Fallen off the wagon :(

(Leon C) #1

Until my 35th birthday celebrations just over two weeks ago, I was three weeks deep in to Keto and down around 16lbs - and then it happened…

For what it’s worth, the birthday meal (carbonara, garlic bread and lots of beer) was fantastic and the birthday cake was even better, but I’m absolutely disgusted with myself now and would like to get back on track right now.

After the first few days of adapating to a Keto lifestyle and the headache and cravings had settled, I found myself intermittent fasting with ease - but, now that I’ve fallen off the wagon and reintroduced carbs to the system, I’m hungry when I wake up and hungry when I go to bed.

Shame. On. Me!

With tomorrow being Monday, my mind is set on having two strict weeks of intermittent fasting, eating lovely fatty foods and minimal carbs (green veg only).

My question is, and maybe a very basic and silly one, but now that I’m already aware of what Keto is and how to get in to Ketosis, is there a way in which I can get back on track in the next 3 to 4 days and help flush my system of the filth I’ve eaten since cheating two weeks ago?

Any tricks of the trade or similar experiences you’ve had would be greatly appreciated.

Shame. Shame. Shame. [Game of Thrones reference]

Leon.

#2

Keep calm and keto on!

You’re on the right track. IF and limited carbs will get you right back on track.

It’s not a sprint rather it’s a marathon with falls and warts and all.

Keep calm and keto on!

Alos guilt feelings are entirely useless. Turn that energy to intermittent fasting and good keto eating!

#3

Hey Leon, Oh no, pack all that disgust and shame and guilt away! Your combination of feelings right now could probably be summed up as a heck of a lot of ‘determination’ too, right? And drive? And steadfastness? And it’s all wrapped up with what is called a ‘growth mindset?’ You’re curious to learn new strategies to change what happened? Well all that sounds pretty admirable! So, you have that perspective going for your Keto journey too :smile:

I agree with the others - I’ve been doing it for 3.5 months and caved a few times. I learned from them that now getting out of ketosis triggers a kind of bitter crappy depressed moon and outlook on life for a day or two. And that worked great for me, in that it started something like a natural food aversion to carbs. I really don’t want that crappy mood, and that’s what carbs remind me of now.

Sooooooo…long story short (Ish), your delicious carb fest brought you a fair amount of joy at the time (bonus, life is for enjoying!) but the annoying non stop hunger you’ve had since then may also be instrumental in your long term Keto WOE. A similar kind of conditioned aversion carbs may have just started with you. It may not feel like this now, but that could be a nice foundation stone for an easier life in the future!

I hope some of the Keto Veterens and experts post some tips to get you back into ketosis asap. Since I’m on of the newbies, I’ll leave that technical part to them :slightly_smiling_face: What seemed to work for me was upping my fat intake even more for a few days. But I don’t know if that was just a fluke.

So hang in there, and any time those shame or guilt emotions come up again, I hope you beat them off with a big roll of bacon, eat a big spoonful of coconut oil, and relabel,all that emotional change as ‘Awesome levels of determination’

KCKO

(Rob) #4

Oh well. It happens. The thing for me was coming up with sensible alternative options. While you’re pretty much going to have to kiss the pasta goodbye, you may be able to find an alternative which uses non-flour based sauce and possibly substitute the noodles for Zoodles (Courgette (Zucchini) noodles). The cheese, ham and mushrooms are all low-carb, so no issues there.

Dining out can be a challenge, athough as one door closes another one opens and one of our local restaurants (Pesto) has a great Tapas menu which includes a number of Carne dishes which are all really good Keto friendly options. Before Keto I hardly ever went there, but now it’s a regular for us and the tapas means that everyone gets to have a try of the food if they fancy it. They’re setup too expect that if you’re still hungry when you’ve finished the dishes on the table you just order more… fat to satiety anyone? :wink: They do great cocktails too, so keeps my non Keto wife happy :smiley:

The typical “all our grills are served with chips, baked or new potatoes” on most restaurant menus can usually be navigated by asking the waiting staff if you can swap those bits for a house salad, additional mushrooms or a fried egg. I was hesitant at first, but I’ve never had any issues since I started asking. Most places will also do a “Naked” burger… ie, they assemble your burger without the bun. It’s better than wasting the bun or having more carbs on offer for your fellow diners.

For birthday celebrations, if you feel the need for cake, try some of the low-carb cake options. I’ve just made another low carb cheesecake…

and I’ll be posting updated recipe with metric measurements and lots of photos. Brenda’s chocolate cake is also on my list to try. I’m not normally a desert person, but have recently felt like I needed some options, just in case! :wink:

(Ellen) #5

Don’t feel ashamed or disgusted with yourself, I really doubt there’s anyone on here that’s never had a slip or 2! You’re back on it now, so just IF etc as you’re thinking of and you’ll be back in ketosis before you know it.

(Ethan) #6

One word: fast

(Rob) #7

I agree, but does somewhat depend upon whether @LeonC feels comfortable with fasting.

(Ethan) #8

Agreed, but he asked for a quick way to get back in.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #9

You just do the program, carbs <20g daily, protein to whatever your activity level suggests and fat to satiety. supplement as necessary for carb flu. And you’ll be back in the keto groove in 3-4 days.

You can’t beat yourself up on a carb binge. The key is to get back on the wagon promptly, and not allow a meal off plan to become a day off plan which begets a week off plan. I do days off plan, but always with a plan for the day and to be back on the next day.

Since you were deep in Keto in 3 weeks, and down 16 lbs, you’ll be back pretty quickly.

(Leon C) #10

Guys, I LOVE fasting. I’m very happy missing breakfast, lunch and then waiting for the wife to come home from work (6pm) before eating my one and only meal of the day.

I’m happy to run (5/10KM) whilst fasting also, but I had built up to this recently, hence I’m annoyed I let myself go.

(Rob) #11

I totally agree with @EZB then. Go for a fast. You’ll be back deep into Ketosis in no time and feel better for it. If you need a fasting buddy, let me know and I’ll be happy to join you and keep us both accountable to each other.

(Ethan) #12

Intermittent fasting is great, but do a 2-day fast and you will be in ketosis in 2 days.

#13

I have only gone off plan once (although I know I am often not in ketosis because of too many nuts or berries). It was deliberate and I was so sick by the second day that I could not wait for Monday to come so I could start fasting. I did not eat until Tuesday! By the second day I felt hungover even though I had deliberately not had any alcohol (wanted to see what it felt like). That was in October. It cured me of wanting to cheat and honestly it had not been a huge problem before. Do I still dream about real pizza and donuts, sure. For some reason with the keto diet I do not have the same desire to cheat although there are still days when I go into the kitchen looking for snacks. This is in contrast to a moderate carb diet I used to do where I would look for any excuse to cheat with the idea of resuming the next day (week or month). In the future, if you know you have a really special event coming up, a once a year event, not a once a week event, plan ahead. Do some running that morning. Fast going into it or the days before. Plan to fast the next morning. Whatever you have to do and most of all enjoy knowing it will be one night only

(Dan Dan) #14

Indulgence days are a fact of life and we should not fear nor regret them but fully enjoy and embrace them :heart_eyes:

It still amazes me that a one/two day indulgence on the weekend or holiday followed by a 48hr fast and IF(OMAD) for the rest of the week I end up with weight loss and feeling energized :star_struck::thinking:

IF/EF Keto WOE gives us the tools we need :innocent:

“May the Force (fat adaption) be with you”

IF/EF Keto WOE is Self-Discovery :wink:

Good luck and much success in your journey in IF/EF Keto WOE :grin:

(Rob) #15

That’s a good point @Dan_Dan. I’m a guest at a wedding this coming weekend and although I’ve selected meal choices which are towards the lower-end of the carb scale, there will still be carbs and I will eat them and enjoy them as everyone else will be. There will be a Full English breakfast the day after too, but after that, I’ll start a new fast and get back to my normal Keto food. No biggie.

I can certainly relate to having some uncertainty as to what would happen if I had a lapse and what the best plan was to get back on the wagon. I think it’s a lot easier for people who are fat adapted as we can leverage a fast to get back on track, but when you’re in the first 6 weeks or so, it’s going to be more sensible to have a focus on using the macros as guidance and keeping the fat up as much as possible. Doing a fast at that stage will almost certainly leave you feeling hungry and possibly wanting to give up on Keto or relapsing into carb-abuse :wink:

(Leon C) #16

@EZB So, IF for two days (Water only?) - I wasn’t aware you could enter Ketosis without fat intake. Doh!

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #17

If you are more off balance, metabolically, it can be very hard to do that. If your metabolism is better regulated, “honey pot days” aren’t as big an issue.

(Ethan) #18

IF is generally a fast under 24 hours. Extended fasting (EF) is for > 24. You enter ketosis by not eating carbs. By not eating anything, it should be as fast or faster.

(Leon C) #19

Love this idea @MmmBacon - I’ve had a gorgeous chicken and green veg dinner cooked in Kerrygold butter so, I’m very content now (17:00pm) - Water and coffee only for the next 24 hours and then see how I feel?

(Leon C) #20

You learn something new every day! I was under the assumption that the fat vs protein vs carbs macros was the Keto trigger. Excellent - I’ve just eaten a gorgeous meal so I’m good to good now. Thank you @EZB :+1: