Realizar doesn't mean realise. Say me di cuenta.

Realicé que no tenía mis llaves sounds like you carried out the task of not having your keys.

You said

Realicé que no tenía mis llaves.

What it means: I carried out that I didn't have my keys. (doesn't make sense)

A local says

Me di cuenta de que no tenía mis llaves.

I realised I didn't have my keys.

Why: Realizar means to carry out. For noticing something, Spanish uses darse cuenta: me di cuenta de que…

A hotel front desk in Mérida, late at night

Hola, realicé que no tenía mis llaves.

The receptionist works out what you mean and hands you a spare.

Realizar is a real, common verb, which is why this slip survives: nobody hears a wrong word, just a strange sentence. It means to carry out or make real. You realizar un pago (make a payment), realizar una encuesta (carry out a survey), and with luck, realizar un sueño (make a dream come true). It's formal, the kind of verb found in instructions and on the news.

The verb for the moment something clicks is darse cuenta. It's reflexive, so the pronoun changes with the person: me doy cuenta, te das cuenta, se da cuenta. In the past, where you'll use it most: me di cuenta, te diste cuenta, se dio cuenta. Before a whole sentence it takes de que: me di cuenta de que era tarde.

Two checks before you say it: the pronoun has to be there (me di cuenta, not di cuenta), and the tense is the preterite, because realising happens at a moment. On its own, ¿Te diste cuenta? is also how people ask "did you notice?"

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Also worth knowing

Spanish	English
¿Te diste cuenta?	Did you notice?
No me di cuenta de la hora.	I didn't realise the time.
Quiero realizar un pago.	I'd like to make a payment.

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Questions people ask

What does realizar mean in Spanish?

To carry out, do or make happen: realizar un pago (make a payment), realizar un sueño (fulfil a dream). It does not mean to realise in the sense of noticing.

How do you say I realised in Spanish?

Me di cuenta. Add de que before a whole sentence: me di cuenta de que era tarde (I realised it was late). In the present: me doy cuenta.

Is it darse cuenta de que or darse cuenta que?

Standard Spanish is darse cuenta de que. You will hear darse cuenta que in casual speech, but de que is the safe choice, especially in writing.

How do you say did you notice?

¿Te diste cuenta? With usted: ¿Se dio cuenta?