Cheat meals

(Delbert Carr) #1

I am guessing this has been covered a lot already but I want to ask again in a slightly different way. If a cheat meal is unavoidable 1 time a month due to a stubborn wife is it even worth going keto?

#2

It’s totally worth to follow my ideal woe even if I go off all the time…
It may be a big different for someone else but once per month? :smiley: That’s about nothing. As long as one can handle it but if it’s painful, why would one do it? That’s like being something intolerant, one just doesn’t do it (I know some people do but I don’t consider it the right way… I love food too but not if it very obviously and seriously hurts me).

It’s extremely rarely unavoidable if one puts their mind on it IMO (depends a lot on the circumstances though but most of us can choose what we eat), I mean, beyond our personal things. It’s unavoidable for me to eat fruit sometimes but it’s on me…

You see what benefits keto brings to you. Even fat adaptation will happen without those 6-8-whatever months of CONSTANT keto. I didn’t go off in my 7 weeks but apparently, even if I did, it would have happened, just a bit later.
My body seems to like very low bet carb from non-animal sources on MOST days. The longer I was very low, the more carbs I can handle for a short time. It seems it’s some weekly average for me or something! Others may work in opposite ways, one should figure out what works for them (or just not going off, cool if one can do it). So even if I just doing my best possible diet for 5-6 days a week does good, I feel fine. If I ate higher-carb all the time, I quickly would feel worse, among other problem.

I understand the charm of doing something perfectly but just doing our best or close with the occasional “fail” (I let everyone to decide if it’s fail for them. it’s definitely not cheat for me, it’s food, I don’t cheat, maybe I decide on things, maybe accidents happen but no big deal as long as I don’t stray too far) still may bring great success. And for some of us, doing the diet perfectly is more harm than use. I do need some off eating - but my default woe is almost exactly carnivore so a bit more restrictive…

I could outstubborn nearly anyone (one of our cats is where I am not sure) especially if it’s my food where I am the single authority but it’s just me. I am still influenced by my SO’s shopping habits a bit - but it’s actually on me, I just can’t resist some items he brings.

Oh! But it’s still important not going too far. Eating some more carbs is one thing but you shouldn’t feel that it’s an off day so you can just stop trying… I had such years, I made sure I use the off days to the fullest and some more sometimes… Well, don’t do that. Unless you know what you are doing. Tasting something on top of your very fine keto food has a bigger chance to feel good than going very overboard. Whatever it means for you. But if tasting something carby makes you feel bad, physically or some other way, don’t do even that. Well, tasting something may feel much worse than eating a lot of something else even if they are both carby… Hopefully you have options to choose from…

#3

Yes it is worth going keto.

Is your wife forcing you to drink,too? My wife sometimes tries.

(Joey) #4

Sure, as noted above, it’s worth it.

But more importantly, changing the ground rules with a loved one who doesn’t love us back the way we require is also worth it.

If your wife is “stubborn” about your wanting to take good care of your health, then she’s also likely ruining other aspects of your life that you hold dear. :vulcan_salute:

(KM) #5

Pretty much going to echo what everyone else is saying here. It’s definitely still worth it. Especially if you are already fat adapted and comfortably in ketosis most of the time, the body seems to bounce back to that state quickly even with a few intentional or unintentional missteps as long as that cheat doesn’t trigger cravings and poor eating for any length of time.

But yeah. Having a spouse who is unsupportive either through lack of interest or outright disagreement is hard. The sunshine of your life … who’s apparently intent on hacking 20 years of health off the far end of it. Not a very comfortable place to be.

(Delbert Carr) #6

Thank you all for the replies! Sounds like I should consider a therapist to address this more appropriately! Lol

(Joey) #7

Ha! Folks come for the keto tips. They stay for the family counseling. :wink:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

I would say so. You aren’t going to stuff yourself with glazed doughnuts, ice cream, and chocolate cake in favour of healthy meat, non-keto potatoes, and and a couple of (possibly keto) vegetables. are you? If you are avoiding sugar, starches, and grains at all other times of the month, then you should be fine.

As a completely separate matter, it might–or might not; tread very carefully here–be worth discussing the reason that someone who loves you is determined to force upon you foods that you have determined are not good for you, even if it’s only once a month.

I’m sure it’s not consciously ill-intentioned, but I have seen similar cases, where (for example) the immediate family of an alcoholic trying to get sober will take every opportunity to urge the alcoholic to drink. There can be something in the family dynamics that makes family members feel threatened or judged by someone’s effort to get healthier. Urging a diabetic to eat dessert is a similar situation.

Part of it may have to do with the fact that the damage is not immediately visible. After all, no one urges people who are allergic to seafood or nuts to eat those foods, because the effects are swift and gruesome. Watching someone you love go into anaphylactic shock is a life-altering experience, even if the loved one survives.

#9

The isn’t a WOE / Diet on the planet where people follow them 100% of the time, that’s literally not real. 1 day a month has zero effect on anything.

#10

One cigarette or one beer does not matter much either.

The Cheat Night may turn memorable for other reasons,too: That sudden carb load would make me pass out within half an hour. Been there.

#11

Sudden carb load isn’t a problem for me unless I go REALLY far - but some items offered by relatives must be rejected, I have learned that. Even my high-carber SO can get unwell from certain store-bought low quality sugary items as he isn’t used to them.
So it’s important what to eat when adding too many carbs. I could have handled 5 as many from better sources.

(Steve L.) #12

I often suggest to those who have adopted a ketogenic lifestyle for their health to share the virta page with family and friends who have questions about this approach. Even if the person isn’t signed up with virta herself/himself, there is good advice for loved ones.

I also recommend that family and friends with questions visit the dietdoctor page about keto diets for beginners.

If they spend time with these two sources of information and still have questions, I pick YouTube videos that answer their specific followup questions.

For a health care provider who might be concerned about someone on a ketogenic diet, I strongly recommend that folks refer their provider to the free CME course offered by the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners:

(Jim Fife) #13

I dunnow, I guess I’m an outlier, here. I’m a pretty-low-carb omnivore; my idealized meal is a rainbow salad swimming in olive oil and a nice fat(ty) steak. What I commit to is metabolic flexibility. I have found I can take my bike out for a 40 mile ride 15 hours after last night’s dinner, and pass 3/4 of people 1/3 my age. Then I recover, in a low carb, low blood sugar way. I like to flip the metabolic switch back and forth. It really seems to make my metabolism robust and I feel like a million ducks.

#14

A lot of that is becoming hyper sensitive to it, long term keto makes us a metabolically inflexible as we used to be when it comes to fat when we all ate massive carbs. That’s what the physiological insulin resistance is all about. We eat carbs, then completely over react to them and dump way more insulin than needed, then it’s nap time.

Some people are OK with that, I never was. When I switched to a TKD/CKD protocol, that went away as my body regained metabolic flexibility. I eat it, I burn it. No more carb hangover, no unscheduled naps (pass outs) nothing. In or out of Ketosis, I never feel the difference, I just keep on going.

#15

A very good post Ifod14. Very true especially for athletes.

Me being an old semi-invalid, can´t exercise much so alternating (most probably) won´t work. And I have become very very carb sensitive during all these years. I can live with that, I´m a carb addict and don´t need carbs to mess with my life.

Even a simple (?) topic like this,it´s hard to post a universal comment because there are so many different ways of life,eating and targets, reasons for what each one individual is after with this WOE.

(BuckRimfire) #16

YMMV, but for me a cheat meal is inconsequential. Our first couple of years on keto we were pretty strict but had a cheat meal about every three weeks. My SO still lost the weight she wanted. I did not need weight loss but I probably lost a little visceral fat: I had to punch two new holes in my belt even though my weight was the same.

#17

A lot to unpack here. In 2017 I had over 100lbs to lose to be at a 24 BMI. I had already lost a net of 20 lbs starting about 8 years earlier (lost more, gained it back) I weigh at least 50 lbs less than I did then.

For the first 6 months I only cheated twice and both times were deliberate on the advice (that did not work for me) of someone on here (meant well and I no longer see that person post) to get out of a stall. I had a big event in December 2017 so was motivated. In January 2018 I started slipping a little. Sometimes I slipped a lot. I also did extended water coffee fasts that had worked but no longer did much. My weight started creeping up. There were weeks where I did not follow Keto. Then Covid and I gained about 35 lbs (some yoyoing) .

In July 2023 I finally decided to time restrict to only daytime. I try to stop eating by 5 and I am up very late. I have lost about 36 lbs since then. Very slowly and have not changed my eating in any way. About every two weeks I will cheat if there is a semi special occasion. It can be we are invited to dinner with friends. It does not have to be a wedding! Although I used to feel tired after eating carbs when I cheated, I no longer really do. Also, I will have the occasional banana or similar healthy carby food before I exercise. It does not seem to affect me the way it used to.

The trick with a cheat meal is to make sure it is only one meal and does not extend to the next day. If I know I will be someplace where I cannot control myself, I take Berberine before the meal and I usually will fast or limit eating earlier in the day. Seems to help. I find that I do not want to eat as much as I used to and I feel like eventually my off switch kicks in at some point during the meal. I recently overstuffed myself at a dinner and could not sleep because I was so uncomfortable so that makes me restrain myself in a way I never had to previously

My husband used to sabatoge me but then he started losing weight too. I made him try keto one summer because I felt so good. He did well, lost 30lbs in two months but then stopped following it for reasons I do not understand. Since then has tried something else and it seems to be working and he stopped with the sabatoge. Now when he does it I know it is unintentional (such as buying me shelled pistachio nuts). I try to be polite

(Brian) #18

Yes, worth it.

1 out of 30 days is not worth getting all that excited about. Non-issue.

You’ll probably have a day or two after your non-keto day that you won’t feel as good. May be just a little, may be more significant, everybody will probably react a little different.

Don’t let the prospect of not achieving perfection keep you from doing something very good.

#19

People who advocate cheat meals being “ok and no issue and no problem for weight loss” are missing an important mental point. For many,eating cabs makes you feel like it´s ok to eat more carbs.

What if OP is carb sensitive and after some successful months decides to cheat,only to find himself falling back to Carb-O-Land in a few weeks? It happens. Does it matter? Up to the individual.

Or what if he keeps thinking of cheats all the other 29 days each month? A horrible burden.

Being “strict” does not mean a difficult life with full of declines. Strict means freedom, many experience that freedom with very low carbs and then they don´t FEEL LIKE eating that cheat meal at all.

I don´t think a “cheat meal” was ever an option in Atkins days. But carb addiction can ruin even the best diet, it changes your thinking. Reasoning changes both ways, less carbs in a diet often means you don´t want any carbs. No mental struggle or cravings.

Just tell me WHY on earth would anyone want to “cheat” unless it is an addiction?

(Delbert Carr) #20

What is TKD/CKD?