The Bulletproof Diet is the place to start if you want to feel amazing and kick more ass. But this approach to nutrition is an abrupt departure from the Standard American Diet (SAD). So, if you’re having a tough time wrapping your head around the diet or just need some simple, step-by-step instructions on how to get started or get back on track, this list is for you.
Get The Complete Bulletproof Diet Roadmap for everything you need to know to get started on one easy-to-read print-out.
You don’t have to complete every step at once, but remember that the more you do, the better you’ll feel and perform.
Your Top 10 Steps To Eating The Bulletproof Diet
(Plus 7 More Advanced Tips Below)
- Replace sugar with healthy fats. Eliminating sugar, including fruit juice, sports drinks, anything with high fructose corn syrup, and even natural sweeteners like honey, will keep your blood sugar and brain function balanced. Replace the calories from sugar with healthy fats from the Bulletproof Diet such as grass-fed butter, ghee, avocado, Brain Octane, Upgraded MCT oil, or coconut oil.
- Eliminate the fake stuff. Avoid all synthetic additives, colors and flavors. This includes aspartame, MSG, dyes and artificial flavors. Keep in mind that even “natural flavors” can fall into the realm of synthetic. Best to stick to real, whole foods whenever possible.
- Remove grains and all traces of gluten. Avoid all grains include wheat, corn, millet, oats, buckwheat, and quinoa. For healthy starches, include sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, beets, pumpkin, butternut squash, cassava, plantain, and taro. Gluten can hide in creamy sauces, salad dressings, or pretty much anything, so read your labels! And avoid resorting to gluten-free junk food, which is just as bad as the original.
- Optimize your oils. Remove all grain-derived oils and vegetable oils such as corn, soy and canola. You can also chuck polyunsaturated oils such as walnut, flax and peanut oil. These are unstable and will turn rancid easily. Replace these with Bulletproof Upgraded MCT Oil, grass-fed butter or ghee, pastured lard, coconut oil, or virgin olive oil.
- Fill up with quality protein. Eat significant amounts of pastured, grass-fed meat such as beef, lamb, and bison, plus wild fish, shellfish, and pastured eggs. Remember, quality matters. Eat grass-fed, pastured meat and eggs and wild-caught seafood when possible.
- Stop eating beans. Legumes can be hard on your gut and contain mineral-leaching plant compounds that steal your nutrients. Eliminate legumes such as peanuts, beans, and lentils. If you must have your beans, soak, sprout (or ferment) and cook them.
- Choose your dairy carefully. Remove all processed, homogenized, pasteurized and non- or low-fat dairy. If raw dairy isn’t available, opt for grass-fed and whole fat dairy products. Full fat, raw, whole dairy from grass-fed cows is well-tolerated by most people.
- Go organic. Reviews of multiple studies show that organic produce provides significantly greater levels of vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus than non-organic varieties of the same foods. These same organic foods are also lower in nitrates and pesticide residues.[1] Don’t listen to the haters. Organic is worth it.
- Cook your food gently or not at all. Cook with water or bone broth at low temperatures to preserve the nutrients in your food. Cook meat slow and low for optimal flavor and digestion. Avoid microwaved and fried food.
- Fruit is dessert now. Limit fruit consumption to 1-2 servings per day. Favor low fructose containing fruits like berries and lemons over watermelon and apples and try to think of fruit as dessert instead of breakfast.
Advanced Bulletproof Tips:
- Don’t beat yourself up. If you eat some processed food, avoid the mentality that you’ve failed. The more you stick to the Bulletproof Diet, well, the more Bulletproof you’ll be. Small variations are fine and do not constitute failure.
- Spice it up. Add spices and fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, and basil to meat, vegetable, and fruit for a punch of flavor and nutrient density.
- Switch to ghee. Butter has very low levels of lactose and casein compared to other dairy products, but ghee has even less. If you experience allergies, acne, or other negative effects after consuming dairy, switch to ghee as your only source of dairy. Add some coconut oil and pastured lard while you’re at it!
- Listen to your body. Try not to count calories in an attempt to lose weight. Eat until you’re just about full and then stop. Remember, protein and fat fill you up quicker and longer than starchy carbs. On a diet like this, you probably won’t care to snack. Be mindful if you’re snacking because you’re hungry or because you’re bored.
- Fat is your friend. Fat intake from sources like grass-fed butter, ghee, Brain Octane, Upgraded MCT oil, or coconut oil will feed your brain and help your body burn fat. General ranges are 50-80 percent fat, 5-30 percent carbohydrate, and 10-30 percent protein.
- Choose your meats wisely. Toxins from added hormones and antibiotics are stored in the animal’s fat cells. If you can’t find grass-fed meat, choose the leanest cuts of grain-fed meat possible. If you can find grass-fed meat, choose the fattiest cuts possible.
- No excuses. It’s time to prioritize your brain and your body. Make the time. Start small and work your way up. You can do this.
Haven’t downloaded The Complete Bulletproof Diet Roadmap yet? Get it here!
And there’s more where this came from. Start strong and bust through plateaus with these additional hacks:
- The Top 3 Mistakes You’re Making on the Bulletproof Diet and How to Fix Them
- Bulletproof Rapid Fat Loss Protocol: How to Lose Fat Way Faster Than You Should
- What Is Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting
- Intermittent Fasting 101
- What Is Bulletproof Protein Fasting & How To Fast Correctly
Tips specifically for women:
- The Bulletproof Diet for Women
- A Bad Combination for Women: Intermittent Fasting & Paleo – Bulletproof
Resources:
[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20359265
