Hey everyone! On day 16 of this Keto Cut, I finally have my first cycle day! It's been great to lose the first 8lbs so far and I'm glad to be able to take a mental, physical and even emotional break from the diet for 1 day.
Cyclical Ketogenic Diets and Why I Choose to Cycle
There's some controversy over carb cycling when it comes to ketogenic diets. Some people claim that having this so called "cheat day" will throw off your diet and cause the scale to go haywire which will cause the dieter to lose their mind!
There's been a solid amount of research done on the effects of carb cycling, especially as it relates to high-level athletes and the research has shown quite a few benefits to it.
From my personal experience with being on an SKD (standard ketogenic diet) and being on a CKD (cyclical ketogenic diet), I can tell you that I have much better results on the CKD. When I first start out the diet, I'll wait about 2 weeks before having the first cycle day. I usually will lose about 10lbs by this time and I feel that it is a good milestone to give myself a little pat on the back while replenishing my depleted glycogen stores. After the first cycle day, I'll take another cycle day about once every 7-10 days.
So what exactly is a "cycle" day?
When you're on a CKD, the cycle day is meant to be a carb-loading phase. Some people eat carbs for 1 meal, some people eat carbs the whole day and others even eat carbs for anywhere from 2-5 days. It really depends on the person and what their goals are.
For me, 1 day of eating carbs is typically enough. I'll usually have 4-5 meals and I'll eat the far majority of my carbs post-workout to try and get the best possible insulin response.
On my cycle day, I usually will eat nearly anything I want, or at least, anything within reason. I don't have a huge sweet tooth, so the majority of what I'll eat will consist of bread, rice and pasta which are some of my favorite carbs. I'll usually indulge my small sweet tooth by having 1 treat at the end of the day - usually something like a slice of chocolate cake, some chocolate chip pancakes or even some blueberry pie with a little ice cream on top.
Others may opt for a more scientific approach - where they track everything they eat on their cycle day - I've tried this approach in the past and found that it still didn't make a huge difference. I prefer to just eat the carbs that I crave while trying not to overeat to the point where I feel sick. This lets me take a huge mental and emotional break from having to constantly track every little grain of rice or piece of chicken that I consume.
The only thing that I'll loosely track is the fat intake - I prefer to keep my fat really low on carb days - usually, around 40-60 grams if I can. As far as protein goes, I usually just eat as much as I want on these days as well (again, within reason).
Once you have a few cycle days, you'll also notice that you can kind of eyeball everything you eat and have a pretty clear picture of how much you're consuming. As long as I'm not consuming an outrageous amount of calories, I feel just fine staying in the dark on the exact numbers.
Just for fun, here's a few pictures of some of the stuff I ate today:
Day 16 Log:
Weigh-In:
| Start Weight (lbs) | Goal Weight (lbs) | Weight Lost (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| 198 | 173 | 8 |
| Today's Weight (lbs) | Fat Mass (%) | Body Mass BMI |
|---|---|---|
| 190 | 23.3 | 23.5 |
Workout:
Back/Bi Day:
| Movement | Weight lbs | # Reps | # Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadlift | 315 | 5 | 4 |
| Cable Low Row | 160 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Hammer Lat Pull Down | 145 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Bicep Curl EZ Bar | 70 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Preacher Curl EZ Bar | 70 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Cable Rope Curl | 40 | 12-15 | 4 |
| Cardio | 15 Minutes - Stair Master |
What I Ate Today:
| Meal | Food |
|---|---|
| 0 | Coffee 2 TBSP Half & Half |
| 1 | 2 Eggs, 2 slices of bread, ~1 oz cheddar cheese, Turkey Sandwich with spinach, cheese and hot peppers |
| 2 | 4 homemade tacos with lean ground beef, queso and peppers |
| 3 | Hashbrowns and Chicken |
| 4 | 2 Slices of Chocolate Cake with Powdered Sugar |
Note: As I mentioned, I don't really track the quantity of what I eat on these cycle days, it gives me a nice mental break. This is a list of what I ate and approximately how much I ate, but it's definitely not exact, it's just based on me eyeballing it.
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: Do you prefer cheat days/carb-up days while dieting? Do you track on those days or just let loose a little?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
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