Cheat day? Cheat meal?

[Likeaninjanow]

Hi, I'm one week into lowcarbing, which I'm finding very exciting. I've never been on a 'diet' before, and I'm 41! Anyway...it seems to be going well, and I want this to become the way I choose to eat for the long term.

To help me sustain it, I wonder if I'm allowed any cheats? If so, what's the best way? One meal per week, one day of cheats?? Appreciate any advice from the experts!

Not really. Low carbing isn't an especially forgiving way of eating. However, it depends what you mean by cheating!

Once you've reached the weight you're happy with, it's all about maintaining - and life would be very dull indeed if you couldn't eat what you wanted every now and then.

Dr Briffa talks about the 80:20 rule - 80% of the time you stick to the plan, but 20% of the time you can be more relaxed.

If you apply that strictly - assuming you eat 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, that means 21 meals. 4 of them would thus be meals where you can be more relaxed.

But go easy - it's very easy to introduce a few carbs, and to suddenly find that you have massive carb cravings that make it really difficult to get back on track! speaks from bitter experience

Thanks biwi . I'm talking maybe one meal a week where I allow myself a takeaway. I don't have much weight to lose, prob about 7 pounds. I'm doing weights & a lot of exercise, so was hoping that would balance out.

Really new to all this so really appreciate the help.

It's not about balancing out the carbs though - you're thinking about burning off calories. The thing is, every time you eat a lot of carbs, your body is producing insulin. And it's the insulin that directs the sugar/glucose to various places. So some will be used for immediate energy requirements, some will get stored as glycogen (in your liver and muscles) for medium term energy requirements, and anything left over will be deposited as fat.

Ah, ok, got it thanks! Hoping my body adjusts quickly then, as a 5 mile run yesterday took more out of me than a 13 miler normally would

It will do to start with. Your body needs to switch from burning carbs to burning fat, which will take at least a couple of weeks. Once your body is in fat-burning mode you will have (relatively) unlimited fuel sources - no more hitting the wall or bonking.

If you like, have a read of "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance" by Drs Vinny and Pholek, which will explain all of the science behind it.

Unlimited fuel - sounds good to me! Thanks again Biwi.

I tend to have a fast day before a cheat meal so limiting overall carbs for the day.

BIWI No more bonking??? Even if you use a condom to capture the carbs?