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Cold Stone Creamery KETO Friendly Options in 2023
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Ice cream is one of the best guilty pleasures of all time! And Cold Stone Creamery has plenty of rich flavors to hook you in. But can you order keto at Cold Stone Creamery?
Ice cream is the biggest contributor to weight gain in America. It’s also the most common cheat food responsible for breaking New Year’s resolutions!
If you are on the keto diet, ice cream could be a serious disaster. Even a single serving has way too many carbs over and above your daily allowance.
However, there are always some exceptions. And you can certainly find a lot of low-carb options to suit your taste buds (without breaking the keto pledge!)
Cold Stone’s shakes and ice creams are completely off the keto limits. But you can still grab a bite of their Mix-Ins for a fraction of the carbs. These include cheesecake bites, toasted coconut, Nilla wafers, chocolate shavings, and much more.
And if you are really craving some ice cream, I’ll teach you how to NOT overdo the cheat day on keto.
How to Survive Keto at Cold Stone Creamery
Cold Stone Creamery is an American ice-cream parlor chain with a vast menu. You can choose your own customizations and they have something to offer for everyone.
If you are visiting Cold Stone Creamery on the ketogenic diet, you probably fall into one of the two categories:
- You want to stay within the keto limits and have a small sweet indulgence.
- Or, you want to go all rogue and have a terrific cheat meal!
If you belong to the first one, think of Cold Stone Creamery as a candy shop instead of an ice-cream parlor.
All I mean by that is you can still enjoy some of the mix-ins (nuts, berries, etc) but steer clear of the ice cream. Even the smallest serving size (kids) has over 20g of net carbs. That’s almost your entire day’s worth of carb quota!
(And if you are up for a cheat meal, proceed to the next section.)
Realistically, you can have half a scoop for 10g of carbs. But mind you, it is almost like playing with fire! You could easily lose your self-control and go all-in! After all, it’s been weeks or even months since you had a proper dessert.
Here’s a detailed list of all the Mix-Ins under 10g of carbs:
- Chocolate Shavings: 8
- Ghiardelli® Caramel Square: 9
- Cheesecake Bites: 5
- Peanut Butter: 5
- Toasted Coconut: 5
- Nilla® Wafers: 5
- Coconut: 6
- Pretzels: 7
- 30th Anniversary Sprinkles: 8
- Chocolate Chip Cookie: 10
- Graham Cracker Pie Crust: 10
Fruit:
- Maraschino Cherries: 2
- Blueberries: 3
- Blackberries: 4
- Raspberries: 4
- Strawberries: 4
- Pineapple Tidbits: 4
- Cherry Pie Filling: 8
- Peach Pie Filling: 8
- Apple Pie Filling: 9
Nuts:
- Macadamia: 2
- Pecans, salted: 2
- Walnuts: 2
- Peanuts: 3
- Roasted Almonds, salted: 3
- Sliced Almonds: 3
- Cashews, salted: 4
- Pistachios: 4
Toppings:
- Cinnamon: 1
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Sauce: 3
- Rich’s® On Top® Whipped Topping: 3
- Frosting (White Bettercreme®): 5
The Right Way to Cheat on Keto
So you have finally decided to go all-in and devour your favorite cup (or tub?) of ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.
I personally believe that an occasional cheat meal isn’t bad in the long term. In fact, it even fuels your motivation to stay committed to a diet.
First things first: If you are on the keto diet for medical purposes, consult a doctor before going for ice cream or any other kind of cheat meal.
But if you hoped on the keto wagon simply for weight loss, then I have good news! You may enjoy occasional splurging without any significant damage to your diet.
Pre-planned cheat meals allow you short periods of indulgence so that you better stick to the diet in the long term.
However, cheating on keto is way different when compared to most diets. It’s simply because getting back into ketosis after a cheat meal takes much more time than any other diet (at least a couple of days).
Your recovery period depends on how much ice cream you had, how long you’ve been on the low-carb diet, and more importantly – how you go about after the cheat meal.
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Cheat Smartly at Cold Stone Creamery on KETO
Cold Stone Creamery has 4 serving sizes and here’s how they fare in terms of carbs:
- Kids: 20-35g carbs
- Like It®: 35-55g carbs
- Love It®: 55-80g carbs
- Gotta Have It: 85-115g carbs
Did you know? All of the ice cream flavors at cold stone creamery are made with 4 standard bases: Chocolate Ice Cream, Sweet Cream Ice Cream, Yogurt, and Sorbet. Hence, they all have roughly the same amount of nutrition.
As you can see, even the smallest serving is over and above your daily carb allowance. And it will kick you out of ketosis.
Every individual has a different level of carb threshold while on keto. The longer you’ve been on the diet, the more keto-adapted you become. And hence, you can have more carbs without exiting the fat-burn mode.
But almost everyone will be kicked out of ketosis with the larger serving sizes.
Here’s how you can minimize your damage from a cheat meal at Cold Stone Creamery:
- Have a single cheat meal and not a whole cheat day.
- Pre-plan your order that gives you the most satisfaction for minimum carbs. Avoid the last minute temptations.
- Consider a cheat meal only if you have been on keto for more than a month (aka fat-adapted).
- Don’t be guilty of having a cheat meal. It only impedes your recovery.
Having said that, you may put on a little bit of water weight right after your cheat meal. But if it’s only a one-time indulgence, there’s nothing to worry about.
Some people also report having stomach cramps due to a sudden surge in carbs. And the effect is really different for different people. I highly recommend you start with smaller cheat meals and learn about your body over time.
MORE: Keto at Jamba Juice
Fastest Way to Get Back into Ketosis
Let’s say that you had a fantastic keto cheat meal at Cold Stone Creamery. You enjoyed your favorite ice cream and had a blast!
But now it’s time for some damage control. Shall we?
The first step is to gain back control of your diet. That means you immediately resume the diet plan you had been following (as if nothing ever happened!) Keep in mind that you will be tempted to cheat again, but getting back into the old routine will help fight off cravings.
Most people get back into ketosis within 3-7 days. But I’ll give you some golden nuggets of wisdom to speed up your recovery:
1. Keep a healthy mindset:
So what you had a cheat meal at Cold Stone Creamery? It’s not the end of your keto diet or your weight loss journey.
Instead, think of it like a minor setback which is often necessary to fuel your motivations further. If you keep thinking that you “ruined” your diet in some way, you’ll be less willing to get back on track.
I’ve seen a lot of people who begin with a single cheat meal in mind, but end up splurging throughout the weekend. You’ll be tempted to start from the next Monday and your mind will try really hard to convince you. But you’ve got to man up go back to low-carb meals.
2. Consider Fasting
Fasting will help deplete your reserves of glycogen and your body turns to fat for its fuel needs. And hence you quickly fall back into ketosis.
24-hour water fast or a coffee-only fast will set you up for a smooth keto transition. But let’s face it, it’s not for everyone. An alternative solution would be intermittent fasting, where you alternate between fasting and eating windows.
The most common method is to eat all your keto meals within an 8-hour window and then fast for 16 hours straight.
3. Workout
Whenever you work out, your muscles utilize the glycogen stored within your body. Exercising speeds up your transition into ketosis as your body turns to fat for energy needs.
I’m not asking you to run a marathon or spend an hour on the treadmill. Just do any form of exercise you are comfortable with!
It could be 30 minutes of walking, hitting the gym, or doing some bodyweight exercises – whatever floats your boat. Just don’t overdo it because the release of stress hormones can slow down your entry into ketosis.
Keep in mind that you may go through the much common keto-flu. It’s a term used for short-term side effects that occur while transitioning into ketosis (nausea, constipation, headaches, fatigue, etc.)
MORE: Exogenous Ketones to get back into ketosis
Conclusion
Can you eat keto at Cold Stone Creamery?
Hell yeah! While the ice creams are off keto limits, you can still cherish some of the mix-ins. And if you are in the mood for a cheat meal, follow the advice given here to minimize the damage.
Cheers!
