In a keto diet you will eat real food that tastes good, fills you up, balances blood sugar, and turns fat into fuel. A keto diet entails learning which foods will turn fat into energy and kickstart your metabolism is the first part of the process.

Sometimes when clients ask me what is a keto diet my answer also tends to be, it depends on the person and their metabolism. That is where working with someone that understands the metabolism and that each client is unique is vital to your success in losing weight and getting healthier. 

Here are 4 helpful hints for learning what is a keto diet Atlanta, and how you can eat keto to have a faster metabolism and better health. 

1. The first step in learning what is a keto diet and how to succeed with it is understanding how to achieve blood sugar balance and how to avoid triggering insulin spikes. Keeping your blood sugar balanced prevents the overconsumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient-dense foods. I know that when my blood sugar is up, down, and all over the place, I will crave junk food, just being real. One thing I notice with my clients is when I get their blood sugar even keyed – they feel better, have more mental clarity, and they eat when they are hungry, not when their blood sugar is freaking out their appetite. 

It is amazing how much sugar is hidden in the food we eat every day. When I go grocery shopping, whether in the store or online, I always look for the item with the lowest sugar content. Pasta sauce is one example that I love to use to flavor turkey burgers. Some may have no sugar added, and others will. And our favorite nut butter is sunflower butter, and I always buy the one without the added sugar. The way to know which one to buy is to look for the lowest # of carbs and sugar. 

2. Keeping your daily keto diet simple helps you to have success. To keep the wording simple, what is a keto diet? It is staying in ketosis or fat burning to lose weight and keep it off, even while you sleep. When you are in a ketogenic (fat-burning) state, your body turns fat to fuel. For example, when I keep to my keto diet and have more fuel, I will go, see, and do more in life. That means hanging out with friends and family more, hiking with my outdoorsy husband, and going to the gym more. When I am not in a ketogenic state, I want to sit on the couch and watch others live life. 

Keeping it simple also means keeping food simple. I eat very simple food; nothing is complicated in my home or life. I do not spend hours cooking in the kitchen or spend hours at the grocery store. I use Instacart to deliver my groceries, and then we spend 20 -30 minutes cooking dinner. Simple, neat, healthy, and clean. What is a keto diet to Alane? A simple diet, that is what! 

      3) My keto diet may be slightly different from yours due to differences in our metabolism. I may store fat more than you, so the grams of fat my body needs may be less than yours. And net carbs may be higher for you and lower for me. How do we figure that out? Simple really. When you are a client of mine, I run comprehensive metabolic labs on you so you can know for sure what your metabolism needs for your weight loss success. I analyze your metabolic labs because I want you to succeed without guessing games or confusion. Clarity equals results and happiness. 

The keto diet goal is simple, but the path is different for each person. I need 20 net carbs a day, and you can eat 50 net carbs and stay in ketosis. Why? Every person’s metabolism works differently. 

4) Lastly, when a client asks what is a keto diet and how do I have success with it, I like to talk about food intolerances. I had a client in Atlanta, Ga that came in for her initial appointment very frustrated with herself. She said she was eating a high-fat keto diet and was gaining weight like crazy. Her net carbs were around 20 grams, and her sugar was very low too.

First, I ran metabolic labs on her and realized her fat storage and cardiac markers were relatively high. I had a hunch, so we ran food intolerance testing, and all of the high-fat foods tested positive in IgG, which meant they were causing her to gain weight and feel inflamed. For her, a keto diet had to be a low-fat diet – yes, that can be achieved. I taught her to eat a lean and green diet, keep her blood sugar balanced, and feel full and the weight came off. 

One of my food intolerances is peanuts, and I love to tell the story of how I had a peanut butter day with my son Andrew years ago. We had peanut butter smoothies for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly on Ezekiel bread for lunch, and peanut butter for a snack, and by 3 pm, I had a few blemishes and looked like I had gained 20 pounds. For me, peanut butter is toxic and causes weight gain, but for another person, peanut butter promotes fat burning. Remember, what works for one person will not work for another. 

If you are still asking yourself, what is a keto diet, whether it is suitable for me, and how do I eat a keto diet properly, schedule an appointment with me in Atlanta or virtual, and let’s talk. I am here to help you learn about food, a keto diet, fat burning, and understanding your metabolism and how to get it to work best for you, so the scale goes downward. 

If you are asking yourself if Alane understands your weight loss frustration? Of course I do! I gained 30 pounds when I hit menopause and was not a happy camper. I had to learn about my metabolism, now in my 50s, alright, almost 60s, and what it needs for fat-burning success. I did and lost 30 pounds in 12 weeks and feel great. You can, too, and I will show you how.