Cheat Meals on KETO. Questions for Low Carbers.

kkatrinamorenoo
kkatrinamorenoo Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
For the past week I've been on a Keto diet and my net carbs stay under 20 g, and I tested my urine on a KetoStick and got dark colors, showing that there's traces of ketones in their which is great.

I read online that the first two weeks should be strict keto with no cheat meals, etc. BUT after two weeks, is it okay to have a meal or day with more carbs than I'm eating now?

For those of you on Keto, do you have cheat meals once a week with as much carbs as you want?


Please let me know! I am new to this and am eager to learn. Thank you to all that reply.

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    OK, I have a few things for you.

    First, as long as you see any color on ketostix you're in ketosis, shade doesn't matter. Darker shades mean you need to drink more water.

    Second, it's OK to have a day where your carbs are a little higher, but no more than 100g. If you decided to eat a bunch of carbs one day you'd get kicked out of ketosis and have to wait like a week to get back in.

    Personally, I don't do cheat days. It's not worth it to eat some carbs at one meal and then have to do a week of strict low carb and glycogen drain work outs every day to get back in to ketosis.
  • brigeweeks
    brigeweeks Posts: 18 Member
    It's best not to cheat on low carb. You can increase your carb level gradually after the first 2 weeks, but if you blow it and cheat, it will take you another 2 days to start losing weight again. It's just not worth it to me and the weight loss will be much slower. Increase your exercise to you can eat more carbs. That's better than cheating.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Also, many people get the keto flu after getting kicked out of ketosis and trying to get back in. Some don't go through it a second time but keto full sucks so I wouldn't risk having to go through it again.
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
    These notes are my personally experience.

    1. If I have a cheat day on e.g. Saturday, I am back in Ketosis on Tuesday, i.e. much less than a week and without exercising.

    2. Cheating days are very valuable, both psychologically and physically
    Psychologically aspects, if you are on a diet somebody told you that you can't have a certain food for 6 months you would probably fail, allowing you having a moderate cheating day makes you more prone to stay on the diet because you know that e.g. the weekend is coming up. In general all diets are working, what makes them fail is that people can't stick to them.

    Physically, carbs trigger T3 and IGF-1 which tends to decrease during the keto diet.

    What really matters is that you stick to your diet and cheating days really helps you to accomplish this...
  • debramariemary
    debramariemary Posts: 13 Member
    Many years ago I did a diet that kept me in ketosis. I had to take a potassium supplement and be monitored. I don’t know about this diet you are talking about, but is it safe without medical supervision? I’m doing South Beach – does that mean I’m in ketosis? I’m going to ask my cardiologist about this next week.
  • jules1202
    jules1202 Posts: 65
    I’m doing South Beach – does that mean I’m in ketosis?

    Most likely you are not. South Beach has plenty of healthy carbs included like milk and beans and that would put you above the low limit of carbs to be in ketosis. If you haven't I would encourage you to read the book on South Beach that explains the logic behind the concept. I am one of those people who always likes to understand how things work and the book is quite an easy read.
  • kkatrinamorenoo
    kkatrinamorenoo Posts: 4
    I am currently on a Ketogenic diet. It's similar to Atkins but our carb intake is 20g and below for best results in ketosis. Ketosis is when your body starts using fat as fuel causing great results for weight loss. If you're interested in this diet please view http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/
  • BennyCH
    BennyCH Posts: 73 Member
    The main advantage doing a keto diet is NOT being in ketosis, the main advantage is that your hunger goes down to practically zero, I have absolutely no hunger doing a keto diet, my calorie intake is around 1500 kcal (a factor 2-3 compared on being on a carb-based diet), THAT is the main thing about the keto diet, if you are hungry doing a keto diet it doesn't matter whether if you are in ketosis or not...

    this is also when having a cheat meal you will not totally pig out, I usually save my cheat meals for e.g. business dinners, or when I'm taking my wife out for dinner, or getting invited by friends etc.
  • mommaof3princesses
    mommaof3princesses Posts: 1
    I'm learning there are several variations of Keto.
    I did Keto for about 6 months to lose some initial weight and prep for a contest. That diet was 40% fats, 55% protein and 5% carbs, no dairy, and fat was only from healthy sources (nuts, green veggies....no bacon). One cheat meal a week.
    Now I'm starting a new Keto version and it is 75% fats, 20% protein and 5% carbs. I might try to add in a cheat meal after the first 2 weeks.
    Also, both allowed up to 50g of carbs a day as 'incidental'. That should be low enough to keep you in Ketosis.
  • kabdu108
    kabdu108 Posts: 14 Member
    My greatest challenge in the Keto meal planning is getting a fat/protein ratio where I want it - my protein is always a little higher than it should be for a 65/35/5 balance. I am losing weight almost daily, about a .5 or .25 pounds on 1000 calories a day. I don't have binge days as carbs/sweets are incredibly unattractive now. I've noticed however that my son who is 28 is losing weight at a much faster rate than I, (about 25%) yet is more sedentary. I walk an hour a day. I wonder why that is? Age? Fat/Protein balance (he eats more fat than I as I am at work during the day, and he can cook his own meals at home (as a student).
  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Bp

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