A Gallon of Milk a Day (The Reality of Mark Rippetoe's GOMAD) | Quick Wits Artwork

Wits & Weights | Strength Training & Fat Loss Over 40

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Wits & Weights | Strength Training & Fat Loss Over 40

A Gallon of Milk a Day (The Reality of Mark Rippetoe's GOMAD) | Quick Wits

June 24, 2024 • Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach & Fat Loss Expert

0:00 | 7:33

GOMAD, or "Gallon of Milk a Day," was a protocol popularized by strength coach Mark Rippetoe (of Starting Strength), to ensure rapid weight gain and muscle growth. The idea is to bulk up quickly. You just chug a gallon of milk a day. Easy right?

But before you start doing that, I want you to tune in to today's Quick Wits 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.

GOMAD was originally intended for a very specific demographic - skinny, underweight guys in their late teens and early 20s who struggle to put on any weight at all. For these folks, the massive calorie boost from a gallon of milk a day can kickstart muscle gain and help them get out of the "hardgainer" zone.

But if you're not in that category, then GOMAD might not be the best fit. If you're older, or if you're not significantly underweight, drinking that much milk every day is more likely to lead to excessive fat gain than lean muscle growth. Not to mention, it can be pretty tough on your digestive system, especially if you're not used to processing that much lactose.

But I'm not against using milk as a calorie-dense, macro-balanced tool as part of your nutrition plan. Tune in to hear my thoughts on this.

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Philip Pape 0:00

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 2:13

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 2:40

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 3:22

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 4:19

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 5:10

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 5:52

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 6:36

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 .