The Question of the Day
Today’s question came courtesy of Reddit. I am going to make the following assumptions about the author 1) they are trying to bulk and 2) their main value driver is time. So the question I am going to answer is how can we maximize protein (and overall nutrition) with minimal meal prep! Let’s dive in!
First Let’s Talk About GOMAD
GOMAD stands for Gallon of Milk A Day. It is a hotly contested bulking strategy. A lot of people will add the gallon of milk on top of other meals. This will give you an extra ~160 grams of protein a day, and about 2000 calories. A 2000 calorie excess adds up to a whopping 4 lbs of mass added per week. Unfortunately, as the original poster noted, it can have some side effects. Milk can be difficult for many folks to digest, and even people who don’t have issues normally can experience some difficulties when consuming such large amounts of milk.
The other important thing is making sure that you actually put all those extra calories to use. If you choose to minimally supplement your gallon of milk (say a gallon of milk plus 500 calories of other foods), you are probably not getting a full nutrition profile. The tricky premise that GOMAD is based off of is that babies get all of their nutrients from milk and experience exponential growth in their first year(s) of life. The part that they leave out is that human milk is loaded with the nutrients that the mom consumes from other sources. Research shows that there is actually a feedback loop between mom and baby that adjusts the nutrients to match the baby’s needs. Basically – all milks are not equal. Also, as we grow, our digestive systems mature and allow us to get nutrients directly from foods. Finally, if you have ever changed a baby’s diaper, you also understand more about the digestive impacts of having a primarily milk based diet.
So what are the alternatives?
If drinking a gallon of milk a day is off the table, what do we have left? Literally – almost anything else. But let’s plan out a week of low prep meals and see how we do nutritionally and and cost-wise.
I went with 2 options for breakfasts and lunches. Dinner has some opportunity for variety depending on which veggies you purchase.
Breakfast
Breakfast 1
- 2 Hardboiled Eggs, a Tortilla Shell, and a Protein Shake made with Ultrafiltered Milk
| Protein | Carbs | Fat |
| 54 | 30 | 13 |
Breakfast 2
- Overnight Oats made with Protein and Ultrafiltered Milk
| Protein | Carbs | Fat |
| 45 | 25 | 2 |
Lunch
- Tuna or Chicken Salad Sandwich, Carrot Sticks, and an Apple
*Note – Uses 2 Cans of Tuna or 1 Large Can of Chicken and light mayo
| Protein | Carbs | Fat |
| 45 | 26 | 10 |
Dinner
- 6 oz Rotisserie Chicken, Mixed Vegetable of Choice, Pasta or Rice
| Protein | Carbs | Fat |
| 47 | 42 | 10 |
Snack
- Protein Shake Made with Ultrafiltered Milk and Rice Cakes
| Protein | Carbs | Fat |
| 40 | 21 | 0 |
The Shopping List
| Item | Approximate Cost |
| 1 Dozen Eggs | 3 |
| 1.5 Gallons Ultrafiltered Milk | 12 |
| 1 Container Whey Protein | 20 |
| Old Fashioned Oats | 6 |
| 1 Loaf of Bread | 2 |
| 1 Bag of Apples | 4 |
| 1 Bag of Baby Carrots | 2 |
| 1 Container of Rice Cakes | 3 |
| 1 Package of Tortillas | 3 |
| 6 Cans of Tuna | 9 |
| 4 Cans of Chicken | 9 |
| 2 Rotisserie Chickens | 14 |
| 3 Bags of Mixed Vegetables | 9 |
| 2 Boxes of Pasta | 6 |
| Light Mayonnaise | 5 |
| Total: | $107 |
Many of the ingredients listed will last 2 weeks or more. So to repeat this meal plan for several weeks saves more money. But at this cost it comes out to about $3.82 per meal. The groceries were not priced at discount rates. So there is opportunity to bring that cost down significantly by shopping at discount stores and buying generic ingredients. I did manage to find a great deal on whey protein though – that is only $1 per serving!
Meal Prep
The benefit of these meals is the quick prep. My recommendation would be to hard boil the eggs at the beginning of the week, and just grab two and stick them in the tortilla. Overnight oats can be made days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. I am personally not a fan of refrigerated sandwiches. But – tuna or chicken salad is easily made and kept in a Tupperware container. Then it takes just a few minutes to make a sandwich, and grab some sides. When I buy rotisserie chickens, I take all of the meat off of the chicken and store it in the refrigerator. Then I weigh out my serving and stick it in the microwave with the vegetables. Pre-cooked rice or pasta is generally good for 2-3 days. So you are left cooking something a roughly 3 days per week. But all of the meals come together in 5-10 minutes. And this gets you roughly 180 grams of protein per day. Much better than the gallon of milk, and without the digestive hassle.
Summary
You may come across GOMAD diets on the Internet and think it’s a convenient and fast way to increase protein consumption. It comes with trade offs that are probably not worth the hassle. It is possible to eat a balanced, mostly whole food diet that requires less than an hour of prep per week and blows the nutritional content out of the water.
Do you have a nutritional question you’d like me to tackle? Reach out on Instagram or Reddit! Subscribe to the Blog and also check out our home page for more free resources on how you can get started on your nutritional journey without breaking the bank, including recipes and shopping lists!
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