How long do you GOMAD?

[DaveT]

I averaged 1L a day in week 1, then 2L in week 2, nearly 3L in week 3 and as I head into week 4 of SL5x5 I'm drinking 3.5L (just under GOMAD). I did it this way as I didn't want to suddenly hit my body with huge amounts of milk - I'm sure my digestive system needs time to adjust, just as my muscles do to the work I'm asking of them.

I finally got round to buying some scales yesterday and weighed myself. They also work out your body fat % (Not sure how accurate they are, but I'm unable to get callipers and don't get me started on that!). So I'm 90kg and 25% body fat. My goal is >94kg, but preferably in muscle not fat. I know that some of the weight gain is also due to increased food intake as I was eating three meals a day and since starting 5x5 I have increased this with 3 healthy snacks a day.

Should I continue with GOMAD and not worry about the body fat, should I drink low fat milk, or should I think about stopping GOMAD altogether?

If I continue, do I carry on until 'goal weight' is achieved or do I stop after a certain amount of time, e.g. after 4 weeks?

And final question, once you've reached the weight that you want to be at, how much milk do you drink a day?

[Love_Deadlifts]

I would say, keep at it until you reach your target weight. Then cut out the GOMAD and focus on dropping fat. Also, i think those scales are completely unreliable... but i don;t know for sure.

[DaveT]

Also, i think those scales are completely unreliable... but i don;t know for sure.

I hope you mean about the BF and not about the weight!!

Even if it is not the correct BF figure, at least they will let me know if it's going up or down. I know a pair of callipers would be better, but getting some has been a trial (see my log entry)

[eLvarouza]

How in God's name can a scale tell you your bodyfat percentage?

Remember: it's harder to become big and strong than it is to diet a bit to lose bodyfat once you're already big and strong. Set a target bodyweight, target strength, and shoot for that. Once you're there figure out what you want to do.

Also remember that novice progression is facilitated by steady weight gain. Don't try to 'cut' or whatever during a novice progression. Eat food, drink a GOMAD, get big and strong, and your body composition will tend to work itself out for the better.

[DaveT]

How in God's name can a scale tell you your bodyfat percentage?

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)
Another common method of body fat testing is bioelectrical impedance. You lie on your back while a signal travels from an electrode on your foot to an electrode on your hand. The slower the signal, the more fat you have, because fat impedes the signal.
BIA testing divides the body up into 'cylinders'. The arm, the torso, the upper leg, and the lower leg make up four separate cylinders for purposes of this test. The current flows through your body, finding varying resistance depending on the density of your muscle, the amount of body fat encountered, and the hydration of your tissue.
Bioelectrical impedance can have a huge margin of error, especially if you're extremely fat or extremely lean. In one study, world-class female distance runners averaged 20 percent body fat, when more reliable methods showed that they were closer to 10 percent. Dehydration also can skew the results; the signal slows down, and you appear to have more fat than you really do.
The following rules must be followed to give any credence to the tests:
* Abstain from eating and drinking within 4 hours of the test
* Avoid exercising within 12 hours of the test
* Void (urinate) completely prior to testing
* Do not drink alcohol within 48 hours of the test
* Avoid taking diuretics prior to testing unless instructed by your physician
If you follow all of these rules you can get a pretty accurate reading. Compared to other testing methods (circumference, skin-caliper) this is the least accurate field test. Unfortunately, past history has shown that the protocol rules aren't usually followed. Often the test administrators don't make the rules clear; they are misunderstood, or just not taken seriously. In which case a much greater than necessary amount of error creeps into the equation.
BIA can give a very consistent test-retest result when given back to back. But inconsistency in hydration, body fluids and intestinal content can result in high degree of variation from day to day. This makes this test far less suitable for repeated testing when measuring small changes in body fat level.
Be wary of studies sponsored by the BIA companies themselves, showing their devices to have accuracy levels close to hydrostatic. Studies by the NIH, ACSM, AHA, US NAVY, and numerous other independent bodies consistently give this test at least a 3% margin of error when the protocols are followed and confirm the test inaccuracies at the extremes of the body fat scale.

There are several methods out there.
· One is a scale you stand on and the electrical resistance is measured up one leg and down the other. Then a formula with an assumption related to all the fat vs. lean mass above the pelvic is added and the resulting number is displayed.
· Another is a device you hold at arms length. Again, the resistance is up one arm and down the other. The another assumptive formula related to all fat and lean mass below the shoulders is factored into the scenario and viola’, your body fat percentage is displayed.

Additional Problems related to BIA
In 82% of population, within +-3%
In 18% of population, 4-20% error
Derived result: based on Hydrostatic comparison
Proprietary population dependent formulae
Higher standard error range than other tests
Vastly overestimate lean, inaccurate among obese
Hydration, skin-temp, test condition compound error
Inaccurate for small changes

[eLvarouza]

Interesting. I think I had heard of that before actually.

[Mehdi]

Tanita scale's aren't accurate. Influenced by water retention/loss. Do you guys read my newsletter? I wrote about this before.

[DaveT]

Tanita scale's aren't accurate. Influenced by water retention/loss. Do you guys read my newsletter? I wrote about this before.

I agree the scales may not be accurate, and the best you can do is try to use it at the same time of day, after you have drunk a glass of water. I also think that calipers are still preferable to the scales, but it's been hard to get any here (Amazon won't ship them to Taiwan for some reason, and the few other online stores I've tried so far want to charge me $75+ to ship a pair of calipers worth $10! )

At least I can get a relative figure i.e. I can gauge whether my BF% is going up or down. In the end, that's all that really matters (unless of course your ego needs you to compete with others! )

I only joined recently, so I may have missed you newsletter on this. Sorry if I'm repeating stuff.

[Jerzi78]

I have one of them body fat scales and it measures me at about 16.7% BF, it was at 17.2% a few days ago.. I'm just using it for changes.
I read up on caliper tests by trained professionals and the results varied between 3-4% out of about 5 tests.

They only way to get a 100% accurate count is through an autopsy ,but that sounds a little extreme

[Mehdi]

@DaveT
No problem. Yeah I forgot the Taiwan thing, worked with a client in Japan once, and he had the same thing with the body fat thing. Well use tape maisurements then. Everything should go up, except waist should go down.

[DaveT]

@DaveT
No problem. Yeah I forgot the Taiwan thing, worked with a client in Japan once, and he had the same thing with the body fat thing. Well use tape measurements then. Everything should go up, except waist should go down.

I think it's because Accu-Measure are trying to set up an international dealer network, and obviously they want people to buy from their local country dealer rather than ordering online from Amazon. Unfortunately, there are no dealers in Taiwan - maybe the demand is quite low as generally Chinese are pretty lean (different genetics and eating habits) although the golden arches
() everywhere are starting to make an impact! However, I did eventually find a company who could send them reasonably cheaply (Calipers - $12.98, Postage - $34). Vitadigest is the name if you ever have clients in the same situation again.