Diet can be confusing. There are so many different dietary approaches, and all of them have pros and cons.
In terms of lean tissue development and maintenance, as well as overall healthy body composition, consider the following template:
Eat two meals, and make quality protein the main ingredient in ALL your meals.
Each meal should have about 50 grams of quality protein (a chicken breast has around 50 grams, for reference).
Consume high-quality healthy fats in olive oil, avocados, and walnuts, all of which are rich in oleic acid, which activates our longevity genes.
Eat a couple servings of vegetables per meal.
If you love carbs and maintain an active lifestyle, and don't have much fat to lose, eat up to 50 grams of carbs per meal. Choose carbs from a healthy source, like sweet potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.
Do not eat too late.
Do not snack.
That's it.
If you are vegan or vegetarian, you're likely not getting 50 grams of quality protein per meal. Consider supplementing your meals with BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) or EAAs (essential amino acids).
If your main goal is to build muscle, add two protein shakes (40-50 grams each), and space out your meals and shakes by 3-4 hours. Eating that much protein every 3-4 hours will keep you in an anabolic (muscle-building) state for most of your day. If you are trying to build muscle, you should be in a slight caloric surplus.
If you are trying to lose fat, you should be in a slight caloric deficit. Normally, having two meals and cutting carbs out, plus choosing lean proteins, will take care of that.
Experiment with it. Try it for a month. See how your body feels and looks, and make adjustments.
Set a goal. It is easier to be consistent that way.
It's always helpful to get yourself fat-adapted first, so your body is efficient at burning fat for fuel. You could follow Plan A in our Healthy Eating Tactics document for a month to get started.
Want to track your changes? Schedule a Progress Review session at NET, where we can measure your body composition before and after.
This is part 3 in a three-part series about lifestyle interventions for health. Read parts 1 and 2.