Cheat Day & Ketosis
Hi all
I’m a couple weeks into Keto, I guess it’s the standard Keto (24 net carbs or less), I’m doing pretty well, down 5lbs in 12 days :)
I plan ti have a cheat day once every 2-3 weeks and indulge in some fruit, starch, etc. For those of you that do the same, how long does it take you to get back to full ketosis? When I started, I was in full ketosis by day 3.
Also, does it get harder to reach ketosis if you exit every 2-3 weeks?
many thanks for your insight
Darth F
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If you eat Keto long enough, your body becomes "Keto Adapted" and it is easier to go in and out of Ketosis. However, I would advise against the cheat days since you are so new to this. All that weight you loss will just come right back and every 2-3 weeks you will be losing the same weight. Give yourself more time before you add in cheat days, maybe wait until you reach GW
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Just so I understand, are you saying it’s possible to gain back 5-10lbs from a single cheat day? That’s terrifying!
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There is no clear answer to this - we all respond to a ‘cheat day’ differently. One may have 20-30 extra carbs and have no impact while another may have 5 extra carbs and get kicked completely out of ketosis.
And while one person may achieve ketosis in a few days, others may take considerably longer. And while some may quickly re-enter ketosis after a cheat day, others may take longer - longer even that what it initially took to achieve ketosis.
It really depends on the individual.
If I may suggest, test your blood glucose (BG) and ketones (K) over a period of time - before and 2 to 2.5-hours afterwards to see how various meals impact your BG and K. Document it all. Once you’ve done that, you might get an appreciation as to what you can have/not have and that will help define the parameters of any possible cheat days.
Ultimately, you need to ask yourself why you need (want?) a cheat day? My readings suggest that it’s typically going to set you back to some degree (see above) and recovery is not an automatic event.
I hope this helps and good luck.
Keto on!
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Really helpful, thank you for the information. I plan to only stay severely carb restricted for a couple of months and then bump up to a moderate carb plan. I guess cheat day is a broad statement, I would like to have a cup of pasta or rice or a couple of fruits every 2-3 weeks. I plan to try a 1/4 cup if rice and a bowl of fruit on Sunday and see how it evolves. I will start tracking as you suggested too.
thanks again!!
