Biohack Ketosis with Almond Cream
Look around and the successful Vegans are equivalent to BMI 18.5~19.9 at most (ladies and gents). So what are the vegetarians doing wrong or differently that causes the puffy (often water retentive state of body chemistry)? It's their oils and fats intake.
This beverage, famous for its high caloric count, has amazing results for weight-loss that many lean, good-looking people have trusted for the last ten years or so. The magic state of coffee and fat (originating from Nepal as a mountain for hikers that must travel miles to find food and to trade) was brought to the West by travelers who have tried this thick yak-milk morning beverage. As a replacement to what we might eat in the morning, i.e. cereal, these mountain tribesmen would drink this thickened morning coffee packed with the fats to maintain body heat and nourishment including the much needed oils for a sturdy resilient dermal layer for the often harsher, windy mountain terrains. The popular version that we have learned to consume is often a coffee base beverage mixed with butter and oil -- coconut is often favored in this choice of cafe, barrister served up version.
For us, this version tastes closer to what we are used to [and even then, it took Starbucks over a decade of coffee-evangelism to get us to drink something stronger than drip coffee (Schultz, 1999)]. What's nice about this drink is that its still resilient for urban-dwellers since the heavy-coffee drink is a cause for a fat-repellent day that is so effective at de-complicating any relationships with carbohydrates. And here's why:
"For good health, the type of fat people eat is far more important that the amount, and there’s some evidence that the same may be true for weight control. (6–9) In the Nurses’ Health Study, for example, which followed 42,000 middle-age and older women for eight years, increased consumption of unhealthy fats-trans fats, especially, but also saturated fats-was linked to weight gain, but increased consumption of healthy fats-monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat-was not (6)," according to a report shared by Harvard School of Public Health for obesity prevention.
More importantly, "Higher protein diets seem to have some advantages for weight loss, though more so in short-term trials; in longer term studies, high-protein diets seem to perform equally well as other types of diets... Protein seems to help people hang on to lean muscle during weight loss, and this, too, can help boost the energy-burned side of the energy balance equation.(11)... The scientific term for this is that they have a high glycemic index and glycemic load. Such foods cause fast and furious increases in blood sugar and insulin that, in the short term, can cause hunger to spike and can lead to overeating-and over the long term, increase the risk of weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. (17–19)."
Remembering that what we do short-term and long-term can have different effects...
Let's see what's in the regular cup of Bulletproof and how we can utilize the initial jump start (from the increased fat-burning or at the very least fat-suppression impact) through a vegan version:
The beverage in the video is known to be about 460 calories (hot dog calories -- or drinking a single-patty hamburger). If the idea is to signal our bodies to establish a different relationship with the foods we eat throughout the day, then wouldn't it be great for us to also look into how our maintenance should look like so that we are conquering long-term fat-burning state with a 100 calorie drink-fat composite instead of starting at 460 calories just so that our body begins to adapt to the ingredients -- and we're not left having to one-up the diet with another killer drink six months later.
And, here's how we're going to make out version using all vegan products:
Let's call it Almond Cream, for now, and here's why:
- Almonds are proteins. It's free of any traces of animal and is wholesome - and delicious! - and as long as you're not nut allergic, it really won't kill you. The fatty contents of Almond Cream is readily available through a store-bought Almond Milk unsweetened version (you'll find a shocking 25 to 80 calorie per serving size easily off the shelf).
- Avocado (half is about 160 calories).
- Coconut Oil/Butter or Avocado Butter for nutritional purposed (each tablespoon is a good 30-70 calories brand dependent). Coconut Oil will give you the bulletproof MCT delivery that is expected of this drink, but Coconut Butter will give you the great a mixed oil based that sneaks in an additional supplement, isoflavin, that is commonly found in soy rich food. Isoflavin is a super-skin (anti-aging) and hormone balancing food. While coconut butter and oil will help you develop heart healthy nutritients. Flax seed oil is great for those looking for a diet that is heart healthy.
- A nutritional powder or energy developer, e.g. green tea powder, coffee powder, burdock powder, a vegan whey with amino acids.
- If you care about the froth in your bulletproof coffee, you'll need a blender (or a mixing tumbler) and a solid oil -- you can replace or add avocado for the thicker shake like consistency.
Finally, let's aim to deliver this drink at 100-calorie for a pre-meal fat-bust energy drinkable snack.
In order for us to keep the very little bit of oils the Almond Cream Bulletproof, we need put all the added oils to work in order for the beverage to activate as a repellent of hypoglycemic disorder (or pre-diabetes symptoms). This in turn will help vegetarians who love to fill up on carbohydrates and to make the most of their meat replacements that are starch-based. [This set of advice is also great for those with GI/digestion issues.]
To the blender add:
- Half a cup of almond milk (20 calories)
- Half an avocado (160 calories), blend well (feel free to add crushed/cubed ice)
- One tablespoon of energy developer
- Your oils: MCT, vegan butter, flax seed
Blend well, don't spike it with sugar (but if you absolutely must try stevia). This will give you a 200-calorie drink that will deliver skin-refreshing nutrition, prep your energy level for the day, and coat your stomach/GI well with fat-combating vegan oils.
Contrary to what most people think, eating a steak is not going to put you to sleep, but try a pie and you'll be setting that alarm and snooze button for any post-lunch meetings.
Oils (especially a high amount) will deter your body from actually absorbing fat and food nutrients. Your body is satiated and your mind is conditioned to think it is full. That in turns drives away any sense of deprivation that is often the reason why dieters feel hungrier than non-dieters. Food deprivation signals the cortisol levels that generates a stress-alert/reactor that can give you adverse effects and polarity from your ultimate goal. So drink that fatty drink. Eat that salad. Enjoy a sandwich or hamburger patter here and there. Keep to your regular routine of 30-minutes HIIT or 60-minute low-intensity walk in the park and watch those extra layers melt away for a good 6-8 weeks.
When dieting, remember to take breaks. Let your body intentionally gain 1-2 pounds through diet-holiday and I-deserve-it meals (rare diet-breaks). But don't go on prolonged binge sabbaticals because those aftermath and effects are extremely difficult to eradicate. When our break is over, go back in with a second wind refreshed from the overindulgent sundaes, bags of chips, and pizzas that you thought would hide in the ends of your hair and not your waist.
Love yourself, be human. Enjoy the diet. Enjoy picking yourself up from the tricking of yourself to gain a pound here and there, just so that you can go in and finish the overhaul until your BMI is a steady and stable 18.5-19.9.
A word about maintenance, try a pre-bulletproof drink that will take away all your nutritional demands of the day. A green juice powder base mixed with water or matcha is a great caffeine pick me up first thing when you wake up. And chase the 40-calorie count green water/juice that packs about gives 18 multi-vitamin and complete nutrition from superfoods with active probiotics for a whole day with your very own vegan bulletproof drink.
