Bulletproof Fasting: An Update

I am loving the Bulletproof fasting protocol so far. I never in a million years would have thought that NOT eating before 2:00 pm each day would ever become my M.O. I mean, who is this person? The first week of this was done with my very own concoction involving unsweetened almond milk and cocoa powder in addition to the requisite grassfed butter and coconut oil (or MCT oil). I did this because most coffee contains lots of contaminants that can cause much of the jitteriness and crashes that many associate with coffee. I’ve been off the stuff for almost a year, so I didn’t want to start up again with a sub-par cup o’ Joe, now would I?


The whole point of the drink is to pretty much limit your intake of calories to fat only before the 2:00 pm break-fast. The caffeine in the coffee does add to the kick you get and supposedly boosts some metabolic-ish stuff that I-don’t-know-if-I-believe-but-it-could-happen type stuff, but the absolutely crucial thing is no or negligible carbs or protein before the end of the fasting window. So, mission accomplished with my Bulletproof cocoa. It was darn good and had me full, satiated, and going strong all morning long! I really couldn’t believe it. I also really enjoyed not having to think about food for the first part of my day. It was very liberating. The cool thing is that I don’t seem to get especially hungry (yay! Big win, this) but I do get a little loopy towards the end of it. It’s almost like a high feeling – not sure what that’s about, but it’s not unpleasant.

So today, I was finally able to try out the real deal. I was chanting “please taste good; please taste good” as I whipped it up in the blender. I pretty much hate bitter things and put tons of milk and sugar in my coffee back in the day. I was NEVER a drink-it-black type person. I once tried to add stevia to coffee and was sorely offended by the combination of bitter tastes. So, it was with much trepidation that I mixed up my first official batch of Bulletproof coffee (using Upgraded Coffee). I even added a few drops of liquid Stevia to the mixture for a touch of sweetness, praying that it wouldn’t result in the bitter bomb I’d experienced with “normal” coffee previously. All I can say is Wow. It really DOES taste better. It was so smooth, creamy, and decidedly not bitter at all. Even with the Stevia!

I have been a bit hyper all day – this IS the first hit of full-fledged coffee I’ve had in ages, so it stands to reason. It is still to be seen if I’ll have any adverse effects like a huge caffeine crash or any withdrawal symptoms if I don’t have the stuff. Time will tell on those. But for now, the plan is to keep to my 8 hour (2:00 – 10:00) eating window each weekday. The protocol is for 6 hours (2:00 – 8:00) but I’m not worrying about stopping at a certain time in the evening. I just don’t think it matters that much and I’m not eating huge quantities before bed anyway. I’m not worrying about the bowlful of pistachios I nosh on sometimes, etc. The real benefit (in my mind) is riding off your natural overnight fast and extending it out a bit to maximize the time spent in ketosis.

I was totally prepared to do this every day indefinitely until I heard the inventor of Bulletproof coffee talking on a podcast about how it’s not good to do it every single day because your body gets too used to it. It’s good to take a break once or twice a week just to let your body keep guessing a little bit. I figure the weekend is a good time to break the habit since I’ll be more apt to actually cook some sort of breakfast anyway. All in all, I’m super pleased so far. I feel great, energetic, and far less hungry all the time. It amazes me that I’m not chomping at the bit each day at 2:00. Today, I didn’t notice until about 2:30 that it was probably time to eat something. Revolutionary!