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How long does it take you to recover from a cheat episode?

kepotak
kepotak Posts: 10 Member
in Social Groups
I dont want to say "cheat day" because I was good the whole day...

But somehow I ended up consuming an extra 1200 calories - about half of that in Captain Morgan's! - after 8pm on Saturday night...

Ughhhhhhhhh. Interestingly, I still actually stayed under my net carb limit though...

But today I was up 1.5 pounds. What's my road to recovery look like? Ugh. The night out wasn't even worth all that excess!

Replies

  • AngInCanada
    AngInCanada Posts: 947 Member
    edited February 2016
    Drink lots of water, stay as low carb as you can and you should be back in ketosis in 24-48 hours. Some people even suggest fasting after a "cheat" day/meal.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
    It really depends. As I don't drink, I can't specifically give advice here, but my vote is about what @AngInCanada said...keep drinking water, up your sodium, and just get back on track.

    Fasting afterward tends to go back to the old school stuff of punishing yourself for doing bad. I don't buy into that, as it almost always rebounds...
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
    Yea, a couple of days back on track should do it! Hang in there!
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
    I'm a diabetic, from a blood glucose standpoint, it takes me about two weeks to recover from eating a high dose of carbs, making any type of a cheat very undesirable for me. And that's with doing fat fasts and keeping the carbs under 5 for 3 days after the cheat. But I'm VERY insulin resistant. I'm sure it's not so bad for those who aren't as sensitive to carbs as I am.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    Keto for 2 years, only cheat I had was Xmas day 2014 and it lasted 3 months. So I don't have cheat days anymore, ever.
  • ShootingStar72
    ShootingStar72 Posts: 183 Member
    Currently recovering from a cheat weekend :/ . I should be able to zip my jeans up by Wednesday if I behave myself.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    I did vodka Saturday night.... I'm thinking it doesn't count because I threw it all up.
  • kepotak
    kepotak Posts: 10 Member
    deksgrl wrote: »
    I did vodka Saturday night.... I'm thinking it doesn't count because I threw it all up.

    Lol lol lol !!!! This just made me literally laugh out loud!!!! Oh boy!!!

    Thanks for the responses. I actually still stayed low carb, but consumed all that alcohol. I'm hoping tomorrow will be better! Ay!!!!!
  • lowjax75
    lowjax75 Posts: 589 Member
    For me, a cheat day usually takes 2 weeks to get back to where I was before. I will usually gain 2-3 pounds for a cheat day. The full 3 pounds doesn't hit for 1-2 days later. Then it takes the rest of that week to get back down to 1 pound above, then another week to get back to my pre-cheat weight. Then another week to get below it. If I do go over by just a few carbs, usually within a week I'm back to normal, but for a blow-out day, it will probably be the 3 weeks.

    So, for me, 1 cheat day equals about 3 weeks of weigh loss down the drain. I find it better not to cheat.
  • 110challenge
    110challenge Posts: 195 Member
    If I kick myself out of ketosis it takes at least 4 days for the weight to drop, even if I feel like I was back in faster (I had 5 small bites of cheesecake on Valentines day and it was enough to throw me!).
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    A cheat meal takes a few days for me to recover. A cheat day is a problem because my appetite is now up and I eat more again. And again and again. It seems to take a week or two to get my appetite back under control. And this is all a low carb cheat; I doubt I have been over 100g or carbs since the early summer. It's just high carb for me.

    @PaleoInScotland As someone else with IR, it's reassuring to see that it takes others a while for their BG to normalize. Over the last week I was eating too much, and over my usual carb limit - way over for about 2 days. Even after a few days of striving for zero carbs, my BG is barely back to acceptable and my ketones are barely there. It's nice to know I'm not alone on that. Misery loves company I guess. ;)
  • dessiepenn
    dessiepenn Posts: 167 Member
    It takes me about 36ish hours. I workout five days a week and I'm active on the weekends. To be honest, I feel like I need a cheat meal once a week. I usually pick Saturday night or Sunday after church lunch. I believe it has aided in my weight loss because it restores the glycogen back in my muscles for me to lift heavy and burn more fat. My logic might wrong but I tend to stall if I'm straight keto while working out. I've been ketoing for a few years, with a couple of pregnancies in between.
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    A cheat meal takes a few days for me to recover. A cheat day is a problem because my appetite is now up and I eat more again. And again and again. It seems to take a week or two to get my appetite back under control. And this is all a low carb cheat; I doubt I have been over 100g or carbs since the early summer. It's just high carb for me.

    @PaleoInScotland As someone else with IR, it's reassuring to see that it takes others a while for their BG to normalize. Over the last week I was eating too much, and over my usual carb limit - way over for about 2 days. Even after a few days of striving for zero carbs, my BG is barely back to acceptable and my ketones are barely there. It's nice to know I'm not alone on that. Misery loves company I guess. ;)

    Yep, it's always reassuring to hear that you're not the only one who struggles with certain things, especially when we hear about people on tv and in magazines dropping 100 lbs in what seems like a blink of an eye :wink:

    And like you, my "cheat" days have probably been under 100 g carbs. That really puts it into perspective when people say, "Come on, one bite won't hurt. You deserve to treat yourself. It's the weekend, just splurge for one day." Knowing how long it takes me to recover makes me realise why all those weekend splurges prevented me from losing weight when I ate so well all week.
  • ettaterrell
    ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
    lowjax75 wrote: »
    For me, a cheat day usually takes 2 weeks to get back to where I was before. I will usually gain 2-3 pounds for a cheat day. The full 3 pounds doesn't hit for 1-2 days later. Then it takes the rest of that week to get back down to 1 pound above, then another week to get back to my pre-cheat weight. Then another week to get below it. If I do go over by just a few carbs, usually within a week I'm back to normal, but for a blow-out day, it will probably be the 3 weeks.

    So, for me, 1 cheat day equals about 3 weeks of weigh loss down the drain. I find it better not to cheat.

    This... And my cheats are still under 40 g carbs and 1800 cals. Always takes at least 2-3 weeks. But I'm close to goal.
  • lowjax75
    lowjax75 Posts: 589 Member
    I'm still a long ways from goal, but glad to hear other people are similar.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    Took me about two days or so, lots of water and maybe a little lower carb.
  • kepotak
    kepotak Posts: 10 Member
    Thanks all! I was down 0.5 today, so up 1lb total now. I think I'll be back on track by the end of the weekend. And I'm gonna be good ALL weekend!!!
  • Almoshposh
    Almoshposh Posts: 139 Member
    EbonyDahlia wrote: »
    Keto for 2 years, only cheat I had was Xmas day 2014 and it lasted 3 months. So I don't have cheat days anymore, ever.

    This is me now trying to recover from Xmas day 2015! I want to stop cheating but I'm finding it really hard to stay on track.

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