Milk as a meal replacement
feliciaboots
Posts: 440 Member
Has anyone attempted to use plain milk as a meal replacement?
One liter (4 cups) of 1% milk is 440 calories, 36 grams of protein, 48 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fat. (which is almost exactly what my meal plan requires).
One liter (4 cups) of 1% milk is 440 calories, 36 grams of protein, 48 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fat. (which is almost exactly what my meal plan requires).
6
Replies
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Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?3 -
I'd rather just eat a well rounded meal personally...I like to chew...drinking my meal sounds horribly unsatisfying.9
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I'd still be hungry. I need to chew real food.5
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Probably could but lack of fiber I'm betting you wouldn't feel full. Never tried but by the macros those aren't too bad of numbers beats my protein meal replacement shakes I'd also worry about the micros over the long term losing a lot of vitamins and minerals. My Meal Replacement Shake is 160 calories / 25 protein / 12 carbs / 3 fat but 8 fiber and a lot of vitamins/minerals.4
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Micronutrients are important too. Just because it has the right macro split doesn't mean it gives you all the nutrients you need.
Not to mention that flavours and textures are what makes food exciting for most people.10 -
mark rippetoe recommends a gallon of milk a day for those who are bulking.
But even he realizes that that is rather boring.1 -
I think I would be sick. I mean, I do drink that much water on a regular basis, but a liter of milk?3
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Why would you want to replace a meal? Does the milk have to replace a meal? Does it sound too boring and commonplace to drink a liter of milk with your meals, through the day? Or too obvious to cross your mind? What meal plan is that? A meal plan is a inanimate object; a meal plan should be designed according to your needs, which is a certain amount of a range of nutrients every day, but also good taste and food satisfaction.6
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I think you'd be awfully hungry and have some digestive issues.
Why would you want to do that?4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?
The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot) - I have an inverted triangle shape which I'm working on changing as much as I can to an hourglass.
Granted it would be terribly boring and TBH I would probably (at most!) use it to replace one meal - probably lunch. I just figured out the numbers and was wondering if anyone had actually done it.
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feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?
The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot) - I have an inverted triangle shape which I'm working on changing as much as I can to an hourglass.
Granted it would be terribly boring and TBH I would probably (at most!) use it to replace one meal - probably lunch. I just figured out the numbers and was wondering if anyone had actually done it.
How are you finding bulking and cutting at the same time?7 -
If I tried to replace one of my 3 daily meals with milk ... I'd have 4 meals.9
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TavistockToad wrote: »feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?
The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot) - I have an inverted triangle shape which I'm working on changing as much as I can to an hourglass.
Granted it would be terribly boring and TBH I would probably (at most!) use it to replace one meal - probably lunch. I just figured out the numbers and was wondering if anyone had actually done it.
How are you finding bulking and cutting at the same time?
My body builds muscle very quickly so the bulking is pretty easy, but the waist line is quite stubborn. I think a lot has to do with the type of running i have been doing. Last year was lower heartrate stuff (first time actively running as exercise) and I gained my shape relatively quickly. This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat. So I'm changing up my running to be lower speed to keep the heartrate down around 140 bpm.10 -
feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?
The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot) - I have an inverted triangle shape which I'm working on changing as much as I can to an hourglass.
Granted it would be terribly boring and TBH I would probably (at most!) use it to replace one meal - probably lunch. I just figured out the numbers and was wondering if anyone had actually done it.
How are you finding bulking and cutting at the same time?
My body builds muscle very quickly so the bulking is pretty easy, but the waist line is quite stubborn. I think a lot has to do with the type of running i have been doing. Last year was lower heartrate stuff (first time actively running as exercise) and I gained my shape relatively quickly. This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat. So I'm changing up my running to be lower speed to keep the heartrate down around 140 bpm.
Yeah, no...8 -
feliciaboots wrote: »
My body builds muscle very quickly so the bulking is pretty easy, but the waist line is quite stubborn. I think a lot has to do with the type of running i have been doing. Last year was lower heartrate stuff (first time actively running as exercise) and I gained my shape relatively quickly. This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat. So I'm changing up my running to be lower speed to keep the heartrate down around 140 bpm.
As a nurse, I have never heard of the body burning muscle during exercise.... The body will burn protein if there are inadequate carbs available, but you shouldn't be burning muscle unless you have really put yourself into starvation mode.
The higher speed running--usually aerobic heart rate levels of 55-85%--may not burn as much fat as a lower rate, but they strengthen your heart over time. I was taught that the 45-55% range burned more fat, but looking into it now, there's some conflicting information (and my nutrition class that taught this was about 8 years ago, so there's probably new info out since then).
Low carb diets tend to burn more fat because you aren't supplying the body with easy fuel; it has to burn protein or fat instead. That being said, some level of carbs and healthy fats (think nuts, avocados, etc) are necessary for health, and healthy fats can help you feel full longer, so you aren't as tempted to snack between meals.
If you're the sort that can drink a liter of milk and be satisfied, try it and see if it works as a meal replacement (since you're only replacing 1 out of 3 meals). I couldn't drink that much milk in the course of a day, let alone in one sitting, but then again, I'm mildly lactose intolerant.
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feliciaboots wrote: »
My body builds muscle very quickly so the bulking is pretty easy, but the waist line is quite stubborn. I think a lot has to do with the type of running i have been doing. Last year was lower heartrate stuff (first time actively running as exercise) and I gained my shape relatively quickly. This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat. So I'm changing up my running to be lower speed to keep the heartrate down around 140 bpm.
As a nurse, I have never heard of the body burning muscle during exercise.... The body will burn protein if there are inadequate carbs available, but you shouldn't be burning muscle unless you have really put yourself into starvation mode.
The higher speed running--usually aerobic heart rate levels of 55-85%--may not burn as much fat as a lower rate, but they strengthen your heart over time. I was taught that the 45-55% range burned more fat, but looking into it now, there's some conflicting information (and my nutrition class that taught this was about 8 years ago, so there's probably new info out since then).
Low carb diets tend to burn more fat because you aren't supplying the body with easy fuel; it has to burn protein or fat instead. That being said, some level of carbs and healthy fats (think nuts, avocados, etc) are necessary for health, and healthy fats can help you feel full longer, so you aren't as tempted to snack between meals.
If you're the sort that can drink a liter of milk and be satisfied, try it and see if it works as a meal replacement (since you're only replacing 1 out of 3 meals). I couldn't drink that much milk in the course of a day, let alone in one sitting, but then again, I'm mildly lactose intolerant.
My understanding: muscle loss due to cardio will only be an issue if one is consuming insufficient calories overall. It isn't going to be created by overall heart rate during exercise.4 -
Sort of. The 2 days a week that I get up too early to stomach a protein shake, I take a bottle of chocolate milk with me to the gym.1
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Milk doesn't fill me up at all.1
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feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?
The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot) - I have an inverted triangle shape which I'm working on changing as much as I can to an hourglass.
Granted it would be terribly boring and TBH I would probably (at most!) use it to replace one meal - probably lunch. I just figured out the numbers and was wondering if anyone had actually done it.
If you are referring to recomposition, it is possible but I wouldn't say you will significantly "bulk" up, more you will maintain what you have and add a little here, lean a little there. It takes quite a bit of time, and depending on your stats can be great if you are at your goal but not happy with your bodyfat% ... I would say it can be more suboptimal if you are overweight. So it depends on your stats.
Also while it is important to get adequate macros, recomp isn't about being low fat or anything. It has more to do with proper training and eating at maintenance. You don't have to overcomplicate it.6 -
^^ This!1
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feliciaboots wrote: »My body builds muscle very quickly so the bulking is pretty easy, but the waist line is quite stubborn. I think a lot has to do with the type of running i have been doing. Last year was lower heartrate stuff (first time actively running as exercise) and I gained my shape relatively quickly. This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat. So I'm changing up my running to be lower speed to keep the heartrate down around 140 bpm.
So you think you have more belly fat because your heart rate was too high?
4 -
mark rippetoe recommends a gallon of milk a day for those who are bulking.
But even he realizes that that is rather boring.
Wow a gallon of milk? If your talking homogenized milk, a gallon is 2500 calories. Skim milk would be around 1300 calories and 144 grams of protein. You would obviously get more from homogenized but if I was bulking up, I would go with skim so I could at least eat 1200 calories worth of food (lol). Felicia, I would go with skim milk and protein powder with a banana and some other fruit to make a smoothie. Figure out what else you could put in your smoothie to equal your 440 calories. I think you would enjoy that and feel fuller than just a plain glass of milk. Just my opinion on what I would do.3 -
feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »feliciaboots wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Is there a reason you need such a low fat plan?
The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot) - I have an inverted triangle shape which I'm working on changing as much as I can to an hourglass.
Granted it would be terribly boring and TBH I would probably (at most!) use it to replace one meal - probably lunch. I just figured out the numbers and was wondering if anyone had actually done it.
My body builds muscle very quickly so the bulking is pretty easy, but the waist line is quite stubborn. I think a lot has to do with the type of running i have been doing. Last year was lower heartrate stuff (first time actively running as exercise) and I gained my shape relatively quickly. This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat. So I'm changing up my running to be lower speed to keep the heartrate down around 140 bpm.
Higher intensity cardio burns a higher % of carbs (not protein/muscle) than fat (I think ~70% carbs to ~30% fat) than lower intensity cardio, which burns more fat than carbs percentage-wise, but the OVERALL burn still results in as much or more fat being burned from high intensity cardio than low intensity cardio, regardless of that % switch. "Activities" that burn the highest fat to carb % are sleeping or sitting on the couch, which primarily burns fat, but obviously burns very little of it because there is little overall burn while sleeping. If you really want to incorporate cardio that burns mostly fat, stick to walking.
https://www.builtlean.com/2013/04/01/fat-burning-zone-myth/3 -
Not as a meal replacement but I had it as a post-workout meal. I used to eat protein bars with decent macros (I said decent, not amazing) then I noticed they had exactly the same macros as 1% milk so I thought better have one ingredient than a thousand. Because after all that's the point with protein bars, too many ingredients for my liking and they are not filling anyway. Neither is milk though.2
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The low fat/high protein diet plan is because I'm trying to work on lowering the stomach fat (to accent the waist) while bulking up the legs (I run & cycle a lot).
You can't target where fat loss comes from.
This year I was doing a lot more at a higher heartrate but as I have been reading that burns muscle while leaving fat.
No - that makes no sense at all. Your muscle isn't a fuel. You would use it as a last resort in the face of starvation (not the mythical starvation mode!) or otherwise woefully inadequate diet.
Don't know where you are getting your information from but suggest you change your sources.6 -
mark rippetoe recommends a gallon of milk a day for those who are bulking.
But even he realizes that that is rather boring.
Wow a gallon of milk? If your talking homogenized milk, a gallon is 2500 calories. Skim milk would be around 1300 calories and 144 grams of protein. You would obviously get more from homogenized but if I was bulking up, I would go with skim so I could at least eat 1200 calories worth of food (lol). Felicia, I would go with skim milk and protein powder with a banana and some other fruit to make a smoothie. Figure out what else you could put in your smoothie to equal your 440 calories. I think you would enjoy that and feel fuller than just a plain glass of milk. Just my opinion on what I would do.
Nope. Whole milk PLUS maintenance calories in food. It's a very SPECIAL set of circumstances that lends itself to gallon of milk drinking.What is GOMAD?
As I mentioned earlier, on this diet, one is drinking an entire gallon of milk per day. Read that again. This gallon of milk is in addition to your normal meals for the day. Let’s take the average intake of a young male who is physically active and weight training. We’ll agree his average maintenance intake is about 2500-3000 kcals depending on multiple factors.
Now let’s look at what this diet actually recommends in terms of intake. A regular, whole-fat gallon of milk is ~2430 kcals (128g protein, 192g carbohydrate, 128g fat).
That’s a ton of calories coming from one source of food; hell, that’s the maintenance intake of many.
Then we have the rest of your daily meals added into ones energy intake. After all is ingested, we’re looking at a 5000-5500 kcal intake for the day. Boatloads of food!
This diet particularly became popular with young guys who needed to add some quality size to their frame. I’ve read in multiple places this is what Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength, often suggests to underweight teenage boys in search of a big squat, bench, deadlift and a beefy frame.
Source: https://jcdfitness.com/2010/04/gomad-gallon-of-milk-per-day-is-it-for-everyone/
ALSO, the man himself on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HV-wvNa2GM 1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Sounds fine if you're happy not to chew...
Let your milk set on out for a couple of days? Then it'd be chew-able
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If you like it and it fills you up.
My thoughts are that there are better sources of fat than milk fat (if I'm getting 10 g of dairy fat, I want cheese, but that's me).
I wouldn't find it sating and also I don't think I could drink that much milk, about a cup is my max, but I don't like milk all that much (cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese I love).
But as you can see my objections are basically personal preferences. If yours are different and you aren't just thinking that finding an alternative is going to be hard, I'd say try it and see.4 -
mark rippetoe recommends a gallon of milk a day for those who are bulking.
But even he realizes that that is rather boring.
Wow a gallon of milk? If your talking homogenized milk, a gallon is 2500 calories. Skim milk would be around 1300 calories and 144 grams of protein. You would obviously get more from homogenized but if I was bulking up, I would go with skim so I could at least eat 1200 calories worth of food (lol). Felicia, I would go with skim milk and protein powder with a banana and some other fruit to make a smoothie. Figure out what else you could put in your smoothie to equal your 440 calories. I think you would enjoy that and feel fuller than just a plain glass of milk. Just my opinion on what I would do.
It's common to add milk for those who are hard gainers and have trouble eating the calories they need to when bulking. Mostly because it's not that filling for many, so in that case extra calories are a plus.3 -
I use Coffee/Matcha Latte as a snack. I'm not overly sensitive to caffeine, so I don't need it to get awake, but the coffee/tea makes it a bit more interesting (sometimes even decaf) and increases the volume without adding more calories.
For me, the milk calms down the hunger, so it's a perfect snack when I'm more or less out of calories but need something to not get crazy. It's easy "to go" when I have choir practice or a long evening with appointments ahead.0
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