Bulletproof Day 26. Back on board!

A good day, with BP coffee in the morning and a so-so lunch at work. I hated my food choices at lunch, so I ate a little and added raw almonds + cacao nibs instead. I made baked organic chicken livers for dinner: splendid. With a large salad full of avocados. I also bought a fresh young coconut & drank the milk to replenish the carbs a bit. Tea & mineral water instead of wine was refreshing. 

Huge reorg at work, lots to consider. I'll need the brainpower this week. 

I also made ice cream for kids tonight. I should try to substitute sugar for xylitol next time. I'm sure they won't notice. And yes, I added super dark chocolate chunks this time. We'll see how it churns.

Bulletproof Days 22-25. A bit off course, but mostly sticking with it.

The holidays are the worst time for a lifestyle change because it's very difficult to sustain. For me, food is a lot less of a problem, but booze. OMG. Lots of holiday parties, I've been drinking most days, sadly. As a result, I am not losing weight anymore (the initial 5 pounds are gone, but that's it). Hoping that this week helps overcome this plateau as I have no parties to go to and hoping not to drink at least until Friday night. That said, even thought the scale has not moved, my clothes fit better and I am feeling skinnier. It feels great. But I need 10 more pounds to go. Then I'll be truly proud of my body.

Bulletproof has definitely helped balance my food cravings. I barely crave food anymore, but rather get to a point where I am very hungry and then half-way through my meal, I feel that I've had enough. An interesting and a very welcome change.

I am also hoping to bring the workouts back. Since going BP, I'm working out significantly less than before. Most of it is driven my schedule, but still. I'd love to bring it back because exercise makes me feel great.

In other news, some of the takeaways from these days:

• Start bringing my own food to parties. Because otherwise I barely eat and overcompensate with drinks. 
• Continue cooking. I've made a few rather amazing BP meals.
• I need to eat more grass fed beef. Somehow this has been challenging.
• Supplements are still in the "need to figure it out" category for me. I am taking a few but feel like I don't really know which ones I need vs don't need.
• I scheduled an annual physical for next Monday. Want to get full blood work and stuff since I haven't done it in the last 5 years. Maybe it'll help guide my supplementation.
• Friends and co-workers are starting to notice I am looking better. That's great and confirms that I am headed in the right direction.
• If I lose a couple more pounds, I'll look pretty good for the holidays (will make an effort to stick to BP 100% at least this week).

Bulletproof Day 21. Technically, old enough to drink :)

Okay, the sad reality of my life is that not drinking during the holiday season is virtually impossible. $100/bottle champagne at work today: I had to say yes. 

So, in the 3 weeks since I've started this I lost ~4 pounds. I look and feel great. People are starting to ask what it is I am doing that's contributing. 

My keys to success are:

- imperfection. I improvise & sometimes break rules, believing that 80% bulletproof proof is still worth it 

- cooking! Every time I make dinner, it's just amazing. I made carrot fries, Brussel sprouts, and rack of lamb tonight. Absolutely delightful!

Booze remains a problem since 90% of my social life revolves around drinking. I am doing much better than pre-BP but hoping to really improve in January, once holidays and holiday parties are behind us.

And the best part? This experience is changing my habits! I am going to try & stick to this past 30 days.

Bulletproof Days 19 - 20. San Francisco for work.

So, I am in San Fran for two days. Interesting experience, as always! 

Started with BP coffee in the morning and lasted until almost 1:30 on it.

My colleague wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. We did. They were out of everything that was at least half way paleo. I ended up with a piece of grilled black cod. Everyone thought I was crazy as I asked for no MSG on it. The result was surprisingly delicious but tiny. I followed with macadamia nuts and 90% dark Lindt that I brought with me. Was happy I was thoughtful enough to bring food with me.

Client dinner was better: Wild King salmon with veggies. I had to drink but stuck to wine. 

It's intriguing how difficult it is to go out when you are BP/paleo. Almost shocking. All the crap food and oils around us. And sugar, tons of it everywhere. 

Now that I am on day 2 here, I am disappointed that BP coffee is not going to happen this morning. I ate a handful of macadamias and 2 squares of dark chocolate. I did bring my supplements.

Thankfully, I only have to live through lunch (and we are ordering from a nice restaurant, so they should have something for me!) and then the flight back home. No drinking today, hopefully, and back to my BP coffee tomorrow morning. 

Bulletproof Days 17 & 18.

The weekend, per usual, was enjoyable and flew by. I hosted a baby shower for my bestie on Saturday (proud to have stayed mostly BP though wine was plentiful yet again). 

A very active day on Sunday: walked 5 miles with the dog & spent a couple of ours on my yard raking leaves. Managed to stay under 100 gr for carbs but a bit low on fat. 

Bulletproof Day 16. The ultimate BP coffee combination!

The highlight of my day is that I've finally found a BP coffee recipe that I really love:

• BP coffee
• 2 heaping tbsp of Kerrygold
• 1 heaping tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp of Xylitol
• 1 tbsp of Brain Octane

Now, happy taste buds aside, this is the first time that I lasted until 1PM without feeling oh-so hungry & had enough energy to go to the gym before lunch! This is what I am going to do moving forward. 

Lunch was absolutely delicious, with tender lamb, roasted carrots, asparagus, and eggplant. I added a tsp homemade tzatziki because it was too tempting not too... It's been some time since I enjoyed my lunch as much as I did today. Wolfed it all down in 5 mins, it must have been fun to watch!

I am also feeling pumped from my gym workout as I haven't done much since going BP and my body's been really asking for some physical activity. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in a run or another gym visit tomorrow too. I am also considering not drinking tomorrow night, though it might be too tempting. 

Bulletproof Day 15: BP Hot Cocoa & More on Carb Re-feeding

I started today with Bulletproof Hot Cocoa and I loved it. I did this:
- 1 tbsp Brain Octane
- 2 heaping tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Trader Joe's)
- 1 tbsp xylitol
- 2 heaping tbsp Kerrygold

Absolutely delicious (sorry, BP coffee!) but I still feel like BP coffee is better for the brain than cocoa . I definitely have the energy, but not the mental clarity I am getting on BP coffee. Still a good option though to diversify during days when BP coffee gets old and boring. Since I am not a coffee drinker, I feel like I just can't do it every day.

On the good news front. I got a lot of good advice from the BP Forum on carb re-feeds. My main takeaways:
1. It's a good idea to track your food, at least for some time, to make sure your % allocations are correct. I tracked my food yesterday and learned that a) I am getting over 70% of calories from good fats (need to lower this to 55-60%); b) only 17% of my calories are protein (need to up that to closer to 30%); c) my carbs are fine but a little low at 13% (need to get it closer to 15%). I thought it was different, so there's definitely value in tracking, at least in the beginning.
2. Less than 50 gr carbs per day is undesirable as you'll start losing water and glycogen (this explains my constant thirst!)
3, 80-100 gr a day seems to be a good goal for me; and 150 gr on strong workout days. That makes sense.
4. And it also seems like re-feeds are not as necessary as I thought sometimes. Basic logic:
very low carb + workouts= big refeedvery low carb + no workouts= normal refeedmoderate carb + workouts = no refeedmoderate carb + no workouts= no refeedmore than 1lb loss/week carbs too low or refeeds not big enough. 

I've also done more research on my thirst and it seems like I should try balancing it out by starting out my day with some water + pink salt for electrolytes. Also seems like cutting out fruit (which I normally eat a lot of) contributes to needing more water.

The day ended with a night out & allowed myself two glasses of Pinot. Thought a lot about how it's almost impossible to remain BP or even paleo when going out. I ate some sushi (to be fair, they did have tamari) and ordered a steak salad with guacamole (had to ask them to skip the cheese & the dressing). I'll need to research paleo restaurants in Seattle: there have got to be some!

Bulletproof Day 13: Back on track.

So, the holidays. I did not exactly cave in, as I've mostly stayed Bulletproof on my diet, but I did allow for red wine in rather large quantities. Can't say I am proud, but it could have been much worse.

It was an interesting experience to live through freshly baked croissants and cocktails, and bring my own gluten-free soy sauce to a sushi party. I did it though. If it wasn't for alcohol, I would have been very proud to report my strong will.

I also find it curious to see how people react when I tell them about my new lifestyle. Really, a very wide range of emotion all the way from excitement and desire to know more to "why are you doing this" and "oh, you are one of those terrible animal eating monsters". Fun times.

Anyways. It's Monday. I am back to my Intermittent fasting routine. The Bulletproof coffee is keeping me going okay today.

I had lunch around 12:30 & snacked on raw almonds around 3pm. There was a drink cart at work. I refused. All my colleagues suspect I am pregnant. I'll allow it :)

Eggs & bacon & avocado for dinner. Followed with tea & raw cocoa nibs. It was a good day & I am happy to be back on track.

Bulletproof: Day 14. Yes, it's been two weeks.

Well, you could say that it hasn't really been a straight two weeks, since I did relax over Thanksgiving, but you'd be wrong. Because regardless I am doing much better than I would have been without trying to be Bulletproof:
- I drink a lot less in terms of quantity and frequency
- I am lighter (hopefully, by more than 3 pounds at this point, as my size 27 jeans feel very loose today)
- I think faster and I am much more efficient at work
- I raised my desk at work and am now working standing. My legs are feeling this for sure! [spoiler: do your research on how to do this right before you start]

In terms of today: Intermittent fasting again this morning with BP coffee. Happy to report I am able to tolerate a lot more of butter and Brain Octane (3-4 tbsp butter + 2 tbsp BO) in my coffee. I remain loyal to tea (and no offense to David, his cocoa tea sucks) but have decided I'd be doing coffee Mon-Thur with the Intermittent fast, and then just the regular BP diet Fri-Sun, with Fri and Sat night as my "drinking nights".

I had lunch with a colleague around 12:15, which is a little earlier than I'd like, but oh well. I ate a bit of chicken and salmon (not ideal, but legit protein with oil) and some greens and broccoli. Followed this with a handful of raw almonds and a handful of grapes.

I am realizing that I am struggling with proper carb re-feeds. I tend to do them un-scientifically and mostly when I am feeling that I need a sprinkle of carbs in my system. Hoping to get some ideas from the new BP book on this.

I also continue drinking water in alarming quantities. I don't think I was as thirsty all of the time as I have been since going BP. I must be doing well over a gallon a day. It creates funny situations since I need to run to the restroom so frequently and I think this further solidifies my team's belief that I am pregnant. :)

I am also considering trying BP cocoa instead of BP coffee, per this post. Maybe tomorrow morning.

Dinner was uneventful: green salad with avocado & uncured good bacon, followed by raw cacao nibs and mint tea. Love these! Bulletproof or not, they are definitely staying.

I am also noticing interesting changes in my relationship with food:

- I am hungry by the time I eat because the focus of my life has shifted off of food for the first time in a long time

- I thought I'd miss bread & other silly carbs more than I do. I am almost okay without them

Things I still need to work on:

- getting my runs back in (it's been in the 20s in Seattle; too cold to my taste, but should come back to upper 40s next week)

- it is still not easy not to drink every evening. I think about it, not much but still, but it's also empowering that I don't end up caving in

- listening to & hearing my body. I am so much more in tune with myself!

- I am being honest with myself: I want to stop wanting a drink every night, I want to lose weight, I want to bring back me the way I was 10 years ago: slim, healthy, and excited about everything.

Now, gonna go read the BP book.