GOMAD means a gallon of milk a day for weight gain, but have you ever considered olive oil?

When a man chooses GOMAD for weight gain, it’s usually whole milk, or maybe 2 percent. However, GOMAD is very impractical, whereas olive oil may just do the trick with a fraction of the hassle.

Let’s compare GOMAD with olive oil if your goal is simply to gain weight and get rid of that “weakling” or skinny look, as many “skinny” men strive to do.

They lift weights faithfully and eat as much as they can, yet are still, from their point of view, too skinny.

As a personal trainer I’ve worked with men who were struggling to put on weight. And I see men at the gym, during my own workouts, who are clearly underweight and obviously trying hard to put some meat on.

A few problems with GOMAD is that in some individuals it will cause a lot of diarrhea.

It’s also difficult to drink a gallon of milk every day on top of what you’ve already been eating.

Remember, a gallon of milk a day here is not a replacement for food; it’s an accessory, since weight gain is the goal. Many men have reported gaining quite a bit of pounds doing the GOMAD thing for just one month.

But for how long can you keep doing this?

GOMAD = 1,200 calories a day for whole milk; total fat: 64 grams, of which a whopping 40 grams is the “bad” fat of saturated; protein: 64 grams; and carbs: 104 grams. This may sound like an excellent weight gain formula.

However, 40 grams a day of saturated fat is very unhealthy, for those of you who are, in addition to packing on pounds, interested in being healthy.

For olive oil to hit 1,200 calories in a day, you’d need just 10 tablespoons. Ten tbs of olive oil = 140 grams of fat, way more than milk.

However, just 20 grams of that 140 are the “bad” saturated fats. All that olive oil still equals no protein and no carbs.

However, if you subscribe to the calories-in vs. calories-out model for weight gain, then it won’t matter that olive oil has no carbs or protein. It’s still 1,200 calories, plus all that fat  —  most of it very healthy fat.

So which is easier to ingest every day? A gallon of milk (in addition to what you normally stuff yourself with to gain weight)?

Or…10 tablespoons of olive oil? A few tablespoons will go unnoticed in a protein shake.

If you’re drinking a few protein shakes a day, you can easily knock down five tablespoons of olive oil and never know it.

Depending on the size of your protein shake, you can slip in three tablespoons of olive oil in each serving and never taste it.

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to your rice’s cooking water, and another tablespoon (with vinegar) to your green salad, and there’s your 10 tablespoons a day of olive oil! Was that easy or what?

What if you don’t eat rice? If you hate rice, add olive oil to your boiled potatoes, yams or pasta.

Between rice, potatoes, pasta, salads and protein shakes/smoothies/drinks, you can see how simple it is to ingest 1,200 calories’ worth a day of olive oil.

And you won’t get sick on it, like you might with GOMAD, especially if you’re lactose intolerant.

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.