Cheating on Keto: Effects and Recovery

The ketogenic or keto diet is a low-carb, moderate protein, high-fat eating plan:

• Fat: 70% of daily calories
• Protein: 10%-25% of daily calories
• Carbs: 5% or less of daily calories

The goal of restricting carbs is to achieve ketosis—a state in which the body burns fat instead of carbs for primary fuel.

If your primary goal of following a keto diet is to lose weight, the occasional cheat day or cheat meal is not going to completely wreck your progress even if it disrupts ketosis.

Ketosis has potential health benefits, one of which is calorie control. As long as you don’t go overboard with the cheating and you maintain an overall calorie deficit, you should still be able to see results in terms of weight loss.

One benefit of a planned cheat meal is that it allows a short period of indulgence, making it easier to stick to the keto diet in the long run. However, frequent cheat days can also promote unhealthy eating habits.

If your primary goal is staying in ketosis for other reasons (not weight loss), however, cheating on a keto diet may not be a good idea. 

Experts claim that including a strategic cheat meal into a diet may have some psychological benefits such as reduced cravings and the resolve to stick to your meal plan overall.

Cheating on a keto diet will not always cause weight gain or increased body fat. However, potential effects of cheating on a keto diet include the following

• Blood sugar spikes due to the abundance of carbs available, causing the body to switch back to burning glucose for fuel instead of fat
• Stopped ketone production
• Temporary water weight gain

Because cheating can cause spikes in blood sugar, it is common for some people to notice an intense sugar crash after eating a carb-heavy meal.

Depending on your carb intake, metabolism, and activity levels, it may take several days to a week to re-enter ketosis.

The best way to recover from a keto cheat day is to resume your low-carb keto lifestyle. Other tips to follow include:

• Track your carb intake: Keep note of your daily carb intake in a food diary. 
• Try intermittent fasting: Combine intermittent fasting with a keto diet to help your body shift to using fat for fuel instead of carbs.
• Consider a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) supplement: Because MCTs are rapidly absorbed fatty acids, they are easily converted into ketones. 
• Exercise often: Adequate physical activity depletes the glycogen stores (stored form of carbs) and, in turn, promotes ketosis.

Ketone levels in the body can also be measured by using ketone breath meters, blood ketone meters, and keto urine strips.

Here are simple strategies that can help you resist the urge to cheat on the keto diet:

• Build sustainable long-term eating habits
• Have cheat meals rather than cheat days
• Track your daily food intake
• Have a plan for meals and snacks
• Try to make your everyday meals enjoyable
• Practice mindfulness
• Opt for keto-approved cheat meals
• Stay hydrated
• Get enough sleep
• Stay physically active
• Have an accountability partner