GOMAD: Gallon of Milk Per Day

[buddyboy101]

Hey everyone,

I'm 26, 6'4 and weight about 180. I'm a bit skinny fat right now. Currently hitting the gym to work off the pudge and gain some muscle. I plan on following the Stronglifts program (please google it since I can't post links due to my post count...), which is basically the Rippetoe program.

Anyways, my eventual goal is to put on at least 20 pounds (in muscle of course!). The Stronglifts website recommends this seemingly insane program of drinking a gallon of milk daily for 25 days straight ("GOMAD" lol). The site claims it will put 25 pounds on your frame. For a skinny guy who's had plenty of trouble gaining weight, this sounds like a miracle. It also sounds unhealthy and too good to be true.

Can anyone share any thoughts about this "GOMAD" program? Is it healthy for your body? Does it actually work? Is it recommended for someone with my physical attributes described above?

Also, has anyone heard of the Stronglifts website in general? It seems kinda cheap but the advice seems solid. Please share your thoughts...

Thanks,
Frank

[acrawlingchaos]

For someone with a poor composition, I would avoid GOMAD until it improves. With a higher bdy fat, you can gain muscle while maintaining your weight, thus improving your composition.

IMO GOMAD is better suited for those who are EXTREMELY underweight or for those that have pushed past some of the novice gains.

[Farley1324]

Hey everyone,

I'm 26, 6'4 and weight about 180. I'm a bit skinny fat right now. Currently hitting the gym to work off the pudge and gain some muscle. I plan on following the Stronglifts program (please google it since I can't post links due to my post count...), which is basically the Rippetoe program.

Anyways, my eventual goal is to put on at least 20 pounds (in muscle of course!). The Stronglifts website recommends this seemingly insane program of drinking a gallon of milk daily for 25 days straight ("GOMAD" lol). The site claims it will put 25 pounds on your frame. For a skinny guy who's had plenty of trouble gaining weight, this sounds like a miracle. It also sounds unhealthy and too good to be true.

Can anyone share any thoughts about this "GOMAD" program? Is it healthy for your body? Does it actually work? Is it recommended for someone with my physical attributes described above?

Also, has anyone heard of the Stronglifts website in general? It seems kinda cheap but the advice seems solid. Please share your thoughts...

Thanks,
Frank

1. I think Starting Strength is superior to Stronglifts.

2. You will not simultaneously "work off the pudge" and gain muscle.

3. The 25 days of milk and gaining 25 lbs of bodyweight thing is one of the reasons I find the whole stronglifts thing to be fuking retarded.

4. A gallon of milk a day IS a viable option for a skinny guy who is having trouble gaining bodyweight.

[qeynos]

lol, 1 lb of muscle a day?

more like fat

[SumDumGoi]

1. I think Starting Strength is superior to Stronglifts.

Debatable, but who cares as long as there is progressive overload.

2. You will not simultaneously "work off the pudge" and gain muscle.

Really? There are hundreds of studies that have documented reductions in body fat and increased lean body mass following a strength training program. My advice, do some research.

3. The 25 days of milk and gaining 25 lbs of bodyweight thing is one of the reasons I find the whole stronglifts thing to be fuking retarded.

Yes, those claims are retarded. Sounds ike someone is combining Anaconda with Starting Strength.

4. A gallon of milk a day IS a viable option for a skinny guy who is having trouble gaining bodyweight.

No, drinking a gallon of milk a day for anyone is retarded. Taking in an additional 2500 Calories per day is not going to stimulate muscle protein synthesis any faster regardless of your body type.

[six6pack]

Debatable, but who cares as long as there is progressive overload.



Really? There are hundreds of studies that have documented reductions in body fat and increased lean body mass following a strength training program. My advice, do some research.



Yes, those claims are retarded. Sounds ike someone is combining Anaconda with Starting Strength.



No, drinking a gallon of milk a day for anyone is retarded. Taking in an additional 2500 Calories per day is not going to stimulate muscle protein synthesis any faster regardless of your body type.

i agree unless like some people who are 120 pounds even eating 1.5k cals in a day can be hard it was for me when i was 110. so i started eating my 1.5k plus drinking about 2k cals of milk a day and slowly i was able to start eating more real food each day

[Farley1324]

No, drinking a gallon of milk a day for anyone is retarded. Taking in an additional 2500 Calories per day is not going to stimulate muscle protein synthesis any faster regardless of your body type.

Where I live there is this stuff called reduced fat milk. It has 1,600 calories per gallon. You should go check out your grocery store sometime, maybe they have it too

[acrawlingchaos]

No, drinking a gallon of milk a day for anyone is retarded. Taking in an additional 2500 Calories per day is not going to stimulate muscle protein synthesis any faster regardless of your body type.

When I first started bulking I did this (though in all honesty I actually did a half gallon a day). I will say that it did help me with the initial push to gain. The extra 1200 calories where simple and the macros pretty spot on. Though there was significant fat put on, it was fine with me as I had fairly low BF to begin with. The extra fat now is helping me do a slight recomp / slow cut.

[Farley1324]

i agree unless like some people who are 120 pounds even eating 1.5k cals in a day can be hard it was for me when i was 110. so i started eating my 1.5k plus drinking about 2k cals of milk a day and slowly i was able to start eating more real food each day

When I first started bulking I did this (though in all honesty I actually did a half gallon a day). I will say that it did help me with the initial push to gain. The extra 1200 calories where simple and the macros pretty spot on. Though there was significant fat put on, it was fine with me as I had fairly low BF to begin with. The extra fat now is helping me do a slight recomp / slow cut.

Plenty of people have successfully used milk to supplement their diet. As with anything many have also used it unsuccessfully/incorrectly. But it certainly is a viable method for some people in some cases. Milk is good. And inexpensive. And convenient. And easier to get down than solid food for a lot of people.

If you want a fun, entertaining, long, unproductive discussion talk to sumdumguy about his personal training history and experiences.

[acrawlingchaos]

Where I live there is this stuff called reduced fat milk. It has 1,600 calories per gallon. You should go check out your grocery store sometime, maybe they have it too

Every advocate for GOMAD I have seen, specifically recommends whole milk. I think instead of getting away from whole milk, if one wanted to do a GOMAD type program sticking with the whole milk is better (better macros IMO), but instead reduce to half gallon (1200).

[SumDumGoi]

That's great. Now only if Rippetoe, the originator of this stupid dietary practice, recommended reduced fat/skim milk. Regardless, your point is still retarded because consuming an additional 1,600 Calories peer day is still moronic.

[Farley1324]

Every advocate for GOMAD I have seen, specifically recommends whole milk. I think instead of getting away from whole milk, if one wanted to do a GOMAD type program sticking with the whole milk is better (better macros IMO), but instead reduce to half gallon (1200).

For people who are really really sucking at the job of getting more calories in whole milk might make sense. But that is a helluva lot of calories, and a good bit of saturated fat. I'd rather use reduced fat and drink more. If you cut to half the quantity to reduce the calories that come with whole milk you cut your protein intake in half as well.

[SumDumGoi]

Plenty of people have successfully used milk to supplement their diet. As with anything many have also used it unsuccessfully/incorrectly. But it certainly is a viable method for some people in some cases. Milk is good. And inexpensive. And convenient. And easier to get down than solid food for a lot of people.

If you want a fun, entertaining, long, unproductive discussion talk to sumdumguy about his personal training history and experiences.

~$100/month so you can consume an extraordinary amount of unneeded Calories as you grow closer to becoming obese is inexpensive? Got it.

[acrawlingchaos]

That's great. Now only if Rippetoe, the originator of this stupid dietary practice, recommended reduced fat/skim milk. Regardless, your point is still retarded because consuming an additional 1,600 Calories peer day is still moronic.

Not everyone has the same lifestyle. I work 3rd shift, and maintaining a proper diet was difficult. Milk was a very easy way to ensure intake. After adding food thorough out the day, milk helped me meet my macros at the end of the day. It helped ramp my appetite up and slowly, as I removed milk and added addtional solid foods.

Like anything else, GOMAD is a tool that has it's time and place.

Farley, I know... that why I suggested instead of skim, going to a HALF gallon a day, which os only 1200 calories. The protein intake is not nearly as important to muscle growth with a calorie surplus, and the 60 grams of protein you get is considerable.

[acrawlingchaos]

~$100/month so you can consume an extraordinary amount of unneeded Calories as you grow closer to becoming obese is inexpensive? Got it.

This isn't a lifestyle change, good lord... it's a protocol you run for 4-8 weeks.

[SumDumGoi]

For people who are really really sucking at the job of getting more calories in whole milk might make sense. But that is a helluva lot of calories, and a good bit of saturated fat. I'd rather use reduced fat and drink more. If you cut to half the quantity to reduce the calories that come with whole milk you cut your protein intake in half as well.

So let me try and follow your logic. First I said that getting ~2500 Calories from GOMAD is ridiculous. You then shot back trying to be a smartass saying that perhaps I should go to my local grocery store and pick up low fat milk because it only has ~1600 Calories. Now what you have personally recommended is that you use low fat milk for the reasons you mentioned above, but make up the difference in Calories by drinking more of it. As long as your points are consistent.

Please keep in mind that absolutely none of this even addresses the point that taking in that many excess Calories is effective only at putting on extra fat and not muscle.

[SumDumGoi]

This isn't a lifestyle change, good lord... it's a protocol you run for 4-8 weeks.

I'm sorry but the idea of wasting ~$100-200 for something that is ineffective at increasing anything other than bodyfat is not a good tradeoff. Not to mention that you now seem to be promoting the idea that GOMAD has some sort of magical proerties that will "jump-start" muscular growth.

Here is some advice for the newbies and yourself. Strength training and bodybuilding IS a lifestyle change. Increses in muscular size/strength are slow, long fought battles. If you are expecting rapid miraculous gains, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

[acrawlingchaos]

I'm sorry but the idea of wasting ~$100-200 for something that is ineffective at increasing anything other than bodyfat is not a good tradeoff. Not to mention that you now seem to be promoting the idea that GOMAD has some sort of magical proerties that will "jump-start" muscular growth.

Here is some advice for the newbies and yourself. Strength training and bodybuilding IS a lifestyle change. Increses in muscular size/strength are slow, long fought battles. If you are expecting rapid miraculous gains, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

If you got that... you didn't read anything I said. I never said it was magical or it would "jumpstart growth", I said it can help spur an appetite in those that have no appetite. It's a "relatively" inexpensive mass gainer with great macros. That's it.

And why can you not expect rapid muscular gains as a novice. I think if you ARE a newb, you SHOULD expect impressive muscle gans in your first year.

If you don't yourdoingitwrong.

[SumDumGoi]

Not everyone has the same lifestyle. I work 3rd shift, and maintaining a proper diet was difficult. Milk was a very easy way to ensure intake. After adding food thorough out the day, milk helped me meet my macros at the end of the day. It helped ramp my appetite up and slowly, as I removed milk and added addtional solid foods.

Like anything else, GOMAD is a tool that has it's time and place.

Farley, I know... that why I suggested instead of skim, going to a HALF gallon a day, which os only 1200 calories. The protein intake is not nearly as important to muscle growth with a calorie surplus, and the 60 grams of protein you get is considerable.

How does working 3rd shift dramatically alter your diet compared to someone working 1st or second shift? You shift your sleep to different hours of the day, but you are still awake for the same number of hours, no? I used to work 3rd shift and I never found it necessary to drink all my Calories from milk and had no trouble eating real food.

[acrawlingchaos]

How does working 3rd shift dramatically alter your diet compared to someone working 1st or second shift? You shift your sleep to different hours of the day, but you are still awake for the same number of hours, no? I used to work 3rd shift and I never found it necessary to drink all my Calories from milk and had no trouble eating real food.

So what you are saying is we are the same, and that we adapt to the same stresses in the same way?

Third shift has had a dramatic effect on MY sleep, and MY eating patterns. The calories supplied were easy for ME to consume and helped ME increase a poor appetite. I identified the problem and GOMAD was a great tool that helped push past a mental barrier that many underweight individuals have a hard time pushing past.

Based on MY experience, I could see how this protocol COULD help others.

[SumDumGoi]

If you got that... you didn't read anything I said. I never said it was magical or it would "jumpstart growth", I said it can help spur an appetite in those that have no appetite. It's a "relatively" inexpensive mass gainer with great macros. That's it.

And why can you not expect rapid muscular gains as a novice. I think if you ARE a newb, you SHOULD expect impressive muscle gans in your first year.

If you don't yourdoingitwrong.

Let me get to the point you seem to be missing. Yes, milk can be included in one's diet. There is nothing wrong with milk and drinking a glass of milk either with a meal or in between meals can be beneficial. The problem comes from the idea of drinking a gallon of milk a day. GOMAD is often recommended on top of your normal meals so this means you would be taking in an additional 1600-2500 Calories per day. This number of Calories is what is typically recommended for AN ENTIRE DAY for many people! In other words you would most likely be DOUBLING your caloric intake by doing GOMAD. This is a pointless exercise being that doubling your caloric intake will not support any further increases in promoting muscle protein synthesis as compared to slowly adding Calories (~250-500 Calories/day) as protein synthesis is a very slow process. You are simply not going to add an additional 25 lbs of muscle in 25 days or in 3 months, regardless of Caloric intake.

[SumDumGoi]

So what you are saying is we are the same, and that we adapt to the same stresses in the same way?

Third shift has had a dramatic effect on MY sleep, and MY eating patterns. The calories supplied were easy for ME to consume and helped ME increase a poor appetite. I identified the problem and GOMAD was a great tool that helped push past a mental barrier that many underweight individuals have a hard time pushing past.

Based on MY experience, I could see how this protocol COULD help others.

I am suggesting that there are multitudes of people in this world who work 3rd shift and have no problem eating real food. Drink your Calories if you want, just don't try and convince me that this is the only way you can get them. Its not exactly as if you have throat cancer and need to insert your feeding tube before meals. Certainly you have overcome many hardships in your life if you are able to avoid eating real food so who am I to judge?

[NZninja101]

I have no idea why someone would want to gain a pound a day unless they wanted to put on a lot of unnecessary fat. Stronglifts is a solid routine but from the crap that you see on the website it'd almost make you think its a scam just because of the bull**** they talk about it. It sounds like a bloody infomercial.


Anything more than a pound a week is just silly if you're looking to gain muscle whilst gaining minimal fat. Milk is an easy way to get calories, (protein and fat), in, and there's nothing wrong with the concept of using milk to reach your macros as well as hopefully get you used to consuming more calories a day, (considering that its often recommended to people who have a hard time putting on weight), but telling them to consume a gallon on top of what they're already eating? And if you're struggling to gain weight then why not tell them to consume just half a gallon of milk? acrawlingchaos did that and still said that he put on significant fat, so I doubt it would be lacking for the average skinny person looking to gain weight.

If you're not consuming the whole gallon then you probably shouldn't rely on the milk to be your sole source of protein, but if the rest of your diet is adequate then its not a problem.

[acrawlingchaos]

Let me get to the point I'm making. My suggestion for GOMAD has NOTHING to do with biology, but more with psychology. I't helped me acclimate to a higher intake without feeling like I overstuffed myself. No one will argue that a slow bulk with a small surplus is much more effiecient, which is exactly what I am doing now that I have learned how to manipulate my intake and macros better.

A straight up bulk was just easier for me... period. No measuring, no counting, just drink and go. For me, my actual intake in solid food at that time was about 1800 cals a day (probably less). I went with a half gallon a day for 2 months and managed to gain a total of 30 pounds in 4 months.

Total intake ended up around 3000-3500 calories (as my appetite increased).

Now that I am more comfortable with dialing in my diet, I am chosing the smaller surplus/deficit.

EDIT @ NZ.
I was 155 when I started at 5'10", I personally know some VERY thin individuals that could go with a full GOMAD... again.. more for breaking mental barriers. Coming from a guy that used to be 120... this would have been a HIGHLT useful protocol then.

[mrmrbill]

Guess I picked the wrong day to start Cup Of Peanut Butter A Day (COPBAD) program.

[rdferguson]

Guess I picked the wrong day to start Cup Of Peanut Butter A Day (COPBAD) program.

Haha!

In reality, there's nothing wrong with GOMAD, in and of itself. It's entirely dependent on context. For an athlete who trains 5 hours a day, bloody oath, drink the gallon, and use it to wash down your cheeseburgers and french fries. For someone who lifts 45min a day and otherwise gets at least most of the calories needed for growth in their regular solid-food diet, you'd be asking for a lot of unneccessary fat gain from adding GOMAD in on top. For someone who undereats and has trouble stomaching enough food, increased liquid calories could help them get the right amount. Whether that's a quarter-gallon of milk, half a gallon, a full gallon, or some other volume (or some other drink, for that matter) all depends on what they need to be consuming to get the desired outcomes. Most people will never need to drink a full gallon of milk a day, but some will. For me, trying to work up to a full gallon (from being used to only about 750mL) got me up to about 1.5-2L (~1/2 gallon) a day, which, along with regular trips to fast food joints, got me up to a good, consistent amount of weight gain. I overshot my calories in the first month or so, and put on more fat than I would have liked to, but in the long term I was able to go from ~135lb to 170lb at a good, steady pace of about 1lb/week.

Again, it's all context. Without knowing the person's activities each day and the rest of their diet, it's stupid to give an absolute answer as to whether or not GOMAD is a good idea for them.

[buddyboy101]

Wow, quite a lively debate! Thank you for all the feedback. Bottom line, sounds like GOMAD is a bad idea. Does anyone have some tips for a guy like me? My goal is to hit at least 200 pounds, cut the chub, and get reasonably ripped. Here's what I've been doing so far:

Working out every day - running M/W/F, lifting on T/Th/Sa., rest on Sunday. The running - trying to cut fat, build endurance, etc. Usually 30 minutes alternating between walking and running to build endurance. The lifting - I'd like to bulk up and get more defined. Usually squats, dead lifts, row, military press, bench press, and some misc dumbbell curls. Diet-wise - cereal, milk, OJ, fruit, yogurt, granola, and cottage cheese in the morning. Raw vegetables throughout the day (peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and snap peas). A couple chicken/cheese sandwiches throughout the day too. Usually lunch at subway and chicken breast with veggies at night. Does this sound right to bulk up but stay lean?

Thanks!!!

[Engineer_Guy]

Honestly I think GOMAD is extremely excessive for a underweight beginner which is the time when putting on muscle is the easiest it ever will be. I think these people would be perfectly fine adding a quarter gallon of whole milk to their daily diet.

[DCSpartan]

this thread is why people should actually buy and read books instead of just skimming the boards.

Rippetoe's prescription of GOMAD was for skinny high school kids still growing. not for grown adults looking to lose some "pudge".

[Engineer_Guy]

Rippetoe's prescription of GOMAD was for skinny high school kids still growing. not for grown adults looking to lose some "pudge".

Nobody is talking about Rip here. He didn't invent the idea of GOMAD. OP didn't even say he was doing Starting Strength...