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In the early 20s, the GOMAD diet was introduced to the people by Bernarr McFadden, He promoted it as the best way to increase the growth of muscles and strength levels.
But the question is, is this a healthy way to bulk your muscles and does it have any side effects???
To answer all these, let’s dive into this article in which we are going to let you through everything that comes with the GOMAD diet plan including the benefits and its adverse effects.
Let’s get started…
What is a GOMAD Diet?
GOMAD – Gallon of Milk a Day.
Like its name, a gallon of milk a day, GOMAD talks about including a gallon of milk in your daily diet.
Recently a viral Twitter post took everyone’s attention to this diet. It was advertised as the secret many fitness freaks do to bulk up their bodies.
Yup we know many of you are feeling nauseating only reading this and thinking how can anyone drink that much milk but believe us this is something that many of them are actually doing out there.
Surprised!!!
This is what that Twitter post says, “Never felt better great for bulking” and to this one person replied. “You don’t choose the milk life, milk life chooses you”.
Back in the 1920s, a personal trainer named Bernarr Macfadden published The Miracle of Milk. Later it was then popularised by Texan strength coach Mark Rippetoe between 2000 to 2009.
In The Miracle of Milk, it was said that a milk-heavy diet was solely dedicated to build a muscular physique with ease.
For instance, when you consume a gallon of milk then you are ingesting an astronomical amount of proteins, fats, and bulker’s friend ‘the calories’ along with other essential micronutrients needed for gains.
For fitness buffs, it was a shortcut that quickly led to BULK TOWN.
A Reddit user wrote about the GOMAD diet that “quite frankly it has worked wonders for me”. Others wrote “ I am lifting considerably more weight and feel so much better, loads more energy.” Now others who are lactose intolerant comment, this might make you a laughing mess, “ Let’s just say my butthole still has not forgiven me.” One more user says, “ GOMAD is disgusting and not a way to live”. There are many more comments about the
GOMAD diet out there but let’s not go through them all.
Note: GOMAD isn’t a good choice for women and people who have a 9 to 5 desk job or have a sedentary lifestyle. Rather than gaining muscles, you may accumulate enough fats to make you a “BUTTERBALL”.
In the upcoming sections, we will let you through some important pieces of evidence about the GOMAD diet so that you can make a decision about it.
The GOMAD Diet- How Exactly Does It Work?
Assuming 100 ml of whole milk contains 62 kcal, 3.35g fat, 4.66g carbs, and 3.32g protein, then following GOMAD would bring around-
- 123 grams of protein
- 127 grams of fat
- 2,400 calories
- 187 grams of carbohydrates
That Sounds Like A Whole Lot of Nutrients…
In fact, this is a massive nutrient surplus for most of the population around the globe.
For sure, the GOMAD diet is a nutritional shortcut for bulking and building muscle mass.
According to some dietitians, The GOMAD diet will lead to massive muscle gain when paired with weight lifting. However, the effects might not be permanent.
“As soon as you stop drinking these loads of milk, the muscles which you have gained may lose”, they add.
After looking at its components it is not surprising that this ‘much-hyped’ diet works quickly for some individuals to put on extra pounds of weight.
And also GOMAD makes it easier to drink extra 2400 calories as liquid calories don’t make you feel fuller compared to those solid foods.
The Potential Risks of the GOMAD Diet Plan
Supplying your body with a gallon of milk (close to 4 litres) isn’t always a good idea for most of us. This is because, when we drink this huge load of milk then our body feels like it is being bombarded with a very high amount of nutrients.
A gallon of milk adds enough minerals like calcium to your body that it can even affect your kidney function.
Also, be prepared for the coming kidney stone.
It is said by experts that men and women between 19 and 50 years should not take more than 2500 mg of calcium in a day. On the contrary, a gallon of milk (the one which comes with 1% of fats) adds 4880 mg of calcium.
Also, a gallon of milk adds 1920 mg of sodium which is 83% of the daily recommended limit.
Reportedly, several studies indicate that consuming this much of the minerals daily that you are going to get with GOMAD increases the risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Now, don’t forget that you’re going to load up with a massive 80 g of saturated fats. Accordingly, if we follow health guidelines then it’s 600 percent of the daily recommended limit.
Careful!!! It’s highly recommended to think twice and consult a professional before you begin your GOMAD BULK UP lifestyle.
Here’s what more you can expect from GOMAD from DAY 1 only.
- Gastrointestinal issues like bloating, nausea, or a leaky butt
- A disturbed balance of good and bad bacteria in the intestine
- Soon you may find yourself carrying milk bottles everywhere you will go
That Will Look a Bit ODD!!!
Thinking of opting GOMAD diet plan then be prepared as it is surely going to impact your daily comfort.
Like carrying milk throughout the day…SERIOUSLY?
You’re a Man and not a BABY.
Instead, you can take a bit harder approach. Incorporate a bulking diet that has high-calorie solid foods which you can split throughout the day.
And this is what even pros do rather than adding MILK, MILK, and More MILK.
Though, in the end, it’s your decision and not anyone else’s.
Why is the GOMAD Diet Hype?
Proponents of GOMAD say that drinking milk is better for muscle gain than just eating more food.
Here are some points that GOMAD advocates have been putting forward –
- Milk combines the best type of proteins which helps in putting on muscle mass.
- For bodybuilding, milk has an ideal macronutrient profile.
- Milk boosts testosterone levels because it has saturated fat.
- Milk spikes insulin levels due to which muscle growth accelerates.
Without any single doubt, a gallon of milk has more than enough protein, carbs, and essential fat but you can also get these with other food items out there.
For weight gain, the only thing that matters is, how many calories you intake in a day, not some pointed foodstuff whether you take it or not.
Milk has a high amount of essential amino acids and as you all know amino acid has significant importance in growing muscles making it one of the best sources of protein that you can add.
Digestion rates for Casein and Whey are different. Whey digests quickly whereas casein takes some time meaning that milk does both like increase your plasma amino acid levels and keeps them in that state for a longer time period.
And you know what, for this sole reason, researchers have said that milk is a good post-workout meal and the best bodybuilding food you can include.
But the thing is you can also get this result with other foods also.
For the required amount of protein, you can also go for foods like meat, eggs, and other dairy products which are digested well by the body without giving any side effects which are given to us by milk.
In addition, they are also absorbed well by the body and are a rich source of amino acids, and digest at different rates.
In Short, You’re Going to Get all the GOMAD Benefits Without a Leaky Butt!!!
Now among the males out there who want to increase their testosterone levels, a healthy high-fat diet is what they need. And we all know milk contains 130 gm of fat per gallon, so GOMAD makes it easy for them.
But according to some research, there are some problems like a high-fat diet does increase your testosterone level, no question, but for muscle gain, the effects are too small.
Moreover, a gallon of milk has about a huge 77 grams of saturated fat. If you are going to add this much fat daily without balancing it with an intense exercise regime then for sure it’s going to increase the risk of having a cardiovascular disease.
So this brings us to a question “how much milk is too much milk”?
Let’s have a look at it in the coming section.
How Much Milk is Too Much Milk?
Cow milk comes loaded with 18 essential nutrients. You’re going to get B vitamins, vitamin D, zinc, potassium, magnesium, whey, casein protein and we can go on and on.
These were the major ones that were worth mentioning.
If we look at the stats of the US Department of Agriculture, it is clearly mentioned that an individual can safely consume 2–3 cups of dairy per day, depending on age and calorie level of dietary pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions About GOMAD Diet
#1. How much weight can you put on by following the GOMAD diet?
It varies from person to person but some claim that their body fat percentage has increased by 1 % every month while others claim that they have gained close to 30 pounds each month.
#2. For bulking can one opt for the GOMAD diet?
It will help you in gaining fat if you follow it with a strength training regimen. However, using a high-carb diet will be much more efficient as it doesn’t have any ill side effects on the body.
#3. Is it good to choose a GOMAD diet?
If you want to gain muscles in a healthy way then it’s not a good option as it comes with some health complications. A gallon of milk contains 2300 calories and so much saturated fat and this is not healthy for your body.
Now if you want to gain weight or bulk your body in a healthy way then down here we have mentioned some tips that you can follow to gain muscles faster.
Other Ways to Gain Muscles Faster
If you are here then it is safe to say that you are looking for ways how you can gain or bulk your muscles faster.
Here is a list of some tips that can help.
Point Alpha: You will maximise the growth of your muscles and minimise the accommodation of fat in your body by only eating around 10 to 15 % more calories than you burn on an entire day.
When we talk about body composition then this saying is very true which says “calories is not a calorie.” Whether you are building muscles or losing fats, how your calories break down into protein, carbs, and fat plays a vital role. You need to look at your macros too, as counting on just calories will not guarantee your success in this journey. For muscle gains, you need to know that a high protein, high carb, and low/moderate fat diet works the best.
Point Beta: Don’t go for a massive cheat day. People who want to bulk up themselves start overeating which is not at all recommended. It is enough to double or triple the rate at which you gain fat by only a couple of binges per week. Overeating without thinking twice will make you the Potter’s ‘HAGRID’ not the incredible ‘HULK’.
Point Gamma: If you are new to bulking, then don’t expect high, during the first year of your gains, you are likely to increase no more than 20 to 25 pounds if you’re a man and if you are a woman then you can gain about half of it. The next year you will gain half of the pound which you put on in the first year then in the third year it will be half again. Later males should only expect a gain of muscles of 5 to 6 pounds and in females, it varies from 3 to 5 pounds.
The Takeaway…is that building muscle takes time and patience. It is not something that you can do in weeks. Be consistent and don’t leave your daily workout behind.
But some people are genetically blessed and can put on slightly more muscle mass. We can assume that bulking looks like this in most people- 0.5 to 1 pound per week and no more than a 1% increase in body fat percentage per month.
The GOMAD Diet: Bottom Line
GOMAD is a nutritional shortcut but not a sustainable muscle-building solution.
Though it packs a ton of calories and proteins which may help you with quick gains, the problem lies in its high-fat content. After a period of time, you will have to deal with this extra accumulated fat.
Also, what we don’t like about this is, GOMAD promotes unhealthy eating habits.
More to this if you are lactose intolerant then drinking too much milk can lead you to a leaky gut and whatnot.
It’s highly recommended to leave this form of diet which we call GOMAD and stick to the fundamentals of lean bulking and proper meal planning.
Johannes Lukas is a body building freak and believes in building strong muscles by adopting special exercises for his body party and simultaneously using herbal body building products to maintain his ideal body shape. Winner of many body building events, he promotes using bodybuilding supplements that helped him to become a macho stud-like personality. Also, he believes in healthy eating and loves to cook for himself, as many healthy dishes as he can. He enjoys his free time and inspires others to get a body shape loved by everyone.
