GOMAD or Die Trying

[joesterizer]

Hi all,

You might have seen my thread in the "Nutrition" sections detailing my experiences over a 5-week experiment on the Anabolic Diet. I proved to myself I could gain weight while losing fat, but at an incredibly slow rate. My diet no longer fit with my goals (gain weight fast!), so I have decided to take the plunge and drink a gallon of milk a day... or die trying.

My goal is to hit 195lbs, and then I will lean out afterwards. I also want to increase strength in all my lifts, partially because of the Stronglifts Olympics.

Currently:
5'11"
173lbs
13-15% BF

Lifts (work weight, all 5x5 completed)
Squat: 205
Bench: 180
Deadlift: 245
OHP: 105
BB Row: 165 (this one is 3x5)

I want to get the weight gain within one month. I know I can do it, having read Bluestreak's story, as well as all of the other GOMAD success stories. 22 pounds in 30 days! I am going to keep this log here, mostly because I enjoyed sharing my AD experiences, and got lots of good feedback there. Also, it kept me motivated and committed. Here I go!

[GhettoMrBob]

Good luck with you weight gaining. 195 at 5'11 would be a good weight. I'm currently 5'10 and around 175-180 and looking to hit 185-190 while being lean. I'm also ditching the AD for a while and goin on a mini bulk followed by another go at the AD to lean.

[joesterizer]

First day of GOMAD:

I jumped right in at the full gallon of milk. I have been a milk drinker my whole life, and never had any problems with it.

So far, its 3pm and I've downed 2 litres. I feel ok, just a little funny in the stomach.

Workout tonight, should be interesting to see how i feel after attempting PR squats!

[guru]

Good luck! It should be interesting to see the progress right from beginning in the form of a log.

[joesterizer]

First day recap:

I slugged down my milk like a good boy, and managed to eat a total of 4500 kcal, eating waaaay less solid food than I was to get to 3300 on the AD. No stomach/intestinal distress, but I was still in the bathroom quite often, due to increased liquid intake. The lady who sits across from the bathroom in my office probably thinks I need to see a doctor... hahaha.

My workout went good, I attempted and failed on two PRs (squat and OHP) but I wasn't expecting to get them. I DID manage to get my 255lb deadlift 1x5. I also did a full round of tabata jumprope (7 sets, 20 seconds max effort, 10 seconds rest).

I had fine energy levels, and no stomach issues.

[joesterizer]

3:30 pm on day 2 of GOMAD.

I'm sluggish and sleepy, and I got 7.5 hours last night. Milk, tuna salad, and beef have caused me to be super drowsy. I miss the consistent energy of the AD a little bit right now.

[joesterizer]

10:25 am on day 3 of GOMAD. Total milk intake so far: 2.4 gallons.

Still tired. I woke up very full this morning, probably because I left almost a liter of milk and 1/4 cup of almonds to eat last night right before bed. I was working until 10pm, so I didn't have much choice as to when I could eat. Today I will try to eat more food earlier - moving the calories up to 4800 today!

My belly looks bigger, but probably just because I'm full ALL the time.

Nothing else to report. Stomach/diarrhea issues have not come up, you guys out there who are suffering must have milk allergies.

[joesterizer]

9:18 on day 4 of GOMAD. Total milk intake so far: 3.25 gallons.

I finished up my milk last night by 8:30, and ate a chicken and broccoli stirfry at about 9:30 before going to see the Celebration of Lights fireworks. The solid food instead of milk made sleeping easier and had me hungry for my breakfast today. I'll shoot for this timeline from now on.

Still no weird physical reactions. Except I now have albino poops.

[Leot]

Out of curiousity, is there a reason you can't bulk on the AD?

[joesterizer]

8:37 on day 5 of GOMAD. Total milk intake so far: 4.25 gallons.

Weight update: 178.2 lbs! That is almost a 5 lb weight gain in 5 days. However, my weight could fluctuate almost that high during the carb-ups of the Anabolic diet, making me think most of the weight so far is water retention.

@ leot: check out the end of my AD thread to see my reasons for switching:

http://stronglifts.com/forum/the-ad-and-me-adventures-in-dieting-t17128.html

Essentially, you can bulk on the AD, it's just slow/difficult and I'm impatient.

[joesterizer]

10:09 on day 7 of GOMAD. Total milk intake so far: 6.25 gallons.

Drinking the milk is getting easier, although it always makes me very sleepy after I slug down a liter or two.

I'm only eating 5000 kcal/day. This is less than bluestreak's incredible 7000-9000 per day, but as long as I keep gaining weight I think this number is good to prevent excessive fat gain.

I beat a long-standing OHP personal best this weekend. Thank you, milk!

[atypical1]

Did you take measurements?

[joesterizer]

Did you take measurements?

Gah, I forgot all about that. I'll get myself a measuring tape today, I suppose.

[joesterizer]

9:33 on day 9 of GOMAD. Total milk intake so far: 8.25 gallons.

Weight update: 184.2 pounds!

Holy shit! That is 11 pounds in 8 days! Even assuming half of it is fat (and I can see it on my belly) I added at least 4-5 pounds of LBM in a week. That's incredible.

Still havn't got measuring tape, I have two jobs and do SL 3 times a week. I work, hit the gym, eat, and sleep. This is my life, and I can't even find time to get to the store!

[joesterizer]

I think it is worthwhile to note exactly how easy it was for me to implement GOMAD. I eat the same basic foods every day, just with some pasta after workouts. I drink my milk. I work out and sleep. And my weight is steadily increasing 1lb/day on average.

Also, compared to my anabolic diet log there is virtually no interest in this one, or any real questions about it. I would say this is a testament to exactly how easy and understandable GOMAD really is. My goal weight of 195 seems very attainable at this point.