ExRx.net

Short version:

Half an atkins diet will prevent ketosis, therefore you should follow it closely or it will likely not work and may even add to BF% - I get that (after it was recently explained)

But I've heard on a random blog (a comment...) that its similar for GOMAD, do the gallon or don't bother - but this doesn't add up for me? surely its just adding more protein and fat, so its quite a logical scale, i.e. 1% of gomad nets 1% of its results? can you please let me know, because I was thinking of doing half-a-gomad

Long version:

I recently fluctuated my body weight a bit, pretty much up/down/up/down, then I went on quite a strict low carb few weeks (7-8) and went from 101/102kg to 92/93kg - mostly good loss (fat %) since my strength didn't dip (I did stop progressing on bench and OHP at the end however).

Anyway - point is, I decided the foundation wasn't there and I should revert back to the general novice into intermediate path, i.e. x1.5 squat/dead - x1 bench/0.75% OHpress and that is currently what I am going for.

I switched to full body 5x5 starting strength and the x3 squats a week feel good, gained slightly on bench and OHP but I'm starting to shake/struggle out my last reps (finally, tells you to start with empty bar, did "reset" to a very very light one).

So I started back on the protein shakes, I made sure I never went hungry, but I don't actually think I'm adding enough calories, my weight is hardly shifting after three weeks of conciously loading on calories (not a large amount but certainley another 600+ a day).

So... I was thinking, GOMAD - it's just so simple compared to a more balanced eating routine, I don't need to "be in the mood for a sandwich" or cook x, buy y, plan for z, mix 1/2/3 blah blah, I just grab milk in the morning and finish it by bed.

But I read, on a random blog of which I can't find again, you should definately go for a full gallon, half wont do it. I thought thats gotta be BS, any calories with protein and fat would assist with the bulking effect.

Can anyone confirm?
I mean I totally get the logic of not doing half an Atkins once that was pointed out to me, your body doesn't change to ketonic fat burning because you are still giving it the "wrong" fuel. But half GOMAD not working? surely thats not right? surely - as this older post says - GOMAD is

Calories: 2,342 kcals
Fat: 126.9 grams
Carbohydrates: 176.5 grams
Protein: 125.7 grams

So half of that is just... well.... half of that :) theres no trick to it? theres no magical level where your body goes "oh lord 125 grams of fat, I best add size" - right?

I'm just speculating but I expect I can contribute here. Although liquid calories are not as filling as calories taken by food, that's not entirely true. Milk can fill you up somewhat. Therefore your body is registering the calories and will decrease appetite and it's not going to guarantee that you're overfeeding. After all, many people drink milk with each meal with no weight gain, especially those in the hormonally advantaged stage of life. It takes a gallon of milk to guarantee that you will consume more calories than you need.

However, if you're not hormonally advantaged and gain weight easily, you may not need this. It's really aimed at people having a hard time gaining weight. For those of use past our 20s, I'm not sure that GOMAD is a valid way of adding lean muscle.

Remember the goal here is that you need to take in more calories than you normally would in order to gain weight. If you can do that and remain in a ketogenic state most days you can proably do that without a lot of fat gain. For that reason, I would consume whey protein and whiiping cream instead of milk. You can adjust the protein and fat ratio and avoid the carbs. You're going to have to force feed your other meals.

The thing is I doubt I will be ketonic - I find low carb quite a hassle if im trying to get 4-5k cal, I end up sick of the sight/texture of cheese and just wish I could throw my salad onto a wholemeal roll - loosing weight it isn't so bad because I can go slightly hungry, but when im sort of force feeding... it's irritating.

So would your suggestion of whey/whipping still stand despite not being ketonic?

Read the Anabolic Diet. He recommends very low carb with weekly refeeds and calories in that range. It's a very meat heavy diet. Whey and whipping cream is an easy way to get carb free calories and is a little easier to wolf down than meat. I would cut down the salad since the volume is going to limit the amount of meat and eggs you can eat.

It's magic.