Tim Ferriss's '4 Horsemen of Fat Loss'

One of the more brilliant minds working on transforming and optimizing the human body and mind is Tim Ferriss. Ferriss a Princeton graduate and author of 3 best selling books all written around the concept of maximizing human potential, has been involved with human optimization since he founded his first company BrainQuicken in 2001. Since that time he has been busy,  aside from his 3 books he's also an angel investor in Lyft, Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, and over 10 other Silicon Valley start ups.


One of our favorite Tim Ferriss idea's is his turbo body fat reducing PAGG stack. Ferriss calls the PAGG supplement stack his "four horsemen of fat loss." the PAGG stack is an acronym for, four different non-stimulant supplements, which are taken in a combination at particular doses and times. The supplements work together with your body to help you achieve maximum results. The stack is a perfect tool to help you blast through body composition plateaus, or when stress or your sweet-tooth gets the best of you.    

The four supplements are:

Policosanol
Alpha-Lipoic Acid
Green Tea Extract 
Garlic

I think right off the bat its important to say that using supplements to change body composition is not really a successful long term strategy, and should be thought of only a temporary way to boost though plateaus or to minimize body changes while on vacation or in a difficult stressful time. Ferriss himself has done a lot of research and testing, developing this stack, and we have seen great results in our personal recommendations of this combination as well, but you should always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement routine.

To be clear, the PAGG stack is not a replacement for exercise or for eating quality food, think of PAGG as the icing on the cake (but avoid eating both icing and cake) of your body transformation. By combining the PAGG stack with your existing healthy real food meals and exercise program you may really begin to see incredible results.

How does it work?

Each ingredient has a particular purpose, here is a short breakout:

The PAGG protocol that Ferriss lays out is listed below:

P olicosanol: 20–25 mg - Has helped Tim Ferriss and a lot of his ‘guinea pigs’ with extra fat loss, while taking the AGG combination, so it is included.

A lpha-lipoic acid: 100–300 mg - Alpha-lipoic acid helps in a few ways, but the biggest reason it is included is that it pulls more of the carbohydrate energy from what we eat, and delivers it to muscles and liver.  Since these carbohydrates are being used for energy they are not sent to increase the size of fat cells.


G reen tea flavanols (With at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg - Green Tea Flavanols have been shown in humans to inhibit the storage of carbohydrates in fat cells, much like Alpha-lipoic acid, as well as encouraging fat cell death (ie fat cells eliminating themselves because they are not needed). This second point is particular great, as fat cells normally tend to shrink and expand, not die off, which is why many people gain weight easily after losing it.

G arlic extract: 200-650 mg - Garlic extract in an aged form, with high Allicin content, appears to stop or at least make fat regain more difficult, which is very helpful to those changing their body composition.

These are supposed to be taken:
Prior to breakfast: AGG
Prior to lunch: AGG
Prior to dinner: AGG
Prior to bed PAG (omit the green tea)

Since policosanol isn't commonly found in vitamin stores, if you are looking for an easy way to get these supplements we found them all on amazon and grouped them together for you here. We will also be offering a PAGG stack in the studio, and our own derivative stack the PAGGG, which adds ginger to the stack!

Tim Ferriss's PAGG Warning

Ensure adequate consumption of B-complex vitamins while using PAGG and consult your doctor before use if you have a medical condition (e.g., hypertension, hypoglycemia, diabetes) or are taking any medications. In particular, blood-thinning medications (e.g., warfarin, aspirin, etc.), thyroid medications, or anti-anxiety drugs like clozapine. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not use PAGG.