Thinking of Cheating On Your Keto Diet? Here's Why You Shouldn't

Keep away from cheat meals while on a Keto diet

The keto diet has been a friend to many, and a challenge too big for the rest. If you've ever tried to be on this diet, you would know that it takes some serious willpower to hold on to a very low carb and high fat diet. But, can you afford just one cheat day? Well, its no secret, a cheat day is the equivalent of taking 2 steps back when you've walked 5 steps in the past week. But, it may help you hold on longer and you might not drive yourself insane. But, we've got bad news. The nature of putting your body in a state of ketosis is such that, a deviation can have harmful effects.

Here are 5 reasons why you must avoid a cheat day at all costs:

1. Cheating causes a significant setback: Having a high-carb cheat day, (which is likely to be your intended cheat meal), puts your body out of ketosis. The replacement of carbs with fat as the energy source is reversed, and your body will expect carbs again. To bring your body back into ketosis, will be a long process, and can significantly set you back. Simultaneously, a heavy fat diet such as ketosis after a cheat day, may affect your body's fat adaptation, causing you to actually gain weight instead of losing it!

2. Spike in blood sugar levels: Cheating will probably immediately spike your blood sugar level. Due to the ketosis state of the body, because of an unexpected dose of sugar, blood sugar may rise to high levels. This is particularly detrimental to type 2 diabetes patients, and more so, may increase the risk of the same for those who aren't plagued by this disease.

3. Cravings: Once a cheater, always a cheater. You increase your carb intake, just once and your body craves more of the same, again and again. It makes it harder for you to stick to this diet for prolonged periods of time. Being on keto for long, your body gets used to your choices, and actually likes the taste, but if you cheat, the memories of the good old carbohydrates return.

4. The keto flu: If you keep going back and forth in your diet, specially while on keto, it triggers something popularly known as the keto flu which includes symptoms like high levels of fatigue, constant headaches, nausea and bloating.

So, keep away from cheat meals on a keto diet. Try to make food you're allowed, tastier. You won't regret missing out on those carbs.

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