The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that encourages ketosis, a metabolic state in which your body burns fat as its primary energy source instead of carbs. The keto diet has become very common for weight loss or to manage diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Because this diet is very strict, you may find yourself tempted by the occasional high-carb food. As such, it’s natural to wonder whether you’re allowed to have cheat meals or cheat days on keto - or whether this will kick you out of ketosis.
This article explores the potential benefits and drawbacks of cheat days on the keto diet and provides strategies for recovering from a cheat day, including the role of fasting. It also addresses the importance of understanding the concept of "cheating" while intermittent fasting (IF) and provides advice on how to recover from a cheat day while intermittent fasting, and that idea of cheat days while intermittent fasting (IF) does not necessarily lead to the same outcomes as general ‘cheating.’
Understanding Cheat Days on the Keto Diet
Cheat days and cheat meals are common strategies for strict diets. The former allows you to break the diet’s 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, you’re more likely to stick to the diet over the long term.
On your cheat day, you’d probably load your meals with an assortment of foods that is most likely unhealthy.
While cheating may be helpful for some eating patterns, it’s far from ideal for the keto diet. 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. As carbs are your body’s 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.
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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.
It’s also worth noting that it’s easy to overeat while cheating, which may sabotage your weight loss efforts and promote unhealthy eating habits.
The Impact of Cheat Days on Ketosis
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.
If you’ve cheated on keto, you’re likely out of ketosis. Once out, you’ll 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.
New research shows that people who follow a keto diet to lose weight or treat diabetes should avoid sudden spikes in blood sugar levels.
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The results were alarming because even though the participants were all young males, the condition of their blood vessels after consuming the glucose drink was more similar to that of people with poor cardiovascular health.
Little explains that the damage to blood vessels is due to the body’s own metabolic response to spikes in blood sugar levels, which may lead to the death of blood vessel cells.
These findings should give those on a keto diet pause when considering a “cheat day.”
The data suggest that the keto diet is not something that people should do for 6 days a week and take a day off.
The Concept of ‘Cheating’ While Intermittent Fasting
If you’re following an IF regimen, a cheat day is when you disregard your eating and fasting schedules and eat whenever you want-as opposed to whatever you want. This, however, can lead to higher consumption of calories than you normally take in. On top of that, you’re most likely to sneak in a few unhealthy meals throughout the day. To counter that, your first instinct will probably be to go on an extreme fast the following day. After all, fasting the next day will drastically reduce the calorie intake and reverse the effects of over-eating, won’t it? If that’s your hope, think again. How will fasting after a cheat day affect your metabolism? Will it reverse the effects of cheating, or will it just exert further stress on your body? You need to carefully plan how to recover from a cheat day, and that’s exactly what we intend to help you with through this post.
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What Your Body Needs to Recover After a Cheat Day
Science says that these high-fat, high-carb meals will wreak havoc on your metabolism-even if it’s just for one day.
One study found that eating an excessively high-fat diet for a single day can lead to metabolic dysfunction [1]. It was revealed that even this brief period of overfeeding reduced insulin sensitivity and negatively affected blood sugar control. Another study that confirmed this phenomenon reported that eating high-fat meals, even for a short period of time, can increase fasting glucose levels and insulin secretion [2]. It also revealed that this high-fat overfeeding increased insulin resistance as well as fasting leptin levels.
Over-eating high-carb meals also results in metabolic dysfunction. According to one research study, a short-term, high-carbohydrate diet damaged metabolism by interfering with insulin secretion and regulation [3].
This diet also increased oxidative stress, which is internal stress caused by harmful toxins [3].
There is also evidence to say that a cheat day will mess up your lipid metabolism [4].
These pieces of evidence prove that your body goes through metabolic and oxidative stress during and immediately after a cheat day.
A cheat day will also alter hormone levels like leptin and ghrelin which will ultimately determine how hungry you are. For example, it was found that short-term overfeeding significantly increases serum ghrelin concentrations, which is the hunger hormone [5].
Fasting After a Cheat Day: Will It Reverse the Cheating?
When you think about all the changes your body goes through after a day of over-eating, it will seem that going without food the next day is the best answer, but is it? Is fasting after a cheat day a good idea? Well, yes and no. The exact answer depends on the type of fasting you are thinking of doing. Let us explain further.
High Cortisol & Recovery
If you’re tempted to do a 24-hour fast after your cheat day (or even a 36-hour fast or a terrible-sounding 48-hour fast), it’s probably not a good idea.
Research studies have confirmed that fasting elevates plasma cortisol levels [6]. As you might know, cortisol is your body’s primary stress hormone, and increased cortisol levels translate into increased stress. As we described in the previous section, a cheat day will put your body through a lot of stress. An extreme fast that lasts 24 hours or more will further increase the stress, thus making it hard for your body to recover.
You May Feel Hungrier the Day After Cheating
It can also be mentally and physically challenging to go without food for a whole day (or even more) after a day of indulging in tasty, nutrient-poor food. And as we explained earlier, overfeeding increases ghrelin levels, which means you will feel hungrier the day after. So even though you recently ate a ton of calories on your cheat day, they were not of the nutritious kind and still left you feeling hungry the next day.
Research has also shown that eating foods with a high glycemic index (such as high-carb foods, sweets, or most fast food) will increase appetite and food intake following these meals [7]. This implies that fasting after eating a lot of sugar the previous day, for example, will be particularly hard, as you will be exceptionally ravenous.
On the other hand, fasting after a cheat day can help you bring down your weekly calorie intake, thus reducing your risk of weight gain.
So, Should You Fast After a Cheat Day?
As we said, it depends. A day full of cheat meals will put your body through a lot of stress, and its effects will continue to the day after your cheat day as well. If you try to fast for 24 hours or longer the following day, the stress will increase, and your body won’t have time to recover.
However, if you do it right, intermittent fasting can help you reduce your weekly calorie intake and help you maintain your weight.
As we know, intermittent fasting can increase insulin sensitivity, lower oxidative stress, and regulate inflammation [8]. It can also improve energy metabolism, thus countering the effects of high-calorie consumption on your cheat day.
An intermittent fast will let your body adjust the blood sugar levels as well as insulin levels. Plus, it will let your body reset after a day of heavy eating. The challenge is to determine the best way to do it without letting your body suffer.
How to Fast After a Cheat Day
So, what should you do after a cheat day? The ideal way to do an intermittent fast after your cheat day is to go slow. You shouldn’t expect your body, mind, or your taste buds to return to normal immediately after a day of indulgent meals. It will take time, for sure. In the meantime, try a not-too-extreme fasting schedule, such as 12/12 or 16/8. This will probably mean skipping breakfast the following morning.
Your eating schedule will be determined by the time you ate dinner, but make sure to have a balanced meal with generous portions of protein and fiber. These will keep your blood sugar steady and your hunger at bay [9] [10].
Avoid snacking in between meals. If you feel hungry, drink plenty of water and try something like unsweetened tea, bulletproof coffee, or bone broth to curb your hunger. The most important thing is to keep your emotions in check. Do not feel like you need to ‘punish’ yourself because you let yourself slip off your routine. Also, don’t treat your ‘post cheat day period’ as a recovery after a disease; it’s okay to ease back into your normal eating routine again without being too drastic. Just take it as another day, and try to get back into your schedule as fast as you can. After all, a day (or even two) of cheating will not make you gain weight or wreck your health if you keep yourself responsible in the days to come.
How to Recover After a Cheat Day Besides Fasting
Having said that, there are a few other things apart from fasting you can do to help your body recover from your binge episode.
Drink Plenty of Water
Water will help your body detox after your cheat day, and it will also make you feel full. This will help control your appetite and make sure your over-eating doesn’t continue for days. Some people also do water fasting after a cheat day, but this may be a bit too extreme as well.
Sneak in a Workout
Working out will help you burn a portion of the calories you put into your body the day before. It doesn’t have to be an extreme workout session: even a lazy bed workout or a mile walk in the neighborhood will do as long as it makes you sweat. Again, make sure you’re not trying to punish yourself for overeating. It’s all about being positive and helping your body recover and reset to feel like itself again.
Have a Good Sleep
Don’t lose your ZZZs over what happened-make sure you catch a night of good quality sleep. It will make you feel refreshed and ready to face any challenge. Sleep will also help your body recover and boost your decision-making abilities.
Keep Track of Your Nutrients
There is no need for extreme calorie limitations like a 600-calorie diet or ”detoxes’ like the fruit flush diet. However, it’s a good idea to track your nutrients and calories for a few days (or weeks) after a cheat day to make sure you’re sticking to your daily calorie deficit and having balanced meals.
You can use an all-in-one weight loss app for this purpose. How long it takes to recover from a cheat day depends on your metabolism, so make sure you track your calories long enough.
Understanding Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a form of diet that implies breaking your days into fasting and eating windows. The schedule can vary dramatically depending on your body type and goals. For example, it can be 12:12, 16:8, or any other protocol that suits you.
The core idea of this dietary approach is that you don’t consume any calories during your fasting windows in order to launch fat-burning, insulin regulation, and cell restoration processes in your body. Typically, you’re only allowed to drink plain water, dark coffee, or tea during the hours when you have to fast.
The remaining time of the day makes your eating window, during which you can eat as many times as you wish. Although there are no strict rules, it’s typically recommended to opt for healthy and nutrient-dense foods during this time to get the most benefits.
What Is a Cheat Day?
As you can easily guess, a cheat day is a break from your diet. Typically, it’s one day in a week that you schedule in advance when you are allowed not to follow your diet and can relax and eat whatever you want instead.
A Cheat Day vs. a Cheat Meal
Inexperienced dieters often confuse cheat days and cheat meals since both terms are commonly used and have a similar meaning. In contrast to a cheat day, a cheat meal has the same concept but is limited to a single meal per day. Simply put, it implies scheduling one meal during which you can have whatever you want.
The Possible Impact of an Intermittent Fasting Cheat Day
Now that you have a better idea of the concepts of intermittent fasting and cheat days, the big question that is still to be answered is-can you take a day off from intermittent fasting? In order to find the right answer, it’s important to consider all possible impacts of a cheat day on your intermittent fasting journey.
Potential Pros of Cheat Days Intermittent Fasting
Emotional Break
If weight loss is the core goal of your intermittent fasting, chances are that you don’t just fast for a certain amount of hours per day but also create a calorie deficit to stimulate fat burn. This likely means that your daily menu is rather restricted. Needless to say, it can be hard to maintain motivation and a positive attitude when you have to use all your willpower to stay away from unhealthy foods that you love.
The psychology behind cheat days claims that having them can reduce the tension by taking off limitations for one day. From this point of view, it can be a helpful practice that will support your mental well-being and motivation.
Glycogen Restoration
According to studies, fasting has a massive effect on your glycogen level. Namely, a 24-hour fast makes the stores of this substance fully depleted, forcing your body to take energy from protein stores and adipose tissue.
In intermittent fasting, often, you won’t fast for 24 hours in a row. Still, even in shorter fasting windows, such as 12 or 16 hours, your body will still lose a lot of glycogen. Given the fact that glycogen is considered the primary energy substrate in your body when its stores deplete, it can have a significant effect on your physical performance, especially during intense workouts.