the process would be like a recovering alcoholic looking forward to “drunk days.” I think it is a dangerous mind-set to be thinking about how you can make excuses to go back to bad dietary choices. I chose to exterminate my cravings rather than think about how to give into them.

You may have more restraint than me, but to be successful I need to fully abstain, and develop new habits and new food choices.

If I had to pick one thing that is a predictor of eventual failure with this diet, it would be how early and how often someone was looking for ways to cheat. It tells me the commitment to persevere and succeed is not yet there.

That being said, I do have a planned cheat day scheduled. Two years from yesterday, if I am at my goal weight (102 pounds lower than where I am today), I will eat ice cream and cake on my birthday. Reasonable portions, of course, and only that one day. Then back to meat and salad.


(Robert C) #19

Dr. Boz give some really good reasons to not go into / out of ketosis in this video.


#20

If you crave sugar, try fiber/protein dense items like Lupin flour pancakes with Cafe Al Fresco syrup on them. The syrup is available at Dollar Tree for a $1, but people Online will try and charge up to $8 per bottle!

Fry your pancakes in butter and even spread with cream cheese to bust the desire for sugar.


(Zenjen) #21

I advice you not to have cheat days.
I cheated once (after 2 months being on keto) and the food just wasn’t as good as i expected it to be, i was feeling bloated and tired and the next day i felt like i was ill. It also kicks you out of ketosis and it is really not worth it. You can have so many good meals, even desserts that are keto friendly. For almost every food you can find a suubstitute recipe. So if you crave some non-keto food, try to find a compensation for it. :slight_smile:


#22

I’m sure its different for everyone but, personally, for this lifestyle to be sustainable means me doing a lot of cooking. That way I come up with alternatives to the things I’ve previously largely denied myself in an effort to stay slim. I have sweets, but I make them myself and I use sweeteners instead of sugar, almond flour instead of regular flour etc. There are thousands of gorgeous keto pudding and sweet recipes online so the next time you feel like a ‘cheat’ have a browse and get cooking.

It does get easier, in the beginning you look at all the things you can’t have and feel deprived. Soon you’ll start to see all of the wonderful things you can have without feeling bad afterwards. Overcoming a lifetime of guilt associated with eating high fat foods takes some doing but soon you’ll be experience the joy of slapping vast quantities of cheese or cream or whatever takes your fancy on a plate in front of other people and see the look of incredulity as they wonder how the hell you keep so slim!


(Natasha) #23

This is exactly how I feel!