When cheat days get the better of you, you make a wish and that is to get back into ketosis fast.
Our bodies are engineered in a way that they cannot resist cravings which is a major temptation.
Ketosis is a nutritional process that kicks in when your body lacks enough carbohydrates to burn for energy.
The process involves the burning of fats which are converted into ketones. The body uses them as fuel or energy.
Some people say that ketosis is a trial and error. The honest truth is that it is effective if you are disciplined enough to resist carb cravings.
If you remain loyal to Ketogenic Diet – foods with low carbohydrates fats – you can give testament of how effective ketosis is.
WILL ONE CHEAT DAY RUIN KETOSIS?
There is no sugar coating on this one. The painful truth is that one cheat day will knock you off your fat-burning mode.
It affects how you get back into ketosis after cheating.
You will have to battle the sugar crash cravings. You will also have to deal with keto flu which is a common withdrawal symptom.
Nutritionists have confessed that sticking to a Ketonic diet becomes difficult as you progress which exposes you to the thought of cheat days.
What happens when cravings get the better of you and you cheat on the keto diet is that your blood sugar rises and provides large amounts of energy.
The body at this point uses glucose other than ketones.
This triggers the stop of ketones production. The glucose fills up glycogen stores in your body leading to quick but temporary water weight gain.
It makes it hard to get back into ketosis fast.
Ketosis only resumes once the body uses up all glucose and glycogen.
Experts further indicate in a study published in Nutrients journal that a cheat day affects how you get back on keto after falling off. It could cause blood vessel damage.
Professor Jonathan Little from the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia in one of his studies explained to detail.
“Even though these were otherwise healthy young males when we looked at their blood vessel health after consuming the glucose drink, the results looked like they might have come from someone with poor cardiovascular health,” he said in the study.
Other studies state that keto cheat days are dangerous to diabetics because they are predisposed to dangerous heart conditions.
HOW MANY CARBS WILL BREAK KETOSIS
Our bodies are different. How long you have been on a keto diet also tilts the scale for different people on the number of carbs they need to break ketosis.
However, a point worth noting is that if you take a meal with a high amount of carbs more than your allowed limit, it breaks ketosis almost immediately.
If your keto plan stipulates that you take a maximum of 20 grams of carbs daily but you take 40 grams of carbs, it knocks you off the ketosis plan.
For some people, it takes a week to get back to their keto meal plan while for others, it takes fewer days.
The situation depends on the period you have been under a keto meal plan and the ketone levels too.
Those who have been into keto meals for three to six weeks bounce back quickly because their bodies derive 70% of their energy from ketones.
It is, however, harder for those who have not been into it for long because their bodies are not fully adapted to burning fat to produce energy.
These facts notwithstanding, it is possible to get back into Ketosis quickly.
Experts advise that one of the ways on how you can get back to ketosis fast is by incorporating keto-friendly substitutes.
This is a tact you can deploy to deal with the thought of cheating days.
The keto-friendly substitutes suppress your cravings for high carb food. In the end, you still do your keto meal plan.
HOW TO GET BACK INTO KETOSIS FAST
The journey towards keto cheat days recovery calls for the need to have a proper meal plan.
Better pick which meals you’re going to cheat with.
With utmost intelligence, the plan is in the spirit of being true to human nature which is susceptible to cravings.
In a way, is a good strategy on how to get back into ketosis fast.
The plan involves mapping out your favorite cheat meals and how to take them with military precision given the number of calories they contain.
Ensure that you only take the cheat meal once a month so as not to erode the gains made by Keto meals.
Tracking your daily intake of calories helps you get back into ketosis fast.
The macro-friendly app makes it easy to keep track of the daily calorie intake. By now, you already know the limit your keto meal plan has for carbs.
The app monitors how much you take, less or more.
The cutline for daily carbs that you should take is 25 grams.
Nutritionists say that the most effective way to get back into ketosis fast is by sticking religiously to a low carb diet that is Keto aligned.
Having a strong will power to keep your body’s water weight low through keto is the secret behind ketogenic diets.
It is not for the faint-hearted. However, it is an art that you can master and move on with your meal routine.
Don’t be frugal on keto foods which do not come cheap. The temptation to spend less on high carb meals is real.
Keto foods are, somewhat, expensive but they taste good. Plus they far beneficial to the body than the cheap, tasty but high carb foods.
For example, a keto protein bar will go for more than $2. The normal chocolate bar goes for less than $1 but has lots of calories.
Other foods that you can try are almond bread for breakfast with a cherry or two to cheat your cravings. Also, try cauliflower rice which is low in carbs.
When you find yourself in social events, there is a likelihood of forgetting your keto routine and overindulging.
However, learning to control what and how much you eat while having social events will surely get you back into ketosis fast.
As an alternative, you can have keto-friendly substitutes at such events.
The substitute which includes keto-friendly alcoholic drinks helps you stay on the keto meal plan radar at all times.
Last but not least, meal prep is a simple routine that you can embrace to help you get back to ketosis fast.
Meal prep is recommended at least once a week.
You decide what keto-friendly meals to prepare in plenty and store them in the fridge for future use.
This is called batch cooking.
It might sound like a lot of work. However, it works on reducing craving due to the availability of ready keto meals. You just have to warm and enjoy.
CONCLUSION
There are certainly myriad benefits of having a keto meal plan.
While it could be hard to stick to it there are great tips to game the nagging cravings for high carb foods.
The tips shared above have worked for many people and you are not an exception; they can work for you too if you get down to it
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