Had a Cheat Feast...lost weight!?

#1

So…went to a large family lunch gathering with my brother’s girlfriend’s Italian family with loads of carby homecooked dishes. My wife and I decided that we weren’t going to be strictly keto on the day as we didn’t want to be rude to the hosts (and we also wanted to ‘test the waters’ as a practice run before upcoming Christmas feasts)

Here’s how the day went-

  • Starting weight- 76.2kgs (168lbs)
  • Fasted for Breakfast
  • At the lunch had meat and salad, also had some pasta bake, potato and pumpkin.
  • For lunch dessert had a dozen cherries, a 1/3 of a mango and a very large bowl of homemade self saucing chocolate pudding.
  • Weighed myself when I got home- 76.8kgs (169lbs)
  • Fasted for dinner. (was still full from lunch, no carby hunger pains, only slight bloating)
  • Woke up next day feeling great. Still not hungry.
  • Went to the toilet.
  • Weighed myself- 75.8kgs (167lbs)

This was my first Cheat Meal since being on keto since late September. I don’t think I was knocked out of ketosis. Maybe it was the IF before and after the cheat meal? Maybe there’s a delayed reaction and the weight might go on tomorrow? Maybe I can just handle a higher carb intake and still remain in keto? I’ll see if I have the same luck come Christmas Day.

#2

I was listening to a physique coaching podcast on the weekend (can’t remember which one now) where the guest suggested that ‘cheat meals’ are a signal to your body that you’ve loosened the dietary reigns so it relaxes & lets go of some of it’s vigorously defended reserves. Essentially though it’s all the work you’ve done in the lead up to the cheat that causes the fat loss. Interesting theory but could be total BS too :slightly_smiling_face:

#3

That does make sense. One thing I didn’t mention was that I’ve been stalled (even gaining) for a couple of weeks on strict keto, so maybe the cheat day was the shock to the system my metabolism needed to get back to losing weight again.

#4

I think that at the end of the day regardless of which diet you eat, the body does not want to keep losing weight so if it gets a ‘famine over’ signal now & again it’s no bad thing for weight loss.

#5

First off, good for you and glad you enjoyed it. :slight_smile:

For me, I personally don’t like using the (Cheat) word. In my thinking, it’s a choice, rather than a cheat really. I mean, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with eating something here and there that is not totally Keto-Friendly. (Especially when it’s limited and controlled) I think once you go Keto, and learn more about this WOE/WOL, you easily learn enough to be able to occasionally eat (outside the Keto-Box) and know just how to get back to what you know afterwards. (Most post I’ve read where folks have done this, as you too also stated above do just this and find it isn’t indeed the end of the world. … And the cost, if any, are usually minimal and easily made back up by going back to what you know. (I almost see it like throwing a wet, green log into a high burning, hot fire. It won’t put the fire out & it will indeed get burned up with the rest.) Hope that makes sense?

Yes, I do agree that for someone wanting to “maximize weight loss”, they should indeed stick to being Keto the best that they can, for this benefit. - If this is indeed their overwhelming goal ATM. … But I still think it’s ‘mentally healthy’ to know that you can indeed enjoy something else occasionally. If anything, it might/should allow them to realize that they can indeed do this, and still be the one who controls their own eating habits.

JMHO - Meant no disrespect to any who feel differently. :slight_smile:

#6

Yeah, it was definitely a premeditated choice more than a cheat, but I think it’s just a common buzz word thrown around here and not meant to be defined literally, much like the use of ‘keto flu’ when most of us know it’s more accurately carb withdrawals. I just see the word ‘cheat’ as a commonly accepted (albeit inaccurate) term, rather than a way to not accept responsibility etc for my actions.

Saying that though, if you look at the term ‘cheat’ in the context of infidelity…keto is a spouse that we’ve committed ourselves too, and we’ve ‘cheated’ on them by being unfaithful with carby food. In that context it’s both cheating and a conscious choice.

But yes, agree with everything else you say.

(Carl Keller) #7

In the same way that one healthy meal doesn’t negate a lifetime of eating crap, one high-carb meal doesn’t undo months or years of eating low carb. Amy Berger

I believe the keys here and fat adaptation and a good gut microbiome. This is why you didn’t store the carbs as fat and this is why you didn’t get really bloated like some people do.