Bulletproof Deliciousness

So there is this phenomenon called "bulletproof living" that is incredibly popular in certain circles on the internet.  It all started with a guy named Dave Asprey, who is a self proclaimed "bio-hacker" and a very successful entrepreneur living in Silicon Valley.  What the hell is "bio-hacking", right?  Well according to him, it is finding tricks to "optimize and upgrade your biology".  He lost over 100 lbs, and apparently increased his IQ by over 20 points through hacking his own biology.

It all sounds slightly ridiculous, and I fully understand the doubt.  When I first read about it I thought he was off his rocker too.  One of his most popular bio-hacks is something called bulletproof coffee (I know it still sounds ridiculous).  Bulletproof coffee is coffee with lots of healthy fats added in.  I heard about this and thought it sounded interesting, but because I was doing my 12 Week Challenge, I was hesitant to add in all the extra fat calories.  But, those days are gone.  Bring on the fats!

Now, every morning I make a nice big cup of bulletproof coffee.  I make the coffee, then throw in a couple

tablespoons of butter, a few tablespoons of coconut oil, and fire the whole mix in the blender.  The end result is a creamy, delicious, coconutty masterpiece.  The flavor alone is reason enough for you to go and try this immediately.

But, what about all this bio-hacking business?  Well the science, in a very simplified explanation is this.

1.  Coconut oil and good quality grass-fed butter have lots of healthy fats.
2. The brain is composed mainly of fats, and needs healthy fats to function.
3. Caffeine helps the fats get into the brain.
4. The fats slow the absorption of caffeine.


You end up with lots of excellent brain fuel getting into the brain more easily, as well as the mental focus and energy of caffeine but without the huge energy spike.  When I drink a regular coffee I get a ton of energy, sometimes too much, for a couple of hours and then it's done.  With the bulletproof coffee I feel calm, focused, and energized for five or six hours, and never crash afterwards.  And it's just so damn tasty.
The other benefit of bullet proof coffee is that it is very filling. It is actually a sneaky way to do intermittent fasting. Fat doesn't affect insulin, so you can eat fat, fuel your brain, and still get the fat burning effects of intermittent fasting.

Give it a shot. Get some coffee, grass fed butter (Anchor if you live in Asia, Kerrygold in North America), coconut oil (or MCT oil if you can find it), and blend them together.  I'd love to hear if it works for you like it does for me.  Let's try to stay away from calling ourselves bio-hackers though, that's just weird.

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Week 4 Update

It's funny how quickly one month can pass by. It really doesn't feel like it's been more than two weeks, but nonetheless here we are a month later.  I'm really happy with the progress I have made in a month.  I've lost 5lbs, and shed over an inch from my waist.  The thing that makes me happiest though, is that my energy levels are still super high, my strength has continued to rise, and in general I feel really good.  This is what makes intermittent fasting so great.  On my rest days I do crave more food, but I never even come close to giving in because I know that a huge meal is only around the corner.  Those training day feasts are the best.  I've switched to from rice to sweet potatoes for my carb source, because sweet potatoes are far more filling, and tastier than rice.  Next week I will record exactly what I'm eating, and post a meal by meal outline to show you what I'm doing.  For now, I hope that you are finding some insightful information here, and want to thank you for all your support both here, and on facebook.  Thanks a ton!

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Be a Fat Loss Scientist

If you want to make any serious changes to your body you need to approach it scientifically, because really that’s all it is.  If you eat more than you need you will gain weight. If you exercise intelligently this weight will be muscle, if not maybe it will be fat. If you eat less than you need, you will lose weight. You want to lose fat, not muscle. So, you must exercise enough to keep muscle, and eat enough to sustain that muscle.

There isn't much more to it than that. So to go about it scientifically what do you need?  Well, like any good scientist, you need variables, and measurable results.

What are measurable result? A measurable result is an outcome of some change in the variables, that can be accurately measured.  So in the science of weight loss, you have.

1.      The scale. Everybody's favorite tool. It is the worst of the three sources of information. It tells you that you have gained or lost weight, but it cannot tell you if this weight is fat, water, or muscle.

2.      The tape measure. The tape measure is better than the scale, because it shows directly where change is happening, and what kind of change it is.  If your goal is to lose fat you want to see your waist measurements dropping, but may not want to see your arms shrivel up into licorice sticks.

3.      Strength levels. Strength is the best indicator of muscle loss or gain. If you are losing strength you are likely losing muscle. So keep track of how much you are lifting to know if you are gaining or losing muscle.

No strength losses going on here.

There is one more source that does not provide measurable feedback, but is still useful. It is the mirror. The mirror is generally pretty reliable. An even better approach would be to take pictures every week or two. By comparing past and present pictures you will have a clear indication of your progress. Pictures do not lie.
What variables does a fat loss scientist have?

1.      Food intake. You absolutely must keep track of what you eat every day. This is the most basic requirement. Only when you have an established baseline can you begin to adjust your diet. I highly recommend getting the app myfitnesspal. It makes keeping track of your food super easy. If your measurements show that you are gaining weight when you want to lose weight, you need to eat less.  If you want to gain weight, but are not gaining, you need to eat more.

2.      Energy out. Adding morning walks has a huge effect on fat loss because of the extra calories being burned. Keep a record of the exercise you are doing, and adjust it as you need to.  The key to losing weight is to exercise only as much as you can recover from.  This is why walking is so great.  No one gets sore from walking, but it is a great way to burn calories.  If you tried to run, or do bodyweight circuits every morning you would burn more calories. The problem is that you would never recover properly due the low food intake during dieting.  You would not be able to move heavy weights in the gym, and would end up losing muscle. Walking is the best option for burning some extra calories.

Don't get crazy, but keep track of what you eat!

Closely watch all measurable results, and adjust the variables as needed. This is the first step to achieving your goals. Intermittent fasting helps you become more efficient at burning fat, and putting energy into muscle growth. It also makes keeping track of what you eat easier, by putting all your eating into an 8 hour window.  Try it out, and keep me posted!

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Get Strong!

 My experience with weightlifting is probably fairly typical of a guy my age. I started working out in high school, and followed routines from Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. I did this for a couple years and made a bit of progress, but nothing special. 

What I should have been doing was squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses. I should have done these with low reps (around five), and my only concern should have been adding more weight to the bar. That is what I do now, and it works. In one year of doing this my squats went from 50kg for five to 120kg for five. My legs grew a lot. My bench went from about 60kg for five, to 95kg for five. My arms and chest grew a lot. These weights are nothing extraordinary and I am by no means a big guy. The weights are however, way better than before, as is my physique. If you can continually add weight to the bar, you will get bigger.  It really is that simple.

I wish that I had followed this kind of program in high school. The problem is that the internet is full of terrible information, and the world of bodybuilding and weight training is notoriously bad. Too many flashy routines published by supplement companies trying to sell their products. That coupled with a generation of people who have the attention span of goldfish, has created an environment where the majority of people in the gym are spinning their wheels, or at best making mediocre progress.

Confused yet?

Doing squats, deadlifts, and bench day in and day out is not exciting or cutting edge. This is why so many people can't stick with a program like this, and why even more people can't be bothered to try. It is a shame, and I personally regret wasting so much time jumping from one program to the next.

The key to this kind of training is to get absolutely hooked on adding weight to the bar, and absolutely forbidding yourself from browsing the latest muscle building trends floating around the internet. There are days when I add 1kg to a lift, and am absolutely thrilled. If you can get into this frame of mind, a simple program can become addictive. Make those numbers climb as often as you can. When they stop climbing, deload and have another run at it.

That's how you get big biceps.

If you're dying to do some curls, or triceps extensions just do them. But, do them after you do the main exercises. If they start to interfere with your progress on the main lifts, get rid of them. Adding weight to the main lifts is far more important than a few bicep curls will ever be. If you can deadlift 400lbs you will have big biceps.

Look into Starting Strength, or Stronglifts, or Bill Starr 5x5. These are all great programs to get strong and pack on the muscle. Keep in mind though, that these programs are meant to get you big, and are not great for people trying to lose fat fast. So if gaining tons of muscle is your goal, you should be doing one of these programs, or something similar to it.  I still recommend doing intermittent fasting when doing these kinds of programs.  Fasting will allow you to pack on muscle, without getting fat during the process.  Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes.  Get in touch on facebook at www.facebook.com/fittaiwan

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