This delicious looking brew is a poor-man's version of bulletproof coffee. 170 calories. 26 grams of fat. No carbs. No protein. All it takes is (brace yourselves): a cup of dark roast coffee (I brewed 12oz of Marley's espresso blend), a tablespoon of grass-fed, unsalted butter (I used Kerrygold), and a tablespoon of unrefined coconut oil (I used my grocery store's brand). Add butter and oil to the hot coffee, blend thoroughly, and soon Starbucks will be making "butter lattes" for the masses.
It's good. Trust me. I'm not snobbish about a lot, but I am very particular about my coffee, and if it's palatable to me, then it's probably decent for everyone.
But this is a prime example of what is needed to make ketosis happen. You will be getting around 70-75% of your calories from fat, and unless you're into chugging oil or drinking butter, you need to improvise. And, if you do hate it, there are alternatives.
It's good. Trust me. I'm not snobbish about a lot, but I am very particular about my coffee, and if it's palatable to me, then it's probably decent for everyone.
But this is a prime example of what is needed to make ketosis happen. You will be getting around 70-75% of your calories from fat, and unless you're into chugging oil or drinking butter, you need to improvise. And, if you do hate it, there are alternatives.
If you're struggling to drink the required amount of water on the 24DC or Lean in 13, then I've got some bad news.
When glucose is in a holding pattern in the body, it's stored with a ton of water, and when the cells send out the smoke signals for energy, the glucose is released (and the water along with it). You can sort of see how dehydration happens during intense exercise: glucose is all consumed, water is flushed out, and suddenly you're losing more water than you're taking in.
Anyway, no carbs means a drastic reduction in glucose, which means a drastic reduction in stored water. This is why Atkins diets see such immediate results: all that stored water is flushed out. The rule of thumb is to take your body weight and divide by two to get the # of ounces of water you should get. I find myself drinking roughly my body weight in ounces, and peeing a lot more. Except in the most extreme cases, there's no such thing as too much water. But always err on the side of caution and chug it down.
Good news for folks in dire need of some sweets. Look at that thing. Doesn't it look delicious?
So earlier I mentioned alternatives to bulletproof coffee, and this is it: the fat bomb. Essentially a chilled amalgamation of oil and butter, combined with other miscellany that make it taste like something less disgusting.
The one above (and the one I made tonight): is a coconut variant: shredded coconut, coconut oil, butter, cinnamon, and a bit of stevia. Toast the coconut and toss it in the food processor with the other ingredients until smooth. Pour into muffin tins (or ice cube trays) and let it chill for at least 30 minutes.
Mine was a little light on flavor, but there are thousands of recipes (just google "Keto Fat Bomb" to see all the Pinterest-worthy sexy photos of chilled coconut oil). Since the base is usually oil and butter, you're free to experiment and figure out what you like best without throwing a ton of money down the drain.
Why are they important? For the same reason as the coffee: you need healthy fat without a lot of carbs or protein, and it is very hard to get the required amount without fat bombs and bulletproof coffee.
I will never, ever quit Spark. It's the only thing that coaxes me out of bed at 4:30 to head to the gym. But I did have to sacrifice my Meal Replacement Shakes. A sad day for me, but a joyous occasion for my daughter, who now gets them all to herself.
But, by the end of the day I am usually sick and tired of rich, fatty meals, and I want to give my protein numbers one last boost before shutting down eating for the night, and that's what Muscle Gain is for (note: I would go with the vanilla over the chocolate...the former is a little more versatile, plus it only has 4 grams of carbs to the chocolate's 7). One scoop of that, two tablespoons of peanut butter (or PB2, if your fat numbers are good), ice and water, and blend it up.
If you're looking for something more dessert-y: plain greek yogurt (both non-fat and full-fat) is relatively low carb. If you mix the Muscle Gain in with some yogurt and PB you get a mousse-like consistency (I'd recommend adding a little bit of vanilla extract to cut the tang of the yogurt).
If you did a 24DC or a cleanse you should already know that there are vegetables to avoid, either due to high sugar content or an abundance of starch. Ketogenic diets are no different. Thankfully people have already done the dirty work. While vegetables are an important part of ANY diet, I find that I can somewhat justify a small reduction in the vegetable servings, given that most of my meat alternatives are soy based. Still, I aim for at least one salad a day, and a veggie with dinner.
I will save Part III until Saturday, which is weigh-in day, so you can see how ketosis has worked for me for one week. Since by then I should be in ketosis for at least a few days, hopefully with no ill-effects.
I'll leave you with my food round-up for the day. You can see how the absence of a fat bomb forced me to use both butter and oil while cooking dinner, and make a little sauce out of heavy cream and goat cheese, which really made the dinner almost too rich. Tomorrow I'm tossing at least one fat bomb into my morning snack, and might have to use another after dinner (they're about 10g of fat per).
Still, though, it barely feels like a diet.
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