top of page
Search

How I Recover When I Go Off Plan

  • Kelsey
  • Sep 3, 2019
  • 6 min read


The biggest lesson I have learned since adopting the Ketogenic lifestyle has been just that. That it's a "lifestyle." The whole idea behind a "diet" is that it is temporary. You work hard, reach your goal and then you go back to life as it was before you made all of these changes. When you switch to the lifestyle mindset, you come to the realization that there are things that you used to do, that you shouldn't keep doing. But when making such a huge change in your lifestyle, you have to remember that there is a balance. You can't be perfect.




I think the expectation of perfection is probably one of the biggest reasons for quitting once you start something new. At least, that's how it works for me. I set all of these huge, amazing goals and I plan out exactly how to make it happen, but I leave little to no room for messing up. And being human, I mess up...a lot. While I truly believe that the Ketogenic lifestyle is one that can be maintained for a long period of time, a lifetime even, I also know that we can't always follow the plan perfectly. It is important to remember that any progress is still progress. Even if you can only follow the plan 90% of the time, that's still 90% more than you used to do.


So in this blog, I am going to talk to you about how I spiraled out of control a bit and a few of the things that I try to do in order to get myself back on track as quickly as possible, while avoiding the dreaded keto flu.


I recently went home to Ohio for a family funeral. We all know during times of grief it can be really difficult to make the right decisions with the food you are eating. If you are anything like me, you find comfort in the carby, sweet, non-keto foods. I went out to eat a couple of times with my dad, I ate a few cookies with my coffee (several different times), I had a lunch meat sandwich on a BUN, and I was totally off the keto wagon for about 5 or 6 days. This even led me to getting a coffee roll (my TOTAL favorite) from Dunkin on my final drive home! I guess my point is, I didn't make all the worst decisions, but I made a lot of little mistakes that spiraled into several days of being totally off.


I felt terrible. I had major bloat. All of my clothes were fitting tighter. I had a headache that I just couldn't quite shake. My muscles even started to have an overall feeling of soreness, everywhere.



So how do I deal with myself and get back on track once I've just gone too far in the wrong direction? I feel gross and it seems like it won't even be worth getting back on because I feel so miserable.


First, I decide it's time to break the cycle and take action to do so. Second, I stick to the food plan as strictly as possible while incorporating timed eating. Thirdly, I follow that tightened up plan with an actual fast (36 hrs or more) or a beef and butter type fast (4 days of beef and butter).


Now, I have heard some people recommend an all out fast to get back into ketosis as quickly as possible and I have even tried this. For me personally, I have found that it doesn't work well. When I'm getting back to the keto diet, I struggle with cravings from the off-plan food that I have eaten on my off days. If I go straight into fasting, my body isn't functioning in a fat-adapted state quite yet. When I'm not back to the fat-adapted state, I crave all the wrong things and it doesn't take long before I have eaten the non-keto foods again, and spiraled for yet another day. This is why I save my actual fasting for later on, when I've been back at it for a few days or even a week.



1. Breaking the Cycle:

Breaking the cycle is really a decision. You have to convince yourself that you feel better on plan than you do off plan. It really doesn't take much convincing for me. I have seen so many benefits to being in a nutritional state of ketosis that I miss those almost right away when I have eaten the wrong foods. Now taking action is a little more difficult, but it's the next step. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. You can do it!



2. Stick to the plan:

Sticking to the plan sounds simple, but you have to actually have one. I go back to the basics and eat a healthy protein, add a veggie and drizzle some healthy fats over it for each meal. During this time period I try not to make myself any almond flour type desserts or breads and stick to whole, nutrient dense foods like avocados, salmon, broccoli or a big, fresh salad. I will allow myself one small piece of keto friendly chocolate, or a fat bomb of some sort so I don't feel super deprived while going through this period of transition. I also push myself to drink lots of water with added electrolytes. I will make myself a homemade electrolyte drink with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, pink Himalayan salt and powdered magnesium. I keep it in quart jars in the fridge and add it to my water throughout the day. But staying hydrated is especially important when transitioning your body back to Keto, because your body isn't retaining the fluids that it does when your diet is carb heavy. I tighten up my eating window by paying closer attention to the time I am putting food into my body. I don't eat any later than 6pm and will only drink black coffee before 10 or later.



3. Follow up with a fast or a beef and butter type fast.

Once I feel like I am not having the cravings for all the carbs etc. I try to do a fast for about 36 hours. This helps finish the reset on my body and boosts me back into weight loss mode. I typically try to fast for a 36 hour period once a week so doing this is just helpful for reminding my body what it's like to take a break from food for a bit. There are many health benefits to fasting as well, so I try to get back to it fairly soon. I usually don't do a full on fast and a beef and butter fast in the same week, but I might choose to do the beef and butter fast instead of a 36 hr fast. This is basically where I take four days and go back to healthy protein (beef, salmon, chicken thigh or eggs) and butter for lunch and dinner and having butter coffee for breakfast. This can help switch myself back into steady nutritional ketosis fairly quickly because the amount of carbs I am consuming is extremely low.



Tools and tips I use to get through the process:


So this is how I try to get back into the swing of things with the Ketogenic diet. I have lots of experience recovering from a cheat and these are the things I have found help me most and get me back at it as quickly as possible!


What helps you get back on the wagon when you fall off? Share with me in the comments so I can learn a new trick or two!


Until next time!

 
 
 

Comments

©2019 by All Things Keto with Kelsey. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page