PAGG stack supplement or ‘Four Hour Body’ Stack?

Posted on 15/01/2012 by admin

In the Four Hour Body, Tim Ferriss mentions a whole range of supplements in addition to the PAGG stack — Policosanol, Alpha-lipoic acid, aged Garlic extract and Green tea flavanols — designed to work directly on ingested food metabolism.  Certainly when following any weight loss diet, even one as well-rounded as the slow carb diet, it is possible to wind up deficient in specific minerals, if you do not plan extremely carefully.

For example, the slow carb diet omits nearly all dairy produce, which for many people is a main source of calcium – if you are eating lots of pulses and spinach you’ll be fine, but if you are not you might need a top-up.

So, Ferriss advises that you should consider mineral supplementation in addition to your regular balanced slow-carb meals, to redress any potential deficiencies. This is entirely separate from, and for completely different purposes to, the metabolic pagg stack supplement – though it is easy to see why it’s tempting to bundle them up together from both a compliance and a manufacturing point of view, to create a single ‘Four Hour Body’ supplement.  Indeed a company called Kirkland Science appears to have done just that (it is not clear whether this is anything to do with the Costco Kirkland brand)
So, let’s take a look at the science going on here – does it work, to combine mineral food supplements with the pagg stack?

One of the first things that leapt out as very odd, is the separation of calcium and magnesium into separate doses.  The reasoning behind this is  unclear, because the two need to be taken simultaneously – the body needs to ingest and metabolise Ca and Mg in balance.  In fact taking magnesium on its own, without the offsetting calcium, can actually trigger excretion of and overall net LOSS of magnesium in the body!  Perhaps the Kirkland supplement just wanted to mirror the separation of policosanol in the PAGG stack, by having a different formulation for the night-time tablet…  But all the scientific evidence points to the counter-productivity of this regime – calcium and magnesium must be taken at the same time to ensure both are correctly absorbed. There is certainly no benefit to taking magnesium at bed-time, in the way that there is specific evidence for policosanol acting on cholesterol production, which occurs mainly during sleep.

In fact 400mg of magnesium is the recommended daily intake – a very high dose to be taken in a single supplement: the rda is about total intake over the day, and reflects absorption levels in relation to simultaneous calcium intake.  It’s not meant to be taken in one go, and because the body will reject what it cannot absorb, some people will actually suffer diarrhoea as a result – not your ideal restful bedtime scenario. Potassium too is included in the supplement in amounts that will approach the RDA for many users, before dietary intake is considered (and many of the slow carb diet constituents such as leafy greens and beans are very high in potassium already). Excess potassium has significant risks including arrythmia and metabolic acidosis.

The over-absorption of calcium on the other hand is perhaps less of a risk, given that the Kirkland supplement comes in a highly compressed tablet form.  Repeated studies have demonstrated that this makes for very poor overall absorption – you typically just end up with a high concentration of calcium ions in the urine instead, in fact you might as well throw it straight down the pan to start with.  Also, calcium absorption is significantly affected by dietary fiber, so taking it right before a slow carb meal is even more of a waste.

So, on balance we think that taking a specifically-designed multimineral and vitamin supplement once a day not directly before meals could support and enhance your four hour body program.  This will  also need to include a dose of vitamin D, without which few of these minerals are going to be correctly absorbed anyway – reputable manufacturers know this and include the necessary components for a balanced supplement.  There doesn’t appear to be any vitamin D in the Kirkland supplement

Anyway if the minerals aren’t likely to be sufficiently well-absorbed to harm you, does the Kirkland ‘Four Hour Body’ supplement still contain a good PAGG stack?  In our opinion, the answer is no.  Why? Some reasons include…

  • It contains the racemic mix of ALA, which is less bioavailable and absorbed than the R-ALA contained in better-engineered pagg stacks such as that by Pareto Nutrition
  • It appears to be using garlic root, not aged garlic
  • It doesnt list the concentration of ECGC in the green tea flavanols – this can be as low as 30% and is obviously a good way to cut costs
  • Worst of all, it’s a tablet, and a tablet with a heck of a lot of ingredients combined together and compressed, including mineral salts with strong antioxidants just isn’t going to preserve the integrity of either.  The ALA will be a reacted to a gluey lump for a start, so it’s as well they went for the cheaper option there I guess.

So, we will be sticking to a higher-quality and better-designed pagg stack to enhance food metabolism, along with a once-a-day multi vitamin and mineral capsule supplement to redress any potential dietary imbalances – recognising that these two important aspects of the four hour body program do not combine effectively in a single bottle.

 

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Hitting a Slow Carb Diet Plateau – 5 Tips to Get Back on Track

Posted on 07/06/2011 by admin

When a weight loss program is going successfully, it quickly and easily provides its own rewards.  Hop on the scales and the results are obvious, which provides great motivation for carrying on with what works.

Unfortunately for our motivation however, success in the slow carb diet or any other weight loss program or lifestyle is rarely linear.  Sometimes you get dramatic success, other times the needle on the scales seems to stick for days or even weeks at a time, it feels like there’s nothing you can do to get it moving again.  You have to be aware that this can happen, because slow carb dieting is about long term steady change – and that means working through the plateaus successfully without getting demotivated and giving up.

If you have hit a slow carb diet plateau, think about the following factors, and see if any of them help you to get back on track:

  • Are you eating enough protein and fat to feel satisfied and achieve your daily nourishment, so your body is not trying conserve calorie storage in response to a scarcity environment?
  • Are you drinking enough water?  This curbs hunger, helps hydrate and detox your cells, and improves basic metabolism, most of us are chronically slightly dehydrated, and could benefit from drinking a bit more each day
  • Are you eating a high protein breakfast, early in the morning?  Altering this single factor can make dramatic differences.
  • Are you losing inches instead of weight?  Muscle weighs more, volume for volume, than fat… so reducing your body fat percentage won’t immediately cause weight loss.  Use the tape measure or body fat tracking device, and see if you are losing there instead.
  • Are you drinking calories and carbs?  It’s easy to slip back into habits involving fruit juice, sodas, sugar in tea and coffee, or maybe a beer instead of that glass of wine… if you feel that your food choices are right and it doesn’t make sense that your weight loss has stalled, take a good hard look at what you’re drinking in case this is a factor.  Water and green tea are the way forward!
  • Are you cycling and re-triggering your slow carb diet success?  Cheat day matters, spiking that calorie intake kick-starts the fat loss the following day, and cycling your PAGG stack supplement properly – one day off each week, NOT on cheat day, as well as one clear week off each month – also helps to maximize the impact on your metabolism when you resume.

 

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Rules, slow carb support | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

PAGG Stack 2.0: Why you should upgrade your PAGG stack now

Posted on 01/04/2011 by admin

The science of food supplementation is a continually evolving one, it’s great to see a market-leading product continue to develop.


Most people using the PAGG stack supplement are self-trackers and self-experimenters of one kind of another, and as such pretty interested in continual iterative improvement.  This attitude is what differentiates those who do enough to get by, and those who strive to keep tweaking what works, to make it work better – the differences can be subtle, but the outcomes dramatic.  It would have been easy for Pareto Nutrition to sit back and enjoy the benefits of already-extensive R+D for their original PAGG stack, launched mere months ago… yet, on behalf of slow-carb body recomposers everywhere, they’ve been back in the lab making changes.


One reason for this is the growing canon of knowledge and evidence building around the program generally.  Even guru Tim Ferriss, original author of the Four Hour Body, has evolved his thinking since publication – and one of his recommendations signifies the first change.


In a detailed blog post updating and correcting some post-publication points in the Four Hour Body, Ferriss noted that the green tea flavanol recommendation could have a stimulating effect, disrupting sleep if taken before bed.  The sensitive element is EGCG, (epigallocatechin gallate), and it’s a frequent concern people have about starting on PAGG.  Although Pareto’s previous product used decaffeinated extract, and only one customer ever complained about insomnia whilst using the product, this concern was found worth reviewing – not least because if people worry about not getting to sleep, they are less likely to get to sleep!  The question was, could the stack be as effective, without taking ECGC at bedtime?


As the effect of ECGC is most concentrated shortly before eating, it actually makes sense to concentrate the intake in the doses that act on food.  By splitting the allocation of the first ‘G’ into 3 doses rather than 4, PAGG 2.0 still contains the recommended 975g of ECGC daily, but is wholly absent from the bedtime capsule.  Neat.


The second refinement concerns the A in the stack, Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
Although it’s a natural substance, ALA is not viable to extract from vegetable sources and is instead synthesized commercially in the lab.  This process generates a mixture of bio-identical ‘normal’ ALA, called R-ALA, combined with an equal quantity of a completely new molecule that is a mirror image of it, called S-ALA.


S-ALA is perfectly safe, but as it doesnt exist in nature, it is not recognised by human cell receptors, and has no biological effect.  There also exists some evidence that it’s presence may block the actions of the active R-ALA, which could prevent the genuine and measurable advantages of taking ALA in the first place.  Also, a very small proportion of ALA users report minor digestive discomfort as a side effect (although this can largely be eliminated by taking more water with it).


For all these reasons, PAGG stack 2.0 contains R-ALA only.  This is far more expensive to extract, but has greater effectiveness than the mixed ‘racemic’ ALA in the original product, and other commercially available supplements.
These are two important biochemical reasons why you should consider upgrading to PAGG 2.0 for maximum slow carb weight loss and body recomposition.  But in case that’s not enough, here’s a couple of pragmatic clinchers.  1.  Despite the additional research and development, along with the higher R-ALA extraction costs, the end price is being held unchanged; and 2. The bedtime dose – Policosanol, R-ALA and aged Garlic extract only, has been combined into a single capsule.  So, one red one before each meal, and one blue one at bedtime.


If you want the fastest and best results, it doesnt get simpler than that.

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Diet Supplements, slow carb support | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Pagg stack supplement: delivery matters, choose capsules over tabs

Posted on 15/03/2011 by admin

If you want to try enhancing your slow carb diet results with the PAGG stack as recommended in the Four Hour Body book, then you want to be sure you are getting the best possible results for your cash investment and for your health.  High quality ingredients cost good money, so you need to ensure not only that you are taking the right stuff, but that it is doing its best for you, metabolically speaking.  Tim Ferriss’ results proved over and over that it’s not about what you eat – it’s about when and how it actually hits your bloodstream and cells that matters.

PAGG  - the supplement stack containing Policosanol, Alpha-lipoic acid, aged Garlic extract and Green tea flavanols – differs from many supplements in one important regard.  With PAGG it’s not about overall levels within the body, but about acting synergistically on the food you eat – this is why you take it 10 minutes before each meal.*  Timing is everything, and for this reason, capsule rather than tablet delivery is best.

Capsules contain the pure ingredients, in precise quantities, contained in liquid form within a rapidly-dissolving gelatin capsule.   To make a tablet, the ingredients have to be emulsified and compressed, which can slow down absorption.  Of course with many food supplements this effect is desirable (provided they are not compressed so much that they never dissolve and get adequately absorbed, a complaint effectively proven against some major mineral supplement manufacturers) – in fact coatings are used to protect delicate substances from the harsh stomach environment, and ensure assimilation later in the digestive cycle.  But with PAGG, the whole point of it is to ensure it hits your bloodstream in one go, just before you eat, so you can benefit from the critically-timed increased insulin sensitivity.  You do not want a time-release or extended benefits effect, you want a direct impact on your blood chemistry… A slowly dissolving tablet is not going to provide that.

Another important reason for opting for capsules over tabs, is the volatility of the ingredients contained.  Alpha-lipoic acid in particular is a powerful antioxidant – this is its main reason for inclusion within the stack – and to preserve its potency, it needs to protected within an opaque capsule that admits neither light nor liquid, and that doesn’t require the addition of binders or additives.  Photodegradation of ALA to dihydrolipoic acid occurs extremely rapidly on light exposure, and this is a less effective anti-oxidant for fat loss.

So why would people choose a tablet at all?  Well, often tablet-form supplements are cheaper, and the PAGG stack is no exception.  It is simply a cheaper manufacturing process, to combine and press out tablets, than to encapsulate them.  Some (not all) tablet brands contain exactly the same exact doses of the high quality raw materials, at least at the point of manufacture (see above, re ALA degradation on light exposure).  Other people find tablets physically easier to swallow than capsules – this is a matter of preference, compacted tablets are smaller, but they are also rounder, and may have unpleasant tastes or textures that a capsule protects against.  Certainly for a weight loss program like the slow carb diet, compliance – actually taking the things, over a sustained time period – is an important issue, and this is why the PAGG stack capsules produced by Pareto are designed to simplify the dosage to the absolute minimum, just 4 single capsules per day (red before meals, blue for bedtime).

 

*(Policosanol, taken only in the bedtime dose, is slightly different – and works best overnight when cholesterol production in the body is maximised).

 

 

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Diet Supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

New Facebook Page

Posted on 15/03/2011 by admin

Please likey likey!  Help us get the slow-carb word out there…!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Slow-Carb-Diet-Success/195780607120161

Thanks everyone!

Posted in slow carb resources, slow carb support | Comments Off

Alpha-Lipoic-Acid: molecules matter, in the PAGG stack supplement

Posted on 14/03/2011 by admin

If you are familiar with the Four Hour Body and the slow carb diet, then you will doubtless be aware of the PAGG supplement stack – Policosanol, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Green tea flavanols and aged Garlic extract.  All of these are natural substances, but digging deeper into their commercial manufacture reveals some interesting facts about one of the lesser known ingredients, Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA).

One of the most powerful dietary antioxidants known, ALA has been used in weight loss detoxification and for general wellbeing for several decades.  But as a food supplement, ALA has to be synthetically manufactured – amounts and availability in food sources make extraction non viable.  During the lab creation of ALA, two chemical forms are created, known as R-ALA and S-ALA.  These are both Alpha Lipoic Acid, but only R-ALA is the form found in nature in various foods, as well as that produced in the human body.  Both molecules contain the same atoms, but are structured as mirror images of each other. Synthetic ALA contains about 50% of each kind, and this is known as a racemic ALA – this is the kind most commonly available in supplemental form, as the separation of the two forms adds considerable cost to the manufacturing process.

But S-ALA is a wholly artificial compound, it didn’t exist before it was isolated in a lab  in the 1950s.  Not surprisingly then, the body doesn’t recognise it chemically, the S- form is not proper structural fit for the cellular membrane receptors and enzymes.  For this reason it doesn’t play a part in the powerful antioxidant and blood glucose management effects that consumers seek in a food supplement – or that slow-carb dieters are seeking in their PAGG stack.

If the only effective half of the supplement is the R-ALA, this means that a higher dose is required when taking the racemic supplement.  Despite being wholly synthetic, S-ALA is considered safe and non-toxic for humans, so this is not normally regarded as a problem. However, recent research suggests that the chemical pathways of ALA metabolism may force a competitive effect within the cells of the body – the S-ALA actually reduces the effectiveness of the R-ALA.  This affect was only isolated recently, as all earlier research took place with the far cheaper and easier to produce racemic ALA – but it is now clear that R-ALA is more biologically effective without the presence of its enantiomer (mirror image molecule) S-ALA.

Given that a very small percentage of consumers also report mild gastric side effects when taking ALA, it makes sense to take the purer, more effective form of it, for use as a daily dietary supplement.  Pareto Nutrition’s PAGG Stack is currently the only one using the pricier but biologically active R-ALA in its supplement products, so this is the best place to start when seeking to enhance the effectiveness of your slow carb diet and overall Four Hour Body program.

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Diet Supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Slow Carb Dieting for Vegetarians

Posted on 09/03/2011 by admin

At first glance the slow carb diet can seem extremely meat heavy.  Having many of its roots in the paleo style of dieting, eating as we are evolved to do so being a hunter-gatherer species, there is a great emphasis on animal protein as a source of calories and nutrition.  So can you successfully and healthily slow-carb-diet as a vegetarian?  Yes, you can.  If you are vegan, and eat no animal-derived foods at all, it will be much more difficult – but lacto-ovo vegetarians should have no problems.
Every vegetarian is used to fielding that old chestnut of a question, ‘so, where do you get your protein then?’  Obviously most of us aren’t wasting away, and just about have the metabolic energy to explain (again) about complete and incomplete vegetable protein, how there are amino acids in just about every plant cell we consume, and how we don’t have to eat all the essential ones in each meal, etc.  Vegetarians are less likely to suffer from health conditions related to over-consumption of protein, but actual deficiency is extremely rare in the developed world.
On the slow carb diet, the lack of dairy is a frustration that lacto-ovo vegetarians might have trouble adjusting to.  Dairy produce is probably the main reason for vegetarians ending up overweight in the first place, particularly cheese – providing a solid savory taste, it’s easy to use it as a protein source in many meals, without being overly aware of the huge calorie density it provides.  But on the slow carb diet, your protein is going to come from…

  • Those pulses you are eating at every meal – yes they are there to provide fiber, but also provide a high-quality vegetarian protein source, and you should judge portions accordingly
  • Nuts and nut butters – but beware the tumbling of dominoes along with your willpower, and purchase in small portions only!
  • Cottage cheese – permitted in small quantities.  When purchasing from a store that has several brands, look closely at the indicated carb content and sugars, the variation may surprise you, and ‘reduced fat’ variants that might initially appeal to dieters are often higher in sugars as a result
  • Protein shakes – check ingredients carefully for sugars, and also for actual vegetarian content
  • Eggs – you are going to be eating a LOT of eggs!

Tim Ferriss is amongst many commentators and researchers who hold strong views on the appropriateness of soy protein in human nutrition – for many the jury is still out on this, but whilst the evidence gathering continues, it is wise to avoid over-dependency on soy in its many forms (for example tofu, tempeh, vegetarian meat substitutes, etc).  This is particularly important if you are male and of reproductive age… and if you do want to eat tofu etc, then be sure to seek an organic source, as virtually all other soy beans have genetically modified origins in the US, and it may facilitate digestion to eat along with a fermented food such as miso or sauerkraut (or a probiotic supplement).
Most importantly though as a vegetarian is to learn to love eggs.  Find an animal-friendly source of free-range organic eggs, and explore the multitude of ways you can prepare them – fried, poached, scrambled, boiled, hard boiled, baked, they can be enjoyed in so many different ways simply cooked alone, and once you start finding some great recipes to use them in then the sky is the limit.  Sometimes people are concerned about eating ‘too many’ eggs due to their high cholesterol content, but the most recent research has debunked that direct correlation between personal cholesterol levels and the amount of cholesterol consumed, so you can safely consume several eggs a day as part of a balanced diet, particularly if it’s not done in conjunction with a load of meat.

Don’t forget to add your PAGG stack supplement for additional vegetarian enhancement of your slow-carb-diet – the plant derivation of all elements of the PAGG stack are another successful indicator for the effects of a plant-based diet on weight loss.  Above all don’t let the ‘meat-heavy’ aspects of the published slow-carb diet put you off attempting the plan as a vegetarian, because there is a growing canon of delicious and healthy vegetarian recipes to support your successful and healthy weight loss.  And if you can break your Edam Cheese addiction into the bargain, it’s got to be a win-win.

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Challenges, Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Diet Vegetarian, Slow Carb Foods | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Slow Carb Breakfast Idea: Asparagus Tortilla Muffins

Posted on 01/03/2011 by admin

This is an easy recipe to prepare in advance, as they’ll keep well in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container.  You can eat two on their own for a protein-packed breakfast, especially if you are not specially hungry first thing and don’t feel beany!  Or serve with a couple slices of grilled tomato and a serving of wilted spinach.

 

Ingredients:

  • 7 large free range eggs
  • 1 bunch fresh asparagus (or small bag frozen)
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C.
  • Wash the asparagus, and discard any tough woody bits or limp floppy bits at the base of the stalk – you only want the fresh crunchy bits and upwards!
  • Chop into small bits, around 0.5”, and then boil or steam for 5 minutes either on the stove or in the microwave.  If boiling, and/or using frozen asparagus, be sure to drain them thoroughly, removing as much liquid as possible.
  • Beat the eggs thoroughly in a large bowl, with the thyme and seasoning.  You aren’t trying to make a soufflé, but it is important that they rise a bit and have a nice texture, so get some air incorporated.  Then stir in the chopped cooked asparagus.
  • Using silicon muffin cases, spoon the egg and asparagus mixture in and fill to just below the top of the cases.  If you are using paper muffin cases, it is best to use double or triple because the egg mixture is much wetter than the cake mixes they were designed for, and setting them in a bun tin also helps the shape to hold.  Distribute the mixture evenly, making sure enough veg goes in each – it doesn’t matter if a little pokes out of the top.  A pinch more thyme or black pepper on top is good for appearances
  • Bake for around 20 minutes (check at 17 minutes) – they are done when a knife comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the muffin cases, as they will not set completely till cooled.
  • Reheat in the microwave to eat if preferred

Variations:

You can up the protein in this dish by stirring in any leftovers such as cooked chicken or beans.  You can also vary the vegetables and seasoning choices – lightly grilled green peppers work very well, chop finely and include smokier seasoning such as paprika.

Don’t forget, for maximum weight loss impact, take your first AGG supplement 15 minutes before you eat (whilst you make the coffee and before you microwave your muffins!), also be sure to eat within 15 minutes of getting up each morning.

 

Posted in Slow Carb Breakfast, Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Diet Recipes, Slow Carb Diet Supplements, Slow Carb Diet Vegetarian, Slow Carb Foods, Slow Carb Rules | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Understanding Cheat Day on the Slow Carb Diet

Posted on 27/02/2011 by admin

The growing world-wide results for the slow-carb diet support the inspiring claims for impressive weight loss and body re-composition results for thousands of people. However there are a number of unusual and controversial aspects of the program, one of which is the weekly ‘cheat day’.

‘Cheat day’, or as Tim Ferriss calls it in The Four Hour Body, ‘Dieters Gone Wild Day’, is the one day out of seven you ditch all the rules of the program, and eat whatever the heck you like… cake, fruit, carbs, dairy, sweets, booze… all the foods that are controlled or off-limits during the main phase of the program are totally fair game, indeed they’re encouraged. Some people like to call it binge day, even though there’s no specific requirements to eat tons and tons more calories than you normally would, some people definitely do so.  Many slow-carb-dieters use a weekend day for it, and you can also get away with tweaking it a day or two either side to cover for any special occasions

So, why have a ‘cheat day?’  Well, there are two main reasons:

The first reason is metabolic.  Extended calorie restriction sends messages to your metabolism via the most primitive core of the brain, evolved to cope with fluctuating food availability through long cold winters… your body becomes more efficient at storing and harboring energy, ie fat, and it also turns down the thermostat – suppressing thyroid function, muscle building, and even literally lowering your core temperature slightly.

Of course if you are restricting your calories precisely because you WANT to spend more energy than you are consuming, this crucial survival mechanism is working against you!  On cheat day, when you massively spike your calorie and sugar intake, this resets the thermostat to ‘green’ again:  OK folks, nutrition is abundant, let us party fellow cells, and burn energy with abandon!  Have you ever started a weight loss diet and had dramatic results for the first week or so… but after that the rate of loss decelerates?  It’s so demotivating, when you continue doing all the right thing, but the returns diminish… Cheat Day is what you need, to trigger that ‘just started dieting’ effect, over and over again.

It also offers long-term metabolic protection.  That survival instinct that served our ancestors so well is VERY efficient, and messing around with it can have significant effects.  Ever wondered why yo-yo dieters, who lose and regain weight frequently, often find to their dismay that they return to a higher average weight each time they regain.  They also find it harder and harder to lose the weight in the first place, as the survival mechanism kicks in faster and harder each time… Cheat Day has more and more to recommend it.

The second reason is more motivational.

You wont get slow carb diet success overnight.  Although Tim Ferriss has had people losing 20lbs in a month, for many people it will be slower, and people have different amounts of weight to lose in the first place.  You have got to stick with it for the long haul, to get the results you deserve… and sticking with any restricted eating program is boring…

Cheat day can make the difference, for your motivation.  Desperate for cake and know you must not have it?  Telling yourself you can have it on Saturday *really* helps.  Make a list of treats to come, and take it to the store.  Heck, you can eat the whole darned cake if you want, in fact Ferriss says he often finds it helpful to scoff his trigger foods to the point of serious sick-feeling excess on Cheat Day, just to get it totally out of his system and help to steer clear in the week ahead.

So, won’t cheat day just add back some of the calories you enjoyed losing in the week?  Well, yes inevitably it will.  Especially if you like to weigh and track daily.  But remember the two reasons above and go for it… keep weighing daily, and you will notice that 48-72 hours further on and the scales are dropping back down again, past where you reached before.

It’s tough gorging on cake and cookies one day a week, but you can do it!

 

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Cheat Day, Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Foods, Slow Carb Rules | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Slow Carb Dieting and the PAGG Stack supplement

Posted on 27/02/2011 by admin

We all want fast weight loss – sticking with any diet program is inherently boring, and so we look for shortcuts.  Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand that will do it for us, we just have to digest fewer calories than we burn, and that’s the bottom line.  However, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that a wide range of factors influence that ratio, and whilst there might be no ‘something for nothing’ solutions, there are things we can do to enhance our own efforts.

Spend a few seconds googling, and you can bet you’ll come up with tens of thousands of ‘wonder pills’, guaranteed to somehow burn up fat before you eat it or melt away your cellulite, etc etc.  Your results page will include compounds ranging from the utterly ineffectual rip-offs do potentially dangerous ephedrine-based stimulants – some of which would indeed in the short term help you lose weight, if you were prepared to put your health at risk to do so.

Tim Ferriss, bestselling author of the Four Hour Body, makes the important point that, regardless of source, anything designed to act chemically in your body rather than nourish you as food is a drug, and should be respected as such.  The effects are the only thing that matters, and he has tested more of these on himself and others than any self experimenter on record.

Over 10 years of tweaking, he came up with the combined food supplement we know as PAGG – which contains Policosanol (from plant waxes), Alpha-lipoic acid (a powerful antioxidant), Garlic extract and Green Tea flavanols – all natural, plant based substances, each having unique metabolic effects, but combining synergistically to be greater than the sum of the parts, each enhancing the other’s individual effects.  As a supplement, each needs to be taken before meals in different combinations, which could mean a number of capsules throughout the day – but combined PAGG supplements exist to make the dosing straightforward.

PAGG will not make you thin on its own, and it is NOT an alternative to sticking with the slow-carb diet.    All results so far indicate however, that if you use it consistently in conjunction with a low-glycemic load eating plan, it will enhance your effects for maximum possible return, and the combined effect will be impressive and powerful.  I am afraid it’s not a ‘fat melting wonder-drug’ or any other unlikely-sounding magic bullet… keep googling for that if you like, there are a million pill pushers waiting to take your money!  But if you use PAGG to support the right weight loss plan, you can make a genuine difference to your success.

 

Posted in Slow Carb Diet Principles, Slow Carb Diet Supplements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off