If you follow my blog posts, you would know that a few months back I read the book “The Bulletproof Diet” and thus, quickly became an advocate for the high fat, butter coffee “lifestyle”. Although I still firmly believe that a diet high in healthy fats works best for me, I’ve modified the diet I once followed to a T and here’s why.
When I first read the Bulletproof Diet book, I was amazed by the success stories promising incredible benefits from following the high fat, butter coffee-centered diet. Things like fat loss, muscle growth, strength and metabolic increases, mental clarity and mental sharpness were all a few of many benefits promised to be gained via the Bulletproof Diet.
After following the diet consisting of butter, MCT oil coffee in the morning, followed by a meal like eggs, avocado and spinach for lunch and a protein, vegetable and healthy fat for dinner, I did in fact reap some of the benefits promised.
Even though it took some time adjusting to the type of intermittent fasting practiced throughout the diet, which resulted in less frequent eating periods, I noticed changes in my body. I had a lot of energy, I felt strong, I was never bloated or craved any sugary, carb-heavy foods; in fact, I began to feel quite satiated with my everyday meals. Most importantly, I felt a lot happier with my body inside and out. When you’re already in adequate physical shape, it’s often trickier to overcome that extra inch to look and feel even better. However, when following this diet, I noticed I was a lot leaner than before; not that that’s the most important thing I gained from the diet, but overall I felt happier inside and out. So why did I not want to continue this diet any longer?
Simply put: IT’S BORING
Now, I’m not saying this to sound rude, the diet taught me a lot of great things. I now know that a high-fat, moderate protein diet full of greens works best for me. I also learned how to only eat when I’m hungry, drink lots of water and to always feel satisfied with my meals; not hungry and not full. This diet especially reinforced the importance of sticking to whole, one-ingredient foods, free of processed and packaged products.
The problem was, it followed such a narrow range of acceptable foods (due to various facts discussed in the book) that there wasn’t much room for fun or a variety of nutrients for that matter. After a few months, this became a bit of an issue for me because I am a firm believer that healthy eating and living can be super fun. Food itself can be fun! I love when my plate is full of color from various veggies, but this diet even restricted certain vegetables.
The Bulletproof Diet encourages a small selection of healthy fats as well, so I couldn’t for example, make salads with hemp hearts or add chia seeds to my smoothies. All I felt I could eat in terms of healthy fats were those from grass-fed meat, butter, coconut oil and avocado. I didn’t like the lack of variety and the emphasis on such a simplistic diet. Relying on a coffee with butter and MCT oil for most the day didn’t always sit right with me, because there are SO many amazing healthy foods in the world that all contribute unique health benefits to our bodies, so why ignore them and only stick to a few that don’t have much nutritional value other than fat? Although I felt good following this diet, I felt like I was missing out on the enjoyment food can provide.
I like to enjoy and have fun with my food and I didn’t feel like I could do so on this diet, which is why I opted for a paleo-based way of eating that still follows a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet but also allows room for creativity, fun and enjoyment in the kitchen.
I love experimenting with different recipes and trying out new superfoods like maca, spirulina and goji berries. So today, I still follow the basic principles and lessons I learned from the Bulletproof Diet, but I eat a rainbow of foods rather than sticking to just one variety. Remember that although it’s important to feel good, it’s also really important to enjoy the process of doing so, and both can be achieved, just not on the Bulletproof Diet –in my opinion.
The diet itself is worth a try, you will notice changes within your body, good ones too, but view it more as a lesson that you can either continue with –if it works for you, or modify it, to make it work for you. After all, not everyone learns the same way, just like this diet will not be sustainable for EVERY BODY.
xx Leah