Take Your Ketogenic Diet to the Next Level With Keto Cycling (2024)

Keto cycling, sometimes called the cyclic ketogenic diet (CKD), is a dietary approach in which you alternate between following a strict ketogenic diet—high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carbohydrate—and consuming higher amounts of carbohydrates. The purpose of keto cycling is to provide metabolic flexibility, make adhering to the keto diet long-term easier, and ensure your body receives the benefits of carbs it needs.

This article explains keto cycling in more detail, including its potential benefits and downsides, as well as the types of foods generally included (and excluded) in this approach to eating.

How Does Keto Cycling Work?

Keto cycling alternates between following a strict keto diet and eating more carbs. Many people who adopt keto cycling follow a keto diet for five to six days and a higher-carb diet for the other one to two days per week.

This method of dietary cycling allows you to receive the benefits of ketosis—a state in which your body uses fat for energy rather than carbs—while also reaping the benefits of consuming carbs. Some of the benefits of ketosis include fat loss and potentially improved metabolic health.

Allowing for more carb intake on certain days can also help to replenish your body's glycogen stores for future energy needs and improved athletic performance. People are becoming more interested in keto cycling because of the restrictive nature of the keto diet and the difficulty of adhering to such a low-carb eating pattern long-term because carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source.

How to Implement Keto Cycling

If you're considering trying a keto cycling diet for yourself, here are some basic steps:

• Start with a standard keto diet: To ease yourself into this eating pattern, you might find it helpful to start with a strict ketogenic diet for a few weeks to allow your body to adapt to burning fat for fuel instead of carbs. How much you restrict your carbs to achieve ketosis can vary between people, but one example would be consuming 55% to 60% fat, 30% to 35% protein, and 5% to 10% carbohydrates.
• Design your cycling schedule: Consider adjusting to a keto cycling pattern when you feel like your body has adapted to ketosis. One common approach is to follow the keto diet for five to six days, followed by one to two days of eating more carbs, though this can vary depending on your goals and preferences.
• Implement the keto phase: During the ketogenic phase, eat high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carbohydrate meals. To prioritize your nutrition, focus on whole foods like avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, eggs, and non-starchy veggies like spinach, broccoli, bell peppers, mushrooms, and cauliflower.
• Transition to your non-keto phase: Between your very-low-carb period is your higher-carb period to replenish glycogen stores. Consume carbohydrates primarily from healthy foods like fruits, whole grains, and starchy vegetables (like potatoes, corn, and squash). Reduce fat intake slightly to balance your calorie consumption.
• Adjust as needed: Remember, this is your diet, and nobody else's. There's no one-size-fits-all approach, so tracking your body's response to keto cycling and seeing how you feel is essential. Depending on your goals, you might want to monitor your weight, energy, and ketone levels (with at-home urine tests) to ensure you're effectively cycling in and out of ketosis and adjusting as needed.

To avoid the common pitfalls of the keto diet, focus on eating nutrient-dense foods and not overindulging in saturated fats during keto phases or ultra-processed carbs during higher-carb phases. Eating various healthy foods is optimal, and balancing your nutrition with regular physical activity supports your overall health goals.

Tips for Successful Keto Cycling

Adopting a keto cycling diet pattern requires planning and preparation to set yourself up for success.

• Establish a schedule: Establish a clear cycling schedule that suits your lifestyle, alternating between ketogenic and higher carbohydrate days. What works for someone else might not work for you.
• Plan your meals: If you don't already practice meal planning, this is an important habit to develop to ensure your meals align with the requirements of each cycling phase. Though some periods are very low-carb and some are higher-carb, it is important to emphasize healthy, nutrient-dense foods overall.
• Track your macros: Depending on your goals, tracking your macronutrients (macros)—protein, carbs, and fat—can help ensure you're staying within your allotted carb limits. To avoid cravings that could throw you off track, stock up on snack foods that adhere to each cycling phase so you always have options.
• Stay flexible: Adjust when needed; you might find that something you originally planned doesn't work as expected.

Should You Try Keto Cycling?

Keto cycling isn't suitable for everyone, and certain people are better off not doing it. Whether you should try keto cycling is a personal decision.

People with diabetes, especially those requiring insulin therapy or other blood sugar-lowering medications, should proceed with caution due to the potential for significant fluctuations in blood sugar when cycling carb intake. In some cases, insulin therapy may need adjusting or reducing according to healthcare provider guidance.

Though more research is necessary, those who may benefit most from keto cycling may be individuals looking to lose weight. This approach may help sustain weight loss by preventing a slowing of your metabolism and replenishing glycogen stores on higher-carb days. It may also be a better option for people interested in the keto diet but looking for an eating pattern with a bit more flexibility that is easier to adhere to for a longer period.

As with any significant change to your diet, consult with a healthcare provider, such as a registered dietitian, to ensure that keto cycling aligns with your health needs and goals.

Potential Health Benefits of Keto Cycling

Though keto cycling is a new concept and there's not much research behind it, there are some perceived potential benefits compared to following a strictly keto diet, including:

• Allowance for the simple pleasures of eating more carbs that are often missed on a keto diet, making it easier to maintain
• Avoiding metabolic adaptations that may occur with prolonged carb restriction
• Maintaining lean muscle mass while losing body fat
  
• More flexibility in food choices
• More stabilized blood sugar and energy levels from periodic higher carb intake
• Reducing the risk of nutrient deficiencies that may be more likely with a long-term keto diet
  

Potential Drawbacks and Risks

Though some people report experiencing benefits from keto cycling, it also comes with potential drawbacks and challenges, such as:

• Maintaining ketosis is challenging, potentially reducing the effectiveness of the diet
• The potential for digestive issues due to regular fluctuations between high- and low-carb intake
• It requires planning and tracking of the ketogenic and carb cycling phases
• The risk of cardiovascular problems, depending on saturated fat intake
  

Like a keto diet, a keto cycling diet isn't good for everyone. Speak with a healthcare provider to ensure it's safe and appropriate for your needs.

The Challenges With Keto Cycling

Keto cycling presents several challenges, especially if you've never tried the ketogenic lifestyle. For most people, it's best to wait to try keto cycling until you're fully adjusted to ketosis.

Many people experience "the keto flu" when they start a very low-carb diet. This occurs as the body switches from using glucose to ketones from fat as its primary energy source and includes symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and irritability. Other people report experiencing "carb hangovers" during the higher-carb periods of keto cycling, which can feel like bloating, sluggishness, and fluctuations in energy.

Another big challenge is finding a comfortable balance that doesn't set you up to overindulge in refined carbs on higher-carb days because doing so can counteract the potential benefits of ketosis. It can also make returning your body to a state of ketosis more difficult for the rest of the week.

Summary

Keto cycling involves alternating between periods of strict adherence to a ketogenic diet and higher carbohydrate intake days. Like any diet pattern, it has potential benefits and drawbacks and isn't fit for everyone. More research is necessary to better understand whether keto cycling has long-term benefits and what specific goals it requires. In the meantime, if you're interested in trying keto cycling, speak with a healthcare provider or dietitian to adopt a plan that's right for you.