Born in 1971 in Massachusetts, Mark Wahlberg had a meteoric rise from a troubled youth to the movie star he is today. Wahlberg first rose to fame as the rapper Marky Mark, transitioning into film in the early 1990s. Wahlberg earned critical acclaim for his performance in Boogie Nights, The Basketball Diares, and Three Kings. Wahlberg was then nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in The Departed, as well as earning a Golden Globe nomination for The Fighter. Since then,Mark Wahlberg has become a leading man in blockbusters such as Ted, Transformers, and Daddy’s Home – making Wahlberg the highest paid actor in 2017.
Starting from nothing, to becoming one of the world’s most famous and successful actors, Wahlberg had to work incredibly hard. His workout schedule and daily routine is stuff of legends. Wahlberg routinely wakes up at 2:30 in the morning in order to start his workouts, and he routinely works out multiple times per day.
In order to recover from these grueling workouts and maintain his insane physique at 47 years-old, Mark Wahlberg takes advantage of a vast supplement regime. After researching and experimenting with numerous supplements over the years, Wahlberg went on to found his own company called Performance Inspired Nutrition. We did some research and put together the complete supplement stack that Mark Wahlberg takes daily.
Many of Wahlberg’s movies require him to maintain a substantial amount of muscle mass, and even gain massive amounts of muscle for movies such as Pain & Gain, where he gained 40 pounds in just seven weeks. Mark was searching for a high-quality protein powder that didn’t contain a bunch of filler ingredients or artificial flavors. Unsatisfied with what was on the market, Wahlberg made his own.
When he needs to pack on the pounds quickly, Mark turns to Performance Inspired Nutrition’s Mass Gainer. This mass gainer is packed with 900 calories of muscle-building protein, making it ideal for recovering from grueling workouts. The flavors are astounding as well – you can pick between Gourmet Chocolate Milkshake or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream on Amazon. Oh yeah, and it contains glutamine, creatine, and many other additional vitamins and minerals.
Main Benefits:
Having a good pre-workout supplement is critical for anyone who is serious about having a great workout, especially if you work out early in the morning like Mark does. Taking a pre-workout will allow you to work out with more intensity, while also enhancing your “muscle pump”. Most pre-workout supplements on the market are trash. This is why Mark created his own pre-workout, Performance Inspired’s Explosive Pre-Workout.
This all-natural pre-workout is loaded with Arginine AKG, beta-alinine, Nitrosigine, caffeine, citrulline malate, creatine, and loads of other ingredients that you want in a pre-workout designed to make you an animal in the gym.
Main Benefits:
Explosive Strength, Stamina, & Focus
Powerful Muscle Pump & Nitric Oxide Enhancer
All Natural & Great Taste
Mixes Easily
Pi Nutrition Pure Micronized Creatine
Creatine is one of the most heavily lab-tested supplements of all-time. Time and time again, tests have shown that creatine is number one supplement for improving performance in the gym. So of course, Mark Wahlberg is going to be taking this.
Creatine is found naturally in muscle cells and helps your muscles produce energy during exercise. Multiple studies have shown that supplementing with creatine can increase strength, muscle mass, and performance. While there are false rumors that creatine may be unsafe, studies have proven creatine to be extremely safe. Mark’s go-to creatine supplement is Performance Inspired Nutrition’s Pure Micronized Creatine. This supplement contains 100% pure creatine monohydrate, and mixes easily with your favorite drink.
Main Benefits:
Wahlberg’s workouts are grueling. Wahlberg mixes in heavy compound lifts such as barbell deadlift, barbell squat, and barbell bench press with full-body circuit workouts to increase muscle mass and burn fat. When doing these type of intense workouts so often, recovery is of upmost importance. This is why Walhberg supplements with Pi Nutrition’s Branched-Chain Amino Acids Plus Glutamine & Electrolytes.
According to scientific studies, BCAAs are the building blocks for protein and muscle, and can help with recovery. BCAAs also reduce exercise induced fatigue. What seperates Pi Nutrition’s BCAAs with the competition, is that it also contains glutamine and electrolytes. This is one of the best supplements on the market when it comes to recovery and hydration. If you want to optimally perform in the gym, while also increasing your recovery time, taking a BCAA supplement is a must.
Main Benefits:
Building Blocks for Protein & Muscle
Reduce Fatigue From Exercise
Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
Also Contains Glutamine & Electryolytes
Great Taste
Pi Nutrition Whole Food Multi-Vitamin
Mark treats his body like a fine-tuned sports car, making sure to “change his oil” and cover all the bases of overall health. It would be a huge setback if Mark were to get sick on set, which could cost him and the production company huge amounts of money. In order to maintain an optimal baseline of health and prevent himself from getting sick, Mark supplements with a whole food multi vitamin.
Many multi-vitamins on the market are extremely low-quality and do not contain the amount of nutrients needed. This is why Mark supplements with Performance Inspired Nutrition’s Whole Food Multi Vitamin. This high-potency formula is loaded with over 1 billion CFU of probiotics, whole food concentrates, and even branch chain amino acids. Using only natural ingredients, this multi vitamin is jam-packed with quality vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that are easily absorbed by the body.
Main Benefits:
Boosts Immunity and Performance
Healthy Aging
Fills in the gaps your diet might not cover
Supports Overall Health and Well-Being
Pi Nutrition Turmeric Curcumin Capsules
This is another supplement that Wahlberg takes daily in order to maintain a fantastic overall bill of health. The benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin are endless and are both known to contain bioactive compounds with powerful medicinal properties. One of the biggest benefits is that Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. This is huge for Mark, as this supplement helps him recover from his demanding fitness and work routine.
Pi Nutrition’s Turmeric Curcumin supplement is made with pure turmeric, has no synthetic additives, and contains black pepper to aid in absorption.
Main Benefits:
Powerful Anti-Inflammatory & Antioxidant
Improves Recovery
Lower Risk of Heart Disease
May Help Delay Aging
Summary
While we all may not need to wake up at 2:30 and workout out multiple times per day, we can learn a great deal from Mark Wahlberg’s supplement stack. He knows what he is doing, and knows that having an optimized supplement stack will give him a leg up on the competition and let him continue to train at the same intensity as he ages. Many supplements on the market are low-quality and contain filler ingredients. By creating his own supplements, Wahlberg was able to get exactly what he wanted – an all-natural, high-quality supplement stack that gets the job done.
Check out the video below of Mark Wahlberg going over his protein shake and supplements!
If you have ever been to a professional kitchen, or watched one episode of Masterchef, you’ll notice that the chefs are all using some sort of towel attached at their waist. In fact, many chefs consider a good kitchen towel to be just as important as a strong knife and a sturdy cutting board.
I was made aware of the importance of a good kitchen towel in Tim Ferriss’ bestselling book The 4-Hour Chef. After his first visit to Riverpark restaurant in New York, Ferriss was in pursuit of a stack of solid chef’s towels – but, he couldn’t find them anywhere. After laboriously searching, Ferriss finally found the answer: Lint-Free Surgical Huck Towels. Ferriss recommends ordering a dozen off of Amazon to start.
Why Lint-Free Surgical Huck Towels?
Look, you’re not going to see your favorite chef using an oven mitt or pot holder. They use kitchen towels for a reason, and these towels ARE NOT to be confused with dish towels. These versatile towels are used for almost anything you can imagine in the kitchen. You can use them to wipe away clutter, as a hand wiper, to dry wet vegetables and herbs, and remove hot pans or other items by folding the towel over itself – the uses in the kitchen are practically endless. Another pro tip is to wet a kitchen towel, fold it nicely, and place it under your cutting board while cutting. This will hold the cutting board still, almost as if it is glued to your kitchen counter.
By utilizing a kitchen towel, you can clean as you go, without having to go through a roll of paper towels. This versatile tool will make you look like a pro in the kitchen, while saving you money on paper towels. There’s no reason to waste anymore time searching for hidden oven mitts, pot holders, or sponges. There is no better way to impress and take your home-cooking to the next level, than by investing in a good set of lint-free surgical huck towels. In The 4-Hour Chef, Tim Ferriss recommends picking up a dozen of lint-free surgical huck towels on Amazon. They are super cheap, and wash extremely well.
If you are at all familiar with Dr. Rhonda Patrick, you have likely heard of supplementing with nicotinamide riboside, otherwise known as niagen, for its anti-aging benefits. Rhonda has mentioned that she specifically takes NiaCel by Thorne Research.
Here’s what Dr. Rhonda Patrick had to say about nicotinamide riboside supplementation on The Tim Ferriss Show:
I mix in some other supplements like the meriva formulation of curcumin, which I already talked about earlier, and I am just starting to mix in a little nicotinamide riboside into the mix. Nicotinamide riboside is a form of vitamin B3 that gets converted into NAD+ , which I already explained the importance of when I talked about fasting… but a brief recap: NAD+ status improving is generally perceived as one of the benefits of fasting that improve mitochondrial and metabolic function. Declining NAD+ status can be one of the unfortunate negatives of inflammatory processes. Nicotinamide riboside supplementation (100 mg up to 1000 mg) has been shown safe in humans and increased NAD+ levels in a dose dependent manner with 1,000 mg per day raising NAD+ levels up to 2.7 fold over baseline.There have been several animal studies showing nicotinamide riboside improves mitochondrial function, mitochondrial biogenesis, muscle mass, and metabolism but this is important and easy to miss.. the doses that were given to animals involved in studies were so high that I’m afraid that the supplement I’m taking right now, which is by Thorne and only has 125 mg per capsule, won’t quite cut it to meet some of the robust results being seen in animal studies. I think there is potential here but more studies in humans definitely need to be done at this point. Still interested though.
As mentioned on Tim’s podcast above, Rhonda takes the Meriva formulation of curcumin along with Thorne Research’s NiaCel.
Benefits of Nictinamide Riboside Supplementation
When you think of anti-aging products, you likely think of products designed to make you look younger or improve your outer appearance. The cool thing about nicotinamide riboside is that it reverses signs of aging from inside the body at a cellular level.
As Rhonda mentioned above, nicotinamide riboside is converted into NAD+, which is an essential molecule in all living cells. As you age, NAD+ levels in your body tend to fall. Even more so, studies have linked low NAD+ levels to things like heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and many other diseases that can become an issue as we age. By taking a nicotinamide riboside supplement, you can raise your NAD+ levels.
If you are at all familiar with Tim Ferriss, you know he is a huge fan of fasting. Tim aims for a 3-day fast once per month and a 5- to 7-day fast once per quarter. Every week it seems like there is a new study that comes out that reveals even more benefits to fasting. While fasting has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity, it has been practiced for thousands of years and has often played a key role in different religions and cultures.
In his New York Times best-selling book, Tools of Titans, Tim takes a deep dive into his own fasting protocol in the chapter on Dr. Dominic D’Agostino. Dr. D’Agostino has PhD in Neuroscience and Physiology from Rutgers University and is currently an associate professor at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, as well as being a senior research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. An expert in all things ketogenic diet and fasting, Dom is famous for deadlifting 500 pounds for 10 reps after a 7-day fast.
RELATED READING: Dr. Peter Attia’s Supplement List, Biohacking Toolkit, and Diet
Dr. D’Agostino is a huge proponent of a “purge fast”, saying: “If you don’t have cancer and you do a therapeutic fast 1 to 3 times per year, you could purge any precancerous cells that may be living in your body.” Studies also suggest that fasts of 3 days or longer can “reboot” your immune system, killing off healthy cells via stem cell-based regeneration.
Ferriss has been experimenting with fasting for years. His first foray into fasting was years ago in an effort to cure his debilitating Lyme disease. Ferriss did a 7-day fast that was medically supervised in a clinic where he lost 12 pounds and was in excruciating pain. In spite of that, Tim noticed a dramatic improvement in his Lyme disease, and began his journey to optimize fasting.
The longest fast Ferriss has completed to date was 10 days. Miraculously, Tim lost ZERO muscle mass on this particular fast while have a much easier experience compared to his first one. So what made the difference on this particular fast?
Consume trace amounts of BCAAs and around 300 to 500 calories of pure fat per day during the fast. Specifically, Ferriss recommends consuming roughly 1.5 g of BCAAs upon waking and 3 g of BCAAs during his workout. Tim doesn’t mention the specific brand of BCAAs he takes, but Dr. D’Agostino recommends Scivation Xtend BCAAs (I also use this brand). The 300 to 500 calories of fat will be consumed via MCT oil or coconut oil.
Tim got into ketosis as fast as possible to prevent muscle wasting. According to Tim, he can get into ketosis in under 24 hours instead of 3 to 4 days. By following Tim’s 3-day fast protocol below, you should be able to achieve the same results.
Consume exogenous ketones 3 times daily at 3- to 4-hour intervals. Tim primarily uses KetoCaNa and a C8 (caprylic acid) supplement such as Brain Octane. An exogenous ketone supplement helps to prevent carb withdrawal and get into ketosis quicker.
Up to 4 tablespoons of fat (e.g., coconut oil in coffee) is also allowed, just make sure to consume 300-500 calories from fat. Ferriss rewards himself with an iced coffee with a bit of coconut cream during the afternoons of his fast. He will also occasionally reward himself with a SeaSnax packet of nori sheets at the end of the day.
Walk 3 to 4 hours the first morning of the fast to get into ketosis faster.
Sleep as late as possible on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. The goal is to let sleep do some of the work for you.
3-Day Fasting Protocol By Day
Thursday
Plan phone calls, podcasts or any other way you can be productive on your phone for four hours for Friday. This will make sense momentarily.
Eat a low-carb dinner around 6 p.m. This will be your last meal before the fast.
Friday
Immediately upon waking, consume exogenous ketones such as KetoCaNa or MCT oil. Do this 2 more times throughout the day, preferably at 3- to 4-hour intervals.
Consume some caffeine and be prepared to walk for 3 to 4 hours. Aim to be out the door within 30 minutes of waking. Grab a cold liter of water and add a few inches of salt and consume while walking. Be sure to keep consuming a large amount of water throughout the day. Use the walk to make scheduled phone calls or listen to an audiobook or podcast. Walking will burn up your glycogen stores, making you get into ketosis much faster.
Saturday
After Friday’s walk, you should now be in ketosis. You can test your ketone level using a testing kit. Tim uses the Precision Xtra to test his blood ketones. You should be at around 0.7mmol or greater at this point. Another option to test your ketone level is to use urine ketone test trips, but they are messy and often inaccurate.
Continue to consume exogenous ketones 3 times daily at 3- to 4-hour intervals, trace amounts of BCAAs, and 300-500 grams of fat.
Sunday Night
Follow the same supplement protocol as the previous days.
Break your fast and enjoy it! You deserve it. For a 3-day fast, what you eat doesn’t really matter, but for longer fasts you will need to think re-feeding carefully. Ferriss has had everything from steaks to salads to greasy burritos to break his fast Sunday night.
How To Stay In Ketosis Post Fast
The key to staying in ketosis post fast is to follow the ketogenic diet by eating a boatload of fat. Shoot for 1.5 to 2.5 g of fat per kilogram of body weight, 1 to 1.5 g of protein per kilogram of body weight, and next-to-no carbs.
Remember, your fats will need to make up 70 to 85% of your calories; otherwise, you risk falling out of ketosis. Tim wrote in Tools of Titans, “A chicken breast by itself will kick you out of ketosis, but a chicken breast cut up into a green leafy salad with a lot of olive oil, feta cheese, and some Bulletproof Coffee (for example) can keep you in ketosis.”
Fasting Supplements and Tools
Tim’s 3-day fast protocol does not work without proper supplementation. Below is a summary of all the supplements and tools needed for the fast, including the specific brands that Tim recommends.
Exogenous Ketones – KetoCaNa, consumed three times daily at 3- to 4-hour intervals to stave off carb withdrawal and induce ketosis
MCT Oil – Tim uses Brain Octane, which is made of purely C8. Dr. D’Agostino uses a powdered form of MCT Oil by Quest Nutrition. If you prefer a flavored emulsified MCT oil that is tasteless and can be mixed in your favorite drink, we highly recommend Onnit’s Emulsified MCT Oil (use code ‘brainflow’ at checkout for 10% off).
Caffeine – Caffeine can help stunt your appetite and make getting through the fast easier. Tim will often have tea or coffee with some Coconut oil. He also drinks Bulletproof Coffee.
Ketone Testing Kit – Precision Xtra, to accurately test ketones levels the second day of the fast.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed our article on Tim Ferriss’ 3-day fasting protocol. The coolest part of Tim’s protocol is that it allows you to get into ketosis in under 24 hours! This can make transitioning to the ketogenic diet much easier, while reaping the benefits of fasting.
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out Tim Ferriss’ daily supplement stack as well as his morning routine. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.
Tim Ferriss the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers, most of which explore optimizing every aspect of your life. Ferriss is a life-long experimenter and will try anything in the name of human optimization.
His podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, is one of the top podcasts on iTunes. By interviewing the world’s leading experts on everything from the keto diet to performance supplements, Ferriss has developed what he calls a “micro-breakfast kit” that is designed for weight-loss as well as taking your productivity to the next level.
It’s crazy that what we put into our body has so much effect on how we feel, how much energy we have, and even how we sleep. Tim’s breakfast routine is like nothing you have seen before; it has everything from exogenous ketones to beet powder. Without further ado, let’s dive into Tim Ferriss’ breakfast kit.
Tim Ferriss’ Breakfast Routine
To get started, let’s introduce the components for Tim’s micro-breakfast kit:
Some form of synthetic ketone or MCT oil – Option 1: 3 capfuls of KetoForce with a bit of lemon juice in water or 1 capful of Brain Octane
The first thing Tim will have with his breakfast his some form of exogenous ketone or MCT oil. You can pick whatever you prefer here, as MCT oil is readily converted into exogenous ketones by the liver. Tim uses either KetoForce as his source of exogenous ketones—which was introduced to him by keto expert Dom D’Agostino—or Brain Octane by BulletProof when he goes with MCT Oil.
The type of exogenous ketone utilized in both of these supplements is Caprylic Acid, better known as C8. Out of all the MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides), C8 outperforms the others when it comes to weight-loss, energy production, and ketone production. This is because C8 is the shortest of the MCTs, which allows to be broken down and converted to ketones almost immediately by the body.
By taking a C8 ketone supplement such as KetoForce or Brain Octane, you give your body a dose of pure, stable energy. Ketones are a much better source of energy when compared to glucose because ketones provide more energy while actually using less oxygen. You will feel the mental clarity and clean energy just minutes after taking a good ketone supplement.
In addition to providing clean energy, C8 is a powerful antibacterial and has cancer-fighting properties. Ferriss recalled that in his research, C8 slowed the growth of tumors and reduced oxygen requirements when doing endurance work.
Option 1: 3 capfuls of KetoForce with lemon juice in water
Option 2: 1 capful of Brain Octane in tea
Breakfast Shake
The next component of Tim Ferriss’ breakfast is a protein shake. Now, this isn’t your traditional protein shake. Here are the following ingredients:
Tera’s Goat Whey Protein is sourced from ethically, pasture raised goats from Wisconsin family farms. Goat whey protein is packed with essential amino acids, and it’s more similar to human milk than cow milk, making it incredibly easy on the digestive system. Tim mentions he can stomach unflavored whey protein, but Tera’ Whey also comes in Vanilla Honey flavor.
Great Lakes Gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate was introduced to him by Amelia Boone, and even Dr. Rhonda Patrick includes it in her famous smoothie recipe. Collagen eases joint pain, strengthens cartilage, improves skin and nail health, boosts muscle mass, and even may have anti-aging benefits.
The final constituent of Tim’s morning protein shake is a tablespoon of SuperBeets. This has the added benefit of endurance improvements and what Ferriss describes as a “slight, but noticeable Viagra-like effect” in men.
Tea
Ferriss also includes a number of tea options in his morning breakfast kit to get a nice caffeine jolt in the morning. This is very similar to his famous Titanium Tea recipe.
To start the brewing process, Tim will set his Cuisinart Kettle to 185 degrees and mix both the Kabuse Sencha and Pu-Erh tea in a French press to brew. After pouring, Tim will then let it steep for a minute or two. Tim mentions that this quick brewing process will not sit well with many tea “purists”, but his goal is to get the catechins and caffeine into his system as fast as possible. Tim says that this tea combination also mixes beautifully with the Brain Octane mentioned above, or any grass-fed butter.
Sardines
The sardines are optional, but Tim acknowledges that he performs best if he gets a little bit of food into his system. Tim’s go-to morning breakfast food is Wild Planet Sardines in Olive Oil. Tim will pour some of the olive oil in the package onto his dog’s food and will eat the rest.
When he first mentioned this brand of sardines, they immediately sold out in Whole Foods stores across the country. Luckily, you can pick up a pack of them for cheap on Amazon.
Conclusion
Tim Ferriss has a pretty intense breakfast routine, so feel free to make small adjustments if needed. This breakfast works with most diets including the Slow-Carb Diet and the ketogenic diet.
We included the video of Tim describing his breakfast kit below. If you enjoyed this article, feel free to check out Tim’s supplement stack.