I believe that diet is at least 75% of the fitness equation.

I'm going to describe in detail what I have learned about diet during my 4 year transition period.
When to Eat and How Often
This might sound strange, but you have to eat more often to lose fat and gain muscle. During my transition period, I never ate less than 6 meals a day.
Try to eat every 2 to 3 hours.
Do not eat complex carbohydrates after 6:00 p.m. or four to five hours before going to bed.
Try to eat one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass on lifting days and .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass on non-lifting days.
Never eat more than 30 grams of protein in one meal.
Drink more than 3 litres of water in a day
Sleep atleast 7-8 hours a day. This is the time your muscles repair and grow.
Rule of thumb 60% protien (Timing : All day), Carbs 30% (Timing: Before 6pm and complex/fibrous carbs not simple), 10% fats (Timing before 1pm: fish oil & Nuts as in Walnuts/almonds)
Carbohydrates
When I think of carbohydrates, I think of energy. Carbohydrates supply our bodies with the energy it needs to make it through a workout. Without an adequate supply of carbohydrates, the body goes into
carbohydrate deprivation. This is called a state of ketosis (meaning our body is using protein as energy). This is not a good state to be in for long because it will rob the body of muscle tissue in an effort to create
energy. On the other hand, if too many carbohydrates are consumed, they convert into stored fat. The idea is to consume just enough carbohydrates to make it through our workouts with sufficient energy. I have
broken down carbohydrates into these three categories:
Simple carbs: These are sugars, or quick energy. They are absorbed very quickly into the body. Ex. Anything with sugar, also fruit
Complex carbs: This is where you get long-term energy for the day. These are long chained carbohydrates that brake down slower, giving us energy over a prolonged period of time. Ex. Oatmeal, potatoes, pasta,
quinoa, brown breads & rice
Fibrous carbs: These are things like vegetables. I think of them as roughage in order to stay regular. Make sure you include them in you later meals when you can't eat complex carbs. They are also a good source
of vitamins. Ex. Leafy vegetables like lettuce, brocolli
Protein
Proteins are the building blocks of our muscles. Without a sufficient amount of protein in our diet, our muscles will not have the raw materials that they need to build up, or even hang on to what is already there.
Net protein utilization: Not all protein is created equal. Different foods are absorbed more than others. For example, egg white protein is absorbed at 88%. That means we get about 9 eggs to our muscles. On the
other hand, chicken breast are absorbed at 68%, meaning we get about 7 breasts to our muscles. It is imported to eat a wide verity of protein foods though; no one protein source has all the amino acids we need.
Whey protein (100%): the best source of whey protein is from protein supplements. It is also absorbed very fast by the body, so it is best to take this when your body needs amino acids quickly: like right after a
workout or when you first get up in the morning.
Egg whites (88%)
Fish (78%)
Chicken breast (78%)
Soy protein: My one bit of advice would be to try and stay away from soy protein. It is not absorbed very well by the body.
Fats
We normally think of fats as being bad. The fact is certain fats are essential to building muscle and carrying out various functions of the body. There are 2 fat types we need to be concerned about:
Saturated fats: these are the bad fats. Avoid these fats as much as possible. You will find these types of fats mostly in meats
Unsaturated fats: these are the good fats. They are a good energy source and help us build muscle. You can find from plant oils. Peanuts are also a good source.
Water
Do not under estimate the importance of water! If you are looking to get lean, water will be your best friend. Drink as much as you can and as often as you can. Also, it is very important to drink lots of water when
you're eating large amounts of protein to clean urea from the system.
Vitamins & minerals
As resistance training athletes, we have a greater need for vitamins & minerals. When we workout and bring blood to our muscles it is important that our blood is full of those essential vitamins & minerals if we want
to grow.
Supplements
Supplements are just that, meaning they are used to supplement your diet, not replace it. Don't ever think of it that way.
Hierarchy of supplements:
I developed this hierarchy of supplements based on what I thought were the most important and also by price.
1. Proper diet: Without proper diet you are just wasting money on supplements. Start here! Do not think that supplements are going to do it for you alone.
2. Multi-vitamin & mineral: It is very important to have all your vitamins & minerals when resistance training. Most of us are lacking in some areas, make it a priority to make this your first supplement. (GNC sport for
Active men/women)
3. Protein powder: It is usually very hard to get all the protein you need from real foods. Powders make it much easier. Also, these powders are absorbed fast by the body making them ideal after workouts or before
and after sleep. (ON Whey Protien is best)
4. Creatine: This is great for harder workouts. It also makes you muscles hang on to water, giving them a better environment to grow.
5. L-glutamine: This is an important amino acid in muscle recovery. Xtend product has this along with BCAA below. Best buy
6. Branch chained amino acid: These are great before and after workouts along with L-glutamine because it gives your muscles all the amino acids it needs to repair and grow.
7. ZMA: This helps you release more growth hormone while you sleep, increasing your size and strength.
8. Thermogenic: These really help in the fat loss process. They also help you hang on to more muscle while dieting due to the fact you can eat more.
9. CLA: These help the fat bags become smaller and decrease the rate of fat coming back.
9. Proboitics: Helps makes the immune system much stronger.
"The golden hour"
Remember "The golden hour" because it will make things so much easier for you. "The golden hour" is a window of opportunity we have to get everything we have depleted in our body back in a short amount of
time. Think of your muscles as a gas tank: When you workout, you use gas for energy or in this case glucose. After a workout, our muscles are in a unique state. They are able to fill back up very quickly leaving you
full for the next workout. If you wait to long, your muscles don't fill back up as easily and the carbs you eat are more likely to be stored as fat. Doing this will also let you take advantage of insulin's muscle building
effects from the simple carbs you have ingested. You want to ingest 50-75 grams of simple carbs right after a workout. Also, this is when you want to take your protein shake because it will absorb quickly and supply
your muscles with the amino acids that they need.
Insulin
This is a very complicated subject, but all we need to know is that insulin can help us build muscle or can make us fat depending on the timing. Insulin is released by the pancreas in response to elevated blood
sugar levels. We can achieve a high blood sugar level by ingesting simple carbs. Like "the golden hour" we have a window of opportunity to take advantage of the muscle building effects of the insulin without getting
fat. We have about 4 or 5 hours after we workout to take advantage of insulin. If we take in too many simple carbs out of this window, we are very likely to store fat.
Cheat day
The theory behind the cheat days is you take one day every 2 weeks to eat anything you want and actually get leaner. It might sound crazy, but it worked for me. When you eat low carbs for a time for body begins to
think it is not getting all the food it needs (because your not storing any fat) and begins to slow down your metabolism. When you bombard your body with food on that one day, it tricks your body into thinking it has
all it needs and speeds your metabolism back up. I can tell you from experience, every day after a cheat day I felt leaner and looked better.
Ketosis
This is when your body uses protein for energy. This happens when we have too few carbs in the body or when we over train. I went into the state of ketosis for only the last week of my 12-week transition for a
couple of reasons: (1) I wanted all of my muscles to shrink down so when I carbed back up, my skin would be tighter. (2) When you go into ketosis it seems to bring the water out from under the skin. Don't go into
this state to loose fat. Without carbs your body can not burn fat effectively. You will loose weight rather quickly, but only because you don't have as much glycogen in the muscle. Also, you are simply loosing water.
Remember that proteins are the building blocks for muscle and that means they are fair game for energy when in the state of ketosis. I would not recommend going into this state unless you are trying to get into a
super ripped state for a short amount of time, like for a bodybuilding contest.

Macro Calculations (Just Insert Weight in Pounds in cell B3)

Description
Weight in Pounds Energy Multiplier Total
Calories required/Day
215
14
3010
Intake
Calories
Grams

Protiens

Fats
860
215

Carbs
628
1023
70
256

This sheet is for people interested in losing weight and gaining muscle

Energy Multiplier
12 Not Active
13 Active
14 Very Active
Weight Cal
3510 To gain
2510 To lose
3010 Maintain
1 Gram to Calorie
4 Protien
9 Fats
4 Carbs
Intake to Lose
860 Protien
628 Fats
1023 Carbs
2510 Total Calorie/day

Rules (1pound = 3500 calories)

Add 500 calories in your daily intake = Gain 1 pound/week
Reduce 500 calories in your daily intake = Loss 1 pound/week
Eat exactly the same amount of calories

Rules (Cal Protien & Fats First remaining Carbs)

1 Gram/pound body weight
25% of total Calorie daily intake
Subtract total calorie intake with required protiens and fats

Carbs
Diet Plan By Muhammad Jamal
Macro Nutrient Count/Day
645am (Before Workout)
Supplement: NO Explode
Weights (Body Parts: Mon:Chest/Abs, Tues:Back. Wed:Shoulder/Abs, Thu:Legs, Fri:Arms, Sat: Cardio+Abs + Sauna Steam)
830am (After Workout)
Oats + Protien Shake in Skimmed Milk + 2 Table Spoon Peanut Butter (Supplement: 1 Fish Oil, 1 Multivit)
10am
Green tea, Isphagol, Apple Cider Vinegar
11am
handful of almonds or walnuts (unsalted) & Protien Shake in Water
1pm
Brown rice/Wholewheat Roti with chicken and Vegetables
3pm
2 whole grapefruit pulp & Green tea
5pm
High Fibre Cereal w/ skimmed milk (Supplement: 1 Fish Oil, 1 Multivit)
6pm (Before Running)
Black Coffee with Whey Protien
Running for 30 mins and inclined push up 3 sets
730pm (After Running)
4 egg white scrambled
930pm
Grilled fish/Beef/Chicken with Quinoa (Supplement: 1 Fish Oil)
Before Bed (Optional)
100 gram low fat cottage cheese
Total

Calories
2510
40.0
0.0
543.0
16.0
284.0
475.0
124.0
272.0
120.0
0.0
72.0
160.0
90.0
314.0

Protiens Fats
In Grams
256
215
55
10.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
47.0
44.2
21.5
4.0
0.0
0.0
8.6
30.0
15.4
72.8
40.3
4.9
30.8
2.4
0.2
55.6
11.3
3.1
3.0
24.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.9
14.4
0.3
0.0
30.0
3.1
3.6
13.7
1.9
19.7
4.7
3.6

Protien
Fish
Chicken
Turkey
Beef
Eggs
Whey
Skimmed Milk
Yoghurt
Cottage Cheese

Grains/Fibre
Oatmeal
Cereal
Wholewheat roti
Wholewheat bread
Brown Rice
Quinoa

Healthy Food List

Carbs
Vegetables
Fruits
Brocolli
Grapefruits
Beans
Apples
Mushrooms
Banana
Spinach
Grapes
Garlic
Guava
Lemon
Watermelon
Okra
Kerailay
Sweet potatoe
Carrots
Sweet corn
Chickpeas

Fats
Nuts (Almonds/Walnuts)
Olive Oil
Fish Oil
Peanut Butter