A keto cheat day is when you hit a temporary pause on following a ketogenic diet. It could be a scheduled treat on the weekend or a break from keto at the end of the month. For some, it’s a way to maintain keto long-term and keep the diet from feeling too restrictive.
Cheat on keto too often, though, and you could make it tougher to return to ketosis, the metabolic state where the body burns fat for fuel. This can mean spikes in blood sugar, sluggishness, and more cravings. As with any diet, it’s important to consider the impact of your decisions about what you eat without developing a bad relationship with certain foods. It’s about balance. We’ll show you how to do it with our guide to treating yourself on the keto diet for better physical and mental health.
Disadvantages of Cheat Days
Following the keto diet can be part of a healthy lifestyle that makes you feel good, gives you energy, and doesn’t make you feel like you’re missing out. That said, the occasional indulgence outside a keto diet meal plan might have physical side effects.
Getting Knocked Out of Ketosis
Eating a high-carb food, even as the occasional treat, could knock you out of ketosis. For this reason, try to look at your overall carb intake of the day when indulging.
For example, if you enjoy a slice of birthday cake or a few chocolate chip cookies at a friend’s celebration, stock up on leafy greens and high-protein snacks throughout the rest of the day.
If you know you’ve been kicked out of ketosis, test your ketone levels. You can do this using a breath-acetone meter or urine testing.
Our Ketone Test Strips are a quick, painless way to measure ketone acetoacetate excreted through the urine. This ketone starts to increase when you first enter ketosis. The darker the strip after it’s dipped in urine, the deeper the ketosis.
Blood Sugar Spikes
One of the reasons keto is popular for those with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or poor cardiovascular health is that it can stabilize blood glucose levels. (1) If that’s why you’re following keto, it’s essential to know that eating a cheat meal on keto can cause blood sugar levels to spike.
Since glycogen stores deplete on a low-carb diet plan, chances are you’ll experience a nasty sugar hit. If you eat dessert or a food high in carbohydrates and don’t feel well the next day, it’s probably best to avoid it while following a keto lifestyle.
Fat Adaptation Changes
Fat adaptation is the process by which your body becomes efficient at using fat as its primary fuel source. (2) To transition to a fat-burning state, your body has to make changes like altering specific hormones and increasing enzyme production.
Having a regular dose of glucose can prevent your body from becoming fat-adapted. This could slow any progress made toward weight loss and fat loss goals, a big reason why many start keto in the first place.
It could even cause more cravings and potential weight gain as a result, making it harder to get back on track to achieve both ketosis and your weight loss goals.
Cravings
Studies show following a low-carb, high-fat diet like keto can reduce appetite and hunger cravings. (3) While it does take an adjustment period to achieve these benefits, once your body becomes fat-adapted, you’re less likely to experience sugar cravings throughout the day.
By veering away from your keto meal plan and removing your body from a ketogenic state, you may find yourself with sugar and carb cravings more than you did before. This can mean weight gain in the short-term, an increase in body fat, and a return to old eating habits long-term.There’s a fix for this. If you find yourself craving sweets and carbs, seek out keto-friendly snacks that won’t compromise ketosis or plan satiating keto-friendly meals at home.
Digestion and Nutrition Issues
After following a low-carb, high-fat diet, your body produces fewer enzymes to break down carbs. A sudden intake of high-carb foods can lead to uncomfortable digestive issues like bloating, gas, diarrhea, or constipation.
Some of this could be related to the “keto flu,” something we’ll get into next, but reintroducing sugar and processed foods also messes with your gut microbiome. (4) Imbalances in gut bacteria can cause food intolerances, acid reflux, and symptoms that aren’t even gut-focused, like brain fog, skin issues, and mood swings. (5)
Too many cheat days can also disrupt the balance of macronutrients you’ve been sticking to as part of your keto diet. That can disrupt not only your gut health but your digestion, electrolyte balance, and metabolic flexibility.
Not sure about the right macro balance for your health goals? Our free Keto Calculator can help you identify the right grams of carbs, fat, and protein for your ideal keto diet.
A Repeat of Keto Flu
The keto flu describes the flu-like symptoms you might experience in the first week or so of starting keto. It happens because your metabolism needs time to adjust to the fact that your body is burning fat instead of glucose as an energy source.
Temporary symptoms can include fatigue, headaches, brain fog, digestive issues, trouble sleeping, muscle cramps, sugar cravings, and low energy levels.
If you choose to eat a high-carb food, you can feel some of those unwanted symptoms again, as it’s another switch for your metabolic state. Supplementing with exogenous ketones can help.
Our Base Ketones are a combo of electrolytes and ketones to help you feel fuller longer with an added energy boost.
Keto Cheat Day Strategies
Once you’ve followed keto for a significant time, you probably won’t crave the high-carb, sugary foods you once did. If you do, whether it’s a special occasion or you just want a slice of pizza, there are plenty of ways to enjoy these foods and minimize damage to your keto goals.
Plan Cheat Days Thoughtfully
This can look like planning cheat days around special events that may require a little more flexibility or following versions of keto, like a cyclical keto diet (CKD). Dieters who follow a CKD stick to strict keto for 5 days, with a higher carb allowance for the rest of the week.
While this will still likely kick you out of the metabolic state of ketosis, following a CKD can make eating keto more mentally manageable for some people. This one is popular with athletes or anyone looking to increase muscle mass with strategic carb consumption.
Some keto dieters incorporate periods of intermittent fasting into their routine, too. Fasting can help you get back on track after a period of time eating more carbs or even after an unplanned cheat day.
Hydrate and Replenish Electrolytes
After a keto cheat day, boosting your hydration can help you flush out excess carbs and reduce bloating. Drinking plenty of water is great, but it’s important to replenish electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium to avoid possible symptoms like headaches and muscle cramps. (6)
Adding sea salt to your meals or sipping on an electrolyte-rich drink before returning to low-carbohydrate eating can help with electrolyte levels.
Limit Processed Foods
We’re all about following a keto diet rich in whole, nutrient-dense food over too many processed options and a dirty keto approach. Choosing the same after a keto cheat day can help reduce the likelihood of cravings and energy crashes.
Processed carbs and sugars, in general, can spike blood sugar, increase inflammation, and cause digestive issues. Opt for whole food sources with fiber and at least moderate protein for a more controlled carb intake as you get back on track.
If you know a cheat meal is coming, try to fill the rest of that day with fresh, green produce and high-quality protein. Look for ways to sneak in healthy fats like omega-3s and MCT oil. You’ll minimize the damage while helping maintain your gut health and overall well-being.
Eat Keto Desserts and Comfort Foods
With the growing popularity of paleo, keto, and low-carb diets, the number of keto-friendly recipes is endless. These recipes recreate your favorite treats and comfort foods with healthy ingredients and a low net-carb count, so you don’t have to feel restricted.
Keto-friendly baked goods are often made from almond flour or coconut flour instead of white flour and sweetened with monk fruit or stevia instead of white sugar. Here are a few of our favorite keto-friendly hacks that will satiate your sweet (or savory!) tooth:
Exercise Regularly
Exercise helps your body burn off excess glycogen after a cheat day and speeds up the return to ketosis. (7) High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and strength training are both known to deplete glycogen stores quickly and encourage fat-burning.
Cardio, including running, cycling, swimming, and fasted workouts, can also accelerate the process by increasing your energy expenditure and forcing your body to rely on stored fat for fuel. (8)
It’s important to listen to your body, though. Hitting physical activity too hard can increase cravings and put you in a cycle of bad eating. If you don’t already have a regular exercise habit, start slow with lighter activities like walking or yoga for a softer recovery from a high-carb meal.
Monitor Ketone Levels Consistently
Tracking your ketone levels after a cheat day can help you figure out how long it’ll take you to get back into ketosis. While blood ketone meters are the most accurate, we’ve already mentioned urine strips and breath analyzers as more accessible, easier-to-use options.
How long it’ll take you to re-enter ketosis can vary. It depends on the state of your metabolism, your history with keto, and even how “bad” your cheat day was. We don’t shame around here, but a single cheat meal will be easier to rebound from than a full day of heavy carbs.
Some people recover within the same or following day. Others need a few days of monitoring. If you can’t seem to get your ketone levels to where you’d like them to be, intermittent fasting, exercise, and a period of more strict carb restriction can help restore progress.
Frequency and Duration
There really is no ideal cheat day on keto. When it comes down to it, it’s ultimately up to you whether you want to have a keto cheat day at all. It’s your responsibility to weigh the physical side effects and consider whether there may be a healthier alternative approach.
Occasional cheats may be manageable, but frequent breaks can disrupt fat adaptation and slow progress. Ideally, try to return to keto within a day to minimize any potential setbacks. Try to avoid cheat days altogether if you’re new to keto.
We say shoot for 4-6 weeks of consistent keto dieting to get through keto flu and to start enjoying some of the benefits of keto. Being a little too loose too early can make it harder for you to transition back after a cheat day.
How to Limit Keto Cheat Days
Cheating on keto can temporarily kick you out of ketosis, cause more cravings, and stall your progress. We’ve already shared some strategies for recovery after a cheat day, but the tips below could help keep you from needing one in the first place:
- Practice mindful eating. Listen to your body. Slow down when you eat. Pay attention to hunger cues to avoid emotional eating or snacking out of boredom.
- Make keto-friendly food and treats available. You already know you have options. Make those options easily accessible to help curb the desire for sugary or processed foods when cravings hit. This can keep you from feeling deprived.
- Enjoy eating. Plan satisfying, flavorful meals high in healthy fats and moderate in protein. Eat nutrient-dense foods to keep you full and satisfied to make it easier to resist high-carb temptations. Eating on keto can be delicious!
- Know your triggers. Recognize which foods or situations make you most likely to cheat. It could be high-carb snacks or social events where you know there will be tempting foods available. Consider bringing your own snacks when possible in those cases.
- Be kind to yourself. If you find yourself cheating on a regular basis, that doesn’t mean you’re failing keto. It could mean your diet is overly restrictive. Take a step back and think about whether an approach like carb cycling could align with your goals.
If you’re having an especially difficult time, call in the experts. Your healthcare provider or a dietitian can help you understand why keto may feel hard for you or pinpoint potential health obstacles in the way.
The Bottom Line
A diet that causes physical or emotional deprivation isn’t healthy. If you’re experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime moment or celebrating a loved one, you should never feel bad about deviating from a diet.
Ideally, following keto will help you to eat intuitively, knowing when you want to treat yourself and when you want to stick to keto.
Keto is a lifestyle transition that helps you reach your goals for weight management, better body composition, and blood sugar balance. It comes with choices, though, and taking the time to pause, assess, and be more mindful about food.Chances are, there are foods out there that can serve as a keto-friendly alternative to whatever is tempting you, too. Browse our recipe library for more of our favorite options to help you feel full, satiated, and happy on keto.