GOMAD Success Stories: Share Yours

[Mehdi]

Post your experience doing GOMAD in this thread.

• How much did you weigh before doing GOMAD?
• How how much weight did you gain doing GOMAD?
• How long did you do GOMAD?
• How much did you squat/bench/deadlift before & after GOMAD?
• Looking back: which mistakes did you make?
• What are your best tips for someone starting GoMAD?
• etc

Success Stories:

• Bluestreak's Story: From Skinny to... Happy! by Bluestreak
• How Killerdude494949 Gained 50lbs
• GOMAD - a few tips I might be able to offer by sealclubber
• 10lbs in 2 weeks by OrlandoB
• Gomad Experience by 5atfink
• I've had really great success with this... by tblackwell
• Skinny to Strong: my stronglifts story (with pics) by kiwipete
• 120lbs to 150lbs in 1 month by Trappistes
• 3 months GOMAD, just got back from my physical, and my cholesterol is... by RobertN

Start a new thread, share your story and link to it here. I'll add it to the list. Or just share your story below. Tnx!

[DaveT]

Start weight - 85kg (177lbs)
Added - 7kg (16lbs) - made up of about 5kg muscle and 2kg fat
Length of GOMAD - 16th Dec 2008 - 4th Jan 2009 (19 days)

Before: Squat - 35kg (77lbs), Bench - 25kg (55lbs), Deadlift - 45kg (99lbs)
After: Squat - 65kg (143lbs), Bench - 35kg (77lbs), Deadlift - 65kg (143lbs)
I don't know how useful these are, as I was just starting out on SL5x5, so the weights probably would have progressed without the milk, but it certainly didn't hurt.

Mistakes:
Should have drunk the banana/strawberry/chocolate flavours earlier... delicious!

Tips:
If you have drunk very little milk before, then ease into it to allow your digestive system to adapt. To suddenly hit it with GOMAD can cause crappy consequences! (Couldn't resist the pun!) I started by drinking a 500cc glass of milk with my three main meals for a week (Week 2 of SL5x5 in my case), then added a glass to each of my snacks in the next week (Week 3 of SL5x5). This got me to 3 litres so then it was just a matter of sipping an extra glass of milk at work in the morning and afternoon to get me up to 4 litres (a gallon) by Week 4. Try to build a routine like this around drinking the milk, then it'll be easier to stay on track.

If you GOMAD at the start of doing SL5x5 as I did, then expect to put on some fat as the weights aren't heavy enough for you to be burning all the calories. The important thing is not to worry about it. By the time I was squatting 60kg, I was burning off the calories and my BF% has dropped from 18% to 15% at time of writing, as the weights have continued to get heavier.

I still drink between 1-2 litres of milk a day, particularly after my workout. I actually find I have milk cravings from time to time. Is it addictive?

[jagang]

@DaveT, what do you mean banana/strawberry/chocolate flavours? do you mean smoothies?

[DaveT]

@DaveT, what do you mean banana/strawberry/chocolate flavours? do you mean smoothies?

Smoothies are one way to go and I often make these, but in Taiwan, they actually have these flavors of milk in the stores. (They also have 'tropical fruit' flavour, but that's an acquired taste as far as I'm concerned!) I think it's because milk is not a natural drink for Chinese historically (hence why there's a high %age of lactose intolerence), and so they have flavored it to make it more palatable.

Some Chinese say that foreigners actually 'smell' of milk due to our high dairy intake, and an even crazier myth, especially popular with the older generation, is that it's our dairy intake that helps us with our milky white complexions! But then the kids here believe that playing basketball will make you tall, because most NBA players are tall. (Yes, the whole notion that they're NBA players BECAUSE they are tall due to their genetics is completely lost on them. And I'm talking 15/16 year old kids! )

[aleksander]

# How much did you weigh before doing GOMAD?
80kg
# How how much weight did you gain doing GOMAD?
20kg, from 80kg to 100kg
# How long did you do GOMAD?
2 months
# How much did you squat/bench/deadlift before & after GOMAD?
Before: 5x5 squat 80kg, 5x5 bench 55kg, 1x5deadlift 100kg
After: 5x5 squat 125kg, 5x5 bench 75kg, 1x5deadlift 140kg
# Looking back: which mistakes did you make?
None, I was very serious gaining weight, maybe I should've stopped with the milk before, but I dno.
# What are your best tips for someone starting GoMAD?

Drink your milk, and lift hard. I think that you should start with the GOMAD if you're A) Very skinny or B) Hitting a plateau(stuck at the weights and need a kick on the ass) Also eat every 3 hour, you will be tired but persist, I had a great makeover and I think I will post pics soon.
# etc

[wrenchhands]

Well, I'm gonna start doing it. I'm 2 days in, lagging a little today. I might have to do half-gomad during the week so I'm not shitting all the time at work.

My body has adjusted after a couple weeks of increased in take.

[Maslow]

I would be extremely concerned about the digestive problems mentioned...did you guys have any problems? I fear the mud...

[wrenchhands]

gassy, sometimes dihharea, sometimes acne.

[Gunner]

Could someone please post his before and after photos?

[Mouse]

Could someone please post his before and after photos?

Gunner - read bluestreak's story - there's pics on page 1

[bluestreak]

Could someone please post his before and after photos?

Gunner - read bluestreak's story - there's pics on page 1

The video is better IMO.

That reminds me, I need to take some new photos. Now where are my white briefs?

[Mouse]

Could someone please post his before and after photos?

Gunner - read bluestreak's story - there's pics on page 1

The video is better IMO.

That reminds me, I need to take some new photos. Now where are my white briefs?

Bomchikkawahwah

[Jay3x4]

How much did you weigh before doing GOMAD?
140lbs

How how much weight did you gain doing GOMAD?
20lbs

How long did you do GOMAD?
3 weeks

How much did you squat/bench/deadlift before & after GOMAD?
I started GOMAD not long after I started working out, and I was still lifting light weights by the time I was done, so it's not really relevant.

I stopped GOMAD about three weeks ago, and I don't remember what my numbers were then, but here's what they are today: (I started on May 11th)

Squat: 145lbs, but I dropped down to 125lbs today to work on form after reading some of Starting Strength and after watching some of the Starting Strength DVD.
Bench Press: 100lbs
Deadlift: 180lbs

Looking back: which mistakes did you make?
After gaining ten pounds the first week, I got a little lazy about the eating for some reason. I took the weight gain for granted, and didn't gain any weight the second week.

What are your best tips for someone starting GoMAD?
I wouldn't try starting GOMAD cold turkey. I started off drinking a half gallon a day, and probably worked up to 3/4 gal a day by the end of a week. After that, I officially started GOMAD. Also, I found it much easier to drink milk quickly if I used a (thick) straw. Just make sure you don't re-use straws. Old milk residue can upset your stomach quicker than you'd think.

Picture time!

The "before" picture was taken on May 15th, and the current picture was taken yesterday evening, July 5th.



That's the same brand and size of underwear in both pictures. I can't believe the way I used to look. I didn't look at old pictures until yesterday, and I was in shock.

So that's what the last 8 weeks have done for me. I've got a really long way to go, but I'm very happy with the results so far. Hopefully this is encouraging to any skinny guys who happen to read this.

[eLvarouza]

Dang dude you look a lot bigger. Why'd you stop the GOMAD?

[Jay3x4]

Dang dude you look a lot bigger. Why'd you stop the GOMAD?

It was wearing me out, honestly. Looking back, I was probably not lifting heavy enough weight to really get my metabolism going, so I was perpetually full. I might consider doing it again some time in the future, but for now I'm just working eating proper ratios. It was easy during GOMAD to just throw a bunch of carbs down the hatch, but I need to learn how to do this diet stuff properly, and there's no time like the present.

FWIW, I've been undereating for most of my life, so that might be why it was relatively easy for me to see such a benefit in so little time.