Week 10 Progress, PAGG Stack, Supplements

Today marks week 10 of my Four Hour Body Slow Carb Diet experiment. If you've read my previous posts you'll already know that I have been sticking to the Slow Carb diet since June, and have been doing the exercise routine in the "Perfect Posterior" 3 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as suggested by Tim Ferris after the 3rd week of starting the diet. So it has officially been 7 weeks on the exercise routine. I have also now started my PAGG stack supplementation as of August 8th, 2011 along with a Calcium & Magnesium pill at bedtime, and a B Complex Vitamin at 4PM daily along with the PAGG, also suggested by the author.

Implementing the 3 components separately one at a time I believe has given me accurate data on how each one is performing for me. I have been keeping a detailed meal diary (with photos) of every meal taken in the last 10 weeks, as well as weight, bodyfat, bodymass, and BMI recording. This in conjunction with the circumference US Navy Bodyfat measurement test once a week, I have quite a bit of interesting data on how I have been doing following the Rapid Fat Loss stream of the book.

Before I post my results so far, I have to note which exact supplements I am now taking. Remember I went through weeks 1 through 9 without PAGG, just doing the diet and exercise, with only a Multi Vitamin & Calcium/Magnesium Pill taken 3 times a week to fill any missing gaps from the new diet. I will write about the details on my personal PAGG stack later on.

(NOTE: I have zero affiliation with any of the supplement companies I am using, there is NO hidden agenda whatsoever I want to make that perfectly clear as many people out there are pushing PAGG for commissions which is fine business practice, but leads to very BIASED opinions if your reviewing them!)

Ok here are my results thus far.

Week 10 results:
Weight Loss: 16.8lbs
Inches off Waist: 3
Inches off Hip: 2.0
Inches off Neck: 0.2
TOTAL BODYFAT Lost: 5%
(using the circumference US NAVY Method)

As you can see from the charts above, other then a few spikes, there has been significant loss of total weight and overall BMI. The Body Mass measurements have been erratic however and I take that from the gain/loss of water within my body as well as the nature of the measurements. I am sure if I were to get real body mass tests I would see the same gradual mass gains. How much muscle gain however will only be measured by my progress photos which I will be posting at the end of this experiment. I have taken photos of myself before and at 1 month intervals which I will compile into one photo to show visual example of my progress. I have to admit that I am not very impressed with the muscle gains thus far, and plan to implement some P90X exercise programs into the Four Hour Body workout to create a hybrid of sorts. I however won't be doing that until I finish this experiment fully to show true data.

Next post will be in detail on my PAGG stack! Along with exact costs I accrued and more real-time data so I can analyze the results of taking PAGG as the final step to this personal experiment! I have high hopes for PAGG as a natural supplement plan to take, lets hope the extra investment is worth it!

For now here is a picture showing exactly what products I chose, and the costs.

As you can see other than the Garlic, my PAGG stack is exactly what Tim Ferriss recommends and links to in his book. I have noticed he sometimes changes the links to different products as they become unavailable but as of right now I am accurately taking the Policosanol, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Green Tea extract according to Tim. My only change was to the Garlic as the quantity I wanted was to match closest to 1 month supply. As most people who are going to try PAGG for the first time as a test will only want to try it for 1 month as it is expensive. (NOTE: Don't buy the Garlic-Gold product that I used, it has a very strong garlic odor and I highly recommend trying a different product. Stick to what Tim Ferriss links to at fourhourbody.com/garlic if you want to try a safe odor-less garlic)

It's only been less than 2 weeks since starting PAGG, so I will be collecting more data, sticking to the diet and exercise routines within the book as usual, so I can write a more complete review on PAGG and how all 3 aspects worked for me, diet/exercise/supplements.

Week 7, Day 3 - Adjustments & Binging

Short post, it's Saturday night, usually I would be wolfing down a Whopper Poutine Combo or a Pizza /w a Coke right now, but I have decided to delay my binge day from Saturday to Sunday as I have a big BBQ tomorrow and I'd like to binge like there's no tomorrow on Burgers & Dogs /w Ice cold beer! Can't wait. I have to say I am almost 2 months into this project and I am still loving it! I inputted the data I have been recording on my weight and made a chart so track my progress, I will be updating this chart as I go along mostly for myself as an encouragement. Its amazing how working out so little (about 15mins 3 times a week) and eating a healthy diet can make such consistent progress, even with my crazy binge eating once a week.

Here are my results (after 7 weeks & 3 days on slow-carb):
Weight Loss: 14.4lbs
Inches off Waist: 2.5
Inches off Hip: 2.0
Inches off Neck: 0.2
TOTAL BODYFAT Lost: 4%
(using the circumference US NAVY Method) 

*Note the spike in weight in the above chart is during a week I got shell fish poisoning, I was sick an entire day from having some shrimp in Dim Sum on one of my binge days. So I was not able to binge or eat regularly that day. Its very cool to have all this recorded data on my eating habits so I can look back on it like a black box and see what was going on exactly according to the graph. I guess food poisoning + weight loss doesn't work!


Not taking into account the added muscle I have been getting from the workouts, just these numbers alone are looking very decent. Not as fast as P90X or other intense interval training programs, but those programs were just not sustainable for me. I had no life other then work and exercise when I was on those types of programs. This slow-carb life is most definitely the easiest weight loss system I have done so far. And I have tried my share of programs trust me!

Anyway here is what I usually eat on my binge days:
Wake Up: Protein Shake
Breakfast: Eggs, Beans, Vegetables (Slow-Carb)
Lunch: Burger King Whopper Poutine Combo or equivilant fatty fast food combo
Dinner: Pizza, or Chinese food, always something I saw during the week that I wanted but couldn't have. (I believe this is a great psychological tool that helps you never to break the diet during the week)
Snacks throughout the day: A bag of chips, Reese's peanut butter cups, Coke, and some sort of pastry.

I can say I always end up gaining a couple pounds after a day of eating like this. And it feels great and the next day I don't feel the need to eat any junk food for another week as I always get a full binge day worth of goodies. 24-48 hours after my binge days all the extra weight is gone after being back on the slow-carb diet FYI.

If I had one word of advice for the binge day on the slow-carb diet. Have fun with it! Research a few really popular tasty (and fatty) restaurants or burger joints near you, grab a friend or two and have a little junk food quest that day. Ever wondered who makes the best burger in your neighbourhood? Go find out! Eat the stuff you love with zero guilt, eat all the things you've watched people eat during your non-binge days and enjoy. I put a lot of research and thought into my binge days sometimes, and make a whole day of it trying out new foods and restaurants I would normally never try.

Can you guess I'm very excited to grab some sun, some beers, and BBQ with my buddies tomorrow. It's gonna be a good day to binge. As part of my diet!

Week 6: Results, PAGG stack, Plateau, New Toys!

So it has been 6 weeks since starting the Slow-Carb diet, and following the Rapid Fat Loss stream of the "4 Hour Body" book by Tim Ferriss. So far I am sticking to the diet, eating Slow-Carb (see previous posts on details), working out according to some of Tim's suggestions.

Here is what I have been doing in a nutshell:
Food: Slow Carb Diet, been sticking to it very closely to the book and never breaking so far.
Workout(incorporated in 3rd week): every Mon/Weds/Fri, Kettlebell swing, Cat Vomit, Myotatic Crunch.
NO SUPPLEMENTS except for Optimum Nutrition Protein Shakes (one in the morning, one after workout), a Multi Vitamin 3-4 times a week, a Calcium & Magnesium pill at night. (suggested by Tim to compensate for the Slow-Carb diet gaps as well as Magnesium promotes good sleep apparently)

Here are my results (after 6 weeks on slow-carb):
Weight Loss: 11.2lbs
Inches off Waist: 2
Inches off Hip: 1.7
Inches off Neck: 0.2
TOTAL BODYFAT Lost: 4%
(using the circumference US NAVY Method)

Considering I eat massive amounts of food and until I'm full. (no starvation tactics, no calorie counting), and only workout less than an hour per week (each workout takes me about 15mins). I am extremely happy with the results so far. I am always looking forward to eating all sorts of junk food on my Saturday 'binge day'. Last week I took a trek all the way to the only real stand alone Krispy Kreme in the city (40min drive) just to grab a box of fresh and hot donuts. Like I said, I take my binge days and use them to the fullest!

Now in order to truly say this is an experiment based of the Four Hour Body book, I have to start implementing more of the key aspects Tim talks about in the Rapid Fat Loss stream. First things first, PAGG, I have talked about this in a previous post. This supplement combination Tim suggests to take on a daily basis is a key to Rapid Fat Loss....according to the author. So in keeping inline with this project I just ordered a 1 month supply of the PAGG stack from Bodybuilding.com. I chose the recommended products suggested in the book except for the Policosanol in which I chose to go with Olympian Labs instead of NOW brand which Tim recommends. This was merely for bottle pill size amounts and keeping it most cost effective by buying the closest to 1 month supply needed. Check the picture below to see exactly what I bought and how much it costs. Keep note that the links in the Four Hour Body book seem to change and so do the prices on Bodybuilding.com so the price you may pay might differ slightly. As of JULY 2011 I paid $60.58 to have it shipped to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bodybuilding.com is a site I've used in the past and it so happens Tim suggests products from that website as well so it was a no brainer but keep in mind there are many more alternatives to find these products, I just found that Bodybuilding.com had all the products I needed and for the best combined price even shipped across the border. (duty fees are included in the shipping btw).

EDIT: I forgot that in the book Tim says to get a B complex supplement to go along with PAGG. So I will be making a trek to the local nutrition store (NOT GNC or Nutrition House as they are overpriced as hell!) to grab a bottle for my 1 month test of this stack. So calculate that into the cost of the PAGG stack when and IF you decide to do it too. Tim mentions it is imperative you get some B vitamins while taking PAGG.

$60.58 spent on a 1 month supply of PAGG stack as of July 2011

Disclaimer: I want to note I have zero affiliation with bodybuilding.com or any of the brands I am using. Just want to make sure people understand I am not promoting any products I am just showing what I did. So please don't brand me with the other bunch of bloggers out there who are promoting to use products they are making commissions off of. I will be giving my honest unbiased opinion on my own personal data on whether PAGG or any other product I use works or not. Feel free to make your own judgements on what, and what NOT to buy. End of Disclaimer!

Over the past week or so I have noticed that I have hit a bit of a plateau in terms of weight. This was definitely another reason I felt it was a good time to try the PAGG stack. The scale was just not moving but I am not taking it very seriously as we all know weight is only a small part of the picture. Since I have implemented the workouts 3 times a week, I am guessing that part of the reason is a slight gain in muscle from fat. SO that being said, I can't wait till the PAGG arrives so I can see if it really is necessary or even helps at all. I am taking measurements, tracking food, taking pictures on a daily basis and recording everything into a spreadsheet so as to have some real data to make some conclusions.

NEW TOYS: I have made some even more investment into this project. A few neccessary goodies as I plan to continue this longer than I once thought. FIRST TOY, a real Kettlebell! Yes the homemade kettlebell from Home Depot (see previous post) has done its job, but I figured it was time for a real Kettlebell. The best price I could find in Toronto was at Treadmill Factory which is selling Ultimatelyfit.com (Chinese made) vinyl coated bells for $1.39 a pound. That works out to about $70 Canadian after taxes for a 45 pounder.

SECOND TOY: I threw out the old $5 dial weight scale and purchased a digital Salter weight and body analyzer one from a The Bay sale. Cost was about $80 after taxes. I have used this scale previously borrowed from a friend so when I saw it on sale I had to pick it up. I of course don't put much into the bodyfat analyzing on these types of scales, but the changes in water, body mass, are really helpful to see changes in percentages over time, ignoring the exact numbers themselves as they aren't very accurate.

Equipped with my new toys, waiting on the PAGG stack, and continuing this 4 Hour Body Project, I am feeling very confident that I will stick with it for the next couple months and continue to diligently record my progress and data as I go along and share my progress...in case anyone is reading this...

Also note, I am adding a 20lb bicep curl x 10 slow reps to my regular workout, and a 20lb slow rep tricep every other workout, I feel that my arms are not getting a good enough workout and I felt like a few extra exercises wouldn't hurt. Even if its only beneficial psychologically.

Time to exercise?

Its now been a full 3 weeks since implementing the Slow-Carb Diet into my life. Following the diet as closely as possible except for two components. The exercise, and the supplements. In the book Tim recommends using the PAGG stack as his supplement stack for losing weight. The stack consists of the following:

Policosanol: 20-25mg
Alpha-lipoic acid: 100-300mg
Green tea flavanols (decaf at least 325mg EGCG)
Garlic extract: at least 200mg

The PAGG is to be taken with the following schedule:
Prior to breakfast: AGG (Alpha-lipoic acid, Green Tea, Garlic)
Prior to lunch: AGG
Prior to dinner: AGG
Prior to bed: PAG (omit the Green Tea extract)

Honestly I'm skeptical on using supplements OTHER than Protein Isolate Powders, so I started to do some research over the past couple weeks on the PAGG stack and other recommend stacks in the industry. It seems there is a lot of discussion whether the PAGG stack is truly worth the extra cost and time. Like most of the health and nutrition world, there are compelling arguments on both sides of the fence. I think I will omit the supplement portion of the 4 Hour Body until I finish more research. I did however want to post about the details of the PAGG stack as Tim highly recommends it along with the Slow-Carb and 3 day a week Exercise routines. The fact is I am approaching this book not as total truth (I mean Tim Ferris although inspiring in some of his documentation and experimentation, he is also looking to make money and sell more books.) Nothing against the guy but we are all human with our own selfish ambitions. That being said, I am going to put aside the PAGG for now, and incorporate it in the near future to test and to give a more complete outlook on the results on this personal experiment. For those of you that have tried the PAGG please let me know your results on the supplement portion of this diet!!

Exercise. Now that I have the data from a full 3 weeks of diet with NO exercise. I am now starting (as of tomorrow) to incorporate the exercise routine that is recommended by the author that mainly consists of a BOSU (pictured at the beginning of this post) or SWISS BALL (a regular inflatable exercise ball you see all over), and a KETTLEBELL. For those who are unfamiliar with this primitive looking piece of equipment it is steel ball with a handle that can be used with one or two hands. The exercise listed in the book is the "Kettlebell Swing" which you can see in this video below:

According to Tim, this is the one exercise you can do for a full body workout and drop huge amounts of weight. It is also beneficial to woman to help with the 'hour glass figure' as well as put some junk in the trunk and get a big booty. Now if your like me, you've never touched a kettlebell and have no idea how much weight is right for you. I'd hate to go out and buy a 50lb bell and find out its too light or too heavy for me. These things are expensive! Ranging anywhere from $50-$300 depending on the weight, quality & brand. One thing I have found from my background research on kettlebells, is that when you DO go out and buy one. Make sure you get one that is reputable and known to be of high quality. They are not all the same, and they do come in different styles (vinyl dipped, rubber coated), and make sure the handle is of the right diameter for your hands. The last thing you want to do is have a kettlebell fly into your wall or TV. Do your research! And get one that is heavy enough, the 5lb-10lb ones you see at Winners, or Walmart are useless for the Kettlebell Swing.

Now onto my kettlebell. Tim Ferris recommends for first timers to make your own kettlebell using pipes and hardware found at your local Home Depot (or Home Depot type) store. I went over to my Home Depot and got all the stuff necessary to build my first kettlebell. Now if you don't already have metal plate weights like I did from my old dumbbell set then it is most cost effective to just go out and buy a Kettlebell. Or borrow some weights for the time being from a friend so you can adjust and add/take off weight until you find your ideal weight. THEN go out and buy a real Kettlebell. These homemade jobs are only supposed to be used temporarily max to 6 months according to Tim.

Here is a list of what you need (located in the GAS PIPE aisle at Home Depot):

ONE 3/4" x 8-12" Black Steel Gas pipe
TWO 3/4" x 4-6" Black Steel Gas pipe (handles)
ONE 3/4" Steel Flange (bottom end)
ONE 3/4" T connector
ONE easy clamp (see pic)
Electrical Tape (to tape over the treading on the handles to prevent harm to hands)
Loctite (optional safety to keep the pipes from unscrewing overtime)
TOTAL approx. COST: $15-$20 Canadian


Check out this link for a video on Tim and his homemade set and more details.

Here are pics of my own version of the homemade Kettlebell:

All the raw materials (cutting and threading service is for free at Home Depot)

Kettlebell Assembled (without weights)

Fully assembled with four 10lb metal weights

Luckily I had 40lbs worth of metal weights at home already so the cost was minimal to start my swinging. The total weight of my Kettlebell is approx. 42lbs which I feel will be a great start. I will give more details on progress later on as I implement both the exercise along with the slow-carb diet. I am optimistic that it will increase progress in both weight loss and overall bodyfat percentage. Let the swinging begin!

18 days and counting...

Thought I'd do a little update on progress, its been approximately 18 days since I first started this project. I have been sticking to the slow-carb diet as closely as I can. A few notes regarding the diet I explained in the previous post, first off, food becomes something you just eat, you don't really think about food at all since you only have a few choices to eat. Less choices = food becomes an afterthought. You just try to remember to eat every 4 hours (4 meals a day) and that is it. This is probably why having the same few meals over and over again is one of the 5 rules. You are tempted less as you aren't constantly thinking about food and don't binge. ONE HUGE drawback is that when you are eating out, you have almost no choices in terms of restaurants. So a little compromise is neccessary. For example unless you live beside a Chipotle and can afford to eat their Fajita Bowls everyday (its over $10 for the meal pictured above in Canada), you have to start looking elsewhere. I have been 'comprising' the legumes (beans) in meals when I eat out and opting for Chicken/Steak Salads in restaurants (pictured below). Not slow-carb friendly but you have to do what you have to do. I figure its better then eating McDonalds. So the first thing you'll notice when dining out is the lack of legumes as sides in restaurants. Almost no major chains in Canada provide beans as a regular side along with your protein.

So moving along to the progress, I have in my personal experiment have decided to do the first few weeks with zero exercise. This way I can evaluate how well the diet itself works.
Here are my results (after 18 days on slow-carb):
Weight Loss: 7lbs
Inches off Waist: 1.5
Inches off Hip: 1.5
Inches off Neck: 0
TOTAL BODYFAT Lost: 4%
(using the circumference US NAVY Method)

I feel this is a very good indication that the diet itself works very well. Now that I have a good baseline of numbers to start, I am now incorporating the 4 Hour Body Exercise Routine that is outlined in the "Perfect Posterior" chapter in the book. It consists of 3 very workouts a week, utilizing a few tools. One of which is the Kettlebell. (I'll post about this in more detail later) These happen to be very popular and VERY expensive weights that you can purchase online or in local fitness shops. Be wary of the quality of the bells you purchase as you don't want the handle snapping off and flying through a wall. I am planning to build a homemade one as suggested in the book first, to both save some money and find out which weight is best for me. More on that later...

The 4-Hour Body, a deeper look.

I thought I'd post a little more about the book (and diet) before I just get into the project I am doing based on it. The 4-Hour body book is not your regular book. Tim Ferris (pictured above) recommends you read it like a buffet, not from start to finish, but to pick at it depending on what you want your final outcome to be. What he means is he's broken the book into 4 streams to read the book.

- Rapid Fat-loss
- Rapid Muscle Gain
- Rapid Strength Gain
- Rapid Sense of total well-being

Now I can be a skeptical person, so of course I decided to do background research on the things Tim recommends. So far...MOST of the stuff he lists to do in the book seems to check out. Although when it does come to health, there is always a study to prove another wrong. One quote I love from the book is "Don't use skepticism as an excuse for inaction." and that is how I am going to approach this project. Although I am highly skeptical of some of the things he says, it is not a reason for me to quit the project. At least not without seeing what kind of results it gives.
So back to the 4 streams, I am currently doing the first Rapid Fat-loss stream. Although I plan to read entire book while doing the one stream while taking notes. So Fat-loss = diet. Here is some details on the "Slow-Carb Diet" and a basic overlook on the rules and recommendations.

Rule #1: Avoid "white carbohydrates"
- This includes brown carbs that USED to be white, such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, oats!
Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again
Rule #3: Don't drink calories
- No soft drinks, fruit juices, beer, you know all the good stuff. Drink tons of water though!
Rule #4: Don't eat fruit
- I researched this and fruit is proven to be NO GOOD as it is mostly frutose which is a NO NO especially if you have a family history of diabetes in the family
Rule #5: Take 1 day off per week to binge
- Apparently it creates a response in the body that is beneficial to weight loss if you eat junk on a schedule once a week (example: Every Saturday eat poutines & burgers & beer)

Also keep note that he also says to stay away from diary of any kind, milk, soy, cheese (except cottage). So no brown bread, brown rice, Kashi cereal, oats, soy milk, pretty much all the stuff I was taught to eat for a healthy lifestyle. More research into this has shown there is a premise in which all these things can do harm to the body. How much harm, well studies are still not 100% conclusive.

So this is the diet I will be sticking to during this project. With the addition of protein shakes, some vitamins, and very short interval training exercises (I'll get into that in another post), I will record the results and see how this Slow-Carbing works out in a real life setting. The book says you can lose 20lbs in 30 days without exercise through the use of this type of meal plan, so the results should be interesting.

Taking Inventory.

As part of the project, as suggested by Tim, a GPS of my body was needed. In other words, I took down measurements and created a spreadsheet of information, and am now keeping a meal diary (not suggested in the book just want to) of all the meals I am eating each day. Sort of a way to keep myself in check by being able to see what I've been eating, the good AND the BAD! I'll be listing my current personal stats on the sidebar on the right. At a quick glance, I am 190lbs, and 30% fat, using the US NAVY circumference method. If you've read the book you'll see that it suggests using all sorts of more accurate types of bodyfat calculations. But paying $50-$150 for an exact number is unnessary for me. I know I am overweight and the circumference method (using measuring tape and a formula) will do quite fine. So I am starting out great, I'm obese, out of shape, eager to experiment. All the ingredients needed to see this project through to the end, whenever that may be.


Day ONE started out fine. Had a protein shake within the first hour of waking up (the book suggests within 30mins). I use optimum nutrition double chocolate protein powder. Its one of the most popular powders on the market. Its not the healthiest, as it doesn't use Stevia as a sweetener but cost wise and quality wise, it was a winner. I've tried many different powders and this one tastes great, and won't break the bank. The rest of my days have been a mixture of spinach omelettes (with the yolks!), mixed bean salads or lentils, and for dinners I opt out the eggs for a leg or breast of chicken. I make sure to drink lots of water and LOTS of beans in my meals as suggested to keep the hunger cravings down and the energy high. Here is a pic of a typical 4 Hour Body approved dinner for me.

Keep note that tracking your use of sauces, and ketchup is KEY. If your like me you love ketchup, sauces, dressings, and can easily do more damage then good by drenching it all over your meals for taste. I am trying to use balsamic vinegar, and mustards and hot sauces sparingly, and staying away from Ketchup (tons of sugar!), and creamy dressings. How long I can last eating these types of meals everyday without going insane I have no idea. So far they have been delicious and very filling...

I'm starting to look into RED WINES, as I plan to switch off beer and stick to wines when I feel the need to have a drink, as 2 cups a day has been noted to NOT interfere with the diet. Of course he mentions that some wines are worse then others, so I'll have to look into a good cost friendly dry light wine that meets both the projects requirements, and availability at the local LCBO.

The 4-Hour Body, Step One.

This blog will be an online journal of an experiment I am taking upon myself. Using the 4-Hour Body book written by Timothy Ferriss as a guide on redesigning my life. The book is a guide to efficiently living life and discusses new practices and unpopular approaches to eating, sleeping, sex, and living life in general. I've always been a fan of the saying "Everything Popular is Wrong" by Oscar Wilde. I can see how rebelling against the norm is a marketing tactic for a best seller such as this book, but that doesn't make it wrong, or in other words, NOT-ground-breaking.

I'll detail a few important concepts of this book without giving away too much as to not get hit with copyright infringement. Whether or not people read this blog or not, it will be a personal online testiment to a personal experiment I have done to myself. Hopefully a few months from now I will be able to look back and read through this blog and bask in the glory of my results of becoming a super human being.

Here is a pic of some of the groceries I have been collecting in preparation for this project. You will see that a large part of my diet will consist of legumes (beans!). If any of you are familiar with the Slow-Carb diet that has made this book so popular, the biggest change for me will be the lack of all "White" Carbohydrates. (I'll explain in more detail in a later post on what Tim means by "white"). The majority of my groceries consists of beans such as lentils, chick peas, bean medlys, vegetables like spinach and brocoli. A few other items I should mention is a protein powder for my early morning shakes, almond butter and natural peanut butter, and of course red wine. (apparently up to 2 glasses a day is more then fine and does not interrupt the diet at all.

On to day 1...