Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Skipping Breakfast a Big No-No for Sustainable Weight Loss
- Healthy Fats Added to Coffee Do Not Make it Breakfast!
- Skipping Breakfast in favor of Bulletproof Coffee
- Serotonin Deficiency Harms Sleep Quality
- Must Have Your BulletProof Coffee?
- BulletProof Coffee Already Wrecked Your Sleep?
- Once You’ve Got Your Serotonin Deficiency Under Control, Now What?
- References and More Information
Bulletproof coffee has become quite the fad with fans touting its use as a way to lose weight, shrink that spare tire, and have more energy. The basic recipe calls for 2 cups of coffee, a minimum of 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter, and 1-2 tablespoons MCT oil (some people substitute virgin coconut oil) all mixed together in a blender.
This coffee drink is promoted as a replacement for breakfast by Dave Asprey of the Bulletproof Executive as a way to feel “lean, focused and energized” and helps you “transform your diet without chewing on sticks of butter”.
While I have no doubt that this choice of morning beverage will indeed produce a high level of focus and intensity due to the quick injection of caffeine and medium-chain triglycerides (used by the body for energy rather than fat storage) to the bloodstream, any weight loss benefits to a bulletproof coffee habit over the long term are completely ludicrous.
At the very least, bulletproof coffee certainly won’t be helping you lose weight and keep it off. Yes, it’s just another yo-yo scenario and here’s why.
Skipping Breakfast a Big No-No for Sustainable Weight Loss
According to Julia Ross, bestselling author of The Diet Cure, skipping breakfast and replacing it with coffee or a drink like bulletproof coffee is a big no-no and not just because it increases your chances of overeating starches and sugars later in the day.
Skipping a nutritious morning meal particularly one with a quality source of protein does a number on your body’s ability to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin which is derived from the amino acid tryptophan.
Tryptophan, like all the amino acids, is contained in protein. Meat is the best source of tryptophan but only from animals roaming on pasture.
Healthy Fats Added to Coffee Do Not Make it Breakfast!
Adding a bunch of healthy fats to coffee in no way redeems the situation and bulletproof coffee does not qualify as a meal replacement!
Protein (food) —–> Tryptophan (amino acid) —–> Serotonin (neurotransmitter) —–> Melatonin (hormone for restful sleep)
Serotonin is what helps you feel happy, calm, and self-confident even in the face of stress. Moreover, ample serotonin is important for a restful night’s sleep as the body converts serotonin into melatonin at dusk.
Inadequate melatonin results in insomnia problems.
What about adding collagen, gelatin or protein powder to bulletproof coffee? Does this make it better?
Please note that adding collagen hydrolysate or gelatin to your bulletproof coffee does not solve the problem as these protein sources are completely devoid of tryptophan-containing primarily the amino acids glycine and proline in large amounts.
Protein powder would be the worst choice, however, as all brands are highly processed (don’t be fooled!) with the delicate protein molecules denatured even if processed at low temperatures due to the powdering process.
Skipping Breakfast in favor of Bulletproof Coffee
Skipping breakfast in the morning short circuits the body’s ability to produce adequate serotonin throughout the day. While eating protein later in the day definitely helps, because none was consumed at breakfast, your body ends up playing serotonin catch up all day every day.
Ms. Ross says that we all need about 20-30 grams of protein 3 times per day to fulfill the body’s requirement for amino acids in order to produce adequate neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Drinking coffee even if it’s bulletproof coffee first thing in the morning instead of breakfast has the double whammy effect of suppressing appetite as well. It’s the caffeine that reduces appetite so not only aren’t you getting the protein you need in the morning, but you likely won’t eat enough throughout the rest of the day either which further impacts serotonin and melatonin production in a negative way.
What good is feeling “energized and focused” from bulletproof coffee during the day if it also leaves you irritable, stressed, emotionally unstable and unable to get a quality night’s sleep when you get home?
Serotonin Deficiency Harms Sleep Quality
The research is ominous regarding serotonin deficiency causing insufficient melatonin production with the resulting effect of unwanted weight gain – even obesity over the long term.
According to Dr. Mercola, “it’s also well proven that lack of sleep is linked to obesity, while if you’re not getting enough sleep, there’s a good chance your melatonin production is not up to par either. The disturbance to your melatonin levels caused by lack of sleep may be one more reason why it leads to weight gain, and this could have far-reaching impacts on your health.”
In addition, Science Daily reported that scientists found that proper melatonin levels stimulate the production of beige fat, a heat-generating type of fat (also known as “good” or “thinning” fat) that helps your body to burn calories rather than store them.
Must Have Your BulletProof Coffee?
Long story short, if you must drink bulletproof coffee, at the very least, wait until after a protein-rich breakfast to do it!
This way, the impact on your serotonin and melatonin levels will not be as severe as drinking it as a replacement for breakfast with its appetite-suppressing effects affecting the rest of the day’s protein consumption as well.
You may find that this one simple change alone will leave you feeling happier, more emotionally flexible, less stressed, and with increased ability to tackle whatever challenges you face each day with improved self-confidence.
BulletProof Coffee Already Wrecked Your Sleep?
If you suspect that your serotonin levels are in the tank and you need neurotransmitter supplementation to help you with worry, anxiety, OCD thoughts or actions, depression, panic attacks, and/or chronic insomnia, Julia Ross recommends this dosage with the amino acid tryptophan:
- 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP – sources): 50 mg in the mid-afternoon and before bedtime.
OR
- L-tryptophan (sources): 500 mg in the mid-afternoon and again before bed especially if insomnia is a problem.
Note that 5-HTP is cheaper than L-tryptophan but some people get nausea from it, so switch to L-tryptophan if 5-HTP doesn’t work for you.
Raise the dosage as needed to eliminate low serotonin symptoms.
Once You’ve Got Your Serotonin Deficiency Under Control, Now What?
Once you’ve started eating breakfast again and eliminated or at least delayed your cup of bulletproof coffee until after you eat in the morning, you might perhaps feel motivated to try and wean yourself off coffee completely.
According to Julia Ross:
People who crave chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and even exercise are typically low in the neurotransmitter endorphin.
Using supplementation of the amino acids that are precursors to endorphin may really help in trying to shake the bulletproof coffee habit.
- Amino acid d-phenylalanine (DPA): 500 mg, 2-4X/day (sources). Use DPA if you are addicted to coffee and also an anxious person.
OR
- Amino acid d-phenylalanine (DPA) bound to the amino acid I-phenylalanine (LPA) – known in combination as DLPA: 500 mg, 2-3X/day (sources). Use DLPA if you crave the energizing effects of coffee and are not typically an anxious person.
Do you think a deficiency of neurotransmitters might be the reason some folks love their bulletproof coffee so much?
References and More Information
Why You Need to Change WHEN You Drink Coffee
Melatonin Regulates our Mood, Weight, Reproduction and May Fight Cancer
BC Recipe
Melatonin helps control weight gain
Why You Need to Change WHEN You Drink Coffee
Healthy Coffee Substitutes
Coconut Oil for Weight Loss
Coconut Oil Capsules: As Beneficial as Straight Up?
The Truth About Your Morning Coffee Fix
When I was my thinnest and diabetes free I had a great weight and not a hint of diabetes. I never ate breakfast, just a cup of coffee before heading off to work. Many years later after developing diabetes2 I have come to KNOW that LCHF will decrease your blood sugar and A1C, not a bad trade off for all those toxic carb touted by doctors and the ADA. Bulletproof coffee fits in beautifully with LCHF. Give me my coffee!
thank you for the article
Do you understand intermittent fasting?
This article is a disaster loaded with poor understanding of anything diet related. Breakfast is a wasted meal. It’s unnecessary and damaging to your ability to lose and keep weight off. People regain weight because they reintroduce fructose and gluten to their diets, not because they consume bulletproof coffee. I don’t drink coffee but I make a cafe in free variant of BPC in the morning and it definitely does work. It’s worked for several years now. No yoyo effect…
Sarah, I have been following you for years and appreciate your desire to help educate people about their health, and help them take responsibility for it. It’s actually a big undertaking and I admire you for it! As for BP coffee, I see where you are coming from with bringing up these potential downfalls of BP coffee. However, it stems from a shallow understanding of the principles and philosophies that go along with the “bulletproof diet.” Dave does far from recommend anyone to consume BP coffee as a meal replacement on a regular basis, and anyone who even slightly digs into the research and recommendations from Dave Asprey would know that and might appreciate that he encourages and guides people to optimize every single aspects of one’s life (including sleep). I encourage you to start with reading his book, The Bulletproof Diet, and then give what criticism you might be able to find.
Shallow understanding? I don’t think so. I’ve personally witnessed over a dozen women drink bulletproof coffee, expound its benefits, experience weight loss and increased energy (who wouldn’t from all that caffeine?), only to discover one or more years down the road that it doesn’t work and they have gained all the weight back and more. What’s worse, they discovered their sleep is wrecked, they have perimenospausal symptoms from hell and the hormone problems created are quite difficult to recify. There are no double blind, placebo controlled studies on people who have consumed bulletproof coffee for a number of years … there is no “science” to back up this fad diet. Proceed with it at your own risk!
If you’re not eating breakfast and some even not eating lunch, how are you getting any balance in your diet? I like bpc with my breakfast and need the extra fat in my diet but I still eat. Not eating for that long changes your metabolism over time doesn’t it? I mean why not have some fruit, an egg or even a green smoothie first? If you choose your food carefully you won’t gain weight from eating- this whole idea seems so backwards to me!
I think enough personal experiences written above prove that BPC is actually really helpful and beneficial for many people. I personally cannot drink coffee period. If I do, I would never sleep. So BPC it is not an option for me. However, I am actually considering it for my husband who is carbs dependent. I actually believe it will help him a lot. He already drinks a ton of coffee every morning.
I do not think BPC is good for everyone, but it seems to be really great for many people. Many “experts” disagree om almost all things diet related and I am convinced that nothing works best for everyone. In my personal experience, I need a radical different diet from what my husband needs. We have different predispositions and genetic propensities for various conditions and diseases.
Watch out for the boomerang effect of bulletproof coffee … it may work short term but the negative effects on your sleep (even if you think you are sleeping ok, it is most likely that your deep sleep/ overall sleep quality has been reduced) will affect hormone balance and eventually cause weight gain.
So much hate here. BPC is literally the best thing that’s every happened for me diet/supplement wise. I’ve tried many things and this is among the few that has made the cut.
I have the Mood Cure. Dr. Ross (NOT Ms. Ross) doesn’t address why you need aminos in the first place, which few alternative doctors do. Dr. Kharrazian answers this question in “Why is My Brain Not Working.”
Just because you like/hate a “religion” doesn’t mean it is right/wrong for someone else.
Are you saying there is a difference between bullet proof brand coffee and any other coffee. ? Or should your article say “2 cups of coffee, a minimum of 2 tablespoons grassfed butter, and 1-2 tablespoons MCT oil shoots you in the foot” not sure it is necessary to attack a particular brand.
I don’t agree with bulletproof coffee, but I believe in having a black coffee for breakfast to release alpha 2 receptors and to give a much needed energy boost. I do not, however, believe that you should “eat” when you wake up. That is awful advice and the whole “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is rubbish. We was never designed to wake up and eat food… our ancestors wouldn’t wake up with a bowl of cereal next to them. We would have to go out and hunt for some food before we could eat, even if that just meant walking around searching for berries or starchy carbs.
If we had any left over food, trying to store it for breakfast – we would’ve increased the chances of attracting predators or other tribes. Our insulin levels aren’t stable in the morning either.
Sometimes people with a decent base of health knowledge believe that they know EVERYTHING. The important thing is to keep learning and adapting your diet until you get it right for yourself. You have things to learn too, stop acting like a higher power with your “my way or the highway” attitude.
Hi Sarah, I’ve been drinking BP coffee since 2011 – about 5 years now. I have no trouble sleeping 8-9 happy hours a night and have completely gotten rid of carb cravings. Horrible evening carb cravings were the bane of my adult life. And, I have eaten farm to table for 25 years. I am 63, hike California hills midday for 2 hours with my dogs, lift weights, and work physically and mentally every waking hour, with happiness and health.
My husband also drinks BP coffee and we both follow a Weston Price style diet which I tailor to our different needs. He makes a big breakfast for his coworkers: uncured bacon, pastured eggs and lots of cooked veggies. I make bone broth and stock soups, lots of grass fed and wild animal meats, wild caught fish, lots and lots of veggies and lots of good fats. Yams and squash. My husband eats cheese, but I don’t. And neither of us eats gluten. This has worked really well for us. Bulletproof coffee has actually had the opposite effect that your post predicts – my energy is now really even throughout the day. Oh – and I look pretty good for my age. My skin is really tight, clear and radiant, and I have very few lines, even with daily hikes in the LA sun. (I’ve made my skin care products for about 8 years – from raw organic shea butter and coconut oil). We modify our diets to genetic info too. I have one or two cups of BP coffee in the morning, and so does my husband. For 5 years and looking forward to many more.
Glad it’s working for you. I daresay that your experience would be the rare exception as BP is a recipe for screwed up hormones over the long haul especially once a woman gets to her menopausal years.
I have been drinking bulletproof coffee for several years, I love it, my family loves it, my mom who is in her 60’s, my sisters, everyone is very healthy. Bullletproof Coffee is a way to mimic fasting without the damaging effects to your hormones and your metabolism. BUlletproof coffee dramatically lowers cravings, just about every person I know that drinks bulletproof coffee says it kills their cravings. The only time I make suer to eat breakfast with my coffee is if I plan on working out in the morning fairly hard, Then I feel it is important to get some calories and protein in before you tear down your body. The benefits of Bulletproof coffee far outweigh the benefits that getting protein in the morning give you. It is a great form of fat and it kills cravings while feeding your brain high octane fuel.