I know this topic has been done to death, and people have strong views on it, but I have some thoughts that I think some will find useful – especially people new to LCHF.
- I was fairly strict for my first 6-12 months. I didn’t touch alcohol for the first few months, for instance. I didn’t have a single carb-fueled cheat night either. And I know there are a lot of people in that headspace. More power to you!
- For me, and for many others, given that we understand this is a way of life for the rest of our lives, some planned and unplanned carbfests are par for the course. And even when you’re not “cheating,” the occasional whiskey with a lovely low carb steak dinner at Peter Luger – it happens. And I’ve made my peace with it. I’ll be low carb for the foreseeable future, but I refuse to hate on myself for wanting to carb up a bit occasionally.
- I’m 2 years into LCHF (I rarely go full ketogenic but certainly I’ve gone there!) and my cheats, I’d estimate, occur every 2-3 weeks. And I try to save it up: I am more than happy being low carb, but when I decide to hit some carbs, I’m gonna go the full monty.
- Now, having said that, a couple of points: first, my cravings for carbs are vastly diminished. If I crave sweets, peanut butter can resolve it, or a keto treat. But secondly, even when I carb binge, I’ve noticed recently that I really don’t go as hard as I used to. I’ve even carb binged on savory stuff in the last few months without even needing to hit up the chocolate.
- After a cheat meal/day, I just go right back into LCHF the following day. Often I’ll fast until the following evening.
- I’m sharing screenshots below of the insanity that happened today for those who may want to see what an otherwise pretty strict low carb guy (with great biomarkers I might add) occasionally does. I went to the movies and decided, fuck it, I’m gonna do some damage tonight. I was stunned to see the amount of sugar and carbs I ate – and I didn’t even go that hard to be honest. When I used to be a sugar burner, I can’t imagine the amount of sugar and carb I was eating Every. Single. Day. And guess what? Tomorrow, I’ll be right back into my low carb life. I won’t beat myself up over this.
- Apart from the reduced cravings, honestly I really notice how shit carbs/sugar make me feel after a binge. Right now I feel kind of, well, fat. Tomorrow it’ll be the same, and I might feel gross. I’ve even noticed that my mood drops for a day or two after I smash the carbs. My stubborn personality seems to require a reminder of this self-flagellation, and then I’m back on track with my LCHF lifestyle the very next day.
In short, TL;DR your cravings will reduce; don’t beat yourself up if you cheat; just keep calm and keto on.
Now here’s my mea culpa from today; I’ve blurred it out so you can click on it if you’re interested. (This is a pretty rare thing; my days are usually sub-35 net carbs, even less usually. And the calorie count has been pretty good of late.) May God have mercy on my fat-adapted soul. But honestly, I know people come here to confess, but I’m not doing that. I didn’t really need this, and could’ve done without it, but sometimes, you know. I’m human.
My point is, shit happens. KCKO guys.
) as soon as I slip up I say “stuff it”, next thing, I’ve gained 40kg and lost 6mths. I see this as an eating plan for the rest of my life and there are going to be times when I go over my carb limit.
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