Cheat Days: Breaking Keto Plateau, Help Or Hindrance?

The keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that's 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 this diet is very strict, you may find yourself tempted by the occasional high-carb food.

Cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets. The former allows you to break the diet's rules throughout the day, while the latter lets you have a single meal that breaks the rules. The idea of planned cheating is that by allowing yourself short periods of indulgence, you're more likely to stick to the diet over the long term.

However, cheat meals or days are discouraged on the keto diet because they can easily break ketosis — the metabolic state that's the hallmark of this diet. Consuming too many carbs can kick your body out of ketosis, and it takes several days to 1 week to get back into it. In the meantime, your weight loss may be disrupted.

If you've cheated on keto, you're likely out of ketosis. Once out, you'll need to strictly follow the keto diet to reenter ketosis. This process takes several days to 1 week, depending on your carb intake, metabolism, and activity levels.

Cheat meals and days disrupt ketosis

The keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that 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 find yourself tempted by the occasional high-carb food.

Cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets. The former allows you to break the diet's rules throughout the day, while the latter lets you have a single meal that breaks the rules. The idea of planned cheating is that by allowing yourself short periods of indulgence, you're more likely to stick to the diet over the long term.

However, the keto diet relies on your body staying in ketosis. To do so, you need to eat fewer than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Eating more than 50 grams can kick your body out of ketosis. As carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source, your body will use them over ketone bodies — the main source of fuel during ketosis, which are derived from fats — as soon as a sufficient number of carbs are available.

Because 50 grams of carbs is relatively few, a single cheat meal can easily exceed your daily carb allowance and take your body out of ketosis — while a cheat day is almost certain to surpass 50 grams of carbs. In addition, some research suggests that suddenly reintroducing a high-carb meal to a ketogenic diet may damage your blood vessels.

It's also worth noting that it's easy to overeat while cheating, which may sabotage your weight loss efforts and promote unhealthy eating habits. Cheat meals or days are discouraged on the keto diet because they can easily break ketosis — the metabolic state that's the hallmark of this diet.

If you've cheated on keto, you're likely out of ketosis. Once out, you'll need to strictly follow the keto diet to reenter ketosis. This process takes several days to one week, depending on your carb intake, metabolism, and activity levels.

How to recover from cheat meals

It's natural to want to indulge in your cravings now and then, and "cheat days" are a common strategy for strict diets. However, cheat meals or days are not ideal if you're following a ketogenic diet because they can easily break ketosis, which is the metabolic state that's the hallmark of this diet.

If you've cheated on keto, you'll need to be strict with the diet to re-enter ketosis, which can take several days to a week. Here are some tips to help you recover from cheat meals and get back on track:

• Intermittent fasting: Combine intermittent fasting with the keto diet to help your body shift its fuel source from carbs to fat.
• Track your carb intake: Keep a close eye on your daily carb intake to ensure you don't underestimate it and kick yourself out of ketosis.
• Try a short-term fat fast: Fat fasts, like egg fasts, are very high-fat and low-carb diets meant to be followed for a brief period, which may help expedite ketosis.
• Exercise more: Physical activity depletes your glycogen stores, which are your body's stored form of carbs, thus promoting ketosis.
• Try a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) supplement: MCTs are rapidly absorbed fatty acids that are easily converted into ketones and can help you get back into ketosis faster.
• Test your ketone levels: Use tools like ketone breath meters, blood ketone meters, or keto urine strips to check if you've reached ketosis.

In addition to the above strategies, here are some more tips to help you recover from cheat meals and get back on track:

• Drink lots of water: Cheat meals often consist of foods high in salt, sugar, or both. Drinking at least 2 litres of water the day after a cheat meal will help flush out the excess salt, sugar, and toxins from your system.
• Move on: It can be hard to put a cheat day behind you, but the key is to move forward and turn your cheat into motivation. A cheat meal won't hurt as long as you have a plan to regain control.
• Choose a high-protein and veggie day: Cheat meals tend to be high in calories, so balance it out with a low-calorie day by choosing meals high in protein and vegetables the day after.
• Increase your calorie burn, but don't overdo it: A little extra cardio or weight training can help balance out the excess calories from a cheat meal, but be careful not to overdo it, as endurance cardio sessions combined with an improper diet will stress your body.
• Be kind to yourself: Beating yourself up after a cheat day only adds to your stress and takes a toll on your mental health. Instead, be gentle with yourself and remind yourself that you're doing the best you can.
• Remind yourself of your other healthy behaviours: Being healthy isn't just about what you eat. Take a step back and notice all the other healthy behaviours you're practising, such as exercising, drinking enough water, meditating, or getting enough sleep.
• Have a balanced meal: When recovering from a cheat day, it's ideal to return to healthy eating as soon as possible. Have a balanced meal with a generous portion of fibre-rich, non-starchy vegetables, paired with protein and wholesome starchy carbs.
• Practise tuning into your hunger and fullness: After a cheat day, reconnect with your hunger and fullness cues to avoid overeating. The goal is to eat until you're lightly full, not stuffed.
• Give up the notion of cheat days: Instead of labelling certain days as "cheat days," try to develop a balanced relationship with food and your body, where you can enjoy foods in moderation without feeling guilty.

By implementing these strategies, you can recover from cheat meals and get back on track with your keto diet. Remember, it's all about finding a balance that works for you and makes you feel your best, both physically and mentally.

Tips to avoid cheating

The keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that's 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 this diet is very strict, you may find yourself tempted by the occasional high-carb food. Here are some tips to help curb the urge to cheat on the keto diet:

• Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness involves paying attention to your body, which may help you resist cravings and emotional eating.
• Plan out your meals and snacks: A solid dietary plan makes it less likely that you’ll get hungry during the day.
• Make your everyday diet enjoyable: Try incorporating different keto-friendly meals to vary up 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.
• Make keto-friendly substitutes: Instead of eating chocolate chip cookies, eat keto chocolate chip cookies. Instead of eating wheat pasta, eat low-carb zucchini pasta.
• Keep portions small: This will prevent overeating. Instead of relying on willpower, make sure seconds aren’t within easy reach.
• Make it rare: Cheat days aren’t 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, like that special holiday dessert.
• Avoid sugar: Sugary cheat meals will fuel sugar addiction and drive future cravings. Think long-term by using keto-friendly sweeteners like erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit.
• Cheat close to exercise: Exercise increases insulin sensitivity (your ability to handle carbs), so you can get back into ketosis faster.
• Return to keto quickly: The longer you avoid your low-carb routine, the harder it will be to get back on track.

Pros and cons of cheating on keto

The keto diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that 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 find yourself tempted by the occasional high-carb food. While cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets, they are not ideal for the keto diet because it relies on your body staying in ketosis. Here are some pros and cons of cheating on keto:

Pros

• It can help you stick to the keto diet over the long term. By allowing yourself short periods of indulgence, you may be more likely to stick to the diet in the long run.
• It can help you stay motivated and teach you moderation.
• It can help you learn to have your cake and eat it too.
• It can be a source of pride and boost your self-esteem.
• It can help you stand up against abuse of authority and question abuses of power in society.

Cons

• It can kick your body out of ketosis. Eating more than 50 grams of carbohydrates can take your body out of ketosis, and it takes several days to one week to get back into it.
• It can cause a blood sugar spike.
• It can stop ketone production.
• It can cause a temporary gain in water weight.
• It can cause cravings.
• It can lead to unhealthy eating habits and sabotage your weight loss efforts.
• It can be detrimental to your health. In one small study, researchers found that keto cheat days could increase heart health risks among diabetics following a keto diet to manage blood sugar levels.

How to cheat on a ketogenic diet the right way

Cheat days and cheat meals

Cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets. Cheat days allow you to break the diet's rules for a whole day, while cheat meals let you have a single meal that breaks the rules. The idea is that by allowing yourself short periods of indulgence, you're more likely to stick to the diet over the long term.

However, cheat meals and days are discouraged on the keto diet because they can easily break ketosis — the metabolic state that's the hallmark of this diet. To stay in ketosis, you need to eat fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day. Eating more than 50 grams can kick your body out of ketosis. As carbs are your body's preferred energy source, your body will use them over ketone bodies — the main source of fuel during ketosis, which are derived from fats.

How to recover from cheat meals

If you've cheated on keto, you're likely out of ketosis. Once out, you'll need to strictly follow the keto diet to reenter ketosis. This process takes several days to 1 week, depending on your carb intake, metabolism, and activity levels. Here are some tips to help you get back into ketosis:

• Try intermittent fasting.
• Track your carb intake.
• Try a short-term fat fast.
• Exercise more.
• Try a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) supplement.

Tips to avoid cheating

• Practice mindfulness.
• Plan out your meals and snacks.
• Make your everyday diet enjoyable.
• Keep tempting foods out of the house.
• Have an accountability partner.

The right way to cheat on a ketogenic diet

• Opt for keto-approved cheat meals.
• Have cheat meals, not cheat days.
• Track your daily intake.
• Make it rare.
• Make it count.
• Avoid sugar.
• Cheat close to exercise.
• Return to eating keto quickly.

Keto-friendly alternatives

• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale).
• Nuts and nut butters.
• Olives and olive oil.
• Seeds and seed butters.

Frequently asked questions