The keto diet is a very low carb, high fat diet thats 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 carbs (1).
As this diet is very strict, you may find yourself tempted by the occasional high carb food.
As such, its natural to wonder whether youre allowed to have cheat meals or cheat days on keto or whether this will kick you out of ketosis.
This article explains whether you can cheat on the keto diet.
Cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets. The former allows you to break the diets 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, youre more likely to stick to the diet over the long term.
While cheating may be helpful for some eating patterns, its far from ideal for the keto diet.
Thats because this diet relies on your body staying in ketosis.
To do so, you need to eat fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day. Eating more than 50 grams can kick your body out of ketosis (2).
As carbs are your bodys 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 (2).
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 (3).
Its also worth noting that its easy to overeat while cheating, which may sabotage your weight loss efforts and promote unhealthy eating habits (4, 5).
Cheat meals or days are discouraged on the keto diet because they can easily break ketosis the metabolic state thats the hallmark of this diet.
If youve cheated on keto, youre likely out of ketosis.
Once out, youll 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 (6, 7, 8).
Here are a few tips to help you get back into ketosis:
The best way to know if youve reached ketosis is to test your ketone levels.
You can use tools that measure your bodys ketone levels, such as ketone breath meters, blood ketone meters, and keto urine strips which tend to be the cheapest and easiest method.
If youve cheated on keto, youll need to strictly adhere to the diet to reenter ketosis. A few techniques, such as intermittent fasting, fat fasting, and exercise, may help you reach ketosis faster.
You can implement several simple strategies to help curb the urge to cheat on the keto diet. Some tips include:
To resist the urge to cheat on keto, try keeping carbs out of the house, planning out your meals and snacks, and practicing mindfulness.
You should avoid cheat meals and days on the keto 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.
To resist cheating on keto, you can keep tempting foods out of the household, rope in an accountability partner, practice mindfulness, and make a strong daily diet plan.
Note that if youre feeling prolonged symptoms of dizziness, stomach upset, or decreased energy, stop your keto diet and consult your doctor.
See original here:
Cheating on Keto: Effects and Recovery - Healthline
