To Cheat or Not to Cheat

One of the hard things about starting any special diet is making changes and giving up things you're used to eating. I know that can be hard with a low-carb/keto diet in the beginning if you're used to eating a lot of carbs. Let's face it, there are a lot of tasty foods out there that we enjoy that are full of carbs! lol!

The good thing is, there are many low carb options you can choose that can be just as tasty and can satisfy those cravings. But when you're wanting something and there's just no substitute - is it okay to cheat?

Here are my thoughts on cheating. When you're first getting started with a low-carb diet I definitely recommend being strict and sticking very close to the macros you're supposed to have for at least 30 days. This gives your body a chance to get used to a different way to fuel itself, it allows you to detox from carbs - specifically from sugar, and it allows your cravings to go away. If you do this, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to say no to those bad foods because the cravings are gone.

Once you've gotten accustomed to your new diet and you feel like you're not craving carbs anymore, if you have a cheat meal every now and then it's obviously not going to kill you.

What I've discovered though is that those heavy carbs don't taste as good as they used to. There are some things that I used to think tasted amazing and now if I take a bite of some of those things it tastes pretty blah to me and I decide it's not worth it.

They also make me feel kind of yucky and sometimes they even make me sick. I can definitely tell you that if I eat something sugary now it does not agree with me. Sugar is so toxic for our bodies and once your body is used to food without high levels of sugar, it does not want to go back. This definitely makes it much easier to continue making good food choices.

So if you're doing well and sticking to your diet but you go out with friends one night and decide to have a splurge meal or maybe you are invited to dinner and there are carbs in the meal...it's okay. One meal isn't going to ruin everything you've worked for. It might set you back a few days but if you go back to your proper macros your body will go right back to working as it should. Just don't make a habit of it and do it regularly and you'll be fine.