The GOMAD Diet For Hardgainers
The GOMAD diet, a hardgainers' best friend when it comes to bulking up and adding some mass to their slender frame.
Drinking an entire gallon of milk each and every day for a month is both physically and mentally taxing, not to mention the extreme caloric surplus that a gallon of milk places on your body can result in a decent addition of stored body fat from a months' worth of dieting.
Some guys choose to cease GOMAD entirely and make do with their skinny physique, others switch to either skim milk or flavored milk and carry on drinking a gallon a day, however neither of these substitutes are a good replacement for full cream milk.
Skim Milk
Skim milk contains a far inferior protein and fat macronutrient profile when compared to full cream milk.
You're going to be drinking just as much milk and coming up a lot shorter in terms of protein and fat (fat, containing 9 calories per gram will assist with placing your body in the caloric surplus it requires to pack on size).
Flavored Milk
Flavored milk is without a doubt more enjoyable to drink than regular full cream milk, however there's a couple of issues with drinking a gallon of flavored milk a day:
- As flavored milk is loaded with added sugar you're going to place your body in a far larger caloric surplus than need be, resulting in excess amounts of stored body fat
- Bloating from regular milk is bad enough, let alone the sugar high and crash from the ton of simple carbohydrates in your flavored milk
Half GOMAD Vs. GOMAD
Instead of substituting milk or continuing on with full GOMAD when you're struggling or finding yourself gaining weight too fast why not switch to half GOMAD?
Half GOMAD is just that, half a gallon of full cream milk a day.
Caloric Surplus
1 Gallon of Milk contains 2,400 calories with a macronutrient breakdown of:
- 120 grams of protein
- 200 grams of carbohydrates
- 120 grams of fat
2,400 calories on-top of your normal breakfast/lunch/dinner meals may be putting you in far too large of a surplus, half GOMAD on the other hand contains:
1/2 Gallon of Milk contains 1,200 calories with a macronutrient breakdown of:
- 60 grams of protein
- 100 grams of carbohydrates
- 60 grams of fat
Mindset
Chugging down an entire gallon of milk a day is mentally and physically taxing - when you're feeling full and bloated and still have another couple of litres to go you'll probably begin to question what and why you're putting yourself through this.
Half a gallon (or 2 litres) is far more manageable,
Gain Weight, Not Fat
Provided you're eating a decent breakfast/lunch/dinner the 1,200 calories you'll be gaining from drinking half a gallon of milk a day will still place your body in a decent caloric surplus.
As a result you'll gain weight at a slower rate, however fat gains will also be minimized.
Should You Do Half GOMAD Instead Of A Gallon Of Milk A Day?
Here's the points I'd consider before switching from GOMAD to half GOMAD...
Your Weight/Body Fat Percentage
If your body fat level is beyond 16% I'd opt to run half GOMAD, I do not recommend bulking when you're beyond the high teens in terms of body fat percentage.
If you're pushing 20% or above I'd focus on lifting heavy while eating at a maintenance level of calories - forget GOMAD and half GOMAD until your body fat level is in check.
Results With GOMAD To Date
Gauge your results with full GOMAD and make an informed decision from there.
Were you gaining weight at a reasonable rate? Were you gaining weight too fast and packing on excess fat?
Look at your progress and pivot based on your results on the scales and in the mirror.
How You Feel
Acne, bloating and regular trips to the bathroom are all part of GOMAD.
Once again, gauge how YOU feel from your time following full GOMAD and continue if you're happy with the results and feel up to it - if need be limit your intake to half a gallon a day for several weeks and once again, measure your results as well as how you feel and pivot or continue based on this.
