Who should take a break on keto?
If you’ve started the keto diet, or if you’re considering starting one, you may wonder if & when you should take a break from keto.
In this article we’ll discuss the pros & cons of taking a break from keto, who should take a break from keto, & who shouldn’t take a break from keto.
What Is the Keto Diet?
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has become extremely popular in recent years. The basic premise behind the keto diet is that you must eat under 40 grams of net carbs per day to reach ketosis. Once you reach ketosis, you can easily start burning your own fat for fuel.
Compared to other diets, keto is usually seen as a better option because it’s easier to do. This is likely because, since you can run off your own fat, you always have more energy.
However, on most other diets, you get tired much faster since you’re running off of the carbs you eat, not your own fat.
What Are the Pros of Taking a Break on Keto?
The pros of taking a break on keto are that you’ll be more adjusted to using carbs, so your body will be more resilient.
For example, if you do long-term, once-a-year carb cycling, then you can get the benefits of having a more resilient metabolism.
For example, for 2 months of the year, your body can get used to running on carbs.
This means your body won’t be dependant on one side of fuel — fats or energy — it could use both.
What Are the Cons of Taking a Break on Keto?
The cons of taking a break on keto are that you’d slow down your keto weight loss progress, & if you take breaks often, you’d kick yourself in & out of keto too often, which would also slow down your progress.
- Slow Down Progress — If you take a break off of keto, you likely stop losing weight. Not only would you stop losing weight, you would immediately gain a lot of water weight back since carbs hold a lot of water. In addition to water weight, if you don’t come back to keto, then you will slowly start to gain weight if you don’t eat healthily. For most people, if you aren’t at your weight loss goal, then don’t take a break off of keto since it can lead to a temptation to leave keto permanently.
- Often Breaks Kick You Out of Keto Too Often — If you take often breaks off of keto, you’d kick yourself out of ketosis too often. This would mean that you’d never get into a deep state of ketosis, & you’d always be almost there & then sabotaging yourself. It’s better to take longer-planned breaks on keto instead of small, often breaks.
Who Should Take a Break from Keto?
If you’ve been doing the keto diet for longer than 1 year, you can consider taking a 2 month break off of keto each year. This can help to make your body more resilient as it can be more efficient at using both fuels — fat & carbs — instead of relying on just one.
However, if you’ve been doing keto for less than a year, or if you haven’t reached your weight loss goals on keto, it’s better to just keep doing keto without taking any breaks.
Conclusion
Losing weight on keto can be challenging, but most people still shouldn’t take a break off of keto. If you take constant breaks off of keto, you may become too comfortable with that way of eating & may never come back to keto. However, if you’ve been doing keto for more than a year, you can carb cycle for 2 months of the year to make your body more adapted at using both types of fuels.
If you’re interested in starting keto, but don’t know where to start, here’s my article detailing the benefits of keto & how to start.
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