Cheating On Keto: What's Allowed?

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that has gained popularity for its weight loss effects. The diet encourages ketosis, a metabolic state in which your body burns fat as its primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates.

The keto diet is very strict, and it can be challenging to stick to it 100% of the time. Some people may wonder if they are allowed to have cheat meals or cheat days. While cheat days and meals are common strategies for strict diets, they are not ideal for the keto diet because it relies on your body staying in ketosis.

Consuming more than 50 grams of carbohydrates can kick your body out of ketosis. As carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source, it will use them over ketone bodies, which are derived from fats. Additionally, some research suggests that suddenly reintroducing a high-carb meal to a ketogenic diet may damage your blood vessels.

If you do decide to cheat on the keto diet, be prepared for potential side effects such as weight gain, bloating, stomach upset, gas, acne, and increased hunger and cravings. It can take several days to one week to get back into ketosis, depending on your carb intake, metabolism, and activity levels.

To recover from a cheat meal or day, you may want to try intermittent fasting, fat fasting, and exercise, which may help you reach ketosis faster. It is also important to strictly follow the keto diet and track your carb intake.

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of whether cheating is allowed in keto, it is essential to consider the potential side effects and the time it may take to get back into ketosis. Ultimately, the decision to cheat on the keto diet depends on your individual goals and how your body responds.

The effects of cheating on keto

The ketogenic diet (or keto diet, for short) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that offers many health benefits. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy.

Cheating on keto means consuming food items that are not part of the keto diet, i.e., food items that are high in carbs. This could include sugary foods, grains or starches, fruits, beans or legumes, root vegetables and tubers, low-fat or diet products, some condiments or sauces, unhealthy fats, alcohol, and sugar-free diet foods.

Cheating on keto can have several effects, including:

• Weight gain: Cheating on keto can lead to weight gain, as your body is taken out of ketosis and returns to its fat-storing ways.
• Increased blood sugar levels: Cheating on keto can cause a surge of glucose in your bloodstream, leading to insulin resistance and potentially type 2 diabetes.
• Intense sugar cravings: Studies show that the brain becomes more addicted to sugar than cocaine, and cheating on keto can lead to intense sugar cravings that are hard to resist.
• Sugar crash: Even if you don't consume desserts, carbs from sandwich bread or beer can still raise your blood sugar levels and cause negative side effects such as trouble concentrating and crankiness.
• Inflammation: Cheating on keto can cause small rips in your gut, leading to chronic inflammation, which has been linked to a number of autoimmune diseases.
• Low energy and brain fog: Cheating on keto can cause a massive chain reaction in your body, including altering specific hormones and increasing or decreasing enzyme production, which can lead to lethargic symptoms such as brain fog and low energy.
• Keto flu symptoms: Cheating on keto can bring back negative side effects commonly referred to as "keto flu," including stomach pains, brain fog, dizziness, nausea, irritability, constipation, muscle soreness, lack of concentration, sugar cravings, and heart palpitations.

If you've cheated on keto, there are several strategies you can use to get back into ketosis:

• Intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting is a healthy and effective way to use up your glycogen stores and help your body enter ketosis.
• Drink plenty of water: Increasing your water intake can help you feel more full and reduce hunger cravings.
• Increase your fat intake: Eating plenty of fats can help decrease sugar and carb cravings when you're trying to enter ketosis.
• Exercise: Increasing your exercise routine can help your body use up glucose quickly and transition to burning ketones for fuel.
• Get enough sleep: Your body's best chance of resetting and repairing itself happens while you're sleeping.
• Take exogenous ketones: Exogenous ketones can supply your body with energy as it works its way back into a ketogenic state.

How to get back into ketosis after cheating

So, you've cheated on your keto diet. Don't panic! It happens to the best of us. But now, you need to get your body back into ketosis, the metabolic state where your body burns fat as its primary source of energy. Here are some tips to get back on track:

• Accept that it happened and move on: Don't let one cheat day turn into a cheat week or month. The longer you continue to cheat, the more harm you will do. Own your mistake and get back on the keto bus!
• Do a fast: One of the quickest ways to deplete your body of glucose is by doing a fast. Try a 24-hour water and coffee-only fast, or any other form of intermittent fasting. This will help your body focus on processing the glucose and not worry about dealing with new food.
• Avoid dairy, nuts, and sweeteners: These foods may stall your weight loss and cause your body to become inflamed and retain water weight.
• Do strength training workouts: Weight training is an effective way to get rid of the excess carbs and sugar you consumed. It will also make you less likely to load up on keto-friendly foods afterward.
• Follow a strict low-carb regimen: Limit your carb intake to under 20 grams of total carbs per day to help your body burn through the glucose faster and get back into fat-burning mode.
• Track your food and ketone levels: Measuring your ketone levels is the only way to know for sure that you are back in ketosis. Tracking your food intake will also help you stick to the plan and ensure you are consuming the right amount of carbs.
• Drink plenty of water and take electrolytes: This won't get you back into ketosis faster, but it will help you avoid the dreaded keto flu symptoms, such as dizziness, stomach upset, or decreased energy.
• Learn from your mistake: Analyze why you cheated and address the root cause. Were you craving variety in your diet? Were you in a social situation where it was hard to stick to keto? Understanding your triggers can help you avoid future setbacks.

Remember, it's important to be kind to yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, and it's all part of the journey. So, get right back on that keto horse and keto on!

Tips to avoid cheating on keto

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 your body burns fat as its primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates. As the keto diet is very strict, you may be tempted by the occasional high-carb food. Here are some tips to help you avoid cheating on the keto diet:

• Practise mindfulness: Being mindful involves paying attention to your body, which may help you resist cravings and emotional eating.
• Plan your meals and snacks: Having a solid dietary plan makes it less likely that you’ll get hungry during the day and be tempted to cheat.
• Make your everyday diet enjoyable: Try incorporating different keto-friendly meals to vary your diet and make it enjoyable.
• Keep tempting foods out of the house: Keeping treats and other tempting, high-carb foods out of sight can make cheating inconvenient.
• Have an accountability partner: A buddy or accountability partner can help you stay motivated to stick to your diet.
• Test your ketone levels: If you’re craving carbs, you may not be fat-adapted (i.e. in ketosis). Test your ketone levels and adjust your macros if necessary.
• Stick to your low-carb diet in social situations: If you feel pressure to eat or drink non-keto foods in social situations, try offering to bring a keto-friendly dish to a party, or look at the menu ahead of time and select a low-carb option.
• Learn to meal prep: Always have keto-friendly foods on hand by setting aside one day a week to meal prep and batch cook several meals in advance.
• Don't call it a "cheat": Labelling foods as "cheat" foods can make them more desirable. Instead, try not to demonise any particular food—if you enjoy a high-carb food, then enjoy it and move on.
• Swap in keto-friendly foods: Instead of eating non-keto foods, try keto-friendly substitutes. For example, instead of wheat pasta, eat low-carb zucchini pasta.
• Keep portions small: This will help to prevent overeating. Make sure seconds aren’t within easy reach.
• Make cheating a rare occurrence: Cheat days shouldn’t be a daily thing. Space them out generously. The less you cheat, the less likely you’ll form bad eating habits.
• Make it count: Don’t waste your cheat meal on a handful of stale tortilla chips. Eat the foods you miss most.
• Cheat close to exercise: Exercise increases insulin sensitivity (your ability to handle carbs), so you can get back into ketosis faster.
• Return to eating keto quickly: The longer you avoid your low-carb routine, the harder it will be to get back on track.

The disadvantages of keto cheat days

While cheat days are common for many diets, they can be particularly detrimental for those on the keto diet. This is because the keto diet relies on your body staying in ketosis, a metabolic state in which your body burns fat as its primary source of energy instead of carbohydrates.

Knocked out of ketosis

Consuming too many carbohydrates can kick your body out of ketosis. This is because carbs raise blood sugar and insulin levels, which put an end to fat-burning and ketone production. It can then take several days to a week or more to re-enter ketosis, depending on your metabolism, exercise levels, and hydration.

Interference with weight loss goals

Since the keto diet is often used for weight loss, exiting ketosis can interfere with your weight loss goals. Even if you maintain a calorie deficit, you may not see the same results in terms of weight loss when you are out of ketosis.

Increased cravings

Research suggests that carbohydrates, especially in the form of sugar, induce reward and craving pathways in the brain that are similar to those triggered by addictive drugs. Cheat days can strengthen these pathways, making it harder for you to avoid carbohydrates and sugar in the future.

Blood sugar spikes

A cheat day can cause blood sugar spikes due to the abundance of carbohydrates. This can lead to an intense sugar crash and cause your body to switch back to burning glucose for fuel instead of fat.

Temporary water weight gain

Cheating on the keto diet can lead to temporary water weight gain, which can be discouraging for those trying to lose weight.

Guilt and negative feelings

Many people report feeling guilty and bad after having a cheat day or meal. This guilt can outweigh the pleasure of indulging, making the cheat day not worth it in the end.

While cheat days can be detrimental to the keto diet, it is important to note that the occasional cheat meal or day is not the end of the world. If you find yourself cheating, simply get back on track as soon as possible and use strategies such as intermittent fasting and exercise to help you re-enter ketosis faster.

How to implement a keto cheat day the right way

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low-carb diets. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbs. Modifying your diet and practising intermittent fasting can help you enter ketosis faster. Certain tests and symptoms can also help determine whether you've entered ketosis.

A ketogenic diet can help you lose weight and lower the risk of certain diseases. It can also provide benefits for people with metabolic, neurological, or insulin-related diseases.

However, the ketogenic diet is very strict, and you may find yourself tempted by the occasional high-carb food. Cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets. While cheating may be helpful for some eating patterns, it's far from ideal for the keto diet. That's because this diet relies on your body staying in ketosis.

• Plan ahead: Decide in advance when you will have your cheat day and what you will eat. This will help you stay on track and make healthier choices.
• Choose your cheats wisely: Not all cheats are created equal. Opt for cheats that are still within the keto-friendly guidelines, such as keto-friendly desserts or treats.
• Stick to your plan: Once you've decided on your cheat day and what you'll eat, stick to your plan. Don't give in to temptation and cheat multiple times, as this will only set you back.
• Be mindful of your portions: Even on your cheat day, be mindful of your portions. You don't want to overeat and undo all your progress.
• Get back on track: After your cheat day, get back on track with your keto diet. Don't let one cheat day turn into a cheat week or month.
• Practise self-control: It's important to have self-control when it comes to cheat days. Don't go overboard and eat everything in sight. Enjoy your cheats, but in moderation.
• Listen to your body: Pay attention to how your body reacts to cheat days. If you find that you feel sluggish or experience negative side effects, then cheat days may not be for you.
• Don't beat yourself up: If you do decide to have a cheat day and indulge in some high-carb treats, don't beat yourself up about it. Enjoy your treats guilt-free and get back on track the next day.

Frequently asked questions