As I’ve alluded to in the past I’m somewhat of a fitness buff, mostly to balance out my predominately sedentary lifestyle of IT work and computer games. Of course when these two worlds collide I end up applying the same kind of iterative process I would to any IT problem or challenge in a game to fitness and the past couple years have been no exception. I mentioned in the past that I was doing CrossFit and since then I’ve tried several other workouts to build muscle; meal plans and supplement regimes in order to maximise the benefits I get from exercising. 2 months ago I decided to give the PAGG stack from the 4 Hour Body a go after hitting another plateau in my training and I thought I’d share my experiences with it.
Here’s a little background on me so you can put this in perspective (this is at the start of using PAGG):
- Height: 187cm
- Weight: 89KG
- Body Fat: 18%
I took the PAGG stack as recommended: AGG 3 times a day, PAGG before bed and didn’t take it every Sunday. I wasn’t 100% with sticking to this, I’d say I was about 90% on time with it (meaning about 1 in every 10 times I’d miss taking it at the right time) but I believe that I was still close enough for it to be considered effective. I didn’t make any radical changes to my diet or exercise regime during this time either, so most changes can be ascribed to PAGG stack.
So as it stands right now I’ve gained approximately 2KGs whilst going down to 17%. Whilst it wasn’t the extreme fat burning I was expecting there was a definite downward trend when I was using PAGG. Since I’m trying to gain muscle at the moment its quiet possible that the supposed fat burning of PAGG is being muted somewhat as my caloric intake is somewhere around the 2800~3000 range every day. That being said since I didn’t change my diet during this time (and I’ve been on the same diet for a good 4 months prior) the additional 2KGs of muscle gain would appear to be attributable to taking PAGG.
Doing some extra research into the matter though it looks like the potential fat burning/muscle building effects that I experienced could be solely due to the EGCG in the stack. Indeed for the other components there is either no research showing efficacy (Policosanol, as 4HB even states), experimental evidence in certain models (ALA) or mixed experimental results (Allicin). Anecdotally the combination does appear to work, at least for me, but it’s entirely possible that EGCG is responsible for those changes alone. I’d do another round of anecdotal testing on myself to see how it goes, but I’ve got my eye on a new stack that I’m hoping will get close to ECA for efficacy.
Would I recommend PAGG for anyone? I would, at least for 2 months just to see if it works for you. If you buy the components individually it’s actually pretty cheap, on the order of about $30~$40/month, and you should be able to see benefits within a short enough time frame to know if its worth you continuing or not. Personally for me, whilst it did appear to work, I’ve decided to switch to some other supplements that have a bit more scientific backing on them and see how they turn out. If there’s one thing that I learnt from this is that EGCG is potentially quite powerful and should you not want to be downing 16+ pills a day then your best place to start would be with just that.
Hi. I have tried various diets and diet pills over the years. When I’m into body building mode, I’ve used various thermogenic supplements. Nothing was really working. No matter what I did, my weight was creeping up. Christmas 2011 I weighed in a 98.7kgs. My husband had been doing Paleo for 3 months and had lost at least 15 kg’s. His blood pressure was significantly down, skin allergy cleared up, whites of his eyes changed from yellow to bluey/white. Funny thing is, despite my scepticism, his cholesterol tests came back showing much improvement each time. I decided to give the P/AGG stack a go after reading the 4 Hour Body..ordered from the US, shipped to Australia no probs. Started at the end of January, doing both Paleo and the P/AGG stack. Well….I lost 4 kg’s in the first week. No exercise involved. Couldn’t believe it. I continued to lose an average of 900g’s a week until around April, then the weight loss slowed to around 250g’s a week. I hit a plateau in May and took a break off the P/AGG stack for a month. I also deviated a bit from the Paleo, eating whatever I felt like (within reason). It worked…I managed to break the 85kg barrier on the 26th June 2012. I finished my P/AGG first week in July and need to get more. Since then though, I’m still eating Paleo for the most part…I’d say a good 95% of the time. Feel great. I do think the P/AGG stack helped me lose that weight in the time that I have. I’ve got 20 kg’s to go to hit my goal (65), but compared to all the money I have spent on the various Thermogenic products, I would have no hesitation recommending the P/AGG stack…and Paleo. Either way…it’s a win win..with no side-effects.
Hope that encourages anyone thinking about doing either.
Great to hear that you’re having some really positive results with the PAGG stack there Sally! There definitely seems to be a lot of anecdotal evidence showing the efficacy of the stack and indeed my own experience reflected that somewhat but I’m still wondering how much of the results were due to EGCG alone. It’s not that I don’t mind taking a lot of pills (my last supplement regime had me taking about 11 per day) just that if I can get the same results with a quarter of the supps why not go for it?
I should probably do a follow up post to my second round of supplements which, unfortunately, didn’t appear to work out quite as well as PAGG stack did. It seems that whilst they were all in the same category as PAGG with good scientific results behind them they were far more effectively for individuals with a much higher body fat percentage and once you got to my size their effectiveness was severely muted.
Keep at it Sally! The most effective program is the one you can stick to and if you’ve gone 6 months on this one I’m sure you’ll be able to keep on with it for a long time to come 😀
G’day all, I’ve been on PAGG for about 3 weeks. The results have been pleasing enough for me to decide to continue. I have dropped from 80kg down to 75kg @ 183cm. I am doing HIIT training & wathcing my diet also. The results can’t be purely attributed to PAGG. However my wife is also taking PAGG and not doing any excercise. She has dropped weight which is obviously attributable to PAGG.
Have just ordered another 3 month supply. Once I hit my goal bodyfat % I’ll stop taking the pills.
Only side effect – is a bit of indigestion if I donk drink enough water to wash it down.
Also I regularly donate plasma (blood), they were happy with my bloodwork whist taking the supplement.
Thanks for sharing your PAGG stack results with us Michael, the more I look into it the more I find people with positive results. I’d be very interested to see how you went at maintaining your body fat percentage and weight once you stop using PAGG as I can’t imagine anyone wanting to do this regime continuously.
What kind of analysis do they do when you donate? I’ve never done it but it would be rather intriguing to see if there was any improvement in blood markers whilst you were doing PAGG.
Please tell me where you bought it from the companies here in Australia are expensive and I can’t find anyone shipping internationally please help… Thanks Sally
I bought everything from iHerb, here’s my list:
– Source Naturals, Policosanol, 20 mg, 60 Tablets
– Nature’s Way, Garlicin, Odor-Free Garlic, Cardiovascular Health, 90 Enteric-Coated Tablets
– Source Naturals, EGCG, 350 mg, 60 Tablets
– Primaforce, Pure ALA, 300 mg, 180 Capsules
Grand total for about 3 months worth was about $90 all up.
[…] on my neck for 30 minutes. (Really easy to do once you get used to it.) – Supplements. The PAGG stack. (I intentionally take a week off every month or so, and I’ve also missed a few when […]
Hmm… my estimate is more like $150 for 3 month’s worth on iHerb… roughly 300 caps of each of the AGG, and 90 of the Policonsanol. Seems the all-in-one PAGG providers are at cheapest around $130 for 3 months supply. Would love to know how you got it so cheaply!
Just looked over my order again and it looks like I actually bought a 2 month supply (mea culpa) rather than a 3 month one so if you had half again onto that price you get $135, pretty close to what the all-in-one guys are charging for right now. From memory they were a lot more expensive back when I did this, I think around $180ish for a 3 month supply, so the fact that they’re a lot cheaper now would mean that they’re a much better alternative.
I mean I don’t mind taking a bunch of pills, but it was kind of ridiculous.