What To Do After a Cheat Meal on Keto

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I’ve been asked, “what to do after a cheat meal on keto?” I’m giving you the full scoop today because this is a lifestyle change and we are all human!

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Like I promised you all during my weight loss journey post from last week, I want to share with you all how to actually recover from a cheat meal. Notice that I said MEAL….not DAY? It’s important to make sure that you aren’t taking an entire day and eating everything your heart desires from morning until night. That will be much more difficult to recover from.

I know that this post is titled “what to do after a cheat meal on keto” but my method will help you recover from a cheat meal no matter what type of diet or lifestyle you follow, I just happen to follow the keto diet.

If you do already follow the keto diet plan and do intermittent fasting, this will be extra easy for you and completely doable. You are probably also aware that it is not ideal to have a cheat meal whenever you are living the keto lifestyle because it will kick you out of ketosis, which can take you 72 hours or more to get back into (unless you are drinking ketones like I am), so one bad meal and throw you off course for an entire week. However, we are all human. Sometimes having a treat is everything that we need in that moment, and I think that’s totally alright.

And bonus: sometimes having a cheat meal can help your system do a little reset and get back into fat-burning mode in a more powerful way.

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What To Do After a Cheat Meal on Keto

First things first: I want to remind you all that I am not a doctor and don’t pretend to be one. I’m just sharing my journey with you all so that it might help you along the way, too.

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way: what can happen to your body whenever you have a cheat meal?

Particularly if you have been eating low carb or keto for quite some time, it is not uncommon to experience some stomach issues like bloating and diarrhea, and then you can even start to have headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Remember the keto flu? Yup, it’s like that all over again. So first you need to figure out if it’s worth it to eat that meal or treat.

If you decide that yes, you want to move forward with the cheat meal, here’s what to do after a cheat meal on keto.

Step 1: Plan it out.

This is really the key to what to do after a cheat meal on keto: having a plan. Whenever cheat meals happen spontaneously, I have found in the past that they are much more likely to turn into cheat days, or a cheat meal plus a cheat desert. Whenever you are planning for that cheat meal, it gives you the opportunity to work it into your daily food log or even your weekly food log so that you can cut back on other things and prepare your body for it. If you do this, the cheat meal could just end up being a little blip instead of a reason that the scale goes up.

Step 2: Start fasting immediately.

One of the cheat meals that I have during the past two weeks of my weight loss journey was a pasta dinner. I know, I know, holy carbs overload. However, that night, I had my pasta (and enjoyed every single bite!) for dinner around 5:30pm and that was it for the day. Instead of starting my fast as normal at 8pm, I started it right then after I finished my meal.

Step 3: Drink extra water.

Below I have a really great chart for you guys to look at to see how many ounces of water you should actually be consuming for your weight so that your body can function normally. For me, I am currently 150 pounds, so without fail I drink 100oz of water daily, but mostly I drink about 115oz. Whenever I had a cheat meal, I aim to consume at least 150 oz to help flush everything out.

Step 4: Increase your electrolytes.

If you follow the keto diet, adding daily electrolytes to your water is essential. Whenever you have had a cheat meal, these are extra important because they will help you stay hydrated. My favorites to use are the KetoChow Electrolyte Drops.

Step 5: Work out the following day while you are in a fasted state.

I go back and forth on regular days between working out in a fast state (in the morning during my fasting window before I eat between noon and 1 pm) and working out in the afternoon. Why? Because working out in a fasted state gives you more fat-burning momentum but it will also pull from your protein, so it’s not ideal if you want to gain muscle. But whenever you are recovering from a cheat meal, having a great cardio workout during your fast gives your body the chance to burn off everything that you consumed during that cheat meal.

Step 6: Try pushing for a longer fast than normal before you introduce your first meal.

Lastly, I always aim to add at least one extra hour to my fast as I recover from a cheat meal. This just gives your body extra time to burn off that cheat meal and use it for fuel instead of storing it on your body.