One Day Off A Week?

[24isours]

Hey Guys,

      I wanted to ask you all your opinions on taking one day off a week to eat whatever I desire. I've been eating raw paleo / zero carb now for almost two years. During these two years I sometimes take a week off here and there to reward myself for achievements I am proud of. Also, I'll take off during the Holidays to eat with my family.
      The side effects of coming off a SAD during the end of the week when transitioning back to the raw carb diet have become almost nonexistent except for the occasional bout of diarrhea (and some weight gain as a result of the diet) the next day after returning -which would most likely be my body expelling the junk and/or the change of bacteria strains in the gut.
      Personally, I've been satisfied taking off some time only during the holidays. Now, as my life changes, it would be nice to take off one day a week and eat anything I please. My body has become very efficient at cleaning itself out and recovering but of course I do not want to overwhelm it by eating junk during the one day I do take off.
      If I do decide to take one day off a week I may push myself to stay away from Dairy, Gluten, Soy, Additives, etc. Then again, by avoiding the above, may take away from the whole point of taking one day off a week to begin with. It is hard to make a decision when you are well aware of the consequences these foods have on the body but at the same time want to enjoy a social life.

Thanks Guys

[LePatron7]

How strict you are with the diet is totally up to you. If you think taking a day off every week is what you should do then go for it.

[24isours]

Thanks for the reply.
My main concern would obviously be the damage done to my body during that one day. Then again, if I don't feel the horrid negative effects like I had through the earlier periods of transition, maybe my body has healed itself enough to handle these foods?  I guess time will tell if I do take one day off a week; and my body starts feeling run down again, that I am slowly putting myself back in the position of where I started; a sickly body and mind.

[TylerDurden]

By all means eat SAD one day a week for social reasons.


In my own case, though, I deliberately view eating cooked/processed foods as a chore to be endured in order to get on socially with  SAD-eaters, even if, as in a few cases, those foods may be very tasty still. I sometimes use cooked food consumption also as a punishment if I haven't reached certain (non-dietary) goals that day, as the ensuing hangover-like detox symptoms the next day make me feel awful.

[24isours]

By all means eat SAD one day a week for social reasons.


In my own case, though, I deliberately view eating cooked/processed foods as a chore to be endured in order to get on socially with  SAD-eaters, even if, as in a few cases, those foods may be very tasty still. I sometimes use cooked food consumption also as a punishment if I haven't reached certain (non-dietary) goals that day, as the ensuing hangover-like detox symptoms the next day make me feel awful.

   Very Interesting, Tyler. Of course I am very familiar with this hangover-like detox symptom but it only seems to occur if I go more than say, five days on a SAD. Also, I remember taking a week off and NOT having the hangover symptom. I strongly believe the detoxing of MSG has a lot to do with the hangover-like effect. Then again, eating heavily cooked foods would have the same effect as well; in my experience the carcinogens from these heavily cooked foods would do the same. I've noticed this significantly if I eat something grilled as to boiled.
   So, I guess what it comes down to is the type of food choices that is most important if I want to avoid that dreadful side effect; which leaves me stuck in my bed for the entire day - THE HANGOVER.    
   

[eveheart]

I used to take a day off and pay for it. Not anymore. What changed my mind was the biochemistry of getting back into ketosis, where I feel fantastic. I used ketostix to record my state of ketosis and found that it takes me about a week and a half to recover from one meal off. Now, my rule says that, if my life requires a non-raw paleo meal, I will eat cooked paleo, but absolutely no grains or gluten, no gravy or dressings, no fruits or starches. So what's left? Perhaps a little too much protein, which may be cooked, and some non-grassfed butter. Better still, I only go out to sushi bars and oyster bars, so if someone wants to be my friend, they know my limits.

[24isours]

I used to take a day off and pay for it. Not anymore. What changed my mind was the biochemistry of getting back into ketosis, where I feel fantastic. I used ketostix to record my state of ketosis and found that it takes me about a week and a half to recover from one meal off. Now, my rule says that, if my life requires a non-raw paleo meal, I will eat cooked paleo, but absolutely no grains or gluten, no gravy or dressings, no fruits or starches. So what's left? Perhaps a little too much protein, which may be cooked, and some non-grassfed butter. Better still, I only go out to sushi bars and oyster bars, so if someone wants to be my friend, they know my limits.

How is the transition after cutting out the gluten,grains,dressing,etc..? I suppose you find it much more tolerable?

[eveheart]

My transition from a cooked paleo meal back to raw paleo is not noticeable. I came to this conclusion after personal experimentation. That's why it's a good idea to find out your parameters by personal experimentation.

[svrn]

Day off? I crave raw foods every day of my life. I dont know why you`d want to eat anything else.

[sashimi]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing. I don't feel the need to stray so far off from RPD as to have cakes and pizza for example, but I would like to occasionally go to a restaurant for Brazillian BBQ or All-You-Can-Eat sushi (and not stick to just sashimi) or even just have some rice on a regular basis... I've done cooked keto diets before and managed to go without cheating, it was really easy for me compared to RPD...

Yesterday I decided to have some rice. One dish was cooked rice with raw ground beef and raw tomato. Then later in the day I had some more cooked rice with raw egg yolks.  I don't know if it is the need for something warm, or something different but I felt like I really needed it... I know that I am still new to this way of eating (roughly a month maybe a little less) and hopefully I will eventually get used to it, but I was getting to the point of trying to research my way out of my decision do go on the RPD (trying to find reasons NOT to follow a RPD...) of course, that didn't work lol - all I managed to do was reinforce my decision to stick with it.

I wonder if adding some cooked white rice or having the occasional day off is such a set back... I mean, compared to SAD, the occasional day off or adding a "safe starch" in small amounts shouldn't be so problematic.... Curious as to what others think.

[cherimoya_kid]

It depends on what you're eating, and how heavily it's cooked. It also depends on your genetics and body condition at the time.

Steamed white rice is probably no big deal, in moderation.  I probably have a couple of spoonfuls or so of rice with my sashimi once a month or so, or less.   However, if you find that it's causing problematic symptoms, you might want to reduce the amounts.

[Dr. D]

It really does come down to you and how you feel. We all have different diets, somewhat. The amount that you "cheat" is up to how bad those cheats make you feel and if you want to keep doing it. Some people really enjoy drinking until they want to puke and find it's a fair trade off to feel terrible the next day. Not me. I like feeling good everyday so if I cheat on something it's usually only a bite. I feel best in ketosis so if it's carbs I usually just avoid it. It took some work and trial and error to realize what I can and can't eat without short-term effects, though the same foods would provide negative long term effects so I usually avoid them.

[eveheart]

There is a difference between switching between raw vs. cooked and ketogenic vs. carb-based.

I would not suggest adding the occasional carb-cheat day if you are using a ketogenic diet because the body does not make a switch that quickly. Timothy Ferriss goes into some detail about how to "do" a carb day on a ketogenic diet, but I found his method very complicated.

IMO, the cheat-day idea is connected to diet mentality - being "on" or "off" a diet - and RPD thinking is not about that kind of on-off thinking.

[Dr. D]

Agreed entirely. RPD doesn't feel like a diet to me, and I've done plenty of those. It seems just like a lifestyle change that is simply more enjoyable.

I have done Timothy Ferris' carb-cheat/binge days and even those arent the same because his is not a low carb diet, its a slow carb, most of the calories come from dense, low glycemic carbs. It was a good diet and helped me understand better the role of insulin, but the carbs were not fueling enough, they were too slow digesting. Plus the frequent binge days went from one day a week to sneaking things during the week, to binging a few days a week to just giving up and changing my food habits altogether.

Basically in keto, you dont get to "cheat" unless you want to severely pay for it. However the benefit is feeling like a god the rest of the time. Fair trade IMO.

[nicole]

Whenever I take a day off I still only eat things which:
-come from the health food store i work at
-gluten free
-organic
-no foods high in estrogen (soy, sesame, flax, beans, ect)
-not much sugar