So, you cheated…you son of a b#…you ate too many carbohydrates and now you feel like shaite. No worries, all is not lost. This article will tell you how to get back into ketosis after a cheat day. ASAP, because you want to start using those ketones and fat for fuel again as soon as possible.

Don’t Feel Guilty

Before you do anything, you have to make sure you’re not going to feel shameful. Of course, you may get some guilt and you’ll start hating yourself – what an idiot…weak-willed piece of garbage!

Shame, guilt, resentfulness, apathy – they’re the worst emotions because they keep you in this pitiful state of self-loath and negativity.

Instead, you have to use it as an opportunity to practice carefreeness and antifragility.

You can cause a whole lot of damage to your body with cheat meals . Eating 10 000 calories in one sitting can definitely jeopardize an entire weeks work of fat loss.

. Eating 10 000 calories in one sitting can definitely jeopardize an entire weeks work of fat loss. Your mindset could never be made lesser because of this if you decide to see the right perspective. Acknowledge the fact that you can choose to see it as something that will make you better by simply saying to yourself that you’re antifragile – that you can use those calories for more energy, that you can practice getting off the routine or whatever it may be.

You can only actualize the power of your mind if you’re aware of your potential and are capable of realizing it.

The Day Afterwards

After waking up in the morning, you want to set aside the cheat meal and then focus back on your goals.

Don’t make any false presumptions based on how you look or what the scale tells you because it’s more than likely that if you gained a ton of weight then it’s probably just water weight and bloating.

You want to get yourself back on track with the right habits and routines so that you could make yourself ketotic again.

Instead of having breakfast or a second round of cheat meals, you should do some intermittent fasting instead. Your body is already topped off with glycogen and the key thing for producing ketones again is glycogen depletion. The liver needs to be emptied out first before it can start converting fat into fuel.

It’s not necessary to deplete your muscle glycogen to get into ketosis and you actually shouldn’t want to do it because you want to be using it during workouts.

Should You Fast to Get Back Into Ketosis

At this point, I wouldn’t recommend you to fast for any longer than 16-24 hours because your body is more susceptible to gluconeogenesis.

Because you got kicked out of ketosis, your muscles aren’t that well-adapted to using ketones yet. This is going to put glucose energy demands on the body and because you’re not going to be eating carbs again, you can lose some muscle mass.

If you were to be in ketosis, then you wouldn’t lose any muscle because of reduced protein catabolism but for the time being, you want to make your body produce ketones and give it at least some ketogenic fuel.

So, you would want to fast for about 16-24 hours the day after your cheat meal to deplete your liver glycogen and establish ketosis faster.

How to Exercise to Get Back Into Ketosis

To assist that process, you would also want to exercise.

It’s a great idea to schedule your heavier and more intense workout sessions for the day after your cheat meals because you’ll have more energy to push yourself.

If you ate some carbohydrates without a ton of extra fat, which is the healthier way of doing it, then you’re going to have an amazing pump and vascularity. This can be used to your advantage but like I said, you don’t need to deplete your muscle glycogen again.

Instead, focus on lifting heavier weights and more explosive movements so that you could build more strength and direct that glycogen into stimulating muscle growth.

Cardio in a fasted state is perfect for liver glycogen depletion and you should consider doing it in the morning so that you could get into ketosis as soon as possible.

High-intensity exercise is also shown to be more effective for boosting fat loss and ketosis. So, adding a HIIT session or Tabata after your resistance training workout is a great idea.

All Things Ketogenic

What can you consume to make yourself more ketogenic?

Black coffee has caffeine that makes you burn more fat and gives you more energy . It also helps to produce ketone bodies and stimulates autophagy to some degree, which makes it the perfect drink for fasting.

. It also helps to produce ketone bodies and stimulates autophagy to some degree, which makes it the perfect drink for fasting. Green tea has similar effects but it also contains EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which is a type of polyphenol that reduces inflammation and protect against cancer . You need all the help you can get to keep your brain fog in check after a cheat meal.

. You need all the help you can get to keep your brain fog in check after a cheat meal. Pink rock salt sole is needed for balancing your electrolytes again. It’ll reduce the adrenal stress of fasting and prevents the keto flu.

It’ll reduce the adrenal stress of fasting and prevents the keto flu. Apple cider vinegar is going to lower your blood sugar, improve digestion and make you produce more ketone bodies . It also has potassium, which you need because after a cheat meal you may potentially get some muscle cramps. Again, the perfect drink for every day.

. It also has potassium, which you need because after a cheat meal you may potentially get some muscle cramps. Again, the perfect drink for every day. Anti-inflammatory compounds like ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper are amazing for fighting that bloated feeling and healing the damage.

like ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper are amazing for fighting that bloated feeling and healing the damage. Exogenous ketones are also a very effective way of giving yourself the ketogenic feel. They’re going to elevate your blood ketones which can help your liver’s own endogenous production of ketones. They also have many added electrolytes and the brand I’m currently using is Perfect Keto. You can use the code SIIMLAND to get a -20% discount on all their beta-hydroxybutyrate salts and MCT oil powders.

What to Eat the Day After a Cheat Meal

Like I said, you should do intermittent fasting and limit your food consumption to only one meal a day.

That one meal should be a standard ketogenic meal with low carb vegetables, some protein, and healthy fats.

You want to keep your carbs lower than usual because it’s going to help you get into ketosis faster.

because it’s going to help you get into ketosis faster. When it comes to protein, then you should hit your daily goal because your body isn’t that resilient to catabolism yet. It’s even a good idea to be consuming slightly more, maybe 5-10% more, to assist the transition process. Don’t worry, eating more protein won’t convert it into sugar but because you’re out of ketosis, your body is still looking for some glucose, which makes you more vulnerable to muscle breakdown if your body doesn’t get enough glucose from glycerol and fatty acid gluconeogenesis.

because your body isn’t that resilient to catabolism yet. It’s even a good idea to be consuming slightly more, maybe 5-10% more, to assist the transition process. Don’t worry, eating more protein won’t convert it into sugar but because you’re out of ketosis, your body is still looking for some glucose, which makes you more vulnerable to muscle breakdown if your body doesn’t get enough glucose from glycerol and fatty acid gluconeogenesis. It’s not necessary to consume a lot of fat to establish ketosis. The key is to deplete your liver glycogen and suppress insulin. So, you don’t want to be eating copious amounts of fat just to meet your daily calories. In fact, you’d be better off by eating slightly less fat the day after your cheat meal because your body hasn’t re-adapted to using it as fuel that efficiently. It can make you potentially store it as fat instead. So, consuming some healthy fats that produce ketones like MCT oil, coconut oil, avocados, butter and olive oil are excellent.

Your overall calories for this post-cheat meal day should be lower. If you ate at a surplus the day before then you want to compensate for it by eating less this day. I recommend you to have a 500 calorie deficit from your maintenance as to kickstart ketosis and burn off some of that water weight.

The Day After the Day

After the day after the cheat meal, you want to look at how your body responded to the cheat meal and what you did afterwards.

You’re probably looking flat and depleted again, which is fine and it means your body is simply flushing out that water you gained from having those carbohydrates.

This is where you look at your current state and then make up your future course of action.

If you’re still extremely bloated and inflamed, then follow the same protocol as the day before and increase your antioxidant consumption.

If you’re already feeling okay and you look fine, maybe a bit of extra puffiness, which is fine, then you want to return to your normal way of eating.

No matter what the case is, you should continue eating the healthy anti-inflammatory and beneficial ketogenic staple foods. Green leafy vegetables, herbs, spices, eggs, fish, some meat, fermented foods, healthy fats.

You should also continue exercising based on your goals but still implement both resistance training as well as aerobic training to build up your mitochondrial density.

Get Back on Track

Although ketosis is an incredible metabolic state and the ketogenic diet has many health benefits, it’s not necessary to stay on keto year-round.

In fact, you’re actually better off by getting out of ketosis and then getting back into ketosis as an exercise of metabolic flexibility.

The most important thing is to look at your long-term progress and perspective. What you do consistently is a whole lot more important than what you do in a single cheat meal. Ergo, as long as you eat healthy the majority of the time, you’re good.

If you need a blueprint for starting the ketogenic diet or getting back into ketosis quickly, then you should check out my KETO FIT PROGRAM. It includes a 30-day meal plan with cheat meals, 50+ recipes for both keto and healthy carb foods, a 5-week workout routine, and many other bonuses.

Stay Empowered

Siim