Cheat days?

(Scott) #21

I prefer the term “going off plan” . People don’t cheat by accident they preplan it.

(Carl Keller) #22

I think it’s just natural to not want to fully give up things you love/are addicted to. I had this mentality when I started but the deeper I got into this way of eating, the more benefits I started noticing. It was then that I noticed I wasn’t missing fried chicken, ice cream and everything potatoes. With all due respect, I don’t think it’s fair to tell someone this WOE might not be for you when the other WOE is full of health consequences.

(Kassandra) #23

PREACH THANK YOU.
Thats how you explain things to people not just throw off and answer with a negative outcome.
Just dont answer then

(Full Metal KETO AF) #24

I also do not think of a LITTLE holiday indulgence as “cheating” as if you’re being dishonest. Personally I try to stay mostly keto on holidays but maybe allow 50-75 carbs at a holiday gathering. I skip the pie, well may a very small piece, have a little mash potatoes or sweet potatoes and I don’t stress about it. But I don’t totally binge out. Never felt bad afterwards and went straight back to my strict 20 carb regimen.

I know this is not workable for everyone but it is fine for me, and I enjoy the holiday. And I am usually running my ass off on a holiday cooking dinner for family and I have to cook “off plan” some but always sneak some keto cooking in for everyone to make sure I don’t go too far out there into Carbland.

(Mark Rhodes) #25

I have never had a cheat day in over two years. I see others who are more metabolically flexible than I am have stray days. I consider them LCHF and not Keto. There are some very positive aspects to being strict keto as there are to being LCHF. As has been said. Go keto for 90-180 days. Then decide what you want to do.

(Amy) #26

I feel the same way! Unless one’s metabolism is extremely dysfunctional, it seems pyschologically unhealthy to label our food choices that way.

I do have regular days where I eat more carbs. I don’t consider it cheating because I have the metabolic flexibility to eat some carbs without ill effects. In fact, my hormones function better with some carby days, however a “carby” day for me still is way less than the average American diet, and I still spend most of my days in ketosis.

The thought of giving up our favorite foods is daunting at first. Personally, I now prefer keto pizza and burgers over grain-filled options. Potatoes, wine, fruit, or gluten-free pie is what I choose to indulge in occasionally.

(Ken) #27

After adaptation, usually taking around a couple of months, you can start limited consumption of carbs for metabolic purposes. I recommend starting with one carb meal per week, working up over time to eating carbs on the weekends. Even this recommendation is subjective, as it really depends on your degree of metabolic derangement. Getting to the point of eating.carbs on the weekend is for when you’ve lost your excess fat, hormones are normalized, and you consider yourself to be in Maintenance.

The exception is when you experience negative effects while still overweight, which I experienced after two years and losing 180 lbs. I had to add some periodic carbs in to.lose an additional 60 lbs.

(Scott) #28

I don’t call it cheating but if I want a beer I have a beer. I know it has carbs in it but I drink it and move on, or go back to the fridge for another.

(John) #29

There is a difference between a planned carb refeeding day because you are weightlifting or doing endurance training, versus “go eat pizza and cookies.”

If you are just wanting to indulge in foods that you shouldn’t be eating because you aren’t ready to give them up, then you are at a higher risk of going back to your old ways of eating or not seeing the success you are looking for.

If you are just doing a keto diet as an otherwise metabolically healthy person and it is part of a weightlifting or running routine, and you are trying to get ripped or shredded or whatever the fitness gurus call it, then you can probably eat more carbs at regular intervals after you have become metabolically adaptated to fat burning.

Me personally - I am doing this to lose weight, and I have a significant amount to lose, so I am not doing “cheat days.”

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #30

On other diets, perhaps cheat days are a necessity. On a well-formulated ketogenic diet, they are neither necessary nor desirable. Most people find that eating 20 g/day of carbohydrate, or even less than that, is actually not difficult at all. After all, the body has no need of carbohydrate whatsoever, and there is no such thing as a carbohydrate deficiency disease.

Because of the greatly reduced carbohydrate intake, a well-formulated ketogenic diet is a low-insulin diet, which reduces systemic inflammation, stimulates the body’s defenses against oxidative stress, regulates lipid levels, helps reverse arterial plaque, lowers insulin-resistance, reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks, provides fuel to the brain, and can even improve athletic performance. Part of the process of metabolic healing involves shedding excess fatty acids stored in the adipose tissue.

Given all these benefits of lowered insulin, it would seem counter-intuitive to return to eating, even for only a short period, the foods that caused all those health problems in the first place.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #31

I dove into keto nine months ago - for both health and vanity reasons. First higher carb day was around three months in, just a few bites of someone’s leftover pasta. Probably one glass of milk a month. I love tamales but just eat the insides and lose the corn. The longer you do keto the more motivated you will be to stay on plan. I really do not feel like I am missing anything. There are places where I can get lettuce-wrapped burgers. I make them that way at home. If someone orders a pizza, I scrape off the meat. That works for me. But you have to be committed.

(Brian) #32

If pizza is what you want to cheat with, explore a variation of fathead pizza. If sweets is what you want to cheat with, explore one of the thousands of keto friendly recipes online.

There really isn’t a lot you can’t find a decent substitute for if you really feel like you need it.

For most, a single meal isn’t likely to make that big of a difference. But if it’s just a matter of a particular food, there may be a substitute you don’t have to think of as a cheat at all.

Good luck!

(Kassandra) #33

Thank you so much!!
I really do appreciate it! :slight_smile:

(Kristin) #34

I’m leary of cheat DAYS. A minimally cheat MEAL once every week or two AFTER fat adapted seems to work for me. And, what I mean by minimally cheat meal, I mean some hummus with chicken shawarma, or some coleslaw with pulled pork, or a small piece of chocolate flourless cake after eating riceless sushi.

What I don’t mean is pigging out on pizza. Tried that, and it put me back into the hell that is diverticulitis. Who knew? Well, I do now. That was a recent fluck up of mine. Still learning.

(Pri ) #35

Keto is science. If u want to stay in fat burning mode u can’t cheat. As soon as u eat carb u body start burning glycogen not fat. Again it will take u few days or week to get into ketosis. So u will go circle :o: if u cheat every 2 week.

(Carl Keller) #36

Some fitness folks do suggest increasing carbs after a high impact workouts. Peter Attia MD even eats nuts during his workout to replace glycogen that his body is using since the body prefers to use glucose during high intensity activities like sprinting or biking uphill etc. The rest of the time the body is quite ok using ketones for energy. The thing with glucose is, even if we are not eating foods that give us quick glucose, our body is pretty amazing at generating it’s own supply, from either lactic acid or protein. It’s not as fast as say, eating a bunch of nuts after a workout, but the glucose you do use during high intesity activities will get replaced.

I honestly don’t know how well this works or how much it affects your state of ketosis, but I know there’s quite a few articles/videos out there on the subject…but I would hardly call it cheating if you are eating for a purpose.

Thomas DeLauer has a pretty good video on this subject that you may find interesting. Please note he uses the word “theory” a lot, LOL:

(Amy) #37

Not necessarily. I can eat a bowl of rice for dinner, and be back in ketosis before my next meal, 16 hours later. However, I’m not overweight and do not have metabolic issues. Fat-burning status is not as easy to lose as ketosis.

(Running from stupidity) #38

Yes, but “get into” and get BACK into" are different worlds, in addition to n=1 issues.

#39

Kass, do what works for you but don’t start complaining if cheating causes a stall or makes you feel bad. It’s that simple.

It’s not cheating, it’s your choice to eat what you do.

That said, when I “choose” it is usually in the form of eating more vegetables or more protein. I save the sugary treats and dense carbs for holidays and very special occasions.

You can do this. Evoke that old principle — discipline.

And look into extended fasting when you’re up for it.

(mole person) #40

Ditto to this. I get back into ketosis in a flash. Here is an example. I’ve just had a bad stomach bug that made eating most things a problem so I gave myself a break and got some saltine crackers which I’ve used when sick before. Last night I hat an entire sleeve of them. That’s 84 grams of carb and I’d had another 5 or so from a bit of beef stew as well. So about 90 grams of carbs. Less then 18 hrs later I tested at 6 mmol. Like @mossypockets I’ don’t have metabolic issues, so maybe it takes slightly longer for others, but it absolutely doesn’t take weeks to get back into ketosis after an off meal.