Out of ketosis- Cheated one meal on Sunday

(Onkar) #1

I try my best to be on a keto diet. I love it and love the way I feel when I am keto adapted.

Past weekend (Sunday night), I had one meal where I had cookies and chocolate plus lentil-based food.

Today my blood ketones are 0.7 mmol/L after 16 hour IF.

There was a time when my blood ketones would be 2.4-2.5 mmol/L (after 15 days starting keto).
What are your thoughts on cheating on keto diet or it is a strict no-no?
Also, what do you eat when you go out with friends? That becomes a hard part for me like past Sunday.
Any thoughts/suggestions?

(Scott) #2

At fifteen days you may be in ketosis while eating on plan but likely two to six weeks to become fat adapted. I think when adapted you will tend to bounce back quicker I think. I don’t really know because I am not a very good cheater other than some wine and beer.

(Carl Keller) #3

A cheat meal is just a speed bump on your ketogenic journey; it’s not the end of the road.

If it’s cheating with sucrose it’s like asking an alcoholic if it’s ok to get drunk occasionally, IMO. I used to hope there would be a day when I could indulge but the further I move away from the last time I ate table sugar, the less I miss it. Currently, I’m perfectly ok with idea of never having another donut or slice of cake… and I used to love those things.

Very little. If they don’t go somewhere that I can’t find something low carb to eat, I don’t go. My friends will not share my health problems so I will not eat just for the sake of appearing friendly. If I really want to socialize with them, I can eat before I meet up with them. In general, I prefer to make my own food anyway.

(less is more, more or less) #4

I agree with @CarlKeller, I might add if you screwed up, that’s OK. You can fix that. I frequently screw up, and know I will going forward.

But, don’t think that “cheat days” is a thing. It never has been.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #5

Still technically nutritional ketosis. Sometimes I notice that my ketones don’t fully drop out of range until a day and a half later.

“Cheating” is a negatively connotative word, to me. You have to live your life, and you have to determine what’s important to you, as an individual. If it makes you happy to go out and indulge with friends every so often (not constantly obviously), and you can accept the keto-consequence and you don’t have trouble bouncing back on track, I say do what makes you happy. YOLO.

It’s personal preference. Every choice we make has an effect. If you can live with the effects of cookies, chocolate and lentils being indulged in every now and again, then why not? Some choose to be very strict. They’re not wrong. Some choose to allow all manner of things in. They’re not wrong, either.

What I do suggest is, if you do go the “cheat” route, make sure that it’s pre-planned and not impromptu. I think there’s a difference there that our minds connect to. If you know friends are going out and you feel you want to have stuff that may kick you out of ketosis, allow it beforehand. It makes it seem like there’s control there.

(Chris) #6

Cheating would imply you gave yourself an advantage rather than sabotage.

What is your priority? How insulin-resistant/diabetic/otherwise metabolically deranged are you? How much weight until your “goal”?

#7

I like this! So true. As long as it doesn’t become habit.

I’ve been keto since January 2 with 95% proper eating, but there was a night I had a slice of thin crust pizza after a really stressful day, and a couple oddball days here and there where I ate something without checking labels as well as I should, bumping me over my limit. However, every time I tested afterward, I was at least eliminating trace – if not downright up to moderate – ketones on the urine test strips. Of course, it is different for everyone.

I don’t like the word cheat, personally. I’m not trying to get away with something or fly under the radar of someone who will scold me. I know what I am putting in my body. If I decide I want to be strict, I will. If I don’t, that is for me to decide – and for me to deal with the results, just like any action.

My birthday is coming up and I plan on enjoying a few bites of tiramisu. Will I have a huge slice following a big carb-laden meal? No way. I think I would feel downright ill, and the thought doesn’t even appeal to me anyway. But I think life is too short to play by the rules 100% of the time.

(Karim Wassef) #8

There are those who advocate that cycling carbs is ok. That exception is really for extreme athletes who burn off those carbs within hours or even minutes in extreme cases. They can basically be back into ketosis in a matter of hours or less. Most of us are not extreme athletes, so it serves no purpose.

I do compare it to alcohol… alcoholics know not to drink… ever. Carbs are more addictive that alcohol.

Some alcoholics call themselves “social drinkers”… and some people just have drinking problems but they’re high functioning… carbs drive insulin and glucose and prolonged exposure will cause health destructive effects - only you can decide how much disease you’re ok with.

But as with alcohol, falling off the wagon isn’t the end of the world. You just need to learn from it and cope better.

The good news is that once you’re fat adapted, the body will recover faster and faster. It will become metabolically flexible and quickly switch to oxidizing fat for fuel as soon as it can.

I had a family member cheat for one event and within hours her inflammation came back with a vengeance. She was in pain after feeling the relief of Keto… my advice was to fast and exercise to purge the excess glucose as fast as possible… and then she was fine.

Just got to get the bad chemicals out.

(Onkar) #9

Thank you all. You all are awesome.
I am now more determined to watch what I eat.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

For me, it isn’t cheating, it’s relapsing, or self-sabotage. When it comes to doughnuts, my favorite number is three: three dozen.

I went over my carb limit by a little bit on Friday, and here it is Tuesday, and my shoulder still aches. I really wish I could have thought of that before eating that apple. :frowning: