Adding early morning protein
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 07:24AM Over my (many) years of bodybuilding, powerlifting, strength training, CrossFitting and bicycle racing, I've employed various breakfast protocols. Big meal, no meal, protein/fat only, carb-heavy, on and on. For most of my life I've awakened with significant hunger; I've never understood those who said they weren't hungry in the morning.
The last two months, the first few hours of my day has involved no food whatsoever, other than copious amounts of grass-fed butter and coconut oil in several cups of coffee. This has been the influence of Dave Asprey (The Bulletproof Exec) and John Keifer (Dangerously Hardcore). I've felt good, I certainly enjoy my coffee this way and will continue to add good fat to my brew. I don't even enjoy black coffee as much as I used to any more; my taste buds are convinced this is the way to go.
My goal was a bit of bodyfat loss; for a while I lost some, and have kept the four or five pounds off that quickly melted away. But I'm a bit stuck now. Frankly, my diet has wavered. The wonderful food processor my wife gave me for Christmas has caused me to produce big batches of hummus, which I then had to eat! With rice crackers. For one reason or another (cabin fever, a long winter here in Wisconsin), my food intake has been a little erratic.
Listening to Tim Ferris interviews on podcasts (WTF with Marc Maron, episode 355, and two different Joe Rogan Experience podcasts). I highly recommend reading and listening to anything Ferris says or writes, you'll be entertained and always learn something. I'm reminded of his Slow Food Diet as laid out in the Four Hour Body. Ferris feels strongly that 30 or so grams of protein jammed into the body within a half hour of waking up is important. Robb Wolf advocates this practice as well, having spoken of it often on the Paleo Solution podcasts.
Considering my whole life is a long, continuing N=1 experiment, beginning two days ago I'm enjoying two scoops of Gaspari MyoFusion whey protein, in water, within a half hour of getting out of bed. Usually I'll have had one or two cups of coffee, bulletproofed, by then. My hope is I'll gain a bit of muscle, feel good (which I always do, basically, but I'll look for differences or changes) and lose a bit more bodyfat. No other food or drink alterations are in order. Just protein early in the day.
Reader Comments (1)
Tim Ferriss is the man!! I love not only his views/findings via the 4 Hour Body, but random podcasts, findings and other good he's doing for the world! Good call, John!