GOMAD Alternatives that Work Better for Weight Gain

GOMAD means a gallon of milk a day, but there are better ways to gain weight.

GOMAD means a gallon of milk a day for weight gain; have you hopped on the GOMAD bandwagon? There is nothing special about milk that it should be regarded as a superior way to gain weight.

Though it’s true that people trying to lose weight will avoid whole milk like the plague, this doesn’t mean that whole milk is the ultimate for weight gain. Let’s look at GOMAD more closely.

A gallon of milk every day.

• There are 128 ounces in one gallon.
• Eight ounces of whole milk are 150 calories.
• There are 16, 150 calorie servings in one gallon (128 ounces) of whole milk.
• This means that GOMAD translates to 2,400 calories.

Wow — that’s a lot of calories to pile onto what you’re already eating on a daily basis.

So if you normally eat 3,000 calories a day of food and other beverages and still wish to gain weight, it only makes sense that tacking on an additional 2,400 calories a day will definitely make you gain weight.

There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat. Assuming that with a GOMAD program, you continue to eat your normal 3,000 calories a day, rather than allow the milk to replace some of those calories, you will gain a pound of fat about every one and a half days (since 2,400 times three is 7,200, and remember, there are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat).

You will gain about four and a half pounds a week on GOMAD as long as the milk does not replace any of your regular food intake.

Some claims say that you can put on 25 pounds in 25-30 days with GOMAD.

Based on the math you just read, you know that this gain-rate of 25 pounds in 25-30 days is impossible.

It will also be difficult not to feel so full and bloated from all that milk, that it ends up replacing some of the calories you normally eat.

Think about that: A gallon of milk a day is a LOT. Some men who do GOMAD report having to run to the bathroom all day long with diarrhea.

Can you really drink all that milk, day after day?

If you love the taste of plain milk, GOMAD is doable.

• But will your stomach have room for all that extra fluid?
• And what will you do after you reach your weight gain goal?
• How will you maintain that weight gain?
• You can’t do GOMAD for life.

A better alternative to GOMAD is consuming a food that, for a much smaller amount than a gallon of milk, offers far more calories.

This way, you won’t feel stuffed or bloated; won’t have diarrhea emergencies; and won’t suffer the drudgery of having to drink down so much of the same bland-tasting beverage day in and day out.

You can get an additional 1,200 calories a day (no need to spike it way up to 2,400) by making the following changes daily:

• Adding a few tablespoons of olive oil to your salads and the water you cook rice in

• Eating a bowl of cashews, peanuts or other nuts

• Eating Grapenuts cereal (this stuff is loaded with calories and is a good source of complex carbs)

• Eating protein smoothies made with peanut butter; and increasing consumption of other high calorie foods such as avocados and lamb (which is free of hormones and antibiotics).

Since a gallon of milk contains 64 grams of fat, it wouldn’t be any worse if you added a serving of ice cream at the end of the day to the above plan.

After all, your goal is weight gain, rather than eating the healthiest diet in the world.

If your primary goal is to put on weight and get bigger from your gym workouts, you can easily take in that additional 1,200 calories a day with a breakfast of French toast, natural butter and natural maple syrup, plus a tall glass of milk.

One quarter cup of maple syrup is about 200 calories. Do you realize how many quarter cups of maple syrup you’d use for four or five slices of French toast?

Add to that the butter, eggs, bread and milk, and there’s your 1,200 calories, easily. Then eat as you normally would the rest of the day.

When you get sick of French toast, substitute pancakes or waffles. When you get sick of it all, have a large bowl of Grapenuts, then eat a bowl of cashews as a mid-morning snack.

Have some pie and ice cream with your peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.

Have a “hard gainers” protein shake a little while later. Go generous with the high fat salad dressing on your dinner salad.

There are all sorts of little tricks you can do for weight gain, that will be far more enjoyable than stuffing down a gallon of milk a day.

Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained clients of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.