A gallon of milk a day?? Mark Rippetoe

workaccount

Hi, (just a quick one)
I have started reading "starting strength" yesterday and was surprised when Rippetoe recommends that you drink up to a gallon of milk a day to get the bulk of your calories.

Is that actually ok to do and if your drinking that much milk do you have to drink water at all throughout the day?

pvt.joker

Well milk is full of protein so it would certainly help.

I would only drink that much personally if I was training hard. If you're doing little or no weights work and drinking that, it'll just end up as fat.

Colm_OReilly

Rip's milk argument is for people who are looking to put on weight, and usually applies to those who need to take in extra calories but can't do it through whole foods.

Building up to a gallon of milk a day is tough, but Rip has seen impressive gains in his athletes doing it.

http://www.strengthmill.net/forum/search.php?searchid=59519

Check out these threads for discussions on milk on his forum.

Cuddlesworth

pvt.joker wrote: »

Well milk is full of protein so it would certainly help.

I would only drink that much personally if I was training hard. If you're doing little or no weights work and drinking that, it'll just end up as fat.

The starting strength program involves heavey compound lifts so both the protein and fat would come in handy.

Alternitavely you could try eat more, or replace it with protein shake.

I am currently drinking half a gallon with some protein powder to make up the difference.

Vegeta

Milk as far as I recall is about 87.5% water and 12.5% solids (carbs, fat and protein)

interested to see other (more edumacated folks) opinions on this

brianthebard

Drink water if you feel thirsty tbh. I know people will say you have to drink 2litres of water or more a day, but if you are taking in 4+ litres of liquid already you are pretty hydrated. Common sense, etc.

dave80

workaccount wrote: »

Hi, (just a quick one)
I have started reading "starting strength" yesterday and was surprised when Rippetoe recommends that you drink up to a gallon of milk a day to get the bulk of your calories.

Is that actually ok to do and do if your drinking that much milk do you have to drink water at all throughout the day?

back in the day (about 8 or 9 years ago) i used to drink 3+ litres of milk a day and i piled on the weight some fat and some muscle i also was holding large amounts of water from it because of the estrogen in the milk

Edwardius

Remember that Rip mentions a yank gallon, which is a bit less than 4 litres. It shouldn't make you too chubby if you do your squats as prescribed. The hormonal response from the squats n' milk will add a fairly serious amount of meat to your frame in a reasonably short time. When I was on SS, I jumped straight into 4 litres without too much bother (well there was some farting for about a week!). It's also a cheap way to get a couple o' thousand calories into your diet. No, you probably don't need to drink much water.

workaccount

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

Rip's milk argument is for people who are looking to put on weight, and usually applies to those who need to take in extra calories but can't do it through whole foods.

Building up to a gallon of milk a day is tough, but Rip has seen impressive gains in his athletes doing it.

http://www.strengthmill.net/forum/search.php?searchid=59519

Check out these threads for discussions on milk on his forum.

Cool to see that Mark actually posts on that forum.

Dead Ed wrote: »

Remember that Rip mentions a yank gallon, which is a bit less than 4 litres. It shouldn't make you too chubby if you do your squats as prescribed. The hormonal response from the squats n' milk will add a fairly serious amount of meat to your frame in a reasonably short time. When I was on SS, I jumped straight into 4 litres without too much bother (well there was some farting for about a week!). It's also a cheap way to get a couple o' thousand calories into your diet. No, you probably don't need to drink much water.

Was aware of the american gallon being different alright.

rubadub

workaccount wrote: »

Was aware of the american gallon being different alright.

I imagine many are not though.

1 US gallon = 3.78541178 liters
1 Imperial gallon = 4.54609188 liters

761ml difference. 64kcal per 100ml for whole milk, 487kcal extra per day. 365 days per year= 177,755kcal difference. ~3,500kcal to put on 1lb of fat, so 50.78lb (~3.5stone) of potential fat gain per year!!!!!:eek: (in theory of course, doubt it would, but just shows portion control is essential, I don't think he says to do it all year but I like to exagerrate the point!)

Hanley

Dead Ed wrote: »

Remember that Rip mentions a yank gallon, which is a bit less than 4 litres. It shouldn't make you too chubby if you do your squats as prescribed. The hormonal response from the squats n' milk will add a fairly serious amount of meat to your frame in a reasonably short time. When I was on SS, I jumped straight into 4 litres without too much bother (well there was some farting for about a week!). It's also a cheap way to get a couple o' thousand calories into your diet. No, you probably don't need to drink much water.

Good post.

joker77

Interesting topic, I'm on the SS routine but not drinking a whole lot of milk. I think I should be upping it.

The question is when?

At the moment my diet would breakdown into these kind of meals on a training day:

Meal 1 (08:00) - breakfast shake - 1 scoop protein, 1.5 cups porridge oats, 1 spoon of linseeds+wheatgerm+honey. Water

Meal 2 (11:00) - bowl of homemade stew/curry/chilli with brown rice. 2 slices of McCambridges with hummous. Cup of green Tea

Meal 3 (13:30) - PWO shake - 1 scoop protein + 1 scoop RAM + 1 teaspoon Creatine, with water

Meal 4 (15:00) - bowl of homemade stew/curry/chilli with brown rice. 2 slices of McCambridges with hummous. Cup of green Tea

Meal 5 (18:30) - Dinner - could be anything.

Snacks later on, maybe a sandwich or something. Fruit during the day as well.

So where do I drink the milk?

workaccount

joker77 wrote: »

Interesting topic, I'm on the SS routine but not drinking a whole lot of milk. I think I should be upping it.

The question is when?

At the moment my diet would breakdown into these kind of meals on a training day:

Meal 1 (08:00) - breakfast shake - 1 scoop protein, 1.5 cups porridge oats, 1 spoon of linseeds+wheatgerm+honey. Water

Meal 2 (11:00) - bowl of homemade stew/curry/chilli with brown rice. 2 slices of McCambridges with hummous. Cup of green Tea

Meal 3 (13:30) - PWO shake - 1 scoop protein + 1 scoop RAM + 1 teaspoon Creatine, with water

Meal 4 (15:00) - bowl of homemade stew/curry/chilli with brown rice. 2 slices of McCambridges with hummous. Cup of green Tea

Meal 5 (18:30) - Dinner - could be anything.

Snacks later on, maybe a sandwich or something. Fruit during the day as well.

So where do I drink the milk?

Well it would probably take you about 45mins anyway to drink a litre so I'm just going to spread it out over the course of the day.

I sit in an office so it's easy for me to just drink away at it.

joker77

I'm thinking substituting water with milk in my shakes would be a start

Hanley

joker77 wrote: »

Interesting topic, I'm on the SS routine but not drinking a whole lot of milk. I think I should be upping it.

The question is when?

At the moment my diet would breakdown into these kind of meals on a training day:

Meal 1 (08:00) - breakfast shake - 1 scoop protein, 1.5 cups porridge oats, 1 spoon of linseeds+wheatgerm+honey. Water

Meal 2 (11:00) - bowl of homemade stew/curry/chilli with brown rice. 2 slices of McCambridges with hummous. Cup of green Tea

Meal 3 (13:30) - PWO shake - 1 scoop protein + 1 scoop RAM + 1 teaspoon Creatine, with water

Meal 4 (15:00) - bowl of homemade stew/curry/chilli with brown rice. 2 slices of McCambridges with hummous. Cup of green Tea

Meal 5 (18:30) - Dinner - could be anything.

Snacks later on, maybe a sandwich or something. Fruit during the day as well.

So where do I drink the milk?

A little less than a pint with each meal would work. Maybe start off with a glass tho cos you seem to be getting a fair amount of calories in already and don't want to go TOO over hte top.

fletch

workaccount wrote: »

Well it would probably take you about 45mins anyway to drink a litre

Huh?

Hanley

fletch wrote: »

Huh?

Yeah I was just wondering... I usually polish off a pint in 2 or 3 mins at night.

Dirk_Diggler

I've been following Berardi's advice regarding milk, that is, cut it out completely. Well, the diet I'm looking at has no sign of milk in it. Miss drinking it tbh

fletch

Hanley wrote: »

Yeah I was just wondering... I usually polish off a pint in 2 or 3 mins at night.

Me too..I could drink a litre in 1-2mins. (although I do love milk)

workaccount

fletch wrote: »

Huh?

Hanley wrote: »

Yeah I was just wondering... I usually polish off a pint in 2 or 3 mins at night.

What? I'd suppose I could drink it abit quicker....half an hour but I wouldn't rush it.

In the past I have found that drinking milk too fast can give you pains in your stomach.

Hanley

Dirk_Diggler wrote: »

I've been following Berardi's advice regarding milk, that is, cut it out completely. Well, the diet I'm looking at has no sign of milk in it. Miss drinking it tbh

It's been a while since I've heard his name mentioned. He musta stopped writing radical articles!! :D

workaccount wrote: »

What? I'd suppose I could drink it abit quicker....half an hour but I wouldn't rush it.

In the past I have found that drinking milk too fast can give you pains in your stomach.

As in it gives you pains in your stomach?? Cant say I've ever experienced it.

joker77

Hanley wrote: »

A little less than a pint with each meal would work. Maybe start off with a glass tho cos you seem to be getting a fair amount of calories in already and don't want to go TOO over hte top.

If I substitute water for milk in the shakes, and have another glass or 2 during the day, that should be enough to start with I'd say

joker77

Just back from the shop and tucking into a 500ml Super Milk. Tasty stuff!

Dirk_Diggler

Totally disregard his stuff then Hanley?

workaccount

Hanley wrote: »

As in it gives you pains in your stomach??

I realize this now.

Hopefully drinking large amounts over extended periods won't cause me any problems.

rubadub

fletch wrote: »

Me too..I could drink a litre in 1-2mins. (although I do love milk)

I can lash it down faster than water. I often come back from the shops and later on that day am convinced someone in the house has been nicking my milk, 2L gone in a flash! but nobody in the house at all.

Cravez

workaccount wrote: »

Hopefully drinking large amounts over extended periods won't cause me any problems.

I wouldn't worry, iv been drinking 3-4 litres at least every day for the past 2-3 years with no problems. Only the day when i drank 7 litres did my stomach feel a little upset (and with constant trips to the toilet) .

The only general effect i could personally say that would effect from taking such amount every day is feeling slightly lethargic. But as someone said its great for getting calories & protein into your body for bulking up and its probably one of the cheapest & easiest accessible forms of getting protein as you can go into a shop and get a pint or there is always some in your fridge at home

rubadub

Michael Cravez wrote: »

I wouldn't worry, iv been drinking 3-4 litres at least every day for the past 2-3 years with no problems.

Maybe you should invest in a cow

Does anybody here drink raw milk (i.e. untreated)? or know a shop to get it in?

cunnins4

I got SS a few months ago and was drinking my gallon of milk a day as prescribed for about a month, and piled on a fair bit of weight (mostly muscle thankfully) It worked really well for me but my skin went to bits-although someone suggested that was due to higher levels of testosterone due to muscle growth? Still a great way to put on weight.

brianthebard

rubadub wrote: »

Maybe you should invest in a cow

Does anybody here drink raw milk (i.e. untreated)? or know a shop to get it in?

shops aren't allowed sell it.get to know your local farmer,or failing that the nearest farmers market.

Brian?

rubadub wrote: »

Maybe you should invest in a cow

Does anybody here drink raw milk (i.e. untreated)? or know a shop to get it in?

I used to drink it years ago, had some friends on a dairy farm. Its lovely, way way more fat in it than any milk you'd buy in a supermarket as the cream hasn't been skimmed off.. I'd say unless you actually visit a dairy farm regularly it'd be hard to get. I don't think there's any law againest selling it though, I don't see whats different about selling untreated milk and raw meat.

DM-BM

I tried the milk/ss thing for a few months this year, and while i did get stronger, i didn't notice any more strenght gains than without milk, except my fat levels went through the roof.

That said i probably didn't change the rest of my diet enough to compensate for the extra calories, plus the fact that i'm 32 and i think Rip uses this as a good way for late teens and early twenties to get the necessary calories.

TiM_rEAPeR

Personally I don't drink milk, and I would passively recommend people to do the same.

I don't want an argument thread to start but im going to deliver my factual 'opinion' on milk. After having discovered a lingering and passive allergy/ intolerance to milk I have completely removed it from my diet. (at 20), (previously a huge fan of milk I probaly consumed more than a litre of dairy a day, im lucky because an uncle of mine only copped it at the age of 50).

I was strongly ignorant and refused to believe it, but after being on soy products for the last few months my long suffering sinus has disappeared and I no longer suffer from morning fatigue and drowsiness. The lactose in milk causes a slight adverse reaction in everyones upper tract... excess mucous is produced and this is where bacteria can gather to cause an infection. Tbh, I prefer the taste of soy now and I shudder when I see the vast amounts of milk that are consumed within our country. If we were designed to drink cows mik then why does brest milk differ so enormously from a cow? The thing about being intolerant is that the symptons generally surface 2-3 days later so its sometimes impossible to detect an allergy or a slight intolerance.

This isn't a nutrition forum anywho, but its all relative to fitness and its quite possible anyone here could have the same unfound problem I did. (it generally comes with denial, then research, then hey presto... your a ranting nutrition wannabe)

"Our distant ancestors ate almost no gluten grains and they were only cultivated 10,000 years ago (and only in some parts of the world) This is far too short a time for a hunter-gatherer to genetically adapt and tolerate grains... Gliadin is not found in outs, therefore its worth introducing it and see what happens... The same story could be told for dairy products. Our ancestors weren't milking buffaloes." - Patrick Holford

Just can't help but offer my experience and share an opinion as it only surfaced in my life recently.

Oh, and on the soy milk stance. I am certain it contains quite a bit more protein and more added nutrients and good stuff. I can't go into specifics but it is definitely nutritionally more adequate. (and it CAN taste just as good as milk!)

g'em

Have you been tested? A lactose intolerance and a milk allergy are two entirely different animals so do you know which one you think you have?

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest and assimilate lactose, the sugar in milk. Milk allergy is the reaction to the proteins found in milk, either whey, casein or most commonly both.

The former usually manifests itself as gastrointestinal problems - cramps, bloating, diarrhea and/ or constipation but the latter can produce classic "allergy" symptoms like problems with your skin and your respiratory system as well as in your tummy.

In both cases though, although the statistics vary, only around 5% of the Irish population should suffer from either ailment. The majority of us are quite capable of handling some milk and while I have read a lot of Patrick Holford's work, I find him a little too sensationalist and he tends to scaremonger quite a lot. Just because our ancestors didn't eat something it doesn't mean they wouldn't have been able to had it been available.

And fyi, soy is not more nutritious than milk proteins, not by a long shot.

workaccount

So is it ok to be drinking full fat milk?

There's a difference of 200 calories per litre between full fat and low fat.

g'em

workaccount wrote: »

So is it ok to be drinking full fat milk?

If you can afford the calories, then sure.

workaccount

g'em wrote: »

If you can afford the calories, then sure.

So it's good fat then and goes towards my daily fat requirements?

g'em

workaccount wrote: »

So it's good fat then and goes towards my daily fat requirements?

Can. Worms. Exploding open

Technically the fat in milk is saturated fats. Essentially all (fish oil aside) animal fat is saturated fat. This isn't inherently bad for us, but you should also be getting plenty of unsaturated (plant) fat in your diet as well.

If milk is the only source of fat in your diet, not so good. If you also eat some/ all of the following: nuts, seeds and their oils, avocados, flax, oily fish then it's fine.

Colm_OReilly

workaccount wrote: »

So is it ok to be drinking full fat milk?

There's a difference of 200 calories per litre between full fat and low fat.

Full fat is what Rip recommends. Again this is if you are gaining weight!

Zzippy

g'em wrote: »

Can. Worms. Exploding open

Technically the fat in milk is saturated fats. Essentially all (fish oil aside) animal fat is saturated fat. This isn't inherently bad for us, but you should also be getting plenty of unsaturated (plant) fat in your diet as well.

If milk is the only source of fat in your diet, not so good. If you also eat some/ all of the following: nuts, seeds and their oils, avocados, flax, oily fish then it's fine.

I used to drink a lot of full fat milk, til I had a full medical last year and the cholesterol was a bit high. My diet is very clean usually, no other large sources of saturated fats, so the doc suggested switching to low fat. Have been on it a year now. Will be interesting to see the cholesterol level next time I get checked.

gabgab

Sorry and I'm not being pedantic, but would supermilk have the same benefits but help you add lean mass. Or is the difference insignificant??

Spent a while getting a bit leaner and dont want to start putting fat back on,

cheers,

workaccount

gabgab wrote: »

Sorry and I'm not being pedantic, but would supermilk have the same benefits but help you add lean mass. Or is the difference insignificant??

Spent a while getting a bit leaner and dont want to start putting fat back on,

cheers,

AFAIK supermilk is just normal milk with vitamins added.

joker77

workaccount wrote: »

AFAIK supermilk is just normal milk with vitamins added.

Supermilk is low fat milk with the added vitamins

gabgab

Checked out a carton there:

Supermilk per 100ml has
Energy -15kcal
Protein + 0.01g
Carbohydrate + 0.03g
Fat - 2g

More or less than wholemilk,

So its 600kcal less and 80g of fat less based on 4liters a day,

Edwardius

If you're trying to gain weight, there's little point in drinking low-fat milk. That's like paying the same cash for less food, also, there's a higher % sugar in low fat milk. The point in the milk is to beef folk up (ho ho ho), this might make you a little chubby but the lean tissue you gain from the squats+milk should demolish the excess fairly quickly once you cease drinking the milk. Soy milk probably won't work as whole cow's milk (I'm reliably informed) stimulates the production of IGF-1.

"Personally I don't drink milk, and I would passively recommend people to do the same."
Pharoah nuff but not everyone gets dodgy sinuses from milk. Some minor irritation might be tolerable when the other side effects are an extra 10kg of muscle and 40kg extra on your back squat, but by then you'll be done complaining about stuff and more worried about getting crushed by a bar that weighs as much as a motorcycle!

gabgab

Dead Ed wrote: »

If you're trying to gain weight, there's little point in drinking low-fat milk. That's like paying the same cash for less food, also, there's a higher % sugar in low fat milk. The point in the milk is to beef folk up (ho ho ho), this might make you a little chubby but the lean tissue you gain from the squats+milk should demolish the excess fairly quickly once you cease drinking the milk. Soy milk probably won't work as whole cow's milk (I'm reliably informed) stimulates the production of IGF-1.

"Personally I don't drink milk, and I would passively recommend people to do the same."
Pharoah nuff but not everyone gets dodgy sinuses from milk. Some minor irritation might be tolerable when the other side effects are an extra 10kg of muscle and 40kg extra on your back squat, but by then you'll be done complaining about stuff and more worried about getting crushed by a bar that weighs as much as a motorcycle!

Hilarious,

LegacyUser

It should be pretty clear that low fat milk is for people who do not want to put on weight and full fat milk is for people who want to put on weight or burn more calories than they consume...

It's pretty easy to understand and does not have to be so complicated, calculated and precise...

Add weight = Consume more calories than you burn...

Lose Weight = Calorie deficit...burn more calories than you eat.

workaccount

cheesedude wrote: »

It should be pretty clear that low fat milk is for people who do not want to put on weight and full fat milk is for people who want to put on weight or burn more calories than they consume...

It's pretty easy to understand and does not have to be so complicated, calculated and precise...

Add weight = Consume more calories than you burn...

Lose Weight = Calorie deficit...burn more calories than you eat.

I know all that. I just thought the fat in full fat milk was really bad for you and a health risk hence the question.

gabgab

cheesedude wrote: »

It should be pretty clear that low fat milk is for people who do not want to put on weight and full fat milk is for people who want to put on weight or burn more calories than they consume...

It's pretty easy to understand and does not have to be so complicated, calculated and precise...

Add weight = Consume more calories than you burn...

Lose Weight = Calorie deficit...burn more calories than you eat.

Ah come on now, I know it does not have to be complicated.

However there is a distinct difference between putting on weight and putting on muscle, I make the distinction because someone may have different goals.

One person may want to be strong and fairly lean, another person may want to be just plain big, regardless of the composition of their body

g'em

gabgab wrote: »

another person may want to be just plain big, regardless of the composition of their body

Yes but you usually find them here Would it not be fairly safe to assume that in this forum that most of the time when people say "I want to gain weight" they mean "I want to gain lean weight"?

gabgab

g'em wrote: »

Yes but you usually find them here Would it not be fairly safe to assume that in this forum that most of the time when people say "I want to gain weight" they mean "I want to gain lean weight"?

Ha ha so true, yeh I would reckon that everyone here is looking to gain lean weight. So do you reckon the difference is there between full and supermilk?