Bulletproof Coffee
Created November 26, 2012 at 3:45 PM
I have always eaten a pretty substantial breakfast. I decided to try drinking bulletproof coffee in lieu of breakfast, but am finding that I'm still hungry several hours later. Is this something that takes getting used to or that you have to train your body to do? This morning I had a cup of coffee with 1T butter (ok, I had a small spoonful of nut butter too) but was hungry by 10:00, at which point I had a couple of handfuls of almonds. I think I'm going to be ok until lunch now. When I eat a typical breakfast (eggs, meat, etc.), I'm usually hungry by 10:00 am as well and have a snack.
I hear stories of people going until midday without any food after bulletproof coffee. Does this take adaptation? Any insight?
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26 Answers
Costco sells 3x8oz Kerry Gold for almost $7 and big tub of organic coconut oil for $15 and organic mold free Ruta Maya coffee beans dark roast 2lb bag cheap, nice.
More coffee. Every cup doesn't have to be laced with butter & coconut oil. You are using coconut oil? Also, 1T isn't the limit per cup, if that helps.
Don't forget your agua...
Other than that, hang tough. It won't kill you to be hungry. Watch your carbs (nuts...) they're defeating the purpose. And, possibly exacerbating your hunger in the long run.
I don't eat until 1-1:30 I go straight for a sweet potato to gas up my workout & break ketosis. I leave a 6 hour window for eating, back to the fast.
The first day or two was challenging. Mostly boredom, though.
Yea. Exactly what I said.
Lol...the main point of bulletproof coffee is to kill hunger. If you decide that hunger won't kill you, you don't need it. Straight coffee is enough for killing boredom.
I'm not clear on the mystique behind putting a bunch of fat in coffee. Adding heavy cream accomplishes the same thing, and I'd rather have that with bacon and eggs than a coffee whip made with half a stick of butter.
Bacon & eggs can affect ketosis.
Bacon and eggs aside, does butter have an advantage over cream?
I'm thinking that grass-fed butter is just easier to find than grass-fed cream. This is very important on a VLC diet, because otherwise the O:6 will shoot through the roof. I'm thinking oz-oz butter's cheaper, too. Possibly wrong. Other than that, I don't think there's any nutritional difference. Texturally and flavor-wise I think butter is infinitely better.
Why would you want to do this? What benefit does this have over 1) just eating a normal breakfast 2) eating some sort of nut butter instead?
The butter & coconut (or MCT) oil are straight fat. They don't disrupt ketosis. This is a very effective practice for leaning out. I've adapted it as my default lifestyle. It makes me feel great.
I think I eat more than most people on this site and my appetite is intense... As in when I'm hungry I can't just deal with it. I'm STARVING.
Anyway, I need to have a morning snack each day or sometimes if I have a very late breakfast then I can wait until 11am to eat. I would just bring a snack and eat it. Bullet proof coffee didn't help me either. I eat hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, fruit, or celery with nut butter for my snack. I am 5'8 and 125 pounds, with lots of muscle so this is working well for me.
The point is to avoid carbs and provide a nice substrate of high quality fats. What's the carb content of almond milk? Is this some almond milk you've made yourself, or some off the shelf monstrosity containing possibly carciongenic carageenan, or guar gum? I suspect all you'd do is add a bunch of n6 fat and lower the total fat content as well as dilute your coffee. I'd say no.
I guess this explains all the "why did my LDL shoot up on paleo?" threads.
Actually saturated fats, such as those from butter, or coconut oil (the non-MCT fraction) raise HDL; LDL is typically raised if you consume too many carbs, or have some sort of infection, such as H. Pylori. Pls know what you're speaking about first.
When you feel hungry when your on the Bulletproof fast your really not. Sometimes you just have to drink lots of water to quiet the hunger cravings. You shouldn't get really hungry to the point of starving until hours later if you are doing the bulletproof fast right. Here is a list to follow.
- Drink plenty water.
- Make sure you have quality coffee and not crap coffee.
- Always use unsalted grass fed butter and Extra Virgin Coconut oil to replace MCT oil if you have to.
- Sometimes one cup may not be optimal, so you might have to drink a cup or two.
- Add cinnamon to coffee to regulate blood sugar.
- Controlling your stress levels and sleeping well could help solve issue too.
I understand / appreciate the thinking behind "bulletproof coffee" (despite the obvious viral marketing side of it all ...); but am confused by the "why?" ... The whole point of breakfast is to break fast, so how does having nothing but fatty coffee for the first 8+ hours support athletic activity / muscle support or growth? This sounds more like a way to stave off starvation, but not to 'feed the body' ... Any input from intense athletes on this? A part of an overall 24/7 eating strategy or not at all something an athletic person should consider ...?
Research intermittent fasting.
Try it while fasting and you'll understand it. It's like "I don't get what's so great about bacon? I never tried it, but I've had pork chops before, meh... must be viral marketing."
Can I use ghee instead? Will it produce the same effects?
Yes, a high quality ghee from grassfed cows will work even better if you have problems with milk proteins.
I too was skeptical of what made Bulletproof Coffee (specifically Asprey's Upgraded Coffee beans) different from others.
So, I asked him.
In case you're curious, you can hear his response here: http://tech.co/how-to-get-lean-by-eating-butter-bacon-interview-with-dave-asprey-of-the-bulletproof-executive-2013-05
I never eat breakfast, how should i implement this into my diet?
Make it in the AM, replace your normal coffee with it. You may find you don't even want to eat lunch. I think it's something like two cups of freshly brewed coffee, a tablespoon of butter, and upto a tablespoon of MCT oil. Put it all in a blender and buzz it - it will produce a head of foam like a cappuccino (this step is critical). You can substitute extra virgin coconut oil for MCT oil, but you'd need more. Note: sip this, don't chug it. Start with a lot less oil & butter at first or your pants, and you, will regret it if you can't reach a bathroom in time. Stretorrhea isn't fun.
I'm not an expert, but one of the benefits of the coconut oil is that for whatever reason reduces the feeling of low blood sugar, and what you are describing sounds like a "low blood sugar hunger". So give it a shot with the coconut oil, and regardless, 120 cals isn't going to work long term as a breakfast, being at a deficit is alright, but especially since you say you usually eat large breakfasts, dropping down to 120 cal doesn't sound sustainable.
Yes, the MCT fraction of coconut oil readily gets converted by your liver into ketones which helps you get adapted to burning fat. When you're fat adapted and fast, your body produces ketones from your fat stores in almost the same way. So you can safely fast with this without triggering insulin and without breaking your fast. Coconut oil works fine for this, just won't provide as much of a kick as MCT oil would.
kind of what I thought would be the answer :( ... any ideas for getting this kind of kick without the added caffeine? I love my bpc in the morning! Keeps me full well past 3pm. thanks!
Heck yea... 2 cups of bpc with 4Tbsp total of fats definitely keeps me satisfied. It's not even a challenge to wait to eat.
Decaf coffee is generally not considered Bulletproof because of the heightened level of mycotoxins that result from the decaffination (sp?) process. If you're not concerned with that, I'd say the only caveat would be that the lack of caffeine might affect the appetite suppression aspect.
I think also decaf involves some nasty chemicals. Not sure but it seems I've heard that. There's been a few threads discussing bulletproof tea here lately. Also, you could just brew a lighter cup o joe and make up the flavor with cocoa and/or cinnamon...
1 T is not near enough. 1/2 stick butter (400 calories) at the MINIMUM.
and I think salted butter is fine. Just because some don't like it doesn't mean that it is bad. Get some butter and see for yourself.
2 Tbsp of fat x2 coffees a day works just fine for me.
It took me about a week to get used to it. But I wasn't doing the full bulletproof diet. Now that I am, I don't get hungry until about 1 or 2 p.m. I also have my first cup at 7:30 a.m. and my second around 11:00 a.m.
I wrote a blog post about it here: http://bulletproofcoffee.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/my-experience-with-bulletproof-coffee/
I was wondering about abuerger's post about costco items. First Costco where I live only has salted Kerry gold, which I heard was not good to use in coffee. Second I could not find any info that Ruta Maya coffee beans are mold free. It was to my understanding the mold is only reduced by certain techniques used by bulletproof upgraded coffee brand? Not sure Organic beans make a difference in mold content. If they still ferment or rot the beans to process. Which I could not find anything on how they remove the fruit from the bean. I will happily buy their product if someone can shed light on this subject.
You can get the coffee for cheap at this site. You can also get their MCT oil which bulletproof also makes.
You get what you pay for. Cheap coffee is awful. If you can drink it black and it tastes good, by all means, use it. If you feel it needs milk and sugar, it's pure crap. How's their MCT oil? If it's good stuff, I may buy from there.
I eat/drink/chew bulletproof coffee in the morning and can easily go until 2pm before getting hungry again. I'm going to echo other comments: you need to add more than 1tbs of butter to the coffee. I usually use about 6tbs of Kerrygold and 2tbs of coconut oil. In terms of satiety, it's a lot of bang for the calorie buck.
I do that when I want to do a 24h fast. I make a normal 1-2Tbs butter coffee and let it cool, then I put it in a stainless steel bottle and add a hunk of frozen kerrygold (about 4 tbs). Since the coffee isn't hot, the big hunk won't melt. I run out of the coffee by 2-3 pm (I don't want to drink coffee past this time so I can sleep at night), so I add some hot water and swirl it around. The butter melts and the cow-orkers don't have to look at me funny for eating a hunk of butter. :) Win! This way I can have a dinner at 9pm and it's a 24h fast...
I have circa 35g butter and 35g coconut oil plus some full cream if available... Those are a minimum & often more like 40g of each. This added to a stiff espresso style coffee, lots of water and I'm not hungry before late afternoon!!!
great stuff!
Here's my approach: I'll brew 16 oz. from beans in my Cusinart and drink half for breakfast. The rest goes in my "Silver Bullet" (thermos). I'll get another "hit" around lunch time, which holds me until dinner. No jitters, no fatigue, optimal mental acuity all day...
-YMMW-
1 TBSP butter is not really a lot of calories (around 120 or so) to expect it to hold you for a significant period of time. I do 4 TBSP+ of Butter and 3 TBSP MCT oil in 20 oz of coffee. This 700+ calories holds me until dinner around 6PM.
Also if your leaving out MCT oil your not getting the full benefit of the drink.
Increase butter and MCT oil until you make it as far as you need to go with the desire to eat. Thats the right amount to use for your needs.
I sometimes just inject pure caffeine into a slab of kerrygold and eat it if I don't want to dirty the handblender.
One of those puny sticks of Americanbutter or a full slab of Kerrygold?
I agree 1 TBSP is not near enough, I use an entire stick of butter in my coffee.
When I can get my hands on enough Kerrygold I like to mix in enough with the coffee that what I end up with has the consistency of a Wendy's Frosty, ideally you should have to eat your coffee with a spoon.
Doesn't the calories really add up though? I added what I thought was 2 TBSP of butter and 2 of coconut oil as I just used the spoon adn carved a hunk out but when I measured it, it was 100g of each which is around 1500 calories!! The bulletproof coffee I thought was meant to help weight loss by filling you up with nutritious fat and satiating apetite. It does for a while but that's also most of my daily caloric allowance! What is your advice?
Thing is, I love my bulletproof coffee I really don't want to change it! :) It's just some days I get hungry earlier or rather, lacking in energy so feel the need to peck, graze or just eat. Usually I hold out but then I make a huge meal. It was a bit of a shock when I realised how many calories were in the BP coffee! Still delicious. Nom. I love the idea of the really thick BP coffee ut I can't even imagine how many calories that would be. Maybe when I am at my goal weight I'll celebrate in style :)
Well the fats do pack a lot of calories so accurate measuring is important. May be better to weight the butter. I continue to use the 4 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp MCT oil without weight gain. With my one dinner meal I typically run 2000 to 2300 calories for the day. The BPC easily holds me all day.
1 Tbsp of each x2 coffees is plenty for me. I'm a big guy with a history of overeating. It's all I can afford and I've just had to adapt. No problem.
uhh...just stumbled onto this page. So paleo = coffee and MCT oil that is extracted from coconut oil? I didn't know there people were roasting coffee and importing coconuts from the pacific back then. Wow....they really were ahead of their time.
Try organo gold Coffee. should help you.. http://mycapturepage.com/cp23.php?id=470
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raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:56 PM
Make it in the AM, replace your normal coffee with it. You may find you don't even want to eat lunch. I think it's something like two cups of freshly brewed coffee, a tablespoon of butter, and upto a tablespoon of MCT oil. Put it all in a blender and buzz it - it will produce a head of foam like a cappuccino (this step is critical). You can substitute extra virgin coconut oil for MCT oil, but you'd need more. Note: sip this, don't chug it. Start with a lot less oil & butter at first or your pants, and you, will regret it if you can't reach a bathroom in time. Stretorrhea isn't fun.
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:55 PM
The point is to avoid carbs and provide a nice substrate of high quality fats. What's the carb content of almond milk? Is this some almond milk you've made yourself, or some off the shelf monstrosity containing possibly carciongenic carageenan, or guar gum? I suspect all you'd do is add a bunch of n6 fat and lower the total fat content as well as dilute your coffee. I'd say no.
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:31 PM
Actually saturated fats, such as those from butter, or coconut oil (the non-MCT fraction) raise HDL; LDL is typically raised if you consume too many carbs, or have some sort of infection, such as H. Pylori. Pls know what you're speaking about first.
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:25 PM
Try it while fasting and you'll understand it. It's like "I don't get what's so great about bacon? I never tried it, but I've had pork chops before, meh... must be viral marketing."
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:23 PM
Yes, a high quality ghee from grassfed cows will work even better if you have problems with milk proteins.
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:23 PM
Yes, the MCT fraction of coconut oil readily gets converted by your liver into ketones which helps you get adapted to burning fat. When you're fat adapted and fast, your body produces ketones from your fat stores in almost the same way. So you can safely fast with this without triggering insulin and without breaking your fast. Coconut oil works fine for this, just won't provide as much of a kick as MCT oil would.
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:21 PM
You get what you pay for. Cheap coffee is awful. If you can drink it black and it tastes good, by all means, use it. If you feel it needs milk and sugar, it's pure crap. How's their MCT oil? If it's good stuff, I may buy from there.
raydawg
(19483)
on August 09, 2013
at 02:21 PM
I do that when I want to do a 24h fast. I make a normal 1-2Tbs butter coffee and let it cool, then I put it in a stainless steel bottle and add a hunk of frozen kerrygold (about 4 tbs). Since the coffee isn't hot, the big hunk won't melt. I run out of the coffee by 2-3 pm (I don't want to drink coffee past this time so I can sleep at night), so I add some hot water and swirl it around. The butter melts and the cow-orkers don't have to look at me funny for eating a hunk of butter. :) Win! This way I can have a dinner at 9pm and it's a 24h fast...
Kashkillz
(3452)
on July 11, 2013
at 12:50 AM
1 Tbsp of each x2 coffees is plenty for me. I'm a big guy with a history of overeating. It's all I can afford and I've just had to adapt. No problem.
James_3
(8280)
on July 01, 2013
at 11:04 PM
Research intermittent fasting.
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 18, 2013
at 12:58 AM
Heck yea... 2 cups of bpc with 4Tbsp total of fats definitely keeps me satisfied. It's not even a challenge to wait to eat.
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 18, 2013
at 12:55 AM
I think also decaf involves some nasty chemicals. Not sure but it seems I've heard that. There's been a few threads discussing bulletproof tea here lately. Also, you could just brew a lighter cup o joe and make up the flavor with cocoa and/or cinnamon...
kaitlin_6
(153)
on February 17, 2013
at 11:37 PM
kind of what I thought would be the answer :( ... any ideas for getting this kind of kick without the added caffeine? I love my bpc in the morning! Keeps me full well past 3pm. thanks!
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 17, 2013
at 10:54 PM
Decaf coffee is generally not considered Bulletproof because of the heightened level of mycotoxins that result from the decaffination (sp?) process. If you're not concerned with that, I'd say the only caveat would be that the lack of caffeine might affect the appetite suppression aspect.
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 13, 2013
at 05:09 AM
I'm thinking that grass-fed butter is just easier to find than grass-fed cream. This is very important on a VLC diet, because otherwise the O:6 will shoot through the roof. I'm thinking oz-oz butter's cheaper, too. Possibly wrong. Other than that, I don't think there's any nutritional difference. Texturally and flavor-wise I think butter is infinitely better.
thhq
(10601)
on February 13, 2013
at 05:01 AM
Bacon and eggs aside, does butter have an advantage over cream?
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 13, 2013
at 04:31 AM
2 Tbsp of fat x2 coffees a day works just fine for me.
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 13, 2013
at 04:30 AM
Bacon & eggs can affect ketosis.
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 13, 2013
at 04:28 AM
Yea. Exactly what I said.
thhq
(10601)
on February 13, 2013
at 03:44 AM
Lol...the main point of bulletproof coffee is to kill hunger. If you decide that hunger won't kill you, you don't need it. Straight coffee is enough for killing boredom.
Kashkillz
(3452)
on February 04, 2013
at 06:01 PM
The butter & coconut (or MCT) oil are straight fat. They don't disrupt ketosis. This is a very effective practice for leaning out. I've adapted it as my default lifestyle. It makes me feel great.
Rebecca_L
(637)
on January 24, 2013
at 10:57 AM
Thing is, I love my bulletproof coffee I really don't want to change it! :) It's just some days I get hungry earlier or rather, lacking in energy so feel the need to peck, graze or just eat. Usually I hold out but then I make a huge meal. It was a bit of a shock when I realised how many calories were in the BP coffee! Still delicious. Nom. I love the idea of the really thick BP coffee ut I can't even imagine how many calories that would be. Maybe when I am at my goal weight I'll celebrate in style :)
scottts
(2698)
on January 24, 2013
at 02:31 AM
Well the fats do pack a lot of calories so accurate measuring is important. May be better to weight the butter. I continue to use the 4 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp MCT oil without weight gain. With my one dinner meal I typically run 2000 to 2300 calories for the day. The BPC easily holds me all day.
Rebecca_L
(637)
on January 23, 2013
at 09:15 PM
Doesn't the calories really add up though? I added what I thought was 2 TBSP of butter and 2 of coconut oil as I just used the spoon adn carved a hunk out but when I measured it, it was 100g of each which is around 1500 calories!! The bulletproof coffee I thought was meant to help weight loss by filling you up with nutritious fat and satiating apetite. It does for a while but that's also most of my daily caloric allowance! What is your advice?
scottts
(2698)
on November 27, 2012
at 02:32 AM
I sometimes just inject pure caffeine into a slab of kerrygold and eat it if I don't want to dirty the handblender.
Poop_Master_MC
(3357)
on November 27, 2012
at 12:17 AM
When I can get my hands on enough Kerrygold I like to mix in enough with the coffee that what I end up with has the consistency of a Wendy's Frosty, ideally you should have to eat your coffee with a spoon.
scottts
(2698)
on November 26, 2012
at 10:20 PM
One of those puny sticks of Americanbutter or a full slab of Kerrygold?
Poop_Master_MC
(3357)
on November 26, 2012
at 06:16 PM
I agree 1 TBSP is not near enough, I use an entire stick of butter in my coffee.