Is it worth having a cheat meal on a Keto lifestyle if I always feel like crap and miserable afterwards?

desibaba

New member
I have basically been on TRT, doing lots of cardio and worked hard to burn off BOTH muscle and fat on purpose to get my body weight down for health and longevity. This is the lightest I have been since I was a teen.

At this stage of my life at 38 it’s safe to say big muscles are in the rear view mirror. I love feeling light, healthy, having nice abs and feeling great while being on a keto lifestyle.

I keep reading about why you supposedly must have one cheat meal a week to keep your body from adapting but everytime I have a huge carb and sugar cheat meal I feel miserable, slow and weak the next day. Last night I had my cheat meal and today I felt so groggy in the gym and could barely finish my cardio session.

Do I really NEED these cheat meals? Yes, I love the ice cream and cake while eating it but it’s definitely not worth the price I pay the following day. Any advice?
 
Probably the worst thing you can do when being soo insulin insensitive on a keto diet.

All the power to you if it makes you happy being skinny, but in reality that doesn’t mean increased longevity, nor does following a keto diet…
 
In reality, you can't avoid cheat days. I'd say it's ok from time to time as long as you keep it one meal only and not the whole day. Limit the portions, and exercise after
 
Over time you will probably need some cheats. Just limit it to a smaller meal and see how that does. You don’t have to go completely off the rails because it’s a cheat.
 
You could always stop eating total crap for the meal and try "better" or "cleaner" food. You also could simply eat the same foods you eat during the week but increase portion size by x% for "re-feed" purposes.

At the end of the day I don't care who says what about something if it makes me feel like trash I am not doing it.
 
One cheat meal every week on keto? If you eat like that you will spend days dropping back into ketosis likely. Like 2, probably. You don’t have to refeed every week, or you could do a keto refeed and stick to a meal with larger portions. Cowboy ribeye, dry-rubbed ribs or wings, etc.

Consider sources like fruit and potatoes or rice, or maybe some pasta or breads if you crave them, instead of the cake & icecream.

Big difference in digestion between having a big meal of soft shell tacos made with lean beef you cooked and some rice & fruit on the side, vs simulating a toddler’s birthday party every week.
 
Is a cheat meal "worth it" in this context?

I'm not sure there's much evidence in favor of them outside of possible psychological or performance benefits. And you've already indicated a cheat is not doing you much good psychologically.

As far as "adapting" is concerned, well when you lose bodyweight during a calorie deficit that itself is your body adapting...changing your daily intake for the sake of a "cheat" will be counterproductive to this.

I'm not seeing any reason for you to continue with these "cheats". To me flexible dieting is different to "cheats". Cheating pretty simply implies eating in some way that is antagonistic to your current dietary standards (ie what your diet might exclude, goal of your diet, diet ethics/philosophy, etc).
 
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