To have a cheat day or not?

(109d33bb44d476da242e) #1

I wanted to see everyone’s thoughts on having an occasional cheat day. I’m not talking about going balls to the wall and gorging ones self like it’s your last meal, I’m thinking more like maybe once a month treat yourself to a non keto treat. I know by doing this could trigger an uncontrollable urge to binge or could throw one out of ketosis, however for me it seems to be working good. Thoughts anyone?

(Brian) #2

I seem to recall Keto Connect doing some experimentation on this. You might want to look up their experience and see if it gives you any ideas or useful thoughts.

(Rob) #3

NOT!

or

DEFINITELY!

It depends on you. If you are addicted to carbs, then almost certainly don’t. If you are metabolically flexible and not addicted, then it isn’t really a cheat. You have to make the decision. If addicted it isn’t as drastic as an alcoholic having a binge, but it can go that way. Several people here have attested to sliding down the slippery slope to weeks of carbs based on only one cheat meal. Others have a whole cheat day every week.

Good luck and KCKO!

(109d33bb44d476da242e) #4

I will definatly look into it. Thank you

(Karen Parrott) #5

Some people do great. Some people relapse into the depths of food addiction. It’s very individual. After nearly eating myself to death for 40 years I chose to remain in food sober living. The disease wants to come back. I won’t let it.

(109d33bb44d476da242e) #6

I enjoy everyone’s thoughts and comments, thank you. I would like them but for some reason I’ve been outta likes for over week :confused:

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #7

It depends. I have cheat days. I have fewer each month. Four in December, three in February, one or two in March, and I haven’t had one in April.

I will have a few over the summer. Home cooking and an anniversary maybe. But it’s going to be tied to events that provide value. It’s not gonna be because I’ve gone an arbitrary number of days and feel like I’ve earned or I need a day off.

#8

Completely agree. Although I have only cheated 5 times in a year, 2x it was literally a couple of bites of dessert at a party after a meal that was as keto as I could make it. The other times it was 2 - 4 days, One was preplanned to eliminate a stall (it did not, worked the opposite), one I was sick and the third was during the recent holiday.

Having said that I do mostly lazy keto and I know I eat too many nuts and berries and a lot of cheese but I do not count that as cheating

I currently have no desire to cheat. Not saying this from the moral high ground because there are other times when I do want to and those times were when I was stalled or snacking too much. You may want to ask yourself why you are considering this

(the cheater) #9

I’ve said it again and I’ll say it before: I’m a believer in balls-to-the-wall gorgefest at least weekly or every 6-10 days, regardless of what diet one is on.

I did this ten years ago and went from 215lbs to 155 in about 6 months. Of course, 10 years and the weight slowly crept back on. But in the last 11 weeks, including regular cheat days, I’ve once again managed to drop about 30lbs and counting.

I think, and this is probably what’s wrong with my method, is that I usually get a belly ache later that night, reflux while I sleep, and generally feel like I have a food hangover the next day, so that following day usually ends up being a 24hr fast. Not always, but usually. Then, because of how it made me feel, I am fine not indulging for another week or so.

And to be clear, I’m not counting the days between binges. In fact, the main reason I cheat is so that I can enjoy a meal out with my wife where I don’t embarrass her by ordering a keto dish (which usually involves very specific instructions and I end up sounding like a dick). This is also the only time I’ll have a beer or two.

YMMV, but cheating keeps me grounded. I know you said specifically NOT balls-to-the-wall, and only maybe once a month, but that, to me, is too restrictive. I don’t know. Maybe if I was training for something or had a goal that I was trying to achieve in a short timeframe, but when your goal for keto is just overall better mood, sleep, physique, mental clarity, health, etc., then cheating isn’t a big deal.

PS: I’m well aware that my advocacy for cheating will earn me the reputation of a pariah on these forums. I don’t know. Someday I may decide/realize that I don’t want a cheat day, but again, unless I’m training/cutting for a competition or something, which I’m not, and I’m still losing weight over the long run, which I am, then I will continue to advocate cheating.

I think the whole concept of not being able to cheat scares a lot of people away from keto because they think they’ll never be able to enjoy cakes or cookies or candy or chips or beer ever again. While it may be true that these things are not good for you, keto is good for you. And if cheating occasionally helps keep you keto, then I see no harm. YMMV :slight_smile:

(Leslie) #10

I worried almost obsessively about whether or not I could eat a cheat and not get sick. Finally, after four straight months of very strict keto, I had a bagel. An everything bagel, toasted with jalapeño cream cheese…mmmmmmmm, one of my favorite things. I am so happy that I did it. I had absolutely no ill effects and now it’s out of my thinking and I can just keto on.

I plan to have another cheat in the future. Not frequent and not more than just one in any day.

One must maintain happiness. One must be balanced and not go overboard

I hope you find this helpful
Keep calm and keto on

#11

You misspelled cheat day, it’s spelt Cheat MEAL! Doing a DAY is asking for trouble both for cravings and you feeling like you got backed over by a bus.

(Mother of Puppies ) #12

I recommend not.

That idea got into my head and now I have “cheat days” all the time… plateaued for a year.

If you have a choice, best not to go down that road, IMO.

#13

I think your approach is fine if it works for you. I do not think I am metabolically healthy enough to do that. The first time I really cheated (I ate jelly beans and everything else in sight and I do not even love them that much they were available) I was so sick the next day it took care of my cravings for months. Even when I planned to cheat at my own event a month later I was not very interested.

Personally I have no problems ordering at restaurants as long as they are not chinese or Italian and to be honest, even at Chinese I will have a protein and vegetables and ignore the fact that there is probably starch and msg in it. I do not seem to have a reaction to carbs if I do not know they are there, Which makes me think my cheating is usually in my head.

My preference is always to go to a steak place and I usually substitue out the carb for a vegetable and a salad and I do not quiz them too much on how the steak is cooked. While I rarely drink, if I do I have red wine or vodka with ice and. Any pure alcohol works

What I love most about LCHF (do not want to call it keto because I really think I am not always in ketosis but I am always LCHF) is how uninterested I am in cheating. I ate moderate carb moderate fat no flour no gluten for years. I successfully lost almost as much weight as now in 2010 and kept it off with diet and exercise for 3 years and then it came mostly back. I stopped exercising and would cheat often. Sometimes for weeks at a time starting from one meal. I would use any excuse to cheat, the takeout looks really good, diet again tomorrow. Its my aunts cousins sister in laws brothers birthday we have to go, and eat those delicious cookies his wife bakes, may never get them again. Stupid reasons. Now we go if invited and I eat the meat and the vegetables and skip the cookies. If I am really desperate I will have one bite and toss the rest of the cookie. Sometimes I will ask the menu ahead of time, other times I will not bother and will fast or have coffee if there is nothing I can eat

(109d33bb44d476da242e) #14

For me I started keto March 14th so I’m still very new and still learning the ropes. 2 weeks in on a Sunday I had a full cheat day, all day each meal. Then at the beginning of April my hubby and I went to Vegas for our honeymoon and well needless to say for 5 days I ate whatever drank whatever. I did do a lot of walking which might have had a lot to do with the fact that I only gained 4 lbs back. But since then I’ve had an occasional treat here or there and so far I am down 26lbs and counting.

For me having a cheat day or snack once in awhile helps me stay focused. So for now I’ll keep doing what I’m doin and hopefully it continues to work for me :grin:

(the cheater) #15

Yep. Keto is easy to obsess over. I consider cheating in the same category as watching a movie: sure, I could be reading a medical textbook, but I wanna see Ready Player One. It’s not like my whole life is going to be spent in a movie theater and I’m never going to learn anything medical - I just wanted to see it. Same with food. Even us ketoers can be consuming better or healthier fats, balancing our macros even better, getting more/better micronutrients, improving timing and eating/fasting cycles, exercising better/more - I guess it’s all relative.

Personally, I just need to to let loose and come back down to reality once in a while. I can get lost in counting carbs, eating bacon, visiting these forums, listening to the podcasts… Cheating helps me keep it real.

It’s interesting, though, how keto changes your taste buds (or rather, your brain’s reaction to what stimulates your taste buds). I still remember my first cheat and that first bite of a Zebra Cake after almost two weeks pure keto - it didn’t give me that rush that I expected (although, I must confess I’ve since had other Zebra Cakes that were amazing, so it very well could have been that particular batch, but still).

(Jean Taylor) #16

I plan to do kind of a half cheat type thing for holidays. Try to pick lower carb more keto type things but not worry overly much about the counting and crap…

(*Rusty* Instagram: @Rustyk61) #17

WHATS A CHEAT DAY?

I think I remember…what maybe 600 threads about this before this one. :thinking:

(Karen) #18

Not

K

(Candy Lind) #19

@richard! Another one stuck with no love. :sob:

(linda) #20

AMEN!!