Granny Keto Transitions Program
Granny Keto Transitions Program
I created Granny Keto Transitions Program, a five-step program, because when working with clients on Keto, I came across the need to find a way to honor my commitment to provide “nutritional coaching that meets you where you are and guides you to where you want to go.” Some clients wanted to do Keto after reading about its benefits in reversing Type 2 diabetes, eliminating pre-diabetes, reducing fasting insulin, reversing NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), and helping to slow down, or stop, insulin resistance.
You can also listen to this blog at Episode #47 of the Nourish and Nurture podcast. This episode/podcast is available wherever you listen to your podcasts, but here is the direct link.
Here are the steps:
STEP 1: Eliminate Sugar and Baked Products
STEP 2: Eliminate Grains and Legumes
STEP 3: Going Low-Carb
STEP 4: Moderate Protein and Eliminate All Fruits Except For Berries
STEP 5: Eat Higher Fat and Eliminate Starchy Vegetables
TOP STEP: FULL KETO
Why Granny Keto Transitions Program?
Many clients who had none of the above health issues, still wanted to do Keto to increase their overall health, including improving HDL, lowering triglycerides, losing fat, and building lean muscle mass. Among all my clients, I found two personalities: Those who love to jump into the deep end of a cold pool and those who would rather go in slowly, dipping one toe at a time. Because I am a “jump in the deep end” sort of gal, I really had to think through how to best help the toe-dippers.
Also, I discovered a second thing that really committed me to finding a way to develop a special program. This was that many people – especially those without pressing medical problems but who were interested in Keto anyway – experienced almost immediate weight loss, better digestion, sleep, and general well-being just from doing Steps 1-3, never fully going to Keto. I even found that some of my clients were happy and feeling better just eliminating sugar and/or grains from their diets – thus “landing” on one of the steps with no need or desire to go further.
I found that Granny Keto Transitions Program enabled me to honor that commitment of “nutritional coaching that meets you where you are and guides you to where you want to go.” I am very proud of it and honored to share it with you.
Being fully Keto does fabulous healthy things for your body. You not only will lose weight, but it will usually put Type 2 diabetes into remission, reduce your insulin needs for Type 1 diabetes, reverse insulin resistance, eradicate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, lower blood pressure, and so much more. However, as I mentioned, I realize that some people like to dip their toe into the pool and some like to jump into the deep end. If you are the one who likes to dip a toe in to test the waters, then Granny Keto Transitions Program is for you.
I designed the program to give my clients a starting point to go step by step to Keto. This program allows them to land and stay on any step they like! People have found that they do not even have to go as far as Keto – they can take one step at a time in combination with, or separate from, any of the other steps.
You may decide to move toward becoming fully Keto, but there are many reasons why this might not be your ultimate goal:
Maybe your metabolism is fine, and you are not even the slightest bit overweight, but you have a sugar demon that you cannot get off your back.
Maybe you have a child or family member with diabetes, and you want to be a good role model and show that there is indeed life without sugar.
Maybe you have tried over and over again to lose weight but always return to old eating habits and weight gain. This program will teach you that it is possible that the food itself can cause cravings and overeating. It’s so important to find that out on your journey.
Maybe you or someone in your family needs to eat gluten-free (or totally grain-free) and you would like guidance with meal planning and with shopping lists to accommodate this change.
Maybe you have fine control with sugar, grains, and baked goods, but you want to learn how to incorporate more low-carb eating into your lifestyle.
Maybe you have done your research and you are ready to begin Keto, but you don’t know where or how to begin. Going back a few steps into Granny Keto Transitions Program might be just what you need!
Here is a bird’s eye view of Granny Keto Transitions Program that I want to share with you. You can work all steps starting anywhere on the staircase or just go as far as you want to go!
STEP 1: Eliminate Sugar and Baked Products
I put these two together because, although you might be able to give up your sugar fixes, it does you no good if you then eat a loaf of bread or a sugar-free pastry. I am also starting you here with having no “outright” sugar (i.e., sugar in your coffee, candy, honey in your tea, etc.). At this step please be aware that fruit is fructose and the fiber in it does not mitigate that fact yes, juice hits your bloodstream faster than a whole fruit because of the fiber, but a whole fruit is still mainly fructose and fructose is sugar. At the very least, please limit your fruits to one or two servings a day; an entire fruit bowl is not necessarily a good alternative to a candy bar!
This first step requires awareness. Did you know that there are so many names for hidden sugar and the list increases annually? I am sure that you know that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of them but as you start to read labels (which is essential at this step!) you will learn to identify them easily. You will also learn about the fact that all carbohydrates are essentially sugar and even at this step I encourage you to limit – or at least be aware of – your intake of other foods such as grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables.
STEP 2: Eliminate Grains and Legumes
This is the biggest step after getting the sugar out of your diet. You must keep Step 1 intact if you are moving towards a Keto lifestyle. However, if you are looking to stay here for a while and eat more of a Paleo or Primal lifestyle you are allowed honey and pure maple syrup back into your diet. Be forewarned – something like a Paleo banana bread made with honey and bananas is not only dangerous for insulin levels and sugar cravings but does not help you at all if your ultimate goal is Keto.
Just like with the list of hidden sugars you must become familiar with what a grain is. Most of you would recognize wheat, corn, and barley as grains but there is so much more. “Pseudograins” are included in grains. They come from the seeds of broadleaf plants and not the thin-leaf cereal plants. These grains do not contain gluten, so if your main goal is to be Paleo or just gluten-free, these grains (and rice) are okay at Transitions Step 2, but they are not allowed on Keto, where your total carbs for the day come to less than what is in one cup of rice! Also, grains have inflammatory properties so if you are on a mission to heal your gut, I urge you to not eat anything from that list, whether or not you ever go to fully Keto.
STEP 3: Going Low-Carb
This might be a great step for you to land on and stay a while. This is the step where you will become aware of the carbohydrate counts of fruits, vegetables, dairy, nuts, and grains and legumes. If you have chosen to go gluten-free only and have kept some of the foods in Step 2 in your diet, this step will be a real eye-opener for you. The Standard American Diet (often referred to as SAD) can be 400 – 500 or more carbohydrates a day even if you are not overeating or bingeing.
These carbohydrates add up – one meal will usually have 100 or more! By the time your day is done with three meals and perhaps two – three snacks, you are easily looking at that SAD amount of 500 carbs or more.
STEP 4: Moderate Protein and Eliminate All Fruits Except For Berries
I would have started Keto six months sooner than I did if I did not hear “No fruit except for berries.” I said, “No way am I ever giving up fruit. Are they crazy?” But then I started learning and opening my mind and accepting the truth.
There are a few issues with fruit. Let’s just start with the pure sugar and carb content of fruits. If you are going to be fully Keto you will be restricting your carbohydrates. However, there is a more serious concern with fruit that goes beyond counting carbohydrates. Fructose, the sugar in fruit, cannot be used by your cells for energy. Fructose goes directly to the liver to be metabolized and can cause a fatty liver which is linked to early death, diabetes and heart disease.
Fructose also makes you more insulin resistant. It causes your triglycerides go up, it increases inflammation, and has a terrible effect on your cholesterol. Berries, by contrast, in moderation (about ½ cup) not only have much less sugar but their glycemic load is also low, meaning they will very slowly, if at all, raise a person’s blood glucose level.
In terms of moderating protein, that was the second biggest challenge for me (even more than giving up bread and pasta!) Protein is the building block of cells and muscles, and it is essential for brain function and to heal cuts and wounds. However, the body “recycles” much of its proteins and you do not need to consume large quantities to have a healthy body.
In Transitions Step 4 you will be encouraged to eliminate fruits except for berries, and to learn how to moderate your protein intake in healthy and creative ways. You do not have to fear ample protein but you will learn what it means to moderate it. This step is the springboard to the final Transitions step that will get you to your goal of being fully Keto. And never fear, there are ways to recreate fruit flavors – even banana bread made with almond flour and banana extract!
STEP 5: Eat Higher Fat and Eliminate Starchy Vegetables
You have arrived at the final step of going FULL KETO. CONGRATULATIONS!! In this step you will have the final piece of the puzzle – eating higher fat, and your final elimination – starchy vegetables.
The MYTH (known as the Diet-Heart hypothesis) is that fats (especially saturated fats) are bad for you. As a matter of fact, they serve very important functions such as building cell walls, and mineral absorption and conversion. For instance, the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K are called fat-soluble for a reason! If you eat low-fat or no-fat, you don’t get the full nutrients of these vitamins.
Furthermore, fat is the one macronutrient that has little to no effect on your insulin, so it is the perfect food to add to your meals for satiety, flavor, and enjoyment. The takeaway is to not skimp on real fats! Transitions Step 5 will walk you through adding fats to your meal and will also give you the complete picture of what your plate should look like and you will better understand the proportions of each macronutrient so that you can begin to eat a well-formulated ketogenic (Keto) diet.
As I said earlier, you cannot eat high-fat and high-carbohydrate. This is dangerous to your heart health. Therefore, even though I stated that you can stay at any step, I would not pick this one out of the hat and stay here separate from the other steps. Because Transitions Step 5 is the final step to being fully Keto, it pulls the whole picture together and you cannot live it as a fragment (keeping protein and carbohydrates high as well as a high fat intake).
Because now you understand that you can find satiety and satisfaction with fat, it is the perfect time to take those potatoes and carrots off your plate. You are ready now ready to become fully Keto!
TOP STEP: FULL KETO
The biggest shift you will have to make – beyond what foods you are eating – is your mindset. Going Keto is an entire paradigm shift, not a diet. You have to have a strong enough WHY to see you through this. You need to do this for health! You will lose weight, of course, but this is a whole new way of eating for you, and you must be able to sustain it. That is where your WHY comes in. You have to be strong not because Keto is difficult (actually it will become easier and easier, I promise) – but because health is a lifetime commitment.
Yes, once you work through whether you are planning to become fully Keto you may still need to work on the “bones” (eat this and not that type of thing, or planning family meals, outings, work lunches, etc.).
But the most helpful thing is to wrap your mind around this paradigm shift and to realize you are worth it. You are worth the hard work and the health that it brings. Keto is a wonderful way to bring your body and your mind into alignment with health.
In truth, staying on Transitions Step 1, Step 2 or Step 3, will also bring your body and your mind into alignment with health. The work of going through Transitions Step 4 and Step 5 to get to the full Keto step will be worth it as well if your body needs “super help” to get your weight down and your metabolism humming!
Actionable Coaching Advice
This week’s actionable coaching advice is easy. Go to Miriamhatoum.com/resources and download the guide entitled Five Steps to Keto. Even if you have no plans to do Keto, this guide has not only the five steps I talked about in this blog, thus also helping you with low carb, but the four lists you need are in there: grains, rice, sugars and legumes.
Knowledge is power and I want my peeps to be powerful and make powerful decisions about the way they decide to eat.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, Granny Keto Transitions Program, and I hope it will help you navigate your journey. Don't forget to subscribe to the mailing list (below) so that you don't miss the next blog! If you are interested in my course, Keto Fundamentals, please take a look at it here.