Fasting After Keto Cheating: How Long Should You Go?

The keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that is popular for its weight loss effects. It encourages ketosis, a metabolic state in which the body burns fat as its primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates. While cheat days are common strategies for strict diets, they are not ideal for the keto diet as it relies on the body staying in ketosis. Cheat meals can easily break ketosis and disrupt weight loss. If you've cheated on keto, you'll need to strictly follow the keto diet again and it can take several days to 1 week to get back into ketosis, depending on your carb intake, metabolism, and activity levels. To speed up the process, you can try intermittent fasting, fat fasting, and exercise.

Intermittent fasting

To support your body during intermittent fasting, it is important to increase your water intake. This helps to reduce hunger cravings and replace the water lost as your body flushes out glycogen. However, drinking too much water can flush out essential minerals, so it is important to also increase your electrolyte intake. Consume keto-friendly salty foods like roasted almonds, pepperoni, and olives, or drink bone broth, which contains electrolytes like sodium and potassium.

Exercise

If you exercised on the day of or after your cheat day, you will likely be back in ketosis within 24 to 48 hours. Regular exercise also indicates that you are more likely to return to ketosis quickly.

However, it is important not to overdo it, as overtraining will cause your body to release stress hormones, which can raise your blood sugar and make ketosis harder to achieve. Instead, you can simply turn your exercise routine up a notch. For example, you could add an extra 10 minutes to your yoga flow, do a few more reps during your workout, or run an extra few blocks. Your body will use your carb reserves to supply your muscles with the fuel needed, thus helping your body transition to burning ketones for fuel.

If you are new to the keto diet, it is recommended to wait at least a few weeks before considering a cheat meal or day. This will give you some progress to fall back on and make it easier to get back into ketosis.

Keto-friendly substitutes

The ketogenic diet is a restrictive, high-fat, low-carb diet. On keto, around 10% of your calories should come from carbs, 20% from protein, and 60-80% from fat.

Bread and Sandwich Alternatives

• Ezekiel Bread: A healthy bread made from organic grains and legumes, including wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. One slice contains 15g of carbohydrates, so it can be incorporated into a low-carb diet plan. However, it's not suitable for people with gluten intolerance.
• Cloud Bread: A protein-rich alternative made from eggs and cream cheese.
• Eggplant: Cut the large end of an eggplant into 1-inch-thick disks, season, and grill or bake. These can be used as a base for burgers.
• Portobello Mushroom Buns: Large grilled or baked portobello mushrooms can be used in place of bread.
• Lettuce Wraps: Use large iceberg lettuce leaves to make fresh, flexible wraps.
• Collard Greens: Gently steamed collard green leaves make a durable wrap that won't break easily.
• Cabbage Leaves: Steamed or blanched cabbage leaves are ideal for wrapping small, flavourful items like wontons, spring rolls, and dumplings.
• Nori Sheets: These have a slightly salty taste and pair well with hummus and eggs, but they can get soggy quickly.

Pizza and Pasta Alternatives

• Mozzarella Cheese Dough: A thin crust pizza alternative made from mozzarella and almond flour.
• Cauliflower Pizza Crust: A simple, low-carb pizza base made from cauliflower, eggs, almond flour, and spices.
• Zucchini Noodles: Also known as zoodles, these are a great low-carb alternative to pasta.
• Shirataki Noodles: A well-known replacement for pasta with a slightly strange texture.

Rice and Potato Alternatives

• Cauliflower Rice: A low-carb alternative to rice that can be used in fried rice.
• Hemp Hearts: A crunchy, nutrient-dense alternative to croutons.
• Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes: A low-carb alternative to mashed potatoes that can be mixed with cheese.

Snack Alternatives

• Sunflower Seeds, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Nuts: These are just-as-easy, keto-friendly snacks that are high in fibre.
• DIY Seaweed Snack: Finely chop nuts and seeds, add white vinegar and salt, roll in nori seaweed, and bake until crispy.
• Low-carb Cookies: Make your own cookies using almond flour or other alternative "flours" like flaxseed or chia seed.

Beverage Alternatives

• Water: Still or sparkling water is a good replacement for soda or juice.
• Tea: Try a variety of tea flavours to help you get through the day if you get tired of water.
• Low-carb Smoothies: Replace fruit juices with smoothies made from fruit extracts.
• Coffee with Stevia: Instead of sugar, add a few drops of stevia to your coffee to sweeten it.
• Keto-proof Coffee: A mix of coconut oil and butter in your coffee creates a latte-like froth.
• Liquor: Liquor is the best low-carb alcohol choice, with most liquors having zero carbs.
• Diet Soda: Technically okay on keto, but not recommended due to potential negative health effects.

Dessert Alternatives

• Avocado Ice Cream: Avocado has a creamy texture that can be used to make ice cream or sorbet.
• Low-carb Cake: Made with almond flour or other alternative flours, these cakes can be airy or dense and flavourful.
• Cheesecake: Using sugar substitutes, you can make flavoured cheesecakes that taste even better than regular cheesecake.
• Avocado Brownies: Avocado can also be used to make keto-friendly brownies.
• Pots de Crème: Rich, French-style custards that can be served as a dessert to impress your friends.
• Cream Cheese Frosting: A rich and creamy frosting made from cream cheese and butter, a healthier alternative to store-bought frosting.

Baking Alternatives

• Almond Flour: A healthier alternative to all-purpose flour, although it doesn't provide the same texture and rising ability.
• Coconut Flour: Can be used as a replacement for almond flour, but the texture will be different.
• Psyllium Husk: Adds a chewy texture to dense cakes, bread, and other low-carb baked goods.
• Pork Rinds: Can be used as a breadcrumb-type filler in meat or as a breadcrumb crust.
• Butter and Coconut Oil: Healthy, saturated fats that can be used instead of margarine and vegetable oil.
• Keto-friendly Sweeteners: Stevia extract, monk fruit extract, erythritol, and sweetener blends that only contain these ingredients.

Vegetable Alternatives

• Non-starchy Vegetables: Broccoli, zucchini, and spinach are examples of non-starchy veggies that are high in fibre and low in net carbs.
• Red Bell Peppers

Test ketone levels

Testing your ketone levels is a good way to determine whether you are in ketosis. The optimal ketone range for nutritional ketosis is 0.5–3 millimoles per litre (mmol/L).

There are several ways to test your ketone levels:

Urine Testing

Urine strips are a convenient, affordable, and non-invasive way to test ketone levels. You can purchase these strips at a local pharmacy or online. Testing can be done in the early morning or a few hours after dinner.

Here's how it's done:

• Prepare the materials needed (the test strip and a clean or sterile specimen container).
• Collect a fresh urine sample in the container.
• Dip the end of the strip (with the reactive pad) into the urine specimen.
• Wait for about 40 seconds.
• Check and match the colour of the reactive pad with the colour chart on the bottle container of the strips or the test kit wrapper.

Blood Testing

Blood testing is the most accurate way to measure ketone levels. It directly checks beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), the most abundant ketone. To test your blood ketone levels, you will need a ketone blood meter and blood test strips.

Here's how it's done:

• Prepare the test kit.
• Wash and dry your hands, or cleanse your finger using an alcohol swab.
• Insert a test strip into the ketone meter.
• Prick the side of your finger using the lancing device (usually included with blood ketone kits).
• Place a drop of blood on the test strip and wait 10 seconds to get the final reading.

Breath Testing

Breath testing is one of the newest ways to measure ketone levels. It measures acetone, the least abundant ketone that is exhaled through your breath. Breath testing is a convenient, non-invasive, and painless method, but reliable testing devices tend to be fairly expensive.

Factors Affecting Ketone Levels

It's worth noting that ketone levels can fluctuate throughout the day and are influenced by various factors, such as the food eaten and physical activity performed. Additionally, the time since the last meal appears to be a major contributing factor to ketone levels, so testing 3 hours after eating a meal may yield more accurate results.

Plan ahead

Planning ahead is key to staying on track with your keto diet. Here are some tips to help you plan and stay motivated:

Identify your triggers

Recognise the situations that might lead to a cheat meal or day. For example, social events, stressful days, or cravings for certain foods. By identifying these triggers, you can develop strategies to manage them effectively.

Meal prep like a pro

Set aside time each week to meal prep. Batch cooking several keto-friendly meals in advance ensures you always have something tasty and compliant to eat. This way, you're less likely to be tempted by high-carb alternatives.

Plan your treats

If you know you have a social event or celebration coming up, plan for it. Decide in advance which meals you'll allow yourself to cheat on and budget your calories and carbs accordingly. This way, you can enjoy your favourite foods without completely derailing your progress.

Opt for keto-approved substitutes

Instead of cheating with non-keto foods, first explore keto-friendly substitutes. There are plenty of creative recipes and packaged keto snacks available that can satisfy your cravings without kicking you out of ketosis.

Prioritise events and favourite foods

If you're going to cheat, make it worth it! Prioritise special occasions or your absolute favourite treats. This way, you're less likely to waste your cheat meal on something random that you could easily resist.

Plan smaller cheats around exercise

If your goal is calorie control, consider planning smaller cheats around exercise. This way, you can enjoy a treat while also ensuring you use up those extra carbs quickly.

Don't call it a "cheat"

Labelling something as a "cheat" can make it more desirable. Instead, view it as a treat or a reward, and then move on. This helps to reduce the guilt associated with cheating and prevents one meal from turning into a cheat day or week.

Frequently asked questions