How do you get going on a morning? We’re not sure about you but we struggle without a strong double espresso first thing. Having a quick drink of the black stuff before a workout can also give you the boost you need to see you through your morning session.
We all know coffee can increase awareness, alertness and give you the kick to just get on with the day. But coffee can go further and give your entire workout a boost. The primary reason for a coffee post pre-workout is that the caffeine encourages your body to burn fat, preserving glycogen stores which in turn offers your muscles more time before they wear out. This leads to a longer and less painful workout.
Now the latest craze is to add a slice of butter to this coffee pre-workout to not only help you get through your workout but encourage your body to shift weight, faster.
Why butter? Well, the addition of butter is supposed to trigger ketosis, which is a metabolic state triggered by your body lacking carbs and, as a result, encourages your body to burn more fat as a result. It also prevents those mid-morning snack cravings, enabling you to see you through to reduce your calorie intake and avoiding those post-gym rewards people think they deserve for getting through a gruelling workout. Simply put, by avoiding cravings, snacking less and eating fewer calories, you’ll lose weight if you continue the process over a few weeks.
coffee can increase awareness, alertness and give you the kick to just get on with the day. But coffee can go further and give your entire workout a boost
Adding butter to coffee originated in the States after Dave Asprey noticed that in Tibet they’d add yak-sourced butter to their tea and realised the fat caused slow-releasing energy to be injected into the body so you could perform for longer.
Of course, you can’t just add any butter to your coffee. That would be too simple. Asprey states you need to use low-toxin coffee beans for your coffee (grind your own) and only unsalted butter, from grass-fed farms. Sadly, although the craze implies you’re just blending butter into your coffee, you also need 1-2 tablespoons of MCT oil, too, in a natural form. Two examples include Brain Octane Oil or XCT Oil, both of which you can buy from your local health food store (or from Bulletproof, of course). We knew this would get complicated.
It doesn’t look or taste as good as it could, especially if you’re used to drinking black coffee
You then need to blend all these components together. This can take longer than you expect and don’t forget you’ll need to clean your blender after every coffee (you have to ask yourself, is the effort worth it).
So, what’s the taste like? We gave it a go at Short Motivation. At first, the taste wasn’t displeasing. If you like a milky coffee (such as a flat white), then you’ll probably be able to tolerate your oil-infused coffee. But, there’s a layer of fat on the surface and we found the entire drink separated quickly. It made very little difference to our workout either, but we did feel a little more full, for longer, post-workout. Didn’t make us want to avoid breakfast though.
The other issue is, if you’re a big coffee drinker, you wouldn’t want to be drinking butter-laden coffee through the day. The Bulletproof website advocates using your coffee as a breakfast replacement, but there’s another argument that the coffee is almost nutrient-free. You’d be better with a post-workout scrambled egg and a sliced tomato over your oil-infused coffee. And if you suffer from bad cholesterol, it’s not recommended at all.
If you want more information on the new craze, head to the Bulletproof website. Alternatively, could just eat wholesome food, avoiding snacking between meals and make sure you get a lot more protein in your diet (which usually helps prevent cravings and builds muscle).
