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Thread: Drinking less milk?

  1. #1
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    Default Drinking less milk?

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    Interested in people's thoughts on this issue.

    In the last two months, at 5'8, I've gone from weighing 180 pounds to 204. Throughout, I've been drinking at least a gallon of milk per day. GOMAD is great. It's forced me to consume enough calories to grow, and eating lots of fat all day makes me feel great.

    That said, I'm getting closer to a weight that I'm happy with, and I've noticed that I'm starting to add a little more body fat than I'm currently comfortable with. Since I'm not trying to grow as much, I think it might make sense to start drinking a little less milk (perhaps half a gallon/day).

    Now, I realize that milk is a magical substance. For one, it is a delicious and easy way to get down plenty of protein. Additionally, it has plenty of saturated fat, which promotes a healthy hormonal balance and increased production of testosterone.

    To make up for the reduction of milk in my diet, I'm contemplating getting more protein and fat from other sources.

    I'm considering shooting for a minimum of the following substances per day:

    -Half a gallon of milk. A gallon if I really need to fuel my training for the day.
    -8-12 eggs. Lot's of salami and bacon.
    -1 lb of ground meet, cooked with plenty of olive and canola oil.
    -A few scoops of whey per day.
    -Lot's of full fat cheese.
    -Lot's of sour cream

    What are your thoughts? Will I be getting enough fat and protein in my diet, or will I be missing out on some of the magical properties of milk if I go down to half a gallon of milk per day? Will the reduction of sugar in my diet help curb my fat gains somewhat? How will this effect my strength gains and recovery?

  2. #2
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    So you want to keep your calories and fat/protein intake the same. Why not just continue to drink the milk?

    The milk itself isnt what is putting on the mass, but the calories/protein/fat/carbs. If you are looking to cut carbs, then cut them from somewhere else.

    Milk is literally the best recovery food that I've found. I noticed a HUGE difference in my recovery both between sets and between training days when I started to limit my milk intake.

    YMMV, but I would advise against you plan.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by hatmanii View Post
    So you want to keep your calories and fat/protein intake the same. Why not just continue to drink the milk?

    The milk itself isnt what is putting on the mass, but the calories/protein/fat/carbs. If you are looking to cut carbs, then cut them from somewhere else.

    Milk is literally the best recovery food that I've found. I noticed a HUGE difference in my recovery both between sets and between training days when I started to limit my milk intake.

    YMMV, but I would advise against you plan.
    The way you put it, makes my plan sound somewhat illogical.

    That said, I don't intend to drink a gallon of milk a day for the rest of my life. At what point is it appropriate to start scaling back?

  4. #4
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    Yeah, I've had about the same sort of growth (175-202) on GOMAD. I'm now scaling it back to half-GOMAD and my weight has since been about the same for a few weeks, but the lifts are still going up at the moment, but things are feeling heavier. But who's to know if that's just because I'm nearing the end of linear progression or because I'm not having as much milk.

    I know, when I think I need to progress to TM, I'll start back on GOMAD and see if my lifts go back up and if I gain any more weight.

  5. #5
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    I'm in the same boat. Standing at 6'1"-ish and starting at 190 about a month back, I drank GOMAD and got big, to the point where i'm hovering around the 207-210 range depending on the time of day. Due to the fact that the Air Force doesn't like chubby people at all(despite popular belief) I've cut back to 1/2 GOMAD and I'm still progressing on my lifts. Like Sami, things have felt heavier, but that might be because I'm nearing the end of my novice progression. My workset is currently at a 280 squat, and I really wanna hit 315 before I reset.

    Anyway, good luck. Your diet looks good in my opinion.

  6. #6
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    I went from 172 to 223 at 6'2" with the help of milk and squats, but I am not currently drinking a gallon. I am somewhere around half a gallon a day. When I tried to drop milk out completely, my lifts went to hell in a hurry.

    Now, I put on 50 pounds and will probably put on about 10 more. If you really want to lose fat, cutting the milk and making up for the calories with more fat and protein won't do all that much, at least not quickly. What you will probably find is that you won't be able to replace all the calories from your half gallon of milk with solid food which will provide a slight deficit and do what you want. Bottom line: you are probably on the right track, but may need to tweak things to get the results you want.

    Lyle McDonald makes more sense than just about anyone else on these subjects and you would be wise to peruse his site and or get one of his books.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by strongdaniel View Post
    What are your thoughts? Will I be getting enough fat and protein in my diet, or will I be missing out on some of the magical properties of milk if I go down to half a gallon of milk per day? Will the reduction of sugar in my diet help curb my fat gains somewhat? How will this effect my strength gains and recovery?
    Yes, get rid of the sugar before the milk.

  8. #8
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    Why not just use lower-calorie milk? Using 1% milk keeps the protein levels similar but significantly cuts calories.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by strongdaniel View Post
    The way you put it, makes my plan sound somewhat illogical.

    That said, I don't intend to drink a gallon of milk a day for the rest of my life. At what point is it appropriate to start scaling back?
    My opinion may change knowing your age and bf%, but...

    Milk will inevitably always be one of your best friends for recovery. I'm assuming you're getting sugars from other sources - cut down on these. For what I know of your case, it's most likely appropriate to cut back when you find that cutting back on other sources of sugar simply isn't enough. I'd stick with some amount of whole milk and forgo the lesser fat options. It's carbs you should probably manipulate - not fat/protein.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by gordonrumble View Post
    Why not just use lower-calorie milk? Using 1% milk keeps the protein levels similar but significantly cuts calories.
    I think he is tired of drinking that quantity of milk.

    Daniel:

    you seem to have a logical plan. With the ground meat, I would ditch the canola oil and just get fattier meat.

    Sugar & carbs are what may cause disproportionate fat gains.

    But at the same time they are the best things for recovery as they are easy to process and trigger insulin which delivers nutrients to cells (if I have understood it right!)

    A diet largely of fat & protein may make you feel a bit tired and sluggish as they take more energy and more time to digest.

    Milk really seems like the ultimate training food when you consider all of this stuff.

    Lyle has lots of detailed information about using diet to manipulate body composition on his website. If you are seeking detailed information I would head there.

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