Hi all. This post is about me ending my GOMAD self experiment. Yesterday I did my last madcow workout (finishing with a deadlift of 315 lbf and 130 lbf press.
Final Stats
Started 2-27-12, ending 4-10-12, total time 44 days
Total Gallons Consumed: 39
Total Gallons Missed: 5
Starting weight 168 pounds, final weight 180 pounds
I will now start to cut my fat and keep working out to maintain muscle/help cut fat. I will continue working out 3x a week but with lighter weights (because these heavy weights are killing me). I am going to add running because I want to be in shape (it has nothing to do with losing weight). I may continue to drink milk to help maintain my muscle mass, but in far less quantity.
Follow Up
Video of me post GOMAD below (taken 4-6-12), as well as after I cut back down, which frankly should be much better. I plan to get a lipid panel sometime soon. I will have at least one more follow up post on this subject to detail how my cut goes.
Please read the whole article before commenting on how crazy I am. But, feel free to post that. It will just make it funnier in 2 months when I prove you wrong.
If you don’t know already, GOMAD = Gallon of milk a day. Note: I’ve done GOMAD twice before so I pretty much know what to expect, which is why this is a experiment/demonstration.
Where I Am Now
Since new years I have been lifting lightly and slowly getting back into shape. I’m finally at a reasonable point (Deadlift, 265, Squat 215, Bench 150, Row 150, Overhead Press 120) and am going to kick it into high gear. I currently weigh 168 lbs, my goal is 175 lbs with a good body fat %.
My Plan
Exercise
Stay on my current linear progression lifting program (based on Stronglifts). I will probably have to switch to an intermediate program soon enough. See my current results as well as projected workouts here.
Diet
Eat my normal diet (low/slow carb mostly, but plenty of crap also), but add GOMAD. Stay on this until I reach 180 lbs (should be 2 months), at which point drop GOMAD and cut down to 175 lbs while attemping to not lose any muscle mass. I may do only half a gallon of milk on Sat and Sun since I don’t lift those 2 days in a row.
Health
For fun, after I reach my goal of 180 lbs I will get a cholesterol test to show you the reader what happens. Either you’ll be surprised by awesome numbers or I’ll be surprised by crappy numbers.
Demonstration
I will try to photo every bit of food I eat until I reach my goal of 175 lbs and post the photos to my flickr account. You can follow along with my workout progress here. I took a video since photos are easily altered and posted it below, and I will repeat at 180 lbs and 175 lbs. At the end of my GOMAD I will get a lipid panel (cholesterol test).
In the spirit of full disclosure I have a few extra things I do/don’t do:
Never work out within 30 minutes of waking up.
Never lift right after eating.
Sleep plenty.
Short warm up.
Things I’m Not Doing
People have a million and one (stupid) tips on how to lose or gain weight. I’m not doing anything but what’s above. Here’s a short list of things I’m not doing that you may have heard of:
Counting calories
Going out of my way to walk or jog or walk up stairs or anything like that
“Timing” my protein
Working out at a specific time (ie, workout before you eat breakfast or other such bs)
“Confusing my muscles” by switching exercises
Supplementing in any way (although I do take vitamin D3, vitamin B and fishoil for other reasons)
Substituting “healthy food” for other food. For example, quinoa, low fat anything, etc. I cook with real butter, bacon, etc.
Hypothesis
I have done this before, so I pretty much know what’s going to happen. It should take a month or two to get up to 180 lbs. From there it’ll take another month or two to drop back down to 175 lbs. At 175 lbs I will look noticeably more muscular than I do now, but still have a small belly. Hypothesis for my cholesterol levels after reaching 180 lbs by drinking a gallon of milk a day: should be similar to my last test: total 185, triglyceride 84, hdl 68, ldl 100, (all mg/dL), December 2010.
Call for Comments
I really want to hear from you on what you think will happen. I know this sounds crazy, so I’m hoping people post what they think will happen or not happen.
