Keto working great, but vacation coming up soon need advice
eponine1976
Posts: 143 Member
I have been doing Keto for 5weeks and I have lost over 10 lbs and my endocrinologist has even taken me off my diabetes medicine because my blood sugars are amazing, even now that I’m not taking anything. However in 2 weeks I’m going on vacation and I want advice on how much I can bend the rules without kicking myself out of Keto. Ive been aiming for 20 net carbs per day and that is working great but on vacations I usually allow myself treats that I don’t normally eat. Like a pina colada or fudge or ice cram. I’m not saying I’m going to pig out all week, at regular meal times I’m going to stick to low carb, but I would like to indulge on a few treats if I can do it without throwing myself out of keto
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Whether you get kicked out of ketosis is going to depend greatly on your glucose tolerance. Given that you're newly off meds, I'd wager you have very low tolerance.
That means your choices pretty much boil down to:
1. Don't risk it and stick to your diet.
2. Don't fret the drinks, treats, etc. and assume you'll probably not be in ketosis for at least some part of your vacation, because the act of having them will likely kick you out for a time.
You're in this for the long haul. Leaving ketosis in general isn't the end of the world (outside of seizure management). What matters are your long-term habits and choices.
Pina coladas, fudge, and ice cream (in their regular forms, not the "sugar free!" varieties) are sweet things and pretty much any amount is very likely to kick you out unless you're very active. But as long as you're not making a habit of such things, it'll be fine in the long run.
That doesn't mean it's a good idea to go on a bender, either, of course. In my experience, once you get away from the sugary stuff for a while, even if I like the taste, it often makes me feel not-so-great afterward, so it has to be really good stuff to make it worth the negative effects, thus limiting overall intake. I want to enjoy the whole vacation, not just the sweets.
If you choose option 2, I recommend either not weighing right after you get home, or only doing so to properly set expectations for the next weigh-in. Odds are good that the number on the scale will go up, but unless you gorged every day, it won't be "actual" weight gain, but water weight from the extra carbs and other atypical stuff you did and it will come back off within about a week or so of you getting back to your usual. You may or may not see any scale loss during the time of your vacation, but again, that's okay. Just have reasonable expectations.6 -
I have been eating this way with few variances for the better part of 4 years. For me, it is a way of life. I found at about the 3 month mark of not eating sweets that other flavors really started to come through, and I was able to appreciate the natural sweetness of foods I never thought of as sweet, like celery.
I used to be an ice cream fanatic. I never really cared for cake, cookies, etc. (although I did like eating come icing straight), but ice cream was my desert of choice. Back in February of 2018, I went on a cruise and decided to have ice cream because, hey, why not? I was on a cruise after all. First, it did not taste near as good as I remembered. I think my taste buds have changed.
Second, there is more to eating this way than BG control, although that was and is my primary focus. I am no longer consistently bloated. My joints don't hurt any more. I stopped snoring. The list is actually quite extensive of the benefits.
When looking at the benefits and comparing them to how I have felt both before starting this WOE as well as when I have strayed, to me it just isn't worth it to stray.
I know that probably sounds odd to you given the brief amount of time you have been eating like this, but, I think if you stick with it for 6 months to a year without going off the rails, you will look back and realize you are glad you did so.
On the other side, I see people all the time who start off well and decide to take reward themselves with food treats for this occasion or that occasion or a vacation or...... and then look back 6 months later and realize they are in worse shape than before they decided to make a change.
Maybe you are part of the minority who can relax your WOE after less than 2 months and be right back on the wagon afterwards. If so, count yourself blessed. Even so, expect wild BG excursions if you do. You will not be in ketosis. And those wild excursions are a key contributor to the overall negative effects of diabetes.6 -
Thank you both. I am in this for the long haul because I feel a lot better overall since starting this. I'll take your advice and avoid the treats. I don't want to screw up a good thing i have going5
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I'm not diabetic, so not sure how much this applies to you...I do use keto to control my migraines, so based on my own reactions, here is what I have found...
The longer I am on keto, the more resilient my body has become to eating carbs...now at almost 2 years in, I can have 100-200g of carbs for 5+ days before having a return of symptoms. At the 5 week mark even one day, even one meal, of high carb would land me with a migraine. 5 weeks is really still adaptation phase.
Activity level is key to processing carbs, if you are more active you can tolerate a higher carb level and remain in ketosis.
When I'm trying to stay keto but bend the rules some I aim for eating carbs early in the day (like lunch time) and keeping them out later in the day, plus I limit myself to 45 min of carb intake for the day, so if I have an ice cream after lunch, then whatever I don't finish in that 45 min window goes in the trash.
I don't mix alcohol and sugar - for me this is a disaster and I have massive hangovers. I almost never had a hangover before keto, but I can promise you, if I have a sweet alcoholic drink, even if it's just one or two, I will be super sick the next day. I'm fine with semi-sweet wines, or whiskey, or low carb beer. I have to be careful with ciders or sweet wines and I just avoid sweet mixed drinks entirely because they just totally send my hypoglycemia reeling the next day.
Good luck!!!2 -
I've been doing keto since Jan 2019. Last month I went to an all inclusive for 10 days. I had planned to be good...but, I wasn't. Lots of carbs, lots of cocktails. In 10 days, I gained back 6 lbs. I got right back onto keto when I got home and I lost all that weight in less than 2 weeks. I've been home/back on Keto for 25 days and I lost those 6 lbs and 6 more. Before I went away I was plateauing/stalling. The break from Keto was the shakeup my body seemed to need.5
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eponine1976 wrote: »Thank you both. I am in this for the long haul because I feel a lot better overall since starting this. I'll take your advice and avoid the treats. I don't want to screw up a good thing i have going
If you want to feel like you are having a 'drink' while friends are having theirs - make a 'Mockito' with seltzer water, fresh muddled mint, a bit of lime juice, and a sweetner of choice like stevia drops. I also like Nesfrutta Pineapple Coconut water drops in seltzer water for a 'Pina Colada' flavour. If you decide to do alcohol go for the low carb stuff like the following: https://dietdoctor.com/low-carb/alcohol
I'd stick as close as you can to your healthy carb level while on vacation, that's my personal choice though.4 -
I am diabetic and use the diet to control my BG. I have gotten off meds, etc. When I go on vacation, I count carbs only, and keep them under 20 net. I don't worry so much about the macros, although I do track them.1
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Come to think of it, Crystal Light has a whole line of "mocktails" which are zero carb and probably mix great with whatever liquor you like:
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tcunbeliever wrote: »Come to think of it, Crystal Light has a whole line of "mocktails" which are zero carb and probably mix great with whatever liquor you like:
You just made my day!!1
