Shredmaxxing Protocol Pt. 2: Supplement Stack
Upregulate your metabolism. Store less fat. Defeat insulin resistance
The Metabolic Upregulation Stack
Happy 2025 everybody. We are SO back. Its been 2 weeks since the first installment of our shredmaxxing protocol (read part 1 here if you haven’t). Time to elaborate.
By now, you should have already felt some of the effects from this protocol. More energy. Slimmer, sharper look. Better mood. Now its time to double down. Diet and lifestyle are the MOST important parts of this protocol. Without it, nothing else matters. But a total metabolic overhaul like this needs all the support it can get. This is where supplementation comes in.
(while you’re here, follow me in Instagram)
Housekeeping & FAQs
I’ve gotten a lot of great questions around this protocol and will be launching the full FAQ post soon, but here are a few key points to give you some clarity:
This is a high carb protocol, especially if you don’t want to lose too much weight. I’m eating fruit after my AM window, just last night I had 2 pears and a grapefruit before bed. I’m also having potatoes, rice, and rice noodles in most of my afternoon meals.
Its okay to have fat and carbs in the same meal, especially if you’re struggling to get calories in. My last meal is usually high carb, mid fat.
You can & should cycle this. I’m currently doing 3 days a week of fruit till noon. The other days I’ll have steak & rice or something of that caliber (just preference).
Fat is still essential. Make sure you’re getting the fats in higher volume at least once a week.
We all have different metabolic starting points. Start slow, don’t go straight to spamming fruit juice. If you don’t feel your metabolism “catch gear”, recalibrate and ease into it.
The Metabolic Upregulation Stack
Laying Down the Ground Rules:
I am pro-supplements. But I am extremely anti “spam supplements without knowing what I’m taking or what they’re doing to me”. So lets lay down some ground rules:
Taking anything for too long increases the risk of imbalances or unexpected side effects.
Combining multiple supplements can create unexpected outcomes.
Everybody responds differently, sometimes oppositely. Just because it works for your friend doesn’t mean it works for you.
Trust your intuition above all else, if you get bad vibes from a supplement, discontinue.
ALWAYS cycle. Take a few days off every week. Take a week off every month.
Implement supplements one at a time, gather data, then slowly add more.
Always start with the minimum effective dose.
These are commandments. I will never give blanket supplement advice, only insights based off of my experiments, results & research.
The Biohacker Tracker
If you’re going to play the supplement game, play it right. Employ the Scientific Method and take rigorous notes. At least for the first few weeks. I call this the biohacker tracker
The Biohacker Tracker Playbook:
Gather a strong baseline. How do you feel normally? What is your mood & energy like? Take a snapshot. I like to record videos of myself to get more cues than just writing things down
Keep a page open in your notes app. Lay out every supplement, dose, and time for each of them
Any time you feel above or below baseline, jot it down: +1 energy, +3 mood, -2 focus, +5 anxiety.
Avoid making assumptions until you gather at least a weeks worth of data. Review every Sunday
This isn’t just about writing things down. Its about learning how to be in tune with your biology. Becoming an observer. Its a mindfulness & meditation practice with actual utility.
Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions
Supplementing isn’t natural. But nothing about our biology is truly natural anymore. We’ve been compromised since before we were born. We carry the metabolic & toxic burdens of our mother, our mother’s mother, and our mother’s mother’s mother.
We’ve been poisoned since we were in the womb. The first thing they do to us when we’re born is jab us with questionable substances. We’ve been popping antibiotics like TicTacs. Inhaling formaldehyde & asbestos in every room we’ve ever been in. Non-native EMF is slowly radiating my DNA as I write this.
So yes, I’m going to keep supplementing. And besides, humans have been tinkering with herbs & potions since we became sentient. I’d argue the reason us humans have outpaced our primal counterparts is because we started synthesizing nature to prolong healthspan. Every tribe had a witch doctor with an apothecary bigger than any of our supplement drawers. Low energy? There’s an herb for that. Low libido? Got one for that too. Any problem humans have, nature has a solution.
But modern problems require modern solutions. Our food is fake (GMOs), our soil is depleted, we can’t even enjoy seafood like we should (thanks to heavy metals and microplastics).
So yeah, it’d be great if we could just eat real food and sun our perineums, but I’m going to hedge my bet and pop some taurine.
I digress. Onto the stack
Biological Objectives
As per my previous rant, our metabolisms are fucked beyond belief. Blaming carbs for making us fat, slow or stupid is like blaming gas for your car breaking down when you haven’t changed the oil in 50k miles.
When someone says “carbs make me crash,” what they really mean is “my mitochondria can’t handle high-performance fuel.
This is where the biohacking comes in. We can upregulate our metabolism by pulling key levers in the glucose utilization process. Starting with our mitochondria:
Maxxing your Mitochondria
Mitochondria aren’t just powerhouses of our cells, they’re gatekeepers. Our mitochondria determine whether the glucose we’re eating becomes energy or fat. You can’t outwork broken mitochondria.
The problem is our mitochondria are easily broken. They have unique DNA, genetic scripts that don’t repair as easy as the rest of our cellular DNA (our mitochondria were their own single-celled organism at one point, but that’s a story for another time).
Your mitochondria turn glucose into energy (ATP) via oxidative phosphorylation. We want to max out our glucose to ATP ratio.
Efficient mitochondria = 36 ATP per glucose molecule
Inefficient mitochondria = 2 ATP per glucose
Thats an 18x difference in energy production. So when people complain about carbs making them fat, they’re really complaining about having inefficient mitochondria.
Signs of mitochondrial dysfunction:
Crashing after meals
Poor recovery from workouts
Brain fog despite clean diet
Stubborn body fat
Afternoon energy crashes
Sound familiar? If so, focus on mitochondria.
Mitochondrial Feedback Loop
We start with mitochondria because strong mitochondria create a positive feedback loop.
Better Mitochondria = Better energy production = More physical drive
You will naturally increase movement and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). You start getting antsy to train, like a border collie trapped in a cage. More physical activity will be a natural outcome.
Better mitochondria = Better glucose handling = Better body composition
Enhanced mitochondria improves insulin sensitivity. Glucose will go toward muscles instead of fat. Leaner body = better insulin sensitivity and more fat burn throughout the day.
Better Mitochondria = Less oxidative stress = Reduced inflammation
Less inflammation means you bounce back faster from training. You’ll adapt quicker, perform better. You’ll sleep better which will further enhance recovery. Stronger training sessions mean more mitochondrial adaptations.
This is compound interest for your metabolism:
More mitochondria = more energy
More energy = more activity
More activity = even more mitochondria
The Metabolic Club
Your mitochondria isn’t a powerhouse, its a party.
Muscle cells = venue
Glucose molecules = guests
Insulin = club manager
GLUT4 transporters = bouncers
Mitochondria = party inside
when your metabolism runs smoothly, everybody gets let in without a fuss & has a great time. Your club makes money (ATP) and the guests don’t cause any trouble. When it runs poorly. None of the guests get in, they get hammered and wander the street until they get processed by the police (your liver) and end up in the drunk tank (visceral fat).
Man I love analogies.
Lets optimize every step of the way: