KETO

CAN YOU EAT CHEESE ON KETO?

Asking can you eat cheese on keto is like asking if the sky is blue.

Ok, so maybe it’s dark and gloomy when you look out your window (whenever you happen to be reading this) but you get the picture.

Cheese is a staple in mine and many others keto diets. Not only is cheese tasty on its own, but you can practically top anything with cheese to enhance the flavor. The way I like to use cheese is slathering it on my keto pizza, cauliflower nachos, or even as a side dish on its own.

And that’s not all, not only does cheese just taste good, it’s a nutrient powerhouse with many benefits, few drawbacks, and easily accessible. So sit back and let’s go over how cheese can benefit your diet, some things you want to be mindful of, and the best cheeses to consume.

Can you eat cheese on keto?

Cheese is perfectly acceptable on a keto diet. Not only are most cheeses low carbohydrate, but they are packed with the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2. Cheese is also rich in calcium and protein making it a great fit for those living a ketogenic lifestyle.

Time to go over the good and the bad to finally settle the question of can you eat cheese on keto or not.

What is cheese?

If you don’t know what cheese is, you’re living under a rock!

But I imagine you know since you’ve found your way here and wondering if you can eat cheese on keto. That said, cheese is made by curdling milk, much like the process of producing yogurt where the solid (fat and protein) is split from the liquid (whey and water).

Soft cheeses have not been aged as long as hard cheeses, and for the most part hard cheeses will contain fewer carbohydrates than soft cheeses.

Benefits of cheese on keto

Besides being super tasty by itself or on top of anything, cheese has health benefits.

Rich in calcium

Cheese is rich in calcium, a one ounce serving on average will provide you with nearly 200 milligrams. We often forget calcium with keto electrolytes that people concern themselves with.

A diet rich in calcium helps ensure you’ll have strong, healthy bones. This is very important, especially for females, who are more susceptible to osteoporosis 1 as we age.

Great source of protein

On average, per one ounce of cheese will net you with ~7 grams of protein. This is the equivalent to what you would find in any other protein source such as chicken, fish, beef, etc.

Be mindful of cheeses fat content since most are also high in fat and calories unless opting for a lower fat cheese.

Packed with nutrients

Cheese is packed with many nutrients including the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2.

Not only that, but they contain “healthy fats” such as EPA and DHA, even more in cheese that came from grass-fed milk

Contain probiotics

Most people associate yogurt with having a good dose of probiotics, but cheese to contains a good dose of these “good” bacteria.

While still being researched and a relatively new field of study, maintaining gut health is paramount for better overall health. It’s not just about what you eat, but what you eat AND can absorb.

The top 3 drawbacks to cheese on keto

While there are tons of benefits to eating cheese on your keto diet, there can be some drawbacks. Here are three things you want to watch out for when including cheese on your keto journey.

Highly processed

Not all cheeses are created equal. Many kinds of cheese that you might be used to growing up are full of additives and starches. I’m talking about the cheese you might find wrapped perfectly in individual little squares or shredded in a bag.

I’m not saying you can’t eat these, but be mindful of any extra ingredients thrown in. The most important aspect for remaining in ketosis is that you keep carbs low.

While you can still enjoy these cheeses, make sure the cheese you choose isn’t high in carbs because of added sugars or they can quickly add up and knock you out ketosis.

Easy to overeat

While you may have heard some mumbo jumbo about calories not mattering on a ketogenic diet, that is false, because they absolutely matter. So, if you are eating copious amounts of cheese you might end up wondering why you’re not losing weight on keto.

Cheese is one of those foods like nuts that are calorie dense. Super tasty calorie-dense foods like cheese and nuts are easy to over-consume, so be cautious when including these types of foods in your diet.

Possible allergy

Sometimes we expose ourselves to things we know aren’t good for us. I’m sure we all have that friend who is lactose intolerant but loves ice cream. While cheese isn’t high in lactose, certain individuals don’t respond well to casein protein, the protein found in cheese.

And like I said, cheese isn’t “high” in lactose, so there is some. Usually, the more aged cheese is the less lactose and carbohydrates there is.

The best cheese on keto

Certain cheeses are better than others in terms of health benefits and even carb count. Here are two categories of cheeses to steer towards for additional nutrition and fewer carbohydrates per serving.

Grass-fed

Grass-fed cheeses are richer in many vitamins including B and fat-soluble vitamins. Grass-fed cheese is also high in “healthy fats” like omega-3’s and CLA. I’m sure you know that omega-3’s is good for you, but few people have heard about CLA.

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is a fat that has been shown to have a wide variety of health benefits, improved blood sugar regulation, and reduced body fat are two of the key ones you might be interested in.

Aged cheeses

If you look at the nutrition facts on cheese and navigate to the carbohydrate line, you’ll see many kinds of cheese contain carbohydrates in the form of sugar. Basically, all the sugar that’s in the cheese is in the form of lactose, so if it says 2g it has 2 grams of lactose per serving.

Natural and aged cheeses, such as cheddar or parmesan, will contain less lactose and thus less carbohydrates. If you’re looking to keep it as low carb as possible, then stick to aged cheeses, the more aged the better.

Keto cheese cheat sheet

There are few carbs in cheese making it a perfect fit for your keto diet. However, some cheeses contain a lower carb content than others.

The carb content in the below cheeses is per 1 oz serving.

The lowest carb keto-friendly cheeses are:

Cheese	Amount	Carbs
Goat cheese	1 oz.	0.1g
Brie	1 oz.	0.1g
Blue cheese	1 oz.	0.7g
Cheddar	1 oz.	0.8g
Parmesan	1 oz.	0.9g
Provolone	1 oz.	0.6g
Mozzarella	1 oz.	0.6g

Some of my favorite keto cheese snacks

Bunker hill cheese crisps
Cello whisps *I've seen these at Costco too
Just the cheese bars

How to make keto cheese chips

If you’re a DIY person and rather make things from scratch wondering how to make keto cheese chips, then here are my top 3 favorite cheese crisp recipes I’ve tried.

How much cheese on keto

Since there is no general rule of thumb on how much cheese on keto is acceptable, it comes down to how much you want to fit in your daily intake. Everyone is different and some people like more cheese than others.

If you can fit it within your daily caloric allotment and macros, then go right ahead.

Don’t know how to calculate your calories or macros? Try using my keto macro calculator to get a starting point based on your body and lifestyle factors.

Just remember, you can’t have an unlimited amount of cheese just because it’s “keto-friendly.” Cheese is caloric dense, and a little goes a long way. If you eat too much and weight loss is your goal, you may find yourself in a plateau or even worse… gaining weight.

Can you eat cheese on keto closing thoughts

Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle gain, you can most certainly fit cheese into a well-balanced ketogenic diet. Not only is cheese tasty, but it’s packed with nutrition.

Think of cheese as a flavor enhancer rather than the main part of a meal. Or perhaps… enjoy a few small slices of cheese with a glass of wine to stay keto while out a cocktail party.

Either way, you may have cheese on keto as long as you’re mindful of not eating so much cheese you sabotage your weight loss efforts.

What’s your favorite kind of cheese?

CAN YOU HAVE A CHEAT DAY ON KETO?

With almost any weight-loss diet, the inevitable question of whether you can have a cheat day comes up. A ketogenic diet makes it more complicated as it eliminates most of the foods that people would find themselves “cheating” with.

Which I guess is a good thing since they are typically calorie rich, but nutrient poor food choices that led to the extra weight in the first place.

Which still begs the question…

Can you have a cheat day on keto?

The answer is yes and no. It‘s not such a black and white subject no matter what diet you‘re on, keto or not. In fact, there are certain things at play even more so on a ketogenic diet you should be mindful of.

As with most answers, it usually depends…

Context is everything.

I‘ll preface this by saying I’m not a fan of cheat days on keto.

Let me rephrase that, I’m not a fan of cheat days on any “diet“ so I may be a little biased.

What‘s wrong with a keto cheat day you ask?

Personally, I think having a designated “cheat day” sets you up in the wrong mental space. Every day is inevitably spent looking forward to the infamous “cheat day.” Instead, live in the present and worry about what you should do THAT day to ensure you hit your goals.

Second, it leads down a rabbit hole of re-enforcing bad habits, possibly old ones that led you to gain weight in the first place, and binge cycles.

Can you have a cheat day on the keto diet?

There are certain named diets that allow for a “cheat day,” typically one day per week in which you‘re allowed to eat anything and everything. The thinking being, if you eat well on your diet six out of seven days a week, you‘re still ahead.

At first, this MAY sound like a good idea, but if you‘re like me and have fallen prey to this, then you know the truth.

Let me paint a picture for you.

Steven decides he wants to lose weight and goes on a diet. He sticks to the plan Monday thru Saturday and on Sunday he allows himself to eat whatever he‘s been craving all week.

Each cheat day he eats all the food he‘s been “missing out on,” and ends up eating himself sick and leading him to hating himself afterward. Eventually, he willingly abstains from cheating at all because he realized he didn‘t need it.

Yes, the Steven in the story is me, and yes… this is actually what I used to do.

Talk about insanity right? but I know many other people do this too, and it’s definitely not healthy. Not only is it not healthy physically, but mentally and emotionally it takes a toll.

But maybe you‘re not like me and can exercise a little restraint. For myself, and MANY others, once the floodgates have opened it’s game over.

You can undo a whole week of dieting, possibly even more, in a single day.

BELIEVE ME

This leads me to how I typically like to characterize different individuals, You are an abstainer (like me) or a moderator.

Abstainer Vs. Moderator

The Abstainer

The classic abstainer will usually have an all-or-nothing mentality. It’s far easier for these individuals to give something up altogether than to indulge moderately.

Trying to moderate for these individuals becomes an internal struggle of:

Should I?

How much?

When can I?

It requires no self-control if you already know it‘s not a choice, whereas if you can do it sometimes… well that requires ENORMOUS self-control.

It might sound crazy on the surface, but it would surprise you how many individuals fit this mold…

You may be one.

ESPECIALLY since many of them resort to ketogenic diets.

The Moderator

Moderators do better when they avoid absolutes or strict rules. Having these black and white lines makes them feel trapped inside a box (metaphorically speaking).

These are your individuals that can take out a pint of ice cream and have one or two spoons before putting it back in. Those crazy guys and girls that can open a bag of Oreos and take out just one cookie instead of eating the whole sleeve.

Crazy right?!

3 things I recommend instead of having a cheat day on keto

While I wouldn’t recommend “cheat days” for the majority of people, I suggest some of the following instead:

Free meals (special occasions)

As the name implies, a free meal is a SINGLE meal of whatever you want, NOT an entire day. I would normally opt to save these for special occasions, 2 but you can also use it on your weekly date with the significant other.

Even better if you can keep it keto or save all those “keto friendly ketofied junk food” treats for your free meal.

I almost guarantee you’ll feel better both physically and mentally by using this versus an all-out cheat day.

Refeed (cyclical ketogenic diet)

For the athletically inclined, a keto carb cycling approach or cyclical ketogenic diet may suit you both physically and mentally. This cyclical approach typically has you alternating between periods of strict keto days and days with a higher amount of carbs “refeed” days to help maximize performance.

Example: 5 – 6 days in ketosis alternated by 1 – 2 of higher carbs

I would reserve this method for those of you who are highly active and also are keto-adapted. 2

Remember, this isn’t a protocol to be used as an excuse to eat everything you want. There is still a strategic component to implementing a cyclical ketogenic diet, but it sure helps with carb cravings.

Diet break (1-2 week break periodically)

This is where I differ from the crowd, but sometimes I think it‘s good to actually take a break from dieting and/or being in ketosis.

Recent research suggests that alternating periods of dieting (calorie restriction) with periods of maintenance (eating enough to maintain weight) has been shown to benefit fat loss both physically and psychologically.

As we diet, our body begins to downregulate certain hormones in an attempt to preserve itself. Taking a diet break allows these hormones to recoup, making subsequent dieting weeks more fruitful.

How often and for how long you should take a break will largely depend on how much fat you have to lose and how long you’ve been dieting. The above is typically how often I would recommend taking diet breaks based on your body fat percentage. 3

For most people looking to lose weight, a cheat day sounds alluring, but the benefits are small if any.

Reasons you SHOULDN’T have a keto cheat day

Can easy sabotage your efforts, 1 step forward 1 step backward.

If keto weight loss is your goal, you might set yourself up to undo all the progress you made throughout the week, even if you were good 6 out of 7 days.

Just remember weight gain and weight loss results from how many calories you do or don‘t eat over time. You can easily eat so much in one day you erase all the progress from the previous 6 days.

Just have a look at the graphic below to get a visual of what might happen

You’ll feel horrible afterward

If you have a carb heavy cheat meal or day, you might set yourself up to those dreaded feelings you had when first starting a ketogenic diet, AKA the keto flu.

After being on a ketogenic diet for some time, it dampens your ability to process sugar. It’s like when you first started a ketogenic diet, it required your body to get used to burning ketones.

If your cheat day consists of high carb foods, it’ll likely kick you out of ketosis, raise your blood sugar, and possibly lead to sugar cravings.

Does nothing physically

There really is no benefit to a cheat meal or cheat day besides the psychological break it gives you from dieting. You might have heard cheat days kickstart your metabolism or trick your body into burning fat, but there is literally no scientific evidence to support a single meal or day is enough to do anything.

*Don’t get me wrong… a psychological break is needed as much as a physical one.

This is also why I recommend longer breaks above of 1-2 weeks. One day is not long enough to do anything besides give yourself a mental break and maybe enough energy to hit another workout.

Instead, I would suggest strategic refeeds almost like keto carb cycling (cyclical ketogenic diet) or better yet, complete diet breaks where your goal is to simply maintain your weight for a period of time by raising calories back up to a level that is appropriate to maintain your weight.

Bad relationship with food

By having “cheat” days or meals you‘re reinforcing a bad relationship with food. There are no foods inherently good or bad (unless you have an allergy).

And if you feel the need to cheat, maybe it‘s time to rethink whether a ketogenic lifestyle is for you.

The best diet will be the one you‘re satisfied on and can adhere to over the long term.

Pigging out “just because”

Maybe you would have been fine continuing your fat loss journey, but instead of staying on track you decided to have a cheat day just because it’s Sunday (or whatever day you make it). Again, sometimes it’s best to just go about your routine and save those “cheats” for special occasions instead of reoccurring scheduled days.

So if all of that above wasn’t enough to stop you then keep on reading for why you may want to incorporate them and what to do if you decide to…

Reasons you SHOULD have a keto cheat day

Psychological break

Again, a cheat “meal” can be a good psychological break from dieting.

Let’s face it, dieting is stressful and can take a mental toll. Allowing oneself to mentally clock out for a meal without thinking about it can be liberating and undo some stress.

Therefore, sometimes people drop a pound or two after going off plan, not because of some magical fat burning that happens after a cheat day… but rather the mental break was enough to stimulate the release of some of the water weight masking weight loss on the scale from being too stressed.

Can “temporarily” increase performance

Sometimes a day with extra calories is enough to give you a little pep in your step for the next training session. Having enough energy to hit the gym hard can go a long way in helping preserve or even gain muscle.

Our goal when we lose weight is not to simply lose weight, but maintain our muscle and lose fat. If you‘re not doing any resistance training, I would highly reconsider.

What to do if you have a cheat day on keto

So you have a free meal, a “cheat meal,” or at worst go off the rail for an entire day what should you do?

Jump back to what you were doing

Nothing. Just move on and continue your diet and training like normal. Don‘t feel the need to starve yourself or add in an “extra” cardio session.

Believe me, I used to do that all the time.

Exercising yourself to death to burn fat and calories is just another form of purging.4

Fast/Intermittent Fast (if jumping back into ketosis is a priority)

I know I said not to starve yourself the next day, but sometimes fasting or intermittent fasting is a good idea if you feel less than optimal. Doing so may allow you to enter back into ketosis and reap the benefits of reduced hunger and mental clarity once again.

How to best incorporate a cheat day on keto

Don‘t make it a day, make it a meal

Don’t have a keto cheat day, instead have a cheat meal, or what I commonly refer to as a “free” meal.

I don’t know about you, but a whole day of reckless eating is asking for trouble. Try to limit yourself to one meal where you let yourself have whatever you want.

Preferably have this meal at dinner so it can’t easily turn into a whole day of bingeing.

Don’t stress

Don‘t feel the need to “pre-compensate” cheat days/meals.

What do I mean by pre-compensate? Don‘t starve yourself or run yourself into the ground with exercise (before or after) to offset the meal.

One of the main reasons traditional exercise doesn’t always translate to what we would hope for in terms of weight loss can be explained by this theory of calorie compensation.

Somehow, if we add in exercise or overly restrict ourselves we gain this mindset we can eat more. While this is true, how much more we eat vs how much we ACTUALLY eat are two entirely different things.

This might explain why you would normally never eat a pint of ice cream, but now that it‘s “lower calorie” you might find yourself eating the whole pint… maybe even two.

Before you might have had a scoop and put the ice cream away, but since it’s low calories you justify eating more.

Create a calorie buffer

Going off the previous tip, while I don’t recommend starving yourself or fasting before your free meal, you could potentially make those meals smaller than usual.

If I ever want to create a “buffer” I’ll stick to protein and veggies with minimal carbs or fat throughout the day.

If you usually combine keto and intermittent fasting, then you‘ve already created your “buffer.”

Have a plan / plan ahead

“Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

Sometimes the best strategy is to get ahead of it. If you plan to dine out for your free meal, try looking up the menu on their website and choosing what you will eat beforehand.

… and stick to it.

If no website exists, try looking up the menu photos on Yelp.

Prioritize protein

The way I like to think about a cheat meal is protein first, carbs and fat for taste. Focus on protein, fat, and veggie intake first to maximize satiety and reduce the chance of going of the rails.

This is a great strategy to use at a buffet or even those holiday potlucks where you tend to indulge a bit much.

Limit choices, not amounts

When people are presented with too many choices, like a buffet, they tend to eat more. Not only do more choices lead to eating more, but it also lends itself to less satisfaction overall.

FOMO is real.

Think about it… if you were to limit yourself to prime rib and chocolate cake, you would eat only so much of it before being full and satisfied.

But if I now offer you potatoes and ice cream, you’ll end up eating a lot more than had you stuck to only a couple items.

Remember, you don’t have to sample EVERYTHING on the menu.

It’ll be there the next time you visit, trust me.

Pick your favorite thing on the menu or the food you‘ve been craving most and stay the course.

Keep them “keto-friendly”

With the myriad of “keto treats” and recipes floating around on Pinterest, you can literally recreate your old favorites and have them as your keto cheat.

Not only will you not feel as guilty, but you‘ll avoid the possibility of re going through the keto flu from knocking yourself out of ketosis.

Try not to have them too frequently

If you‘re going to indulge, definitely try not to do it too often. I usually suggest people save these for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, or a vacation.

Having them too often may lead you on a roller coaster of highs and lows.

Even worse is if you let a cheat meal turn into a cheat week.

Final thoughts about if you can you have cheat days on keto

There is no need to beat yourself up or feel bad if you accidentally fall off track because it happens to EVERYONE. It’s when you fall off for one day and that day turns into days or longer where you’ll run into problems.

Progress isn‘t dictated by what you do once in a while, it’s dictated by what you do MOST of the time.

First, ask yourself why you “need” a cheat day. Do you need one because you need a mental break from dieting? Do you feel TOO restricted on a ketogenic diet?

While I wouldn’t recommend an entire day, a meal once in a while can definitely provide a nice psychological break. If having a “cheat meal” once a week or however often is what it takes to keep you adherent (consistent) with your diet, then I’m all for it.

Or perhaps it’s time to take a break from dieting altogether for a period, usually a week or two before continuing your fat loss efforts.

Just don’t be fooled or fool yourself into thinking that having a cheat day is “stoking” your metabolism.

CAN YOU DRINK ALCOHOL ON KETO?

Keto and alcohol, can the two go together?

Even I love a drink or two now and then. A nice bottle of wine or a glass of pappy van winkle and you have my attention, but can you drink alcohol on keto and still see results?

One question I get most is can you drink alcohol on the keto diet?

You can drink alcohol on keto. In fact, you may even see an increase in your ketone readings after a drink or two. However, some options are better than others and it’s probably best you stay away from most mixed drinks and non-light beers if staying in ketosis is a priority.

Another question pertaining to keto and alcohol I seem to get… the dreaded question of Is alcohol keto?

And just like food, there Is really no such thing as “keto drinks” or “keto foods.” There may be options that are more keto friendly, but no food or drink is inherently keto or not keto.

Remember, keto is a metabolic state not a specific group of foods or drinks. Meaning, you can literally eat or drink anything and be in ketosis.5

Keto and alcohol

Many people don’t associate alcohol as containing calories, but as with anything… those calories can add up and sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Alcohol, the fourth macronutrient

Most people are familiar with the three macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat). What you may not know (or do) is that alcohol is actually the fourth macronutrient.

Broken down by calories per gram:

Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram
Protein has 4 calories per gram
Fat is 9 calories per gram
Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram

What happens when you drink alcohol on keto?

When alcohol is consumed on a ketogenic diet, less fat loss may be occurring, but only temporarily. Since we process alcohol through the liver, and ketone production occurs in the liver, my educated guess is we will convert less free fatty acids to ketones while the alcohol is being cleared from the body.

Here’s a brief rundown of “keto approved” alcohol you can include on your keto diet.

Within moderation.

Low carb beer: While I love me a good craft beer, more than you can imagine… most of them are not as “keto friendly” as other alcoholic options. When consuming beer, it‘s best to stick to light beers such as budweiser select 55, miller 64, michelob ultra, miller lite, etc.

Unfortunately, you can say goodbye to IPAs and stouts if your goal is to stay in ketosis.

Wine: Dry red and dry white wines will carry on average 4-5 net carbs per 5 oz. glass. It’s best you‘re careful with choosing which wine as sometimes they are packed with some added sugars.

I recommend a company by the name of Dry Farm Wines who lab tests different wines to make sure they are all natural, additive-free, and with no added sugars.

In short, a glass of wine can easily fit into your daily routine.

Liquor: Most hard liquors are 40% alcohol (80 proof) and contain zero carbs or added sugars. The problem arises when you want to mix your hard liquor with something sugary.

Hard liquor is your best bet if carbs are a concern, and it’s best to stick to it straight.

Below, you’ll find a more complete breakdown of alcoholic drinks on keto to opt for versus sugar filled mixed drinks that can set you back.

Liquor

We‘ll start off with hard liquor since it‘s the easiest. Almost ALL hard liquor is carb free, meaning 0 grams of carbs, so it’s almost pointless to give you a list and breakdown of keto friendly hard liquor along with their net carb count.

…. because they all are.

Whether you‘re a keto and whiskey fanatic like me or enjoy yourself some tequila, basically all liquors are carb free so long as you are not putting in any sugary mixers or liqueurs.

Most hard liquors are about ~100 calories and 0 net carbs per 1.5 oz shot.

If you really want to mix it with something I would recommend seltzer water or a sugar-free mixer like zevia mixers.

It’s important to note that seltzer water AKA tonic water and club soda are different things. Club soda is full of sugar, so make sure your bartender isn’t pouring that in when you ask for seltzer, sparkling, or water con gas.

Keto friendly beer options

If you‘re a craft beer guy like myself, you’ll be sad to know most craft beers ARE NOT keto friendly. If you‘re one of those that like a michelob ultra or a bud light, you may be in luck.

Which in that case, I‘d probably just opt for water.

I kid… kind of.

Unfortunately, with beer, they are all usually packed with carbs making them less than ideal if staying in ketosis is a priority.

However, there are plenty of lower carb options if you want a beer from time to time. Below is a list of some popular “keto-friendly” beers you may indulge in occasionally.

Low carb beer

Beer	Cals	Carbs	ABV
Bud Light	110	6.6g	4.2%
Bud Select 55	55	1.8g	2.4%
Miller 64	64	2.4g	2.8%
Busch Light	95	3.2g	4.1%
Natural Light	95	3.2g	4.2%
Michelob Ultra	95	2.6g	4.2%
Miller Lite	96	3.2g	4.2%
Coors Light	102	5g	4.2%
Corona Light	99	5g	4.5%
Greens Trailblazer	119	.5	4.7%
Amstel Light	95	5g	3.5%
Keystone Light	104	5g	4.1%
Heineken Light	99	6.8g	3.3%
Yuengling Light	99	8.5g	3.6%

Keto friendly wine options

Can you drink wine on keto? Except for dessert wines, such as ports and sherries, most red and white wines will set you back ~120 calories and 3-5 net carbs per 5 oz pour making them ok to drink occasionally

Also, the sweeter the wine like a Riesling or Moscato will be higher in net carbs… which makes sense.

Just a fair warning, there may be certain wines (usually cheaper wines) that put in additives or even added sugars so be cautious.

Below is a list of red and white wines along with their calorie and net carb content per 5 oz pour.

Best wine for keto

Red Wine	Cals	Carbs
Pinot Noir	120	3.4g
Cabernet	120	3.8g
Syrah	120	3.8g
Merlot	120	3.7g
Zinfandel	130	4.2g
Malbec	125	4g
Tempranillo	125	4g
Grenache	120	4g

White Wine	Cals	Carbs
Pinot Blanc	120	3g
Pinot Grigio	120	3g
Chardonnay	125	3g
Riesling	130	6g
Champagne	150	3g
Muscato	130	8g
Sauvignon Blanc	125	4g
Gewürztraminer	130	7g

Why drinking alcohol on keto may not be ideal

If your goal is fat loss, there may be reasons why you may want to avoid alcohol on keto. For starters, your calories can be better spent on solid food rather than liquid…

But I get it, you want to indulge once in a while.

Will impair fat loss… TEMPORARILY

One of the biggest reasons why you should pass up on that glass of wine is that when you consume alcohol, it will almost completely impair the body’s use of fat for fuel. In short, you will temporarily stop burning fat while the alcohol is being cleared from your body.

Can be dangerous… IN EXCESS

Excessive alcohol intake while in ketosis can cause runaway acidosis to develop which is potentially very dangerous. Just like type 1 diabetics risk diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) 2 Alcoholics also risk building up high levels of ketones in their blood whether or not on a ketogenic diet.

Moral of the story… drink in moderation.

You get drunk… QUICKER

This may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to look at it.

Stored carbohydrates and carbohydrate-rich food slow down the metabolization of alcohol. Being in ketosis is a surefire way to feel the effects of alcohol much quicker since there‘s less glycogen stored to offset the alcohol.

You may not make the best decisions

Whether keto or not, being alcohol-impaired may lead us to make decisions we might not have otherwise made while sober. This is the part where you find yourself waiting for a slice of pizza or a greasy burrito at 2 am.

You know it‘s true!

Best tips for drinking alcohol on keto

If you are going to have that occasional drink, try to utilize the principles below. It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway… always drink in moderation!

Stick to hard liquor

When in doubt, hard liquor is your best bet. Not only does hard liquor contain virtually no carbohydrates, but you also get more bang for your buck.

Just watch out for sugary mixers if you are mixing your alcohol.

Stay hydrated

Alcohol causes you to excrete water. On a ketogenic diet, we need to increase our water and electrolyte intake to offset the lack of carbohydrates. 3

Combine the increased water excretion of alcohol along with a ketogenic diet and you may find yourself dehydrated or with an electrolyte imbalance. Try to drink a glass of water in between alcoholic beverages if having more than one.

Going back to hard liquor and mixers… a sugar-free electrolyte drink like Powerade zero might make a good substitution to mix with things like vodka.

Meal prep

Going back to making bad decisions when slightly intoxicated… Sometimes having a game plan for after a night of drinking can save you from “accidentally” bingeing. Having keto friendly options ready to grab might save you from blowing your whole diet.

Keto alcohol mixed drinks

Alcohols and mixers to generally avoid on keto

Dessert wines

Dessert wines such as port and sherries are relatively high in carbohydrates with ~10-15g per 3 oz. serving. Not the worst, so if you have a glass be mindful of your portion size.

Sweet wines

Sorry ladies, Stella Rosa, Moscato, and Riesling are not your friends when it comes to being low in carbs. Again, if you‘re gonna have a small glass you might still be ok.

But we all know one glass turns into the bottle.

Sangria / Margarita mix

These mixes are usually pure sugar, avoid if possible.

Wine coolers

Do people still drink these?

Liqueurs

Liqueurs, different from liquor, is usually a combination of syrup and liquor. Some more popular liqueurs include triple sec, baileys, Jagermeister, Grand Marnier, an amaretto.

While most people don’t really drink these straight, they can be mixed with a lot of other drinks to make certain cocktails. A 1.5 oz serving may knock you back a good ~10-20 carbs.

Liqueur	Cals	Carbs
Grand Marnier	115	10g
Curacao	110	11g
Chambord	150	17g
Midori	120	17g
Triple Sec	190	17g
Jagermeister	155	17g
Kahlua	140	22g
Amaretto	165	26g
Baileys	150	11g
Cointreau	140	11g
Soco	100	4g

Keto and alcohol… Putting it together

There’s no reason you can’t enjoy a drink or two while on a ketogenic diet, just realize that fat burning will slow down temporarily.

Also, alcohol contains calories and ultimately, you will need a caloric deficit if fat loss is your primary focus.

That said, depending on if you look at it as a good or a bad thing, people report that alcohol affects them more and quicker on a ketogenic diet. People also report some of the worst hangovers after they consume alcohol on keto.

I don’t know about you, but I’m all for being a cheap date.

Just remember, there are no long term studies on the effects of alcohol consumption so be responsible.

Do you occasionally have a drink or two while living a keto lifestyle? Let me know your thoughts and comments down below.

CARB CYCLING KETO

What is carb cycling keto?

Carb cycling keto, also commonly referred to as a cyclical ketogenic diet, is a variation of the standard keto diet that allows you to strategically introduce carbs on ~1-2 days of the week while eating a standard ketogenic diet the other ~5-6 days of the week.

In this article I’ll cover how to carb cycle on keto by laying out who this plan might be good for, how often should you carb cycle on keto, and much more.

A few questions you may be thinking…

Is it the same as carb cycling?

In short, no… while a cyclical ketogenic diet does combine aspects of cycling carbs on a keto diet it isn’t the same as what most people refer to as “carb cycling.”

A typical carb cycling approach would alternate between low, medium, and high days throughout the week while a cyclical ketogenic approach would have 5 – 6 consecutive low to no carbohydrate days followed by a massive influx of carbohydrates on 1 – 2 days.

Who should use a cyclical ketogenic diet?

If you’ve been successfully following a ketogenic diet but noticing a decrease in performance, giving a cyclical ketogenic diet a run through may be an option worth considering.

On the flip side, if you’re on the fence about starting a ketogenic diet but have been worried about a drop in performance or muscle loss, a cyclical ketogenic diet may be the answer.

Carb cycling on keto or a cyclical ketogenic diet can be used by individuals both looking to lose weight and/or gain muscle. That said, I don’t recommend this method of carb cycling on keto for beginning exercisers. For the diet to work optimally, it will usually require a fairly large amount of training (resistance training).

My personal introduction

When I first stumbled upon a ketogenic diet, I was already in the military in the early 2000s. I was fairly active as you might already assume with my normal military duties, mandatory physical training, and lifting weights on my own free time.

That said, I was beginning to notice a dip in performance in the gym. This eventually led me to seek answers where I stumbled upon cyclical ketogenic dieting.

Back in the hay day, there weren’t very many blogs, no social media, even google didn’t exist. Somehow, I stumbled upon a low carb chat forum where I ran into an individual by the name of Lyle McDonald who was journaling about his progress during a diet called Body Opus, a variation of a CKD.

While Body Opus was an extreme version of the diet, I noticed excellent results and have been tinkering with the method to suit my goals ever since.

Why combine keto and carb cycling at all?

On the surface, cycling carbs on keto sounds like a way to have your cake and eat it too. The main goal of a CKD is to allow you to sustain high-intensity performance in the gym week after week.

Maintaining or even increasing performance is required to gain muscle, or at the very least, maintain it while attempting to lose weight.

Therefore, the main premise behind a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD) and even a targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) is to ensure that you have enough energy for your workouts while on a ketogenic diet.

Our bodies are constantly undergoing periods of catabolism (breaking down) and anabolism (building up). In other words, to build muscle requires protein synthesis (anabolism) to be greater than protein breakdown (catabolism).

With a cyclical ketogenic diet, there is speculation as to whether or not the carb loading phase of the diet is anabolic in nature. 4 The theory is that the carb load aids in decreasing protein breakdown while increasing protein synthesis.

Before attempting to implement a carb cycling keto variation such as a cyclical ketogenic diet, it is recommended that you become fat adapted using a more standard ketogenic diet. The idea here is to get your body accustomed to utilizing fat for fuel (ketones), especially if coming from a standard carbohydrate-based diet.

A good rule of thumb is to use standard ketogenic diet for at minimum 3 to 4 weeks before attempting to combine keto and carb cycling.

So you’re saying?

For individuals such as physique athletes who might prefer a ketogenic lifestyle, but also want to maintain, even gain muscle and performance, a cyclical ketogenic approach is a viable option.

In layman’s terms, the carb load is essentially to fuel performance for the upcoming week before the next high carb day or days come around.

Therefore, our main goal with keto carb cycling or a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet is to refill muscle glycogen periodically, ensuring enough glycogen (energy) is available to maintain strength and performance. 2

Reason being, high intensity exercise such as resistance training depletes muscle glycogen. When glycogen stores are depleted or become low enough, performance tends to decrease.

Unlike a targeted ketogenic diet (TKD) where you might typically consume a small amount of carbs before and after workouts, our goal with a cyclical ketogenic diet is to deplete muscle glycogen completely 3 before the next high carb day or days.

It’s for the reason mentioned above, a cyclical ketogenic diet isn’t typically recommended for beginning exercisers or those that are. fairly new to resistance training. Muscle glycogen must be depleted to a certain level between the periods of eating a standard keto diet and the days of higher carb intake, and this can only be accomplished by heavy resistance training.

It goes without saying, but your body will temporarily be switched out of a state of ketosis during these days that you eat carbs.

This is the primary reason I recommend becoming keto or fat adapted prior to trying such a protocol. <br> I have observed in myself as well as others that have undergone ketogenic diets for prolonged periods of time that it’s possible to remain in a state of ketosis even after ingesting upwards of ~700-800g of carbs (IN A DAY)… or at the very least get back into ketosis shortly after the carb load.

Cyclical Ketogenic Diet – The two phases

When carb cycling on keto, the diet is broken down into two phases.

The standard ketogenic diet phase (5-6 days)
The carb load phase (1-2 days)

The standard format for a cyclical ketogenic diet is to alternate 5-6 days of a standard ketogenic diet with 1-2 days of higher carbs.

There’s no reason you can’t play around with more standard keto diet days or longer carb loads, it just makes it more convenient to fit within your standard 7 day week.

The standard ketogenic phase

The goal with the standard ketogenic diet phase is to keep insulin low, deplete muscle glycogen, and set ourselves up to make the most out of the upcoming carbohydrate feast. During these days, carbohydrate intake should be kept as low as possible < ~5 – 10% while filling the rest of your calories with protein and fat.

If you need help calculating your macros based on your specific goals, head over to my keto macro calculator to get a good starting point.

Ideally, your diet might look like 5-10% of calories from carbohydrates, 15-35% from protein, and 55-75% from fat for 5-6 days a week. Your protein and fat percentages will vary depending on preference, but I would suggest a minimum of at least 1g per pound of lean body mass. 4

That said, I personally prefer a higher protein intake and have no problems establishing and maintaining ketosis with 1.2 – 1.5g per pound of lean body mass. I also suggest keeping carbohydrate intake to less than < 30g total since you will only be in a state of ketosis for a few days out of the week.

Sample foods to eat during the standard ketogenic phase

The following is just an example of foods to eat during the standard ketogenic diet phase. For a more complete list, you can head over to my keto diet foods list.

Beef
Eggs
Turkey
Chicken
Leafy green vegetables
Grass-fed butter
MCT Oil

The carb load phase

During the carb load phase, you will be eating almost the opposite of how you ate during the standard keto diet phase. As the name implies, we will be emphasizing carbs… and A LOT of them while keeping fat relatively low and protein stable.

The carb load will generally have you at 5-15% of calories from fat, 15-25% from protein, and 60-75% coming from carbohydrates.

Sample foods to eat during the high carb day(s)

Sweet potatoes
Kiddie cereals
Rice
Bread
Fruit *
Frozen Yogurt *

* We want mainly carbs in the form of glucose, but small amounts of fructose is acceptable. Remember, we want foods that are generally high carb, but low in fat.

Sample weekly schedule

Monday – Lower body workout. Standard Ketogenic Diet
Tuesday – Upper body workout. Standard Ketogenic Diet
Wednesday – Cardio or rest day. Standard Ketogenic Diet
Thursday – Cardio or rest day. Standard Ketogenic Diet
Friday – High rep full body workout to deplete glycogen further. Standard Ketogenic Diet up until 5 hours before the afternoon workout then begin carb load afterward.
Saturday – Rest day. Continue the carb load.
Sunday – Rest day or light cardio in the evening to help expedite the shift back into ketosis for the new week. Continue carb load if using a 48-hour load or go back to a ketogenic day if maximal fat loss is the goal.

Sample workouts on a CKD

Sample Monday upper body training

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Incline BB Bench Press	4	8-12	2-3 minutes
Cable Fly	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
BB Rows	4	8-12	2-3 minutes
Pull-ups	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
Side laterals	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
Skull crushers	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
BB curls	3	12-15	2-3 minutes

Sample Tuesday lower body training

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Squats	4	8-12	2-3 minutes
Leg extensions	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
RDLs	4	8-12	2-3 minutes
Lying leg curl	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
Calf raises	3	12-15	2-3 minutes
Weighted crunches	3	12-15	2-3 minutes

Sample Friday tension or depletion workout

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Leg press	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
Leg curl	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
Calf raises	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
DB bench press	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
DB rows	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
Pulldowns	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
DB curls	1	15-25	60-90 seconds
Tricep pressdown	1	15-25	60-90 seconds

Repeat circuit 4 – 6x

If you don’t feel like you want to die after this workout then you didn’t push hard enough 😉 That said, it may also be a good idea to use machine equivalents as it is easy to adjust weights… that and you don’t run the risk of crushing yourself with free weights.

A few things to keep in mind before the carb load

About 5 hours prior to the workout you will want to ingest somewhere in the ballpark of 25 – 50 grams of carbohydrates. Reason being, the liver enzymes responsible for digesting carbohydrates decrease during a ketogenic diet.We want to make sure the body is ready for the carb load that is about to ensue.
Two hours before the final workout on Friday you want to consume another 25 – 50 grams of carbohydrates in the form of glucose and fructose. 5Assuming you’ve trained hard and your muscles are depleted sufficiently, during the first 24 hours you will want to consume between ~8 – 10 grams of carbohydrates per kg of lean body mass
If doing a 48-hour carb load you will want to consume ~5 grams of carbohydrates per kg of lean body mass during the second 24 hours.
The workouts recommended on a CKD, especially the depletion workout, may be tough in nature but is a prerequisite to ensure the incoming carbohydrates are shuttled into the depleted muscles.

Pros, cons, and some helpful tips of a carb cycling ketogenic approach

Pros:

Possibility of losing fat and gaining muscle or at the very least maintaining muscle while losing fat.
You get to have carbohydrates on the regular
Increased gym performance following the carb load

Cons:

Possible to go overboard on the carb load and regain some fat
Weight will fluctuate throughout the week making it harder to track
Grueling high-rep depletion workout before starting the carb load that is enough to make a grown man cry
Phasing in and out of a state of ketosis may not feel optimal like having the “keto flu.”

Some helpful tips

If weight loss is your primary goal, then perhaps sticking to a 24-hour carb load is ideal. In the example week, starting your carb load after Friday's workout and ending it Saturday evening.
Minimize fat during the carb load < ~50 grams
Limit carbs coming from sucrose or fructose

Long term health combining a keto diet and carb cycling

Unfortunately, when it comes to carb cycling on keto or even a standard ketogenic diet, there have been no studies that I’ve seen that offer any insight into the implications of utilizing either approach.

That said, there are plenty of anecdotes of individuals online that have been living an uninterrupted ketogenic lifestyle for 15-25+ years with no adverse effects.

Putting it together

A cyclic approach to a ketogenic diet can be a compromise for those who prefer a ketogenic diet but may have experienced a decrease in performance and wish to experiment with strategically adding in carbohydrates.

You may also want to give my article on How to gain muscle on a ketogenic diet a read if you are struggling to put something together.

On the flip side, if you’ve never tried a ketogenic approach and wish to try a CKD, allow your body to become “keto-adapted” for 3-4 weeks prior to experimenting with the protocol.

If you allow yourself to become keto-adapted prior to starting and do everything to a T, you may very well find that even with a large influx of carbs you can remain in ketosis.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment down below.

KETO CARB CYCLING F.A.Q.

Can I carb cycle on keto?

Yes, depending on your goals you can most definitely carb cycle on keto. The best way to know is by experimenting and finding out what works for you

Is carb cycling good for fat loss?

Carb cycling like the cyclical ketogenic diet I outlined above can be great for fat loss while maintaining or possibly building some muscle

Do you need to carb up on keto?

You don’t NEED to carb up on keto.

Is keto or carb cycling better?

One is not inherently better than the other, but why not have the best of both worlds and try a cyclical ketogenic diet.

How often should I carb cycle on keto?

How often you carb cycle on keto will depend on how long you’ve been dieting, your training volume, and how well you tolerate them.

Is carb cycling and cyclical keto the same?

A cyclical ketogenic diet and carb cycling are NOT the same thing. A cyclical ketogenic diet interchanges periods of ketogenic dieting with carb loads while a standard carb cycling diet waves between high, low, and sometimes no carb days.

How many carbs are allowed in keto diet?

In a standard keto diet it is recommended to stay under 30 net carbs.

Should you refeed on keto?

Whether or not to refeed on keto is a personal preference that you have to experiment with.

THE BIGGEST LIE ABOUT KETO AND INTERMITTENT FASTING

Keto and intermittent fasting are all the rage these days. I mean, you usually don't hear about one without eventually hearing about the other.

But is there any benefit in combining the two for the purposes of weight loss?

There may be other benefits, weight loss aside, to combine keto and intermittent fasting, but is there any inherent fat loss benefit?

Can you combine keto and intermittent fasting?

Of course, you can combine keto and intermittent fasting, they go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, know that one also doesn’t require the other, and most people find it easier to implement intermittent fasting on a ketogenic based diet than a carb based one.

But we’ll get to that.

I am going to assume you know what keto is already, so we won't be doing an entire keto 101 in this article. If not, give my ketogenic diet guide a read through, but in general…

What is Keto?

Most websites and people would have you believe that keto is a “diet” or a certain type of “food,” and they would be right… to an extent.

In reality, ketosis is a metabolic state where your body essentially runs on ketones (fat) instead of glucose (sugar).

When you limit or eliminate your carbohydrates, your body has no choice but to break down the fat from the food you eat AND the fat on your body to create energy for your body and your brain.

It’s kind of like when you have a hankering for cereal and you run out of milk… so what do you do? You have to use water instead.

Basically, your body ends up running out of sugar and it’s forced to use what’s left… your fat stores.

Blasphemy, I know… but don’t pretend like you’ve never done that in your lifetime. Besides, you’re on a keto diet now so you ain’t about that cereal life anymore.

What is intermittent fasting?

In the most general of cases, intermittent fasting is combining periods of eating with periods without eating. Therefore, Intermittent fasting is not a diet per se; instead it's a pattern or schedule of eating.

When I say intermittent fasting is not a diet it's because IF doesn't change what you eat, it changes when you eat. That said, weight loss is the most common reason people give intermittent fasting a shot.

Examples of different intermittent fasting schedules

There is no one way to implement intermittent fasting, so I've outlined a few popular methods down below.

DAILY

One of the most popular ways to implement intermittent fasting is a daily fast of 16 hours followed by an 8-hour eating window. It really doesn't matter when you start your eight-hour eating window, but most people tend to start it around noon or early afternoon.

The reason most people have their feeding window in the afternoon is that, in general, people find it easier to skip breakfast, rather than dinner. Besides, if you went 16 hours without food and you can spend the first eight hours or so asleep… you would probably find it easier too.

On top of that, allowing for dinner makes it more convenient from a schedule standpoint. You can eat with your family or go out during social events and not be the only person in the room not eating

… because you're fasting.

Personally, I prefer this schedule because I like to go to bed on a full stomach.

As far as daily scheduled intermittent fasts go, people start to either shorten the eating window or even lengthen it slightly. Some might even go as far as to take all the calories for the day and eat it in one big meal.6

Remember, there are no hard or fast rules… if you find yourself slightly hungry before your “eating window,” then go ahead and eat. Vice versa, if you aren’t hungry and want to remain fasted, then remain fasted.

I’ve used this method of intermittent fasting on and off for over 10 years now, but I’m not fanatic about it to the point that it runs my day. If my friends or family go out to breakfast or some friends invite me over to watch the game and nosh on some wings, guess what? I don’t care that it’s outside of my “feeding window.”

WEEKLY

This schedule of intermittent fasting is generally a good way to introduce yourself to intermittent fasting. You pick one day out of the week and simply don’t eat.

It’s really that easy.

If going an entire day from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed seems daunting, try fasting after dinner (6pm for example) from the previous night until dinner (6pm) the following night. In the end, you still technically will have fasted for at least 24 hours and ends up like the (OMAD) one meal a day mentioned in the daily section.

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of doing a weekly fast is getting over that mental barrier of fasting in the first place. If you’ve never fasted before, this may seem like a daunting task, but successfully completing your first 24-hour fast can help you realize it isn’t as frightening as your head makes it out to be.

ALTERNATE DAY

Alternate day fasting may be the most challenging schedule from a mental standpoint since you will be going without food for about ~36-hours at a time.

For example, you would eat normally on Monday until dinner, then begin your fast until Wednesday morning. Then, you would repeat the process by eating normally Wednesday and beginning your fast Wednesday after dinner and not eating until Friday morning.

Hypothetically, this would yield the most benefits since you are going long periods without food more frequently. Alternate day fasting would likely yield the most weight loss as well since you are going longer periods without food and more likely to have greater caloric deficit.

Assuming you don’t eat like an asshole on the days you do eat.

As I said, myself and many other much prefer the 18-hour daily fasts since it’s typically much easier to simply skip breakfast most days. If you do choose to combine keto and intermittent fasting then experiment with the different schedules and see how you feel.

Intermittent fasting. Not to be confused with intermittent dieting or intermittent energy restriction.

In short, intermittent dieting or intermittent energy restriction is NOT the same as intermittent fasting. Intermittent dieting is when you include brief periods, typically days or weeks, where you intentionally aim to MAINTAIN weight between periods of weight loss dieting.

These may be commonly referred to as refeeds or diet breaks.

But we’ll cover that in another article on why it may benefit you in the long run when it comes to losing weight.

Keto and intermittent fasting – They go to gather like peanut butter and jelly.

Keto and intermittent fasting for weight loss.

You may want to combine keto with intermittent fasting to accelerate your weight loss, but probably not for reasons you may have been led to believe. Research suggest that an 8 hour feeding window produces mild caloric restriction and weight loss, without calorie counting. 2

In layman's terms, it caused people to eat less overall. I mean, it makes sense right? You are essentially giving yourself less time to eat.

Which leads me to my second point…

Calories still matter. On a keto diet, when intermittent fasting, or combining keto and intermittent fasting… calories still matter. BUT, as the study suggested, intermittent fasting MAY be a way for you to eat less without really having to count calories.

AGAIN, as long as you don’t eat like an asshole during your 8-hour or however long eating window.

Personally, I can still easily manage to overeat in such a short time frame. However, I am an endless pit, and most normal people will find it difficult to cram too much food in such a short period of time

Thus making it a viable option if you can eat “sensibly” during your feeding window.

Reasons why keto and intermittent fasting work well together.

People are more satiated on a ketogenic diet

People tend to eat fewer calories on a ketogenic diet… SPONTANEOUSLY, as in without trying to restrict calories.3 This is important to note since hunger is a primary reasons people fall off most weight loss diets.

There is no conclusive reason to as why this occurs, but one theory is that ketone bodies (our primary fuel source on a ketogenic diet) may suppress appetite.4Sumithran et al., 2013

Pair intermittent fasting with keto and you have the benefit of:

Less or no hunger during your fasting window
Increased chance of weight loss without counting calories

On the flip side…

IF may ease your transition to a ketogenic diet

Intermittent fasting may help transition your body into a state of ketosis over doing a ketogenic diet alone.

During your fasting window, insulin and glycogen decrease, 5 naturally leading your body to start burning fat for fuel. This is one of the driving reasons people even on a carbohydrate-based diet implement intermittent fasting.

I also mention in my article How long does it take to get into ketosis? that intermittent fasting or just plain fasting will help speed up your transition into ketosis.

Intermittent fasting and Keto – Weight loss aside, here are some benefits.

You can type in intermittent fasting in google or your favorite social media platform and you’ll hear things like “autophagy” and IF made me poop rainbows and dream about unicorns.

Don’t get me wrong, you do you… and if you love doing it and you see results, then, by all means, keep doing it!

But if there comes a point where you’re stressing out about if you should eat, what can you eat, can you drink this, but I want this for breakfast, then you’re just better off not worrying about it. In the end, there’re bigger things you can focus on instead of watching the clock for when you can eat.

Up until recently, many of the intermittent fasting benefits you’ve heard (or haven’t heard) were weak at best. Many of the studies which reported benefits could easily be attributed to the weight loss participants experienced versus the actual intermittent fasting.

However, there are recent findings that may suggest intermittent fasting (also known as time-restricted feeding) does have benefits even WITHOUT weight loss.6Sutton et al., 2018

The only caveat, the feeding window would be more in line with your circadian rhythm. Meaning, you would eat according to your internal clock.

To simplify, you would have your FASTING window in the evening. Basically, eat during the first 8 hours of the day, generally when the suns out.

Which is probably the opposite of what most people are doing.

This schedule of eating is referred to as Early time-restricted feeding (eTRF) and has been shown to:

Increase insulin sensitivity
Lower blood pressure and oxidative stress
Lower the desire to eat in the evening (so maybe skipping dinner or making it super early might not be as bad as you might think)
Improve health EVEN in the absence of weight loss

The only problem with this is people are social beings and we eat for reasons beyond hunger, which is a problem it and of itself. It’s also much easier to fast during the day because people are typically busy at work and can focus on other things besides food.

It’s also just my humble opinion, but I think most of the benefits of eTRF stem from the fact that you’re eating earlier in the day versus the actual time restriction.

A large majority of the population suffer from circadian arrhythmia. 7 In today’s society, we tend to stay out (or just up) late, drink alcohol, expose our eyes to artificial light in the evenings, etc. Eating earlier may be a way to re-align our circadian rhythms.

If eTRF sounds like something you want to give a shot, you have my blessing.

Not that you needed it.

That said, intermittent fasting for me makes my day simpler.

Intermittent fasting allows me to eat one less meal, which also means cooking one less meal and therefore stressing about one less meal. When I wake up, I don’t have to worry about breakfast, but can get to other more important tasks at hand.

Like coffee. 😉

I also like to eat more substantial meals.

I’m the type of person that likes to eat HUGE meals and go to bed on a full stomach, whether that’s good or bad is a whole other topic of discussion we’ll save for another day. I’m not advocating you eat huge meals or go to bed on a full stomach, it’s just my preference and what works to keep me adherent to a caloric deficit.

… and remember, in the end a caloric deficit IS required to lose weight. Intermittent fasting can be used as a tool to achieve a caloric deficit whether you want to count calories or not.

Who should try an intermittent fasting Keto approach?

The jury is still out on whether there is an INCREASE in fat loss by using intermittent fasting versus traditional caloric restriction. A systematic review 8 was published in December of 20189Cioffi et al., 2018 that found no difference.

Both intermittent and continuous energy restriction achieved a comparable effect in promoting weight-loss and metabolic improvements.
– Cioffi et al., 2018

So the jury is still out on whether or not intermittent fasting is MORE effective than if you were to spread your meals throughout the day. This is also assuming you ate the same amount in the ~8-hour window or ~16-hour window.

That said, I would try intermittent fasting if:

You enjoy less frequent but LARGER meals
You don’t necessarily find yourself that hungry in the mornings (or evenings)
It allows you to adhere to your diet over the long term
You simply want to experiment

The bottom line on Keto and intermittent fasting

You need to be up front and honest with yourself if choosing to utilize intermittent fasting because context is everything. Don’t say that you’re doing it for health, autophagy, [insert reason you give your friends], when in reality it's that you think it burns more fat.

I do believe there are health benefits to intermittent fasting and fasting in general, but I’d be skeptical to assume there is any inherent fat loss benefit to restricting your eating window.

At the end of the day, intermittent fasting isn't magic when it comes to weight loss. If combining keto and intermittent fasting works for you and fits your lifestyle, then by all means…

Implement it.

However, if trying to implement keto and intermittent fasting makes everything much harder, stresses you out, or makes adhering to your diet more difficult, then it's not a worthwhile trade-off.

Keto and intermittent fasting F.A.Q.

Can you do keto and intermittent fasting together?

You can definitely do keto and intermittent fasting together. In fact, keto will make intermittent fasting much easier to adhere to due to its satiating nature.

Do I have to eat keto while intermittent fasting?

No, you do not have to eat keto while intermittent fasting.

Does intermittent fasting cause ketosis?

Intermittent doesn't directly cause someone to go into ketosis. That said, During the tail end of longer fasts it is highly likely that the body is beginning to produce ketones.

Do you fast on a keto diet?

Fasting is up to you whether or not you want to include it for the health benefits or diet adherence.

Is Intermittent Fasting better than Keto?

Intermittent fasting and keto are two entirely separate things. Intermittent fasting is a schedule of when to eat. Keto is a metabolic state achieved by what you eat.

Can I drink coffee during intermittent fasting?

Yes, you can drink coffee or any non caloric beverage during your fasting window.

How often should you intermittent fast on keto?

How often you intermittent fast on keto is dependent on your preference.

How much weight can you lose with intermittent fasting?

How much weight you can lose while intermittent fasting is dependent on your total caloric deficit. The recommendation is to lose between 0.5 – 1.5% of your total bodyweight per week. The more fat you have to lose the more you can expect to lose without risk of losing lean body mass.

How long is intermittent fasting?

The duration in which you intermittent fast is dependent on the method you choose to implement whether that's daily, weekly, or alternate day fasting.

How long does it take to get into ketosis while fasting?

From my experience, it typically takes between 24-48 hours to get into ketosis if completely fasting.

How long does it take for your body to go into ketosis?

How long it tales your body to go into ketosis depends on your previous diet, your activity levels, and what you are currently eating.

Can you go into ketosis in 24 hours?

Yes, it is possible to go into ketosis within 24 hours by fasting. While not always the case, you can typically start seeing low levels of ketones between 24 – 36 hours after starting a fast.

What is a fat fast?

People commonly refer to a fat fast as eating a diet composed of 80 – 90% fat for 4-5 days and limited to 1000-1200 calories broken down in 3-4 meals.