I eat butter for breakfast (with my coffee)

Okay, that’s not entirely true.

The truth is, I put grass-fed butter in my coffee and DRINK it. Every day. I look forward to it. I crave it. It’s delicious and nutritious. It gives me energy. It makes me feel full. So full in fact, I don’t have to eat anything else – for hours.

Yes. I started drinking butter. Then, I stopped eating. It sounds crazy. I know this. But, before you rush out to buy some butter of your own, or take to the comments to ridicule my words, hear me out. There are a few incredibly important bits of information you MUST understand.

Diets suck

I don’t diet. I eat real foods, most of the time. Until I don’t. Then I eat as much as I can of whatever I want. Some call it binging. I refer to it as Fat Day. It’s more fun that way.

A diet would have me following some strict standard for what’s healthy and what isn’t. I might have to count calories. It’s possible I would have to purchase pre-made meals. Maybe there are special shakes or supplements. I’d need to eliminate entire food groups from my memory and palate. Basically, if I were to go on a diet, I’d be a willful participant in my own brainwashing.

If it sounds too good to be true…

I’m not sure how you feel about being manipulated, but I’m kind of against the idea. Of course, doing nothing is not the solution either. You’ll only end up fat and boring. The solution for this, and every situation, is equal parts action and personal responsibility.

Ask yourself these 3 questions:

• What do you want? – Know thyself. Goals. Healthy, lose weight, new job, travel the world.

• How can you get it? – Knowledge is power. Educate yourself. Resources, mentors, information, courses, books, etc.

• Are you willing to work at it? – do the work or don’t. That’s on you.

Sticking with this health and diet topic, the overarching principle is this – you can’t subscribe to any one way of thinking, eating or acting. If you were to do this, you’d be admitting that there’s one solution. There’s only one way to eat. There’s one group or guru that knows how to do it. You have to treat their word like gold. They are your health and fitness God. They can save you. Follow them to the land of six pack abs and chiseled physiques.

It IS too good to be true

I hope I don’t have to explain how ridiculous that sounds.

No one. Hear me when I tell you. NO ONE! Cares if you’re healthy. General Mills puts heart healthy checks on the cereal box for the same reason Whole Foods exists, so you buy stuff from them. They are a business. You are a human being. They want to make money. You want to live a long life. They care about the former, not the latter.

A simple solution  

At this point you might be thinking, whoa is me! Or, I want to hear more about the butter coffee.

Okay. Alright. Give me a second here. I’ll get to them. They both happen to be part of YOUR simple solution. The one that will help make you fit and happy forever.

I’m different. Yes, because I put butter in my coffee. But, in this instance I’m referring to the fact that I’m not trying to sell you a solution. I’m not a proponent for any one type of diet or exercise plan. I’m not into handing out eating or exercise prescriptions with promises attached. What works for you is different than what works for me. The same can be said of every other person in the world. I know this. You know this.

That’s why I don’t focus on the outcome. The solution is not for sale. It must be earned. You have to work for it.

It’s all about the process. That’s what really matters. What you choose to do or try or learn  in pursuit of your goal. In this case it’s health and fitness. But, it applies to everything.

Process > Outcome

That’s your simple solution. Focus on the process. I do. That’s what I am sharing, not selling. If you do that, you can be fit and happy forever.

The outcome is the big, complicated, scary end result. The one you want, but you’re not sure how to get. When you focus on the outcome, two things happen:

1.) You never start (fat)

2.) You look for the quick fix, pay anything for it, and fail (dieting)

Now, if you were to focusing on the process, everything would be different.

1.) You’d answer the three questions I posed earlier (what do you want, get it, work at it)

2.) You’d get to work putting every resource to the test in pursuit of your personal goals.

The Process – Instead of focusing on overnight success, you commit to a long term course of action. You’d refine your habits based on trial and error. You’d seek out new and better information. You’d keep learning. Keep growing. Keep improving. When something stopped working, you’d know. You’d fix it. Because you knew you could. That there’s not ONE answer, but a lot of different pieces that fit into your process. The one that will make you fit and happy, forever.

 

My bread and butter (minus the bread, plus some coffee)

So this post was a very long winded way of me telling you I don’t want you to drink butter coffee just because I do. And, I don’t have any monetary interest in telling you about butter coffee.

I told you because I thought you should know it’s out there. It’s a resource. It’s an option.

The trick is being open minded enough to know there are options out there, but realistic enough to know that no one option will deliver your desired outcome. And none of them will work unless and until you do.

That’s your process. That’s the secret. The secret for being fit and happy forever.

I’ll drink to that

And I do, every morning.

8-ish oz of coffee. Nothing special. Just some organic, free trade stuff.

3 Tbsp of unsalted, grass-fed butter.

1 Tbsp of NOW MCT oil

Blend in the Magic Bullet. Enjoy the frothy goodness. (Thanks to bulletproof executive for this amazing recipe)

It’s all part of a little diet and nutrition protocol started by the bullet prof executive and I’ve been practicing it for the better part of a year. The premise is this – eat real food, lots of healthy fats, lean protein and drink butter coffee.

I also employ a tactic known as intermittent fasting. Basically, you eat, then stop, then eat again. I fast from 8pm until 2pm the next day. On days I exercise, I do so around 1pm and break my fast with a post-workout meal at 2pm.

Why you ask? Simple. I asked myself the three questions I asked you earlier. Starting with, “what do I want to do?” I want to read and write a lot more. I work best in the early morning hours. But, meal prep and eating disrupt my flow. How can I avoid that?

In an attempt to answer the second question, “how can I get it?” I started compiling resources. I turned up studies and websites about fasting, then butter coffee. I reached out to people who had done it. Started incorporating it into my day. Experimented until I got it right.

It took some time to get right. It’s still a work in progress. It always will be. But I’m willing to work at it. Which answers the third question. (how are you willing to work?)

Now I’m crazy efficient, productive and energized. My schedule is optimized to work for me. It’s aligned with my goals. When it goes wrong, I figure out why and fix it. If I have to change it, I will. I’m constantly looking for ways to improve it.

Will this recipe or schedule work for you? I have no clue. But, your process will work for you. As soon as you make one. Go make one!

Do you still have questions about butter coffee and intermittent fasting? Would you like to hear more about them? Let me know in the comments. Maybe I’ll write a post about them in the future.