GOMAD

Diet and Nutrition
1

I have done what I can with the search function (the only thing I don’t like about this site is the useless search function), and found opinions about GOMAD (Gallon Of Milk A Day) in a few different threads. I just wanted to bring them together into one coherent thread so I and others can figure out whether to give it a go.

The biggest guys on here are always telling people to go for broke, get huge and worry about the fat gains later. Within reason, of course. So is GOMAD a valid way of doing this? Its obviously not a magic bullet, and essentially we are just adding cals, protein and nutrients to the diet, but with Strossen, Wendler, Rippetoe, Mehdi (of Stronglifts fame) and probably loads of others swearing by the approach it must be worth a look.

So taking the fact that this is a bulking tool as a given, who should use it and when? I would imagine I am on the cusp of an acceptability- I am already at 15% bodyfat but at 6’3" I think I can carry it off. I still have a 34" waist and I only weigh 196lbs, so I want at least another 30lbs before I even think about cutting.

2

I’m a big fan of lots of milk when bulking up, personally whenever I have alot in my diet I allways seem to make much better gains than the times I have tried without. Even If I replace those lost calories and protein with something else I just don’t make the same gains. Theres something extremely anabolic about milk beyond the calorie and protein content, for me anyway.

3

Yes, I made great gains when I consumed almost a gallon of whole milk a day.

Then I became lactose intolerant. If I could, I would.

4

Why wouldn’t liquid calories and protein help you gain? Seriously, there’s no secret behind it.

If you tolerate milk and need the calories, try it.

If you find that you put on too much fat for your taste, cut back on the milk or other calories.

There isn’t much point in having another thread on this topic.

5

Obviously you’d want to build up to a gallon per day slowly. Maybe give yourself a month’s time, adding an additional glass of milk every few days. Also, this is not an all-or-nothing proposition… your digestive system may not be able to tolerate a full gallon, or handle it comfortably. A half-gallon daily would still be a worthy addition, if you are trying to bulk. Hell even a quart a day would help. Something about milk is anabolic.

This is old school bulking!

6

I drink more than this every single day… of chocolate milk. I haven’t turned into the marshmallow man and I havent gotten diabetes yet… well not that I know of :stuck_out_tongue: Choco milk is deliciouso how anyone can resist is beyond me.

7

I’ve tried both sides of the spectrum ranging from drinking no milk at all to drinking 2 gallons of milk per day, and I’ve found that drinking no milk works best for me. Milk got me fat, gave me horrible acne, bad breath, made me bloated and smooth, and increased estrogen levels. I’d possibly even attribute my pubertal gyno to milk because I drank at least a gallon a day during my youth.

Although the lactose (that’s the carbohydrate in milk) does not register very high on the glycemic index, milk itself has something about it that makes it very high on the insulin index, almost as a high as sugar, and the insulin index a much better indicator of how much something will affect your insulin levels. GOMAD will have to be drank throughout the day, and spreading it out that much will have your insulin levels spiked constantly throughout the day, leading to insulin insensitivity and possibly even type II diabetes. I always bulk with fruits and whole wheat/oat products for my carb sources (with the exception of maltodextrin and dextrose periworkout), and it works very well to keep me lean while gaining maximal muscle.

Furthermore, milk comes from cows that are pregnant year-round so that they may produce the maximum amount of milk possible, but this also leaves them with very high estrogen levels. I have had blood tests that proved, at least in my body, that milk highly raises my estrogen levels. Again, I was drinking at least a gallon a day since before I was even a teenager, and I think that this may have contributed to my pubertal gyno as well as my acne.

Nowhere on my body didn’t have at least a pimple or two on it. Neck, back, face, neck, chest, arms, forearms, glutes, legs, and even one or two on my calves. The blackheads were gross, too. I could spend hours pinching the hardened plague-ish stuff out of my shoulders, face and chest every day. It all went away almost completely when I stopped milk. The bloatedness and smoothness aren’t that fun either, so I’m pretty against milk.

Milk is my favorite drink in the world, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just not worth it in my opinion or even effective. There are so many better options that can out-do milk. And don’t give me that crap about not being able to eat enough solid food, so you’re drinking milk to meet your caloric needs. I am eating 6k calories per day, and it’s almost all solid food with the exception of a few protein shakes with no weight gainer.

To each his own, but I’m not doing it, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone either (obviously haha).

8

i can think of 6 million tastier ways to add calories than drinking a gallon of milk, but each to their own i guess

9

[quote]stevo_ wrote:
i can think of 6 million tastier ways to add calories than drinking a gallon of milk, but each to their own i guess[/quote]

But, do they have nifty acronyms?

10

[quote]chimera182 wrote:
stevo_ wrote:
i can think of 6 million tastier ways to add calories than drinking a gallon of milk, but each to their own i guess

But, do they have nifty acronyms?[/quote]

S.T.E.A.K

11

[quote]stevo_ wrote:
chimera182 wrote:
stevo_ wrote:
i can think of 6 million tastier ways to add calories than drinking a gallon of milk, but each to their own i guess

But, do they have nifty acronyms?

S.T.E.A.K
[/quote]

Touche

12

i can’t handle that many carbs a day coming from one source. I balloon up big time if i don’t watch my carb intake and gaining weight has still been pretty simple. it is all about peanut butter and beef

13

[quote]stevo_ wrote:
chimera182 wrote:
stevo_ wrote:
i can think of 6 million tastier ways to add calories than drinking a gallon of milk, but each to their own i guess

But, do they have nifty acronyms?

S.T.E.A.K
[/quote]

Good one…

If you go GOMAD remember to ramp up quite slowly.

14

sounds like a good way to get lactose intolerance. just eat 2 extra steaks with potatoes throughout the day. maybe even 3.

in my book steak & potatoes >milk

15

I tried it for a while, about 2 months… I just found it was an easy and cheap way to add calories and protein.
It sure helped me gain weight, about 35ish pounds, from 140 to 175 (6’1), I’m at 205 now, sans milk, I’ve learnt to just eat more.

The reason I gave up the milk was excess fat gain- was probably at 10% body fat, now @ 20ish%- 37inch waist, fat on the sides of chest… I figured it was the milk, dropped it and managed to gain from 175 to 205 without really increasing the appearance of bodyfat, by eating meat.

So basically I feel like it’s a good way to gain weight easily and cheaply, there really is something about milk other than the calories that it contains.

But you have to be prepared to deal with excess fat gain, perhaps more so than other ways of bulking (i.e. just solid food). I don’t really regret it, but am now struggling to convince myself that I need to keep gaining weight despite being rather unhappy with my fat levels and overall appearance…

16

back relaxed… not so bad I guess, I think the fact that I’ve been unable to train chest for several months due to a shoulder injury probably doesn’t help either…
So overall, if you’re willing to pay the price to gain some weight, go for it. If you can do it without the milk you might be better off…

17

[quote]tassietaekwon wrote:
I tried it for a while, about 2 months… I just found it was an easy and cheap way to add calories and protein.
It sure helped me gain weight, about 35ish pounds, from 140 to 175 (6’1), I’m at 205 now, sans milk, I’ve learnt to just eat more.

The reason I gave up the milk was excess fat gain- was probably at 10% body fat, now @ 20ish%- 37inch waist, fat on the sides of chest… I figured it was the milk, dropped it and managed to gain from 175 to 205 without really increasing the appearance of bodyfat, by eating meat.

So basically I feel like it’s a good way to gain weight easily and cheaply, there really is something about milk other than the calories that it contains.

But you have to be prepared to deal with excess fat gain, perhaps more so than other ways of bulking (i.e. just solid food). I don’t really regret it, but am now struggling to convince myself that I need to keep gaining despite being rather unhappy with my fat levels and overall appearance…
[/quote]

You could try working out! That’s always good for making gains.

18

[quote]tassietaekwon wrote:
I tried it for a while, about 2 months… I just found it was an easy and cheap way to add calories and protein.
It sure helped me gain weight, about 35ish pounds, from 140 to 175 (6’1), I’m at 205 now, sans milk, I’ve learnt to just eat more.

The reason I gave up the milk was excess fat gain- was probably at 10% body fat, now @ 20ish%- 37inch waist, fat on the sides of chest… I figured it was the milk, dropped it and managed to gain from 175 to 205 without really increasing the appearance of bodyfat, by eating meat.

So basically I feel like it’s a good way to gain weight easily and cheaply, there really is something about milk other than the calories that it contains.

But you have to be prepared to deal with excess fat gain, perhaps more so than other ways of bulking (i.e. just solid food). I don’t really regret it, but am now struggling to convince myself that I need to keep gaining despite being rather unhappy with my fat levels and overall appearance…
[/quote]

…

19

Cheers for all the input. I don’t think it’s a waste of time, I think a bulking method as popular and controversial as GOMAD deserves a comprehensive and easy to find thread to itself!

Myself I’ll probably tread a middle path and use about half a gallon (four pints in real money!) to top up my daily calories. I get plenty of meat at my three or four sit down meals a day, but doing my job the rest has to be liquid nutrition of one sort or another.

20

[quote]guitarlifter wrote:

Furthermore, milk comes from cows that are pregnant year-round so that they may produce the maximum amount of milk possible, but this also leaves them with very high estrogen levels. I have had blood tests that proved, at least in my body, that milk highly raises my estrogen levels. Again, I was drinking at least a gallon a day since before I was even a teenager, and I think that this may have contributed to my pubertal gyno as well as my acne.
[/quote]

I really don’t buy this argument. Cows go into estrus every month like people, they’re not seasonal breeders. In nature they’re probably continuously nursing a calf (probably well into it’s first year) plus knocked up with one on the way.

Modern dairy cattle are “dried off” for about a month or two at the end of their lactation then they have a calf and start over.

It’s more likely to me that the insulin or fat gain is too blame than some magical estrogen compound.