A custom keto diet for weight loss success.
Keto works, but not as a one-size-fits-all plan. Getting real results takes the right ratios, the right food quality, and a plan built around your body. Here is what actually separates nutritional ketosis from the version most people try on their own.
The keto diet has been around for about a hundred years, since the 1920s, but interest really started ramping up in the 1990s. It is now impossible to visit a grocery store without seeing a handful of products carrying a keto-friendly badge.
The approach has gained popularity for good reason. It has been shown to help with everything from acne to heart health to brain function and weight loss. What it is not is universal. For a keto diet to be most effective, it takes planning and careful consideration of your goals, your body, and your current health. That is difficult to get right on your own.
What is a keto diet?
Keto is short for ketosis, which means the body is burning fat for fuel. There are many ways to reach ketosis, starting with removing sugars and carbs from the diet, which forces your body to run on fat rather than glucose.
There are a lot of keto diets and keto products on the market. At ShiftSetGo we recommend and coach a nutritional keto eating program. Done correctly, this kind of diet can help lower blood sugar, increase energy, and burn fat.
Many of us are also insulin resistant. A 2021 study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that 40% of adults aged 18 to 44 have insulin resistance. Given the modern food supply, that may not come as a surprise. As we keep eating foods high in carbs and sugars, the body becomes increasingly numb to insulin, which brings weight gain, fatigue, and more serious problems like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
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It is easy to get caught watching only the amount of fat, carbs, and protein you eat, with no regard for the quality of the food itself. Plenty of people eat high amounts of butter, bacon, and modified fast food while attempting keto. That might seem to work at first. It is not a healthy long-term solution.
What is a dirty keto diet?
A dirty keto plan is when you do not track your macros and simply eat low carb items without considering quality, fat content, or protein.
It can produce short term results, but consistent weight loss depends on detailed macro tracking, choosing the right foods, meal prepping, and getting through plateaus on your own. That leaves dieters to figure it out alone and makes long-term maintenance hard. With no regard for food quality, this approach is often too high in saturated fat, which raises concerns about fatty liver disease and cardiovascular issues.
What is a nutritional keto diet?
A keto diet is more complex than just reducing carbs. It is about getting the amount and quality of carbs right, along with fats and protein. To reach nutritional ketosis, the diet has to be well formulated.
The carbs, fat, and protein in a nutritional keto program are chosen specifically to put you in the optimal ketogenic range. Carbs provide fiber to promote fullness, maintain digestive health, lower blood sugar, and improve insulin sensitivity. Setting fat intake at an ideal level allows the body to burn stored body fat. Eating enough protein, but not too much, helps maintain healthy body function without raising insulin levels.
Food quality matters just as much. Supplying your body with the nutrients it needs to repair, detox, and function well is crucial to long-term success. Through a well formulated plan you can experience more consistent results and get targeted support to work through plateaus.
The benefits of nutritional ketosis include:
Reduction of appetite
Feeling full longer
Fat burning
Increased mental clarity
Decrease in hunger
Reduced cravings for sugar
Balanced blood sugar and energy levels
Common keto mistakes
The idea of keto sounds simple, but the ratios are specific enough that it gets confusing fast. Success takes careful macro planning, meal prepping, and timed eating. With that many moving parts, mistakes are easy to make. These are the ones we see most.
Only eating unhealthy, high-fat foods
You can get into ketosis eating cheese and bacon all day, but it is not a healthy way to do it. Overdoing the fat you eat does not always lead to weight loss, because the body will burn the fat you are eating rather than the fat you are storing.
Taking exogenous ketones
Ketosis is a physiological state. Taking exogenous ketones lets you burn the ketones you consumed, not your stored fat. If your goal is to lose weight, your body needs to make its own ketones by getting into ketosis.
Not planning ahead
A do-it-yourself keto plan takes meticulous planning and constant macro tracking. Failing to plan leads to choices that throw you out of ketosis. Reaching for a 100 calorie snack pack when you are in a pinch can be enough to do it.
Consuming too many carbs
Avoid vegetables that are high on the glycemic index. Just a few extra tomatoes or the wrong protein bar can kick you out of ketosis, leaving you groggy and hungry while your weight loss stalls.
Thinking calories matter most
Calories do matter, but ketosis is not just calories in and calories out. It is about getting your body into fat burning mode.
Failing to balance electrolytes
Missing electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium, or letting them fall out of balance, can lead to feeling faint, low energy, brain fog, and insomnia.
Not working with a coach
The ShiftSetGo program is a coached and planned nutritional ketogenic diet. Members get personalized, one-on-one coaching support that takes the guesswork out of building a plan that works for them.
A custom keto diet for you.
Many keto plans and products do nothing more than push the simple idea of more fat and fewer carbs. That can technically get you into ketosis, but if your goal is losing body fat while optimizing your health, what you want is nutritional ketosis. You need a plan that meets your macros and keeps an eye on your overall nutrition. That is exactly what the ShiftSetGo program does.
The ShiftSetGo program is low in carbs and low in fats with a moderate protein intake. That lets the body produce ketones for energy while burning its own fat stores rather than the fat from food. The combination of perfectly portioned ShiftSetGo meals and expert one-on-one coaching is what makes the approach work.
Ready to do keto the right way?
Schedule a free, no obligation consultation with one of our coaches to learn how a nutritional keto plan can work for your body and your goals.