TACTICAL MONSTER NUTRITION GUIDE
Hey,
Welcome to the Tactical Monster 2.0 specific clean bulking nutrition guide.
This nutrition guide will help you get the most out of your training as you aim to
increase strength and build muscle mass without eating crap food.
Before you begin, you will need to work out your personal macros required for you
to reach your muscle building goals. I have included a complete guide for this on
the next few pages, take the time to go through it and work yours out. We are all
different shapes sizes and body types so no ones requirements are the same.
There is no specific 5 meals a day etc for this plan, all that is required is you meet
your macros for each day following the recommendations. I do however suggest
having 2-3 large main meals and a couple snacks, especially before and after
training.
I have included a grocery list with options on healthy food to add in, and also meal
combination samples. To easily track your macros for the day I highly recommend
you download the MY Fitness Pal app. This is a great tool to get a good idea of
how to track the stats of what you are eating.
Run through the following info, get it in your head and get ready for success.
INTRODUCTION
.
Assuming you want to put on muscle rather than fat, this is going to require a well
thought out plan of attack, not simply eating as much junk food as possible each day.
When it comes to eating for strength and mass often we first think of the see-food
diet. See food and eat it, no matter what it is and no matter the portions. Just eat
until you're full, rest for a while then back to it.
Eating everything you can find as long as you are including a good amount of protein
will work to a degree. Many guys who struggle to put on muscle are eating nowhere
near enough and will have to really make an effort to force themselves to eat more.
But this isn’t the right answer.
By eating this way you will make life
more difficult when it comes to losing the
extra bodyfat that has come with the
hard earned muscle.
“If you're confused about the
best diet to follow for building
muscle, you definitely aren't
alone.”
To successfully build mass you need to
take in the right amounts of proteins and
amino acids to help repair and rebuild
your muscles. You need a mixture of fast
and slow releasing carbohydrates to provide valuable energy for the gym. And last
but not least, you need plenty of healthy, decent-quality, calorie-rich fats.
With so much conflicting evidence around these days and in the media, you can find
yourself afraid to do anything and feel like you want to give up. But never fear, this
guide will give you the bare bones straight to the point information you need without
confusing you even more with wild science.
I don't want you guys feeling like you have to follow a specific diet like crazy and have
no balance in your life either. Adherence is the number one thing we want to focus
on and I'd rather your diet was 80% right 100% of the time than 100% right 1% of the
time.
GOAL SETTING
Like I said in the intro, when it comes to
eating for strength and muscle mass; It's
not suddenly free rein to live off
McDonald's, Soft drinks and Ice-cream.
The back bone of your nutrition plan
must be healthy nutritious food.
If you're restricted to eating only healthy
food 100% of the time, you will come to a
point where you just have to have junk
food and then it will be all on. As once
you've started you may as well go all out as
the damage is already done right?!
Yes you can still put on muscle while
eating junk but I also want you guys full of
energy and in good health. Not just
looking like it on the outside.
You can still include a small amount of
processed foods. If eating ice-cream keeps
you sane, eat it but make sure to keep it to
a small amount and not the staple of your
nutrition plan.
The food you are eating should mostly be
grown by nature, or products produced
by animals.
Pizza, burgers, Takeaways can still be
included in your diet and actually help you
out but as above these must remain as
only a very small percent of your total diet.
WORKING OUT YOUR MACROS
Macronutrients, or macros for short, are just protein, fat and carbohydrates. Each
gram of protein or carbs contains 4 calories. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories.
Simple as that. Just to clear it up, macros are not separate from calories. They are
what make up calories.
Below I am going to go over how to work out all of your macros but if you feel the
need to be lazy and want an answer immediately then there are formulas and
calculators on the net. One that I have found effective although I don't personally
subscribe to there way of eating is found at; www.iifym.com.
The calculator there is most often spot on and I highly recommend it. Full disclosure,
you will get targeted through your email after using the calculator by them trying to
sell you something. You can immediately unsubscribe or just ignore it.
A high Protein intake is extremely important no matter your goals when it comes to
nutrition. You will notice as we go through the other macro-nutrients that your
consumption levels of Fats and Carbs will vary but your protein intake will remain
reasonably consistent.
During this program, you will be breaking down your muscles regularly and if you are
not providing your body the required amount of protein, you won’t recover optimally
and you definitely won’t grow the muscles you desire. A value that is often thrown
around is 1g of protein per pound of body-weight.
For example: If you weigh 180lb, you would be consuming 180g of protein per
day.
This works well and is a good beginning number to strive to, for performance and
aesthetics. The only time we run into problems with this number is if you have a very
high bodyfat %.
For example:
If you weigh 300lbs and are 40% bodyfat, you can lower this number to 0.70.8g
per lb.
Depending on how much protein you require and
how many meals you decide to have per day, a
good number to hit is 30-70g of protein per meal. If
you can hit this number with solid food, go for it but
if not this is when I recommend you look at protein
supplementation. This also comes down to
convenience.
If you are aiming for muscle
gain, feel free to push this
number up to as high as 1.7
-2g per lb of bodyweight.
WORKING OUT YOUR MACROS
When it comes to carbs, it can get confusing. Carb cycling, carb backloading, low
carb, no carb.. You will hear it all and what is supposedly best for you. These all work
perfectly fine depending on your goals but we are going to keep it as simple as
possible here. For carbohydrate intake, we are going to slightly vary based on our
activity levels each day.
Very light activity/Rest day 0.5g per lb
Training day 1.2g per lb
Heavy Training day 2.0g per lb
Example
For a 180lb man, he would consume 90g
on a rest day, 220g on a training day and
300-360g on an intense heavy training
day.
Carbohydrates will be your main source
of fuel for your training days so don’t
neglect them. On a rest day, however
you don’t need a great deal of energy.
Lowering your carb intake on rest days
will actually improve your insulin
sensitivity so that when you do up your
carbs again, your body will use them
more effectively.
The Carb sources provided in the shopping
list are great for before and after training but
during training you will stick to fast acting
sources. Examples are;
Gatorade
Kool Aid
Fruit Juice
Dextrose (25-50g)
Ideally you will consume 60-80% of your
carbs around your training. 25-50g of carbs
an hour or two before training and again 2550g immediately after training.
Due to the intensity of this
program and the fact we
are aiming for increased
mass, I would class every
training day as a heavy
training day.
NUTRITION
WORKING&OUT
STEP
SUPPLEMENT
YOUR
04 MACROS
GUIDE
Fats aren't the enemy they were once thought to be. They are extremely important
for brain function, healthy hormones and actually ingesting fat helps the body to
utilize your own fat as a fuel lowering your body fat levels.
By severely limiting fat, you will cause negative effects on your testosterone levels
among other hormones. Testosterone is the super hormone which helps build
muscle in men and women.
More muscle = a higher metabolism causing greater fat loss so win win.
Focus on consuming healthy fats such as the examples on the shopping list. Keep
the majority of your intake of these fats away from your training. One great thing
about fats, other than that they are very easy to consume and are often tasty, is
that they are very calorie dense. As you have seen above, 1g of fat = 9 calories.
When you are looking to lose weight this
may not be helpful to you but when trying
to gain weight, once you have hit your
protein and carb requirements for the day,
you can really lift your consumption of fats.
Some fats actually are the enemy.
One important note that you need to be
aware of is that almost all takeaway and
fried food shops fry their food in oil that
is trans fat. It isn’t just the high calories
that you need to be aware of. This oil
that most takeaway shops use throws
your body chemicals out of whack
affecting your hormones it is also near
impossible for your body to use as
energy so is immediately stored as fat.
This list is only a guide of a few examples in each category and not the exact list of
ingredients you should buy. Use it to help you stay on track.
All non starchy vegetables are fine
Some good staples;
•Green Leafy Lettuce
(Green Leaf, Red Leaf, Romaine, Spinach)
•Broccoli
•Asparagus
•Bell Peppers
•Brussels Sprouts
•Cauliflower
•Celery
•Cucumber
•Onions
•Garlic
•Tomatoes
•Zucchini
•Fruit: oranges, bananas, apples, grapefruit,
peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
•Lemons or Limes
•Frozen vegetables (corn, peas)
•Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
•Ground turkey, Turkey Breast Slices or cutlets
•Deli cuts
•Beef (aim for leaner cuts)
•Lean Ground Beef
•Lamb (aim for leaner cuts)
•Tinned Tuna (water packed)
•Fish (salmon, trout etc.)
•Shrimp (prawns)
•Protein Powder (Whey or Pea protein powder)
•Egg Whites or whole Eggs
•Cottage cheese
•Milk
•Butter
•Greek Yoghurt
•Lower fat cheeses (cream cheese, cheddar,
mozzarella)
•Oat Bran Cereal
•Whole grain cereals (Shredded Wheat,
Special K)
•Oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick Oats)
•Sweet Potatoes
•Potatoes
•Beans (pinto, black, kidney)
•Brown Rice
•Rice cakes and crackers
•Rice (white, jasmine, basmati, Arborio, wild
•Whole meal Pastas
•Whole meal sandwich breads, bagels, pita
bread
•Soft corn tortillas
•Humous
•Natural Peanut Butter (ingredients should
only be peanuts and salt)
•Olive Oil
•Organic Butter
•Coconut Oil
•Flaxseed Oil
•Avocados
•Raw nuts (any kinds, in moderation)
•Condiments & Misc.
•Some good go-to options;
•Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
•Balsamic Vinegar
•Steak Sauce
•Chili Paste
•Mustard
•Spices (oregano, black pepper, Italian season-
ing, thyme)
•Chili powder
•Low Sodium beef or chicken broth
•Plain or reduced sodium tomatoes sauce, pu-
ree, paste
•Vinaigrettes
•Salsa
Here is a sample list of well balanced meal plan options to use as a guide for your
week. Alter them to make sure you are hitting your own personal macro requirements.
Non Starchy vegetables are pretty much free rein and are packed full of nutrients so
add them where you feel.
• 3 Whole Eggs, 3 Egg whites, 1 cup of oats, with
• ½ Roast chicken skin on, 1 Large sweet potato,
• 2 Poached eggs, 2 slices of wholegrain or
• 300g Chicken thigh, 1 cup stir fry veges, 1 cup
1 large banana and a tbsp. of honey.
gluten free toast, 1 tbsp. of peanut butter, 1
cup of oats. 25g Whey Protein
• 6 Weetbix with 500ml Milk, ½ Cup of berries,
25g whey protein.
• 2 Whole eggs, 4 Egg whites, 2 Slices of
wholegrain or gluten free toast, 4 slices of lean
meat, ½ avocado.
• 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, 300g lean beef, 1
1 cup green peas.
basmati rice, 1 tbsp.. soy sauce.
• 300g White fish, 2 cups spinach, 1 ½ cups
couscous.
• 300g Steak, 6 Baby potatoes, 1 cup green
beans.
• 2 x Whole meal burger buns, 250g lean beef, 1
slice cheese, 1 fried egg, 1 slice beetroot, 1 cup
lettuce.
SNACKS
cup of spinach.
• 2 cups cooked whole meal pasta, 185g tin
tuna, 1 cup of mixed veges.
• Baked Potato, 1 chicken breast, ½ cup
sweetcorn, 1 tbsp. mayonnaise.
• 300g steak, 1 Large sweet potato, 1 cup of
green beans, 1 apple.
• 200g Sliced ham or beef, 2 Slices of wholegrain
bread, 1 slice of cheese, 1 cup salad.
•25g Whey Protein, 300ml milk, 1 cup
greek yoghurt.
•1 cup mixed berries, 1 cup cottage
cheese.
•1 ½ cup greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp honey, 1
large banana
•1 x 185g Tin tuna, 15 almonds, 1 apple.
•Raw vege and cheese sticks with
hummus
The following is a sample day of eating
for someone between 170 – 190lbs to
give you an idea of what a day of eating
could look like. This is not a specific plan I
would recommend everyone follows.
Black coffee, 2 Whole Eggs, 4 Egg whites, 1 cup of oats, with 1 large
banana and a tbsp. of honey.
Protein: 70g
Carbs: 95g
Fat: 16g
1 x 185g Tin tuna, 10 almonds, 1 apple.
Protein: 34g Carbs: 35g Fat: 8g
2 cups cooked jasmine rice, 300g lean beef, 1 cup of spinach.
Protein: 67g Carbs: 91g Fat: 29g
1 cup mixed berries, 1 cup cottage cheese, 25g whey Protein.
Protein: 50g Carbs: 23g Fat:3g
¼ Roast chicken skin on, 1 Large sweet potato, 1 cup green peas.
Protein: 51g
Carbs: 61g
Fat: 16g
1 cup greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp. honey, 1 large banana.
Protein: 12g
Carbs: 30g Fat: 9g
Protein: 284g / 1136 calories
Carbs: 335g / 1340 calories
Fats: 81g / 729 calories
Total Calories = 3205 Calories.
SUPPLEMENT GUIDE
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) cannot be
produced by the body and are
massively important to maintain healthy
cells. A decrease in inflammation,
improved mood and brain function,
along with a myriad of other benefits
should be enough to convince you that
Fish oils are a great addition along with
a healthy diet. I recommend taking 3-5g
per day
Magnesium plays a role in over 300
essential chemical reactions in the body
and is an important mineral for
maintaining bone density and healthy
heart function.
One thing to be careful when searching
for a magnesium supplement is the
type of magnesium you are getting. Any
magnesium oxide, carbonate or
sulphide is rubbish and will not do
much to help you. Be careful with this
as many magnesium supplements will
be purely this so do your research. Look
for magnesium citrate, malate, taurate,
theonate, fumarate, glycerophosphate
among others.
If you are deficient in magnesium, you
will notice muscle cramps, head aches,
and most notably poor sleep.
Multi vitamins are a great way to ensure
your body gets the essential vitamins
and minerals it needs to run efficiently.
I recommend taking one first thing each
day and in times of high stress taking
an extra one before bed.
Vitamin D is something which is often
overlooked but most people are
deficient in it and it has great benefits.
If you spend a lot of time in the sun,
then you may not need this supplement
but if you spend all day dressed in
uniform and your skin barely sees the
sun than this will be a great addition to
your supplement routine.
With the benefits of improving mood,
bone health, decreasing blood
pressure, preventing cancer and
diabetes. Look at taking between 35000IU per day.
Often you will find Combined Fish Oil
and Vitamin D supplements which is
perfect and will help you kill two birds
with one stone.
SUPPLEMENT GUIDE
I’ve listed Whey protein here but feel
free to use Pea protein if you are vegan
or just want an alternate source.
Protein is the building block of muscles
and essential for repair and growth of
muscle after exercise. I highly
recommend protein supplementation
for recovery, muscle gain and
preserving muscle when you are in a
caloric deficit.
Make sure when choosing a protein
supplement that you look at the label.
You want to find one with as little fillers
as possible. In a 30g scoop of protein
you don’t want to be getting under 20g
of protein. There are many quality
protein supplements but one I have
used greatly in the past and is always a
go to is Optimum Nutrition gold
standard.
Where creatine will help you with short
bursts of power, Beta Alanine is great
for athletes needing a boost in
performance over medium to highintensity cardiovascular exercises, such
as medium distance sprints.
Beta-alanine works by turning into the
molecule carnosine, which acts as an
acid buffer in the body, in turn helping
you to perform at a high intensity for
longer periods of time.
Creatine is one supplement that has
risen to great popularity over the years
and for good reason. It has many great
benefits for athletes looking for
increases in strength and power.
Beware though if you are going to be
limited with your water intake due to
field exercises I wouldn’t recommend
taking it at this time as you need to
increase your water intake when you
are supplementing with creatine.
There are many different types of
Creatine Supplements that you will run
in to however just the basic Creatine
Monohydrate powder is all you need. I
recommend just taking 5-10g per day
before training.
protein supplements but one I have
used greatly in the past and is always a
go to is Optimum Nutrition gold
standard.
I don't particularly recommend mass
gainers and would rather you got your
calories from real food.
Alternatively you can make your own
mass gainer shakes, by adding 50g
whey protein, 2 tbsp. Peanut butter,
500ml milk, 1 banana and even 1 tbsp.
of Olive oil if you can handle it.
SUPPLEMENT GUIDE
Caffeine supplementation which can
come from a wide range of sources
such as coffee, caffeine supplements,
tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and
chocolate but is most likely in your life
from Coffee.
Caffeine is a double edged sword. It
can be amazing but also be a negative if
you are not careful.
Having a black coffee first thing in the
morning can speed up your
metabolism and mobilize fat stores
allowing to use Fat for energy but if you
are not taking in extra water, it will
dehydrate you and lower your
performance.
By taking large amounts also, you can
find your anxiety levels rising and
putting you in a bad mood for no real
reason.
Be sure to limit your caffeine intake
also, taking in no more than 2 strong
coffees per day. By taking more and
more caffeine you will start to notice
negative side effects such as
headaches, muscle cramps, poor sleep,
it can effect nutrient absorption along
with stomach problems.
L-Theanine is a supplement I’ve only
recently started using but have seen
amazing benefits from it, with far
greater focus and the ability to be
incredibly switched on while staying
calm and in a good mood with no
feelings of
anxiety.
Its all good and well to be switched on
from coffee but if you are jittery and
shaking all over then you aren’t going to
be an effective operator either in
training or in your line of work.
By combining the two supplements
here, you will find yourself laser
focused, calm and in a happy mood
ready for anything.
You will find this supplement in 100200mg capsules and experiment with
doses between 200-400mg per day.
TACTICAL MONSTER NUTRITION GUIDE
If I had a dollar for every time someone has told me I eat lots but still can't
gain any weight, I'd have at least 50 dollars. Eating big doesn't mean, eating
big once a day or once a week. It's being consistent with eating enough of
the right foods each day and as you gain more lean mass, you have to
increase the amount you are consuming even still. The more muscle mass
you possess, the faster your metabolism.
If you're gaining weight extremely fast, it is likely either fat or water held
from the high amount of carbohydrates you are now consuming. Some
extra water weight wont help you with your athletic ability or bodyweight
exercises but for strength it is fine. If you feel you are adding fat fast, cut
200-500 calories from your daily intake.
.
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