I am on Day 4 of HPLC diet, allowed between 40-50g carbs a day. I have been averaging about 14g the past 3 days.

For some reason, this morning I have eaten a bowl of porridge with some tinned apple( Why! Total carbs=39.3.

If I have an low carb day, ie. eating less than 50g, would I be able to salvage day? Or should I go back to basics, if so, how long till go back to burning fat?

Please help xx

I don't think your body can "cancel out" a poor food choice, so would suggest just eating to plan from now on rather than punishing yourself by deprivation.

It happened, you made the choice, so now forgive yourself and carry on according to your plan.

Maybe try to work out what made you decide to eat offplan, so you can work out an avoidance strategy for the next time you are in the same situation/frame of mind.

If I eat within my carb limit (40-50g) per day, does it matter what I eat?

TIA

I believe it does. Even small amounts of high glycemic carbs (i.e. cake, ice cream, milk, bread ) will cause your insulin to spike more than say the same amount of carbs in a low glycemic choice, like a salad.

Then there are the cravings too that it can cause. If I veer off the path, I have a few days where I have to fight to be 'really, really good' to get back on, otherwise it can spiral into eating other high carb foods.

Ah right, porridge is under low GI so I guess it was not the worst thing I could have eaten. Hopefully I have not done too much damage as I have been eating well under my 40g a day so far.

I personally would go as close to zero-carb as possible for the rest of the day, and white-knuckle the cravings, which as DaGrant says, might last a few days. Hopefully by tomorrow you'll be back on track with your ketosis. Good luck.

Porridge sounds OK, but grains aren't the best, and tinned apple might have added sugar, so it still might spike your insulin, which will cause you difficulties with cravings. Just hang on, and remind yourself that they'll pass and it gets easier.

While you can't put the clock back, you can nip any situation in the bud, and do your best to limit the damage, before you derail your diet completely.

Good luck with getting back on track.