Intermittent Fasting

Photo courtesy of Brad Johnson, "Balanced Living"

I believe the secret to my success with losing weight and keeping it off in spite of imperfect eating is intermittent fasting.  Does the word fasting stress you out?  It has always had that affect on me, until now.

Consider when you're sleeping, your body is fasting, right?  Well, in the morning, I continue my fasting and feed my body with "Bulletproof" coffee.  Did you see my second post "Butter In My Coffee"?  Every morning Brad and I have a cup (sometimes two) of bulletproof coffee.  We are satiated and don't feel the need to eat food for quite awhile.

This is from Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Executive Blog:

The healthy fats from grass-fed butter and MCT oil give you a stable current of energy that sustains you through the day. The ultra low toxin Upgraded Coffee Beans optimize brain function and fat loss with high octane caffeine. The MCT oil also serves to increase ketone production and boosts your metabolic rate by up to 12%.  This drink is so filling, we’ve had clients who drank one cup of Bulletproof Coffee in the morning and didn’t feel like eating until mid afternoon. Adding extra MCT oil will promote ketogenesis (the formation of ketones) and provide more of a mental kick.  For optimal results, you should be following the green side of Bulletproof Diet in conjunction with this protocol. Bulletproof Fasting will not save you from the effects of Poptarts and fried Oreos.

I'm not trying to sell you on Upgraded Coffee Beans.  Feel free to exchange them for the high-quality beans of your choice.  You can check out Dave's site for more scientific info and his recommendation for how you should do the intermittent fast.

I listen to my body.  When it says, "I'm hungry", I have something to eat.  If I'm doing really well, I'll have some protein, veggies, and more healthy fat (always trying to stay on the green side of the bulletproof diet).  This will usually tide me over until dinner.  No more snacking - my body doesn't need it.  I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. 

Just trying to get the hang of balanced living.

Butter In My Coffee

Brad and I have Bulletproof Coffee every morning for breakfast.  It took some getting used to for me.  I normally don't have a lot of cream in my coffee so this rich, creamy drink was very strange to my palate.


Here's the recipe - you should also check it out on the Bulletproof Executive blog:

• Start with 2 mugs of good black coffee, brewed with mold-free beans.  Brad and I use Portola Coffee Lab's amazing coffee, and Alchemistic is my favorite.  Says the Bulletproof Exec (BE), "clean coffee actually fights cancer and provides antioxidants."
• Add 2 Tbs or more of Kerrygold or other UNSALTED grass-fed butter.  Says BE, "Yes, butter.  All the benefits of healthy milk fat with none of the damaging denatured casein proteins found in cream.  Starting your day with grass-fed butter will give you lots of energy and it will give your body healthy fats that it will use to make cell walls and hormones."
• Add 2 Tbs of MCT oil for max energy, weight loss and brain function
• Blend with a pre-heated hand blender, Magic Bullet, or (best) counter top blender until there is a creamy head of foam

Why do we put butter and oil in our coffee?   Says Dave (and I've found it to be true for me as well), "It makes for the creamiest, most satisfying cup of coffee you’ve ever had. It will keep you satisfied with level energy for 6 hours if you need it. And because I’m having it for breakfast, I’m programming my body to burn fat for energy all day long!"

From Dave's blog:

It will take your body a week or so to fully turn on its fat digestion systems when you switch to a high healthy fat breakfast of Bulletproof coffee. If at first it is a little too rich, try using less butter at first and build up to the amount you like. Taking a betaine HCl or digestive enzyme supplement with your coffee will also help your body digest the butter.
Try this. After one drink of Bulletproof coffee, you’ll never be tempted to eat fat-free, insulin-raising, fat-storing toast and oatmeal breakfasts again!

 Cheers!