On various forums and fitness help sites, I have seen on many occasions the promotion of drinking whole milk for bulking. I will say right off the bat that anything in moderation is fine. But sometimes there are unhealthy practices being shared.
In this article, we will go over the various uses of whole milk for bulking. I personally drink whole milk everyday. And I think it can be a great addition to your diet.
The reason that you will hear the fitness and health industry shy away from whole milk is because it is high in calories. This is because the majority of the fitness industry caters to those who are trying to lose weight.
Since we are bulking, we can use whole milk to our advantage. And we also have to think about the fact that whole milk is natural.
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Caloric breakdown of whole milk
When you look at the calories in whole milk, you will see that it is 149 total calories in an 8 ounce glass. In that 8 ounce glass, you will find 7.9 grams of fat, 7.7 grams of protein, and 12 grams of carbs.
That is a solid amount of protein when you consider that it is just an 8 ounce glass of milk.
A lot of people struggle to get enough protein throughout the day, so this is a great base to get started.
When you hear people say that milk is unhealthy, make sure to show them the nutrition facts. This is all that matters.
The only downside is that all 12 grams of carbs come from sugars. But consider this. In a 12oz can of mountain dew, all of the 170 calories is provided by 46 grams of sugar. That is terrible.
This is why you want to avoid soda. You would have to drink 30.66 ounces of whole milk to get that much sugar intake.
All in all, whole milk is great for bulking. Its nutritional value aligns with a lot of what we want to do. We just don’t want to take it too far. In the next section we will learn what taking it too far looks like.
GOMAD diet
If you have never heard of the GOMAD diet, consider yourself blessed. I am getting ready to ruin your day. GOMAD stands for a gallon of milk a day. And I will start off by saying I highly advise against this.
The GOMAD diet is touted by guys who really struggle with bulking. While using whole milk for bulking is a good idea in most cases, this is taking it too far.
I have heard so many horror stories about vomiting and digestional issues by trying this out. But this is what happens when people don’t research and they get desperate.
Here is how it works. You eat your normal meals throughout the day, but you also drink a gallon of whole milk in small increments throughout the day.
I can tell you if I tried this diet, I would not want to leave the bathroom.
I want you to picture just how much a gallon of milk is. Remember the 8 ounce glass of milk that we talked about in the previous section? Well, a gallon of whole milk has 16 of those cups in it.
This also means that a gallon of whole milk has 2,384 calories in it. While that is a ton to drink, it is not too much in the grand scheme of things.
Just know that this is going to be a bad idea if you follow through with the GOMAD diet. Always pace yourself and make sure that you do everything in moderation.
1000 calorie protein shake
In the last section, we found out that a gallon of milk contains 2,384 calories. So why are we getting ready to talk about a 1000 calorie protein shake? Because this recipe only contains 8 ounces of whole milk.
For the full recipe, check out our 1000 calorie protein shake recipe article. But the basics look something like this:
8oz of Whole Milk
66g (2 Servings) of JIF Creamy Peanut Butter
60g (2 Servings) of Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Double Rich Chocolate Protein Powder
100g of Frozen Bananas
100g of Frozen Strawberries
15ml (1 Tablespoon) of MCT Oil
Blend it all together and you have yourself an incredibly tasty protein shake that is going to give you all the nutrients that you need and more.
Even though I am not currently bulking, I still drink this exact recipe every morning. My maintenance calorie count is very high. Therefore if I don’t drink one every morning, I will likely start losing muscle mass.
Here is the thing. You can be creative when you are bulking, you just have to make sure that you are calculating everything that you eat. You cannot build muscle while in a caloric deficit. It is pointless to try. So make sure that you are in a caloric surplus while bulking.
Is it a good idea to drink whole milk while bulking?
Whole milk for bulking is definitely a great idea. But of course I am going to suggest doing it in moderation. As I mentioned previously, I only drink 8 ounces of whole milk per day.
It is all about moderation. I have always been a fan of drinking my calories, which is why I created the 1000 calorie protein shake recipe. In fact, when I went on my first real bulk, I struggled badly to eat the necessary calories.
I was on the verge of giving up until I started experimenting with protein shakes. It wasn’t until months down the road that I realized you don’t have to just drink protein powder and milk. I started throwing everything into the blender and just experimenting.
These experiments ended up with what I think is the perfect protein shake. The 1000 calorie protein shake. I highly recommend trying it if you are thinking of giving up on bulking or just need something to push you along.
Don’t try to be a hero and do the GOMAD diet. This is just another example of people going to the extreme when they get desperate about gaining weight. Back when I was super scrawny, I may have even considered it. But looking back, I am glad that I didn’t
The same people that come up with things like the GOMAD diet are the same people who endorse taking shots of olive oil for extra calories. It is just never a good idea.
Main Point: Whole milk for bulking
All in all, I hope that you have a better understanding of how to use whole milk for bulking. We have all heard people say that whole milk is bad. But in reality, that advice just comes from years of the fitness and health industry trying to push lower calorie milks on us.
If you have read some of my previous articles, you know that the majority of the U.S. population is overweight. Therefore we can conclude that the fitness industry is better off targeting overweight people instead of people trying to gain weight.
Bulking is a niche market, and you will find that there is no such thing as a one size fits all perfect diet for everyone. We all have different bodies and different ways that we process calories.
At the end of the day, we have to do what is best for us. And if that involves eating a ton of calories because we want to get jacked, then I am all for it.
Learn your body and do what is best for you. Drinking whole milk for bulking is just one piece of the puzzle. If you are serious about putting on muscle, browse around this blog for a while and you are going to find some incredible information.
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