Keto followers...
amring
Posts: 21 Member
What do you do when you go on holiday? Do you go all out and enjoy? (If so how much would you gain?) Or do you make keto choices? I'm going on a 2 week trip to NYC and haven't decided what to do!! (I mean common they have the best unhealthy food ever!!) I've been on keto for 2 months now and I'm in my lowest weight ever!! Tough decision...
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Replies
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If you have been strict keto for 2 months you should be at minimum in the beginning stages of being fat adapted so with all the walking you will be doing your body will likely just burn it off regardless if you are reasonable with the intake. You might not even want a lot of the junk foods after the first meal or two regardless. There are always hacks: Order two slices of NY pizza and dump the cheese/toppings from 1 of the slices on top of a single slice to keep the bread down while getting all the cheese.
I'd low carb it for the trip vs keto levels but that is just me but I follow a WOE of cycling between keto carb levels and low carb levels depending on the month and it is easy to get back into the Keto level when ready.2 -
I usually stay low-carb, but not always keto levels...I do tend to indulge in alcohol and sometimes carby treats like a local bakery. I definitely don't eat just any carbs, it needs to be something I consider "worth it" like a really highly recommended thing that I can't get in everyday life and even then I try to limit it to just once or twice over the course of a vacation.4
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I would try and keep my alcohol to lower carb choices like vodka lime soda water. Maybe 1 meal a day higher carb whether it be breakfast one day then supper another night? that way you are not going overboard for every meal and feeling grose by the end of the first week.1
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I've been back at this WOE for 8 weeks. If I were going on vacation, I would continue to choose keto or low carb options. If I'm honest, it's a WOE so I'm not going to conform just because I'm on vacation or it's a special event. I need to learn to adapt to my new lifestyle, so staying on track would be best for me. I would stick to the low carb/keto options for alcohol if you're a drinker. Good luck on your journey!2
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I went on a cruise in December and had some alcohol options on a couple of days. Did two meals of the trip that would be considered higher carb, but overall would still be a low carb/mostly Keto week. I wouldn’t want to blow out the carbs a ruin the trip with a migraine!2
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If the food is amazing, I'd eat it. For instance, I would not pass up a croissant if I went to France. To me it's part of the experience. But like others have said, don't just blow it on something that's not worth it.4
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@qweck3 - thanks for your reply! Have another question (not directly related to my holiday). There's a lot of information on water gain when people go over the carb limit (i.e binge on carbs). What about going over calorie limit but still keeping carbs below 10- 20g will the consequences be as bad? I have read on some websites there's not even a need to calorie count on keto diet as you're most likely to eat fewer calories. Just wanted to know your opinion as I have read a few posts from you in different forums and you know about keto way more than me!0
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@qweck3 - thanks for your reply! Have another question (not directly related to my holiday). There's a lot of information on water gain when people go over the carb limit (i.e binge on carbs). What about going over calorie limit but still keeping carbs below 10- 20g will the consequences be as bad? I have read on some websites there's not even a need to calorie count on keto diet as you're most likely to eat fewer calories. Just wanted to know your opinion as I have read a few posts from you in different forums and you know about keto way more than me!
If I consistently eat over my calorie limit I will get what I've always gotten-fat. If I consistently eat over on carbs but not calories, I'll just retain water until I drop my carbs back. I seem to have to eat a 100+ grams of carbs a few days in a row to start retaining water. I think we all may have different degrees of carb sensitivity. Some people can eat a small cookie and bloat or get sick. Not me.
The reason many say one doesn't have to count calories on keto is because keto tends to curb the appetite of many so they eat less without trying and lose weight. It is the old "eat when you're hungry and don't eat when you're not" approach. That works for me...sometimes.2 -
@amring Thanks for the kind words. I'm just a guy studying nutrition science on the side that figured out a few things that actually worked for me after a lot of failures along the way and share what I can to try to help others to avoid all the potholes I fell into.
Water weight is tied in to the whole insulin increase as the body tries to handle the carbs and associated body functions in the background. Water weight comes and goes and I wouldn't stress about it for a short period like a vacation. TIP: Stay off your bathroom scale for 2 weeks after your vacation and give everything time to settle back to normal so you don't get down off of some scale number that isn't real.
Going from say 20 carbs to 75-100 carbs won't be dramatic especially if you are fat adapted. I bounce regularly from keto carb levels to low carb woe levels with no issue depending on the month. Takes a day or two to get back into ketosis but not something I need to do 12 months a year.
The calories question can be taken a few different ways and I don't think it is wrong what you read overall.
First, I'm a believer in CICO (calories in-calories out) regardless of the way of eating. I use RMR testing to update my TDEE a few times a year. It works and is precision accurate. CICO is simple: If eat more than my established TDEE I gain weight which is bad unless lifting and building lean mass. I eat less than my TDEE I lose weight. I eat right at my TDEE I maintain. Simple as that unless medical problems are prevalent.
Second, Keto is a WOE that tends to build up a tolerance where you just don't need as much food to be satiated. (Even more happens at the fat adapted stage). Because of that over time folks don't even stress about calories. Calories still matter but folks are just really good at staying at their TDEE maintenance level because their body screams: I'M GOOD. NO MORE FOOD! Leptin: read up on it as it plays a role.
I seriously wouldn't worry about eating 75-100 carbs on vacation a day or even going over your normal calories by a moderate amount. Think of it this way: Say your maintenance TDEE is 2000 calories and each morning you go to the gym and burn 500 calories before going out sightseeing and throughout the day you walked 750 calories more than a normal day back home. Now your TDEE for that day is: 3,250 - lots of calories you can eat without gaining.
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I keep carbs under 20 net, but I don't especially watch calories or the protein/fat macros. I log, but just watching carbs means that I can eat some peanuts or pepperoni slices off the appetizer table and not have to worry about anything else. I typically stay constant with the weight. I have been keto since October 2016, so I am pretty acclimated.3
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I just spent 2 weeks at an all inclusive resort in Cuba. Stayed low carb the entire time. Not keto but low carb was easy. Pick one meal a day as your treat and keep it small. For me I focussed on getting my good bacon/sausage and eggs breakfast, lunch was often skipped or was fried seafood and veggies with oil and vinegar dressing at a backyard food server, suppers were meats, stir fries, very small servings of rice and beans. Desserts on resort: not worth it aside from some yum rice pudding that sucked me in twice, I had brought some 90% dark chocolate and stored them in our mini fridge and that was my sweet fix. Drinks were rum mixed with sofa water or diet cola. Twice we bought peanut brittle from street vendors, very high carb, and I had real mohitos twice, but it was doable. My calories were high the whole trip(so many new cheeses and sausage to choose from) but I got back a week ago up 6lbs and it is mostly gone already.
If you keep your carby servings small, and think low carb and not keto you should be fine.3 -
No matter what you want to eat, my best advice is to follow your stomach and eat only when you're hungry.
For me it's my evil tongue that always gets me into trouble.6 -
I do my best to stay Keto, but I do allow myself a special treat or 2 if it’s something I’ve always loved. My tastes have changed so much though that some fruit with a cafe latte is heaven now. Fruit tastes like candy and I can taste the sweetness of the milk in the latter and enjoy the balance of the sweet and bitter. I just go right back to making Keto choices for the next meal. Now...if it’s chips and guacamole...all bets are off!2
