Cheating on A Keto Diet?

August 18, 2020

Low carb diets that require a high fat intake are great for losing weight.

That’s what the keto diet is, and that’s what ketosis does - it helps you lose weight. When your body is in ketosis, it’s in a metabolic state where it burns fat as its source of energy instead of carbohydrates. Minimal carbohydrates are consumed, and high amounts of fats are consumed. Add those two together and there you have it - the body starts feeding off of fat instead because that’s what it’s mainly consuming.

Many men and women don’t like to listen to diets - we don’t want to feel restricted by foods. That’s the consensus, at least.

The thought process is, if the diet has worked so far, maybe a cheat meal or a cheat day is in order. But the problem with that is, if anyone has a cheat meal or a cheat day on the keto diet, ketosis goes out the window, and the restart isn’t as easy as it looks.

We’ll talk about keto and all things cheating on the keto diet as the article goes on, so follow along.

People Like To Cheat On Diets

It’s true; people like to cheat with certain meals or a given day when they’re dieting. If we’re allowed some freedom, we’ll be more obliged to stick to the diet, right?

Wrong. Especially on the keto diet. Cheating is not ideal for ketosis; it breaks the process, especially if you have more than 50 carbs in a single day.

Plus, having a high carb meal in the middle of ketosis may potentially damage or harm some of the blood vessels in the body. We want to avoid that.

What’s The Recovery Like, Once Ketosis Is Broken?

Getting back into ketosis can take up to an entire week. That is if you follow all the rules strictly.

However, to get back in, there are choices you can make to recover quicker.

For instance, intermittent fasting works for most people. Get back into ketosis by abiding by the 16:8 or 20:4 rule, where you don’t eat for 16 hours, and you do eat for 8 hours, or, where you don’t eat for 20 hours, and you do eat for 4 hours.

Of course, you’re not eating the ENTIRE 8 or 4 hours, that’s just your allotted window to eat.

Then there’s tracking carbohydrate intake, usually by using charts supplied online. And, of course, short term fat fasting, where you consume a lot of fat in a short period. This should not be done for an extended period, as it’s not so great for your health. If you exercise regularly and take MCT supplements, you’ll also quickly get your body back into ketosis.

Just Avoid Cheating

The moral of the story is to avoid cheating altogether if you can.

Just pay attention to your body to curb the cravings and the urge to eat emotionally.

Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time, so that way you don’t wander very often.

Enjoy your diet, and make sure you include a variety of foods. Don’t limit certain healthy foods just because they’re a pain to cook or prepare - really allow yourself the chance to prepare new and healthy keto meals that you’ll like for days and weeks to come.

Don’t purchase anything tempting when you go grocery shopping - cheating is so easy when your back-in-the-day favorite snack is hiding in the cabinet.

Have an accountability partner remind you why you’re on the keto diet - it’s best to have a buddy by your side if you’re trying to stay motivated.

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