Philip Pape

Have you heard of the GoMad diet GoMad gallon of milk a day popularized by Mark Ripito of Starting Strength . The idea is to bulk up quickly . You just chug a gallon of milk a day . But before you start doing that , I want you to tune in to today's QuickWits for my take on this sometimes controversial protocol and why it might not be the best approach for everyone , especially if you're not a skinny 20-something-year-old male . Welcome to the Wits and Weights podcast . I'm your host , philip Pape , and this twice-a-week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger , optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition . We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement , metabolism , muscle and mindset , with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry , so you can look and feel your absolute best . Let's dive right in . Welcome to another QuickWits , your source for no BS , real talk , insights on building strength , optimizing nutrition , unlocking your best physique . And today we're diving into a fun topic and that is the GoMad diet . Gomad stands for gallon of milk a day , and this is a protocol popularized in Starting Strength by Mark Repito , and it's had so much controversy and misunderstanding over the years . But the goal is it promises rapid weight gain and muscle growth because you're drinking a gallon of milk every single day . Now , on its face , that actually makes a lot of sense . A gallon of milk has a ton of calories , and they're very balanced calories , including lots of protein , with also some other growth factors in there that are claimed to be potentially beneficial when you're trying to have an anabolic growth phase , a muscle building phase and I'm going to give Ripito credit where it's due , because he knows what he's talking about when it comes to getting people strong . His starting strength program has helped lots of lifters , many of whom I continue to associate with . I know some fantastic coaches who came through that program . I got a lot stronger . I wish I had kept going and gotten even stronger , running starting strength the first time back in the 2020 timeframe to build that really solid foundation .

Philip Pape

Um , but when it comes to go mad , I think it's important to read the fine print right Before you start guzzling it down , because when I , when I gained a bunch of weight back in 2020 , I kind of took it to heart . I didn't drink a whole gallon , but I did drink , you know , as much as a half gallon . On some days , maybe at least a quart . I was drinking a lot of milk and it definitely does its job . It's very calorie dense , it's easy to put down and you know , there you go . And it's also fairly inexpensive when it comes down to it .

Philip Pape

And GoMad was originally intended for a very specific demographic skinny , underweight dudes in their late teens and early twenties who struggled to put on any weight so hard gainers , whatever you want to call them and honestly , they were just refusing to eat enough . That's really what it comes down to . And so for them , this massive calorie boost from a gallon of milk a day . It's easy Again , you can drink it quickly and easily . It's not that expensive . It's balanced . You don't have to track . It's like kind of gives you everything you need . It can kickstart that you know gaining phase and get you into the surplus and get them out of that hard gainer zone , hopefully with other aspects of your more balanced diet and nutrients and things like that .

Philip Pape

But if you're not in that category and let's be real , most of us aren't , and if you're listening to this , you probably almost definitely aren't and GoBad is definitely not the best fit for you . It's not even something you should consider , if I'm to be honest . Because if you're , you know , if you're older and we'll say like in your 30s , 40s or above , you're not significantly underweight . If you drink that much milk every day , you're going to that's just a lot of calories . If you track it , you're going to find that one gallon of milk being several thousand calories . You're going to get excessive fat gain . I mean , unless that's the only thing you're consuming and you're not consuming anything else . But then you're going to be missing out on some things we really want to gain at just the right optimal rate of gain to gain that muscle . Not to mention it can be a little bit tough on your digestive system , especially if you're not used to processing that much lactose , let alone if you have any intolerance to dairy , which is a whole different thing . But even if you don't , that's a lot . It's a lot of milk .

Philip Pape

So even if you are a young , skinny guy and you're looking to bulk up , I would still argue if you do it the way we talk about it , if you're tracking it and you have your macros dialed in , you can eat real food and still eat a lot of calorie dense food and get the most of your calories that way . But I'm not against having a decent amount of dairy in there to get to that goal as well . As long as you have that protein , you have the carbs , you have the fats in there from whole food sources , getting a wide variety of nutrients , building sustainable eating habits for the long haul , right . But I'm not anti-milk , I'm not . If you enjoy it , if you tolerate it , well , it can definitely be part of a healthy bulking plan . So I want to give you that option , and so this was kind of tongue in cheek . But also , hey , you know , milk is still out there as a really nice , easy to consume , calorie dense option for those who can tolerate dairy and do consume dairy .

Philip Pape

But I would say start with a moderate amount , right , a glass or two a day , see how your body responds . Do not jump to a full gallon a day At the end of the day . A successful gaining phase , right To build muscle . It's just having a consistent approach where you know what your surplus is , you track that against your metabolism , against your expenditure , so that you never fall into that plateau , that hard gaining phase , and if things start to get flattened out , you know that you need to consume more , based on what the data is telling you . And while you're doing that , having a good balance of nutrients and , of course , training really hard right and using progressive overload and all of that .

Philip Pape

So before you jump on the GoMad bandwagon or criticize it , let's just take a step back and consider what it's designed for , you know , and the principle behind it . And then , if you decide to up your milk intake , do it gradually as part of your you know nutrition , your overall nutrition plan . So I just wanted to share my thoughts on GoMad in case you were curious . I'm a big fan of it for , you know , young hard gainers , and I'm also a fan of milk itself as a potential source of , you know , decent amount of calorie , dense calories and pretty well balanced macros as well . And hey , I love Fairlife brand . I love the uh , using the skim milk or the not the skim milk , the one or 2% for , like the Ninja Creamy if you want to make an ice cream or as a base for something like a protein shake . And I also like the Fairlife Chocolate , just about for anything .

Philip Pape

And here's a little hack In the winter , all you have to do is microwave that sucker and you've got instant , rich , delicious hot cocoa , all right . So if you're hungry , you're thirsty . Now you cocoa , all right . So if you're hungry , you're thirsty . Now you know why you can blame me . Have at it , and we'll talk to you next time . Cheers . Thank you for tuning in to another episode of wits and weights . If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights , please take a moment to share this episode with them and make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode . Until then , stay strong .