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Is it important to eat certain foods at certain times of the day.
For example; things like healthy fat(olive oil, flaxseed oil) Must they be eaten at certain times of the day or can i take them anytime(mayb not a night) for my six meals?

Read my losing fat post below..but you can split healthy fats throughout the day with meals...

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arent those 2 threads (the losing fat and the gaining muscle one) the same thing?

Hey dan thx for replying. I've read your post on losing fat numerous amounts of time and i'm trying to fix a good 6-meals a day diet that fits my lifestyle. I've been adjusting the type of foods i've eaten every now and then.

Here's what i eat currently:

Meal 1:
6 egg whites(scrambled with 1 tbsp of canola/olive oil)
2 wholemeal breads
1 serving of vitagen

~14g fat , 27g protein , 30g carbs

Meal 2:
Whey protein (24g)
2 wholemeal breads
1 tbsp canola/olive oil

~15g fat , 31g protein , 20g cabs

Meal 3:
Canned Tuna / Meat sandwiches

~Eating Tuna with 2 wholemeal bread will give me 37g protein
                                                                     2g fat
                                                                    16g carbs
~Meat sandwich like a turkey sandwich from subway will give    me  20g protein , 5g fat , 50g carbs

Meal 4:
Whey protein (24g)
1/2 serving of Soybeans OR Grapefruit once in a while

~11g fat , 49g protein , 20g carbs OR 1g fat, 24g protein, 24g carbs

Meal 5:
Fish(cod/salmon), Lean meat (Chicken fillets/ Lean beef)
Sweet potato OR Broccolis & cauliflowers OR Brown Rice

~12g fat, 20-30g protein, 30-50g carbs

Meal 6:
Oat meal
Skim Milk
Whey Protein
Cottage Cheese

~2g fat , 40-45g Protein , 30g carbs

Overall i get ~55-60g fat, 170-190g protein , 180-200g carbs

I'm not sure if i'm eating right actually because the type of food i eat is greatly affected by my school. In school i find it hard to gauge the amount of Calories (Fats, Carbs, Proteins) i'm eating and therefore i bring food to eat which becomes inconvenient. (e.g i can't bring a turkey sub to school).

Also i was wondering if i should get Casein powder and glutamine powder so i could replace MEAL 6 with it.

Please advice me on what i could adjust.

arent those 2 threads (the losing fat and the gaining muscle one) the same thing?

Nope, They share similar information but are not the same.
 
Saternal
What is your goal...It sound like it is loosing fat.
 
This assumes 3 things...

• Progressive resistance training to stimulate and build muscle
  
• A small amount of cardio
  
• optimal nutrition (lean protein, starchy carb and fibgous carb every meal)

If fat loss is the goal, it would be better to replace bread (6 pieces a day!!!) with a whole food whenever possible, such as in the AM and PM!  The less bread, the better.  that vitagen is not ideal either...look at the ingredients.
 
Last meal is fine if you add a vegetable. 
Get a vegetable into every meal, except post workout meals.
Meal 5: Sweet potato or rice AND Broccoli or cauliflowers
Meal 1,2, 4, & 6: add the veggie...red pepper, green bean, celery stick, broccoli, kale...something!
 
You are eating about 36% protein and 38% carbs 26% fat
 
The fat intake is fine. However the proteins and carbs are in a ratio that is not ideal for the long term...look again at my thread for recommended ratios.
 
For short term fat manipulation this may be effective. up to 4 weeks.  After that you may have a hormanal environment that is resistant to fat release...depending on your particular chemistry.

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Sorry, I meant to mention that if fat loss is the goal...milk adn milk products are not an ideal food.

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Thx so much. And yea my goal is to lose BF but try to retain or build muscles if possible. I've come a long way in losing WEIGHT from 100+kg to 76kg. My weight this past 2 months has been moving up and down between 74-76. However my BF has been going down slowly. Now 16%. I do a 15 minute run after each strength training session in the gym since i read it burns fat best.
3 times a week.

I'm trying my best to take 45% carbs, 30% proteins and 25% fat as my diet plan. The Last meal i take is before i sleep cause ive also read somewhere that before sleep its always good to take cottage cheese to let the muscles feed on it. However i was wondering if i should buy CASEIN instead and replace the whole of meal 6 with CASEIN. OR take out the skim milk and oatmeal. I'm also thinking of taking L-Glutamine and the directions are to take it before and after training. I take wehy protein after training so is it ok to take both after training ? I'll definitely try my best to eat more vegetables then breads.

Also sometimes when i'm abit lazy to bring food to school would it be ok to buy a bowl of Fish Soup with vegetables in it.(its the only healthier food i know of in school). I'm not very good at gauging how much carbs,pros and fats. certain meals have.
Hence i keep away from Rice and Noodles in school. I've also dropped my intake of fruits.

Getting Rid of this mid Section is so tough!!!!

Lets clear something up
 
There are 3 badic food categories to fulfill every meal:
lean protein - meats, legumes+grains, etc
starchy carb - potato, sweet potato, rice, noodles, breads
fibrous carb - vegetables, and if bulking - fruits
 

Getting Rid of this mid Section is so tough!!!!

Get enough water
Low stress
Get 8 hours sleep a night
Work out 20-40 minutes intensely with weights
Get good fats
 
Don't sweat the casein...the cottage cheese is ok for that...or have a real meal!
Lean protein, starchy carb and fibrous carb!!!
 
Forget the glutamine.  You don't need it.  The whey has glutamine. 
 
As long as the lazy meal has 30 grams protein...
The post workout run is fine.
 

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Lets clear something up

There are 3 badic food categories to fulfill every meal:
lean protein - meats, legumes+grains, etc
starchy carb - potato, sweet potato, rice, noodles, breads
fibrous carb - vegetables, and if bulking - fruits

 
I have found, depending on the person and how their body works.  Eliminating the starchy carbs from all but the pre-workout and post workout meals gets great results, for some, in lowering bodyfat. 
 
That means each meal should contain a lean protein and a fiberous carb minimum.   Adding in the starchy carb depends on the workout and overall goals.

I have found, depending on the person and how their body works.  Eliminating the starchy carbs from all but the pre-workout and post workout meals gets great results, for some, in lowering bodyfat. 

That means each meal should contain a lean protein and a fiberous carb minimum.   Adding in the starchy carb depends on the workout and overall goals.

 
There are many reasons I would not recommend this approach except in certain very short term cituations.  And only when planned as a part of a larger pattern.
 
As I said...
For short term fat manipulation this may be effective. up to 4 weeks.  After that you may have a hormanal environment that is resistant to fat release...depending on your particular chemistry.
 
I rarely advocate to remove an essential food from the diet..as the body is designed to function best WITH ALL essential foods.

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There are many reasons I would not recommend this approach except in certain very short term cituations.  And only when planned as a part of a larger pattern.

I guess I should have clarified - YES, it is a SHORT term solution.  
 
I certainly would not consider ALL starchy carbs essential.  I rarely eat potatos anymore.

I guess I should have clarified - YES, it is a SHORT term solution

I assumed you knew it...however, it is dangerous not to qualify that recommendation.  Even to suggest it without first recommending 8 weeks of muscle building and eating properly beforehand is likely to set people up for trouble.
 
So many people hear..."don't eat carbs" and they just stop eating carbs...you know what happens next.
 

I certainly would not consider ALL starchy carbs essential.  I rarely eat potatos anymore.

I was of course referring to "startchy" carbohydrates. 
 
Even the lowly (stigmatized) potato is fine,  even for highly "insulin responsive" people like me...if consumed with a whole food protein and vegetable..and not slathered with all sorts of stuff...however, like you, I rarely eat them.  I love baked sweet potato better!  None-the-less, even as I type, there are potatoes in my Potato-Pea-Califlower -Pork curry!
 
As you noted, based on people's individual body chemistry and goals.

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Yea i Love Baked sweet potato as well. 
A question about eating lean protein with carbs is it just a piece of Chicken Breast i should eat? cos sometimes i get the fillet and eat 6 pieces but their really small pieces.

And as a snack are soybeans alright on its own since the ones i take contain 20g fat , 32g carbs and 50g of protein per serving (i usually take half). The reason why i thought of taking glutamine is because i've lost alot of muscle mass as well as fat over the period of 6 months. Most of my trainers told me to look at L-Glutamine as an additional supplement. But i'm still not very sure to take it.

Any lean protein!
Chicken breast is good.
 
Snack..what is that?
 
We do meals...many many meals.
Do you mean green soybeans  (edamame)
 
regardless, have a rick cake with those to get them to a comlpete protein? thn it will have a better protein (25) carb (~32) fat(10) mix
 
Glutamine would not really stop that catabolization of muscle unless you used it in a particular way.
Even then results in clinical work are questionable at best.
 
Whey protein would be better than just glutamine for presserving muscle in a severe deficit.
 
Basically, you lost muscle because your diet was wrong and your training inappropriate for protecting and building muscle!

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Yea to be honest my diet was pretty screwed up. I ate bad tasting food  that included very little carbohydrates. But now i've reworked it to suit my calorie needs better thanks to people like you. Now i'm trying to adjust my training since i used to work out close to 2 hours in the gym. but i've read it should be kept to 45 minutes. I find this hard cos i do 2 sets of muscles eat gym session followed by abs.

I meant taking soybeans as a meal. I'll prolly eat it with some salad or rice cake like you said. Also should i cut out oatmeal since i'll be cutting out milk and theres no point eating oatmeal with water?

ORIGINAL: danmirage

Any lean protein!
Chicken breast is good.

Snack..what is that?

We do meals...many many meals.
Do you mean green soybeans  (edamame)

regardless, have a rick cake with those to get them to a comlpete protein? thn it will have a better protein (25) carb (~32) fat(10) mix

Glutamine would not really stop that catabolization of muscle unless you used it in a particular way.
Even then results in clinical work are questionable at best.

Whey protein would be better than just glutamine for presserving muscle in a severe deficit.

Basically, you lost muscle because your diet was wrong and your training inappropriate for protecting and building muscle!

not to highhack this but how about cat protein..........check out the cat protein thread!!!!!!  Please go look at it please!!!  Thanks Dan!

Come Visit my websites! www.figureteam.com www.lindacusmano.com www.bodyrushpersonaltraining.com

Ok, maybe not ANY lean protein...

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Is it alright to eat a fruit pre workout and have some rice/bread/fruit post workout with my protein shake? 

Pre workout you want to have (maybe) carbs AND either BCAAs or some whey...because muscle can get broken down during resistance training for protein...so muscle sparing protein pre workout.
 
POST workout..protein since you are looking to lose fat...and yes you can do some fast release carbs like fruit....
How do you know if that is a problem?  If after a week you are having trouble losing fat.
 
Then, during the fat loss phase you should stay away from those pre and/or post workout carbs.

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how bout eating nuts pre or post workout?

also how much carbs does a sweet potato contain. Purple colour and small. length of about my stretched thumb to my index finger.

the foods you consume 30 minutes before the workout and up to 45 minutes after the workout should be foods that improve performance or recovery (respectively)...that would be things that don't take forever to digest!
 
Fruit provides the sugars immediatly (good pre and post if not trying to lose fat and sensative to fruit), whey gets into the system quick enough, BCAA gets in there instantly...
 
Bread is garbage...mostly just useless sugar (the wrong kind for improving recovery).
 
Nuts (though a great food) are mainly fat and do nothing for your goal as a pre/post workout food.
 
Post workout either have a meal 60 minutes before and 30-45 minutes later or proper post workout nutrition.
 
As for the nutrition information on any food find it here:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

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Should i be staying away from Peanut Butter?

No. Peanut butter is ok.
Go for natural and/or organic.
 
Better is to use another nut butter like almond, that is RAW!

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Ok after much  Qs & As , heres my new diet plan:

Meal 1: 6 egg whites
           4 wholemeal breads
           1 tbsp of olive&canola oil to cook the eggs
          
OR
           2 tbsp peanut butter
           2 wholemeal breads
           1/2 serving of whey

~13-14g fat , 28-30g protein , 30-32g carbs

Meal 2: 1/2 serving of Soybeans
           Some carrots or Celery (Vegetables)

~11g fat , 25g protein , 30g carbs

Meal 3: Chicken Breast or tuna or any lean meat
           2 Sweet potatos (the ones i eat are small i think)
   or     Brown rice
          Cauliflower or Broccoli (the whole bunch)

~8g fat , 40g protein , 40-50g carbs

Meal 4: 1 tbsp of flaxseed oil (days i don't workout)
           Whey protein
or        
           Identical to Meal 2
          
         

Meal 5: Identical to Meal 3

Meal 6:(before bed)Cottage cheese
                          Whey Protein

Is it ok to have meals that are identical to one another? For example if i eat chicken breast for Meal 3 is it ok to eat it again for Meal 5. Same goes for Meal 2 and Meal 4. I'll pick up some new foods to eat along the way but for now is it ok to eat identical meals?

Also although i'm cutting fat is it ok to "treat" myself once in a while?

Meal 1
add 1 egg yolk
Replace the bread with rice or oatmeal or some whole food...not bread, if you want fat loss!

Meal 2  would be better with addition of some rice to complete the potien

Meal 4...just whey protein by itself???...is the a pre/post workout thing?
If it is ..make sure the workout is 1 hour after a normal meal and the whey is 30 minutes before and after the workout...next meal in about an hour after that.
DO NOT TAKE the flax as part of the pre workout...and even as part of the post workout it is questionable.

Meal 6..how about some veggie in there?  Have it with a salad.

Also although i'm cutting fat is it ok to "treat" myself once in a while?

Sure...once a week have a cheat day where you can, if you want to.  That work pretty well for most of us!

  is it ok to eat identical meals?

Yes.  Eventaully you want as much variety in foods as you can for nutrition sake.

This looks to be super low carb and is likely to cause resistance to muscle gain and eventual resistance to fat loss. 

What you will likely notice is a brief period of weight loss..which will be water.

Your body stores water with carbs throughout the body.  When you drop carbs your body will also drop water.  As water is essential for the energy systems to perform in fat loss...you have a little challenge...

If you crunch those numbers:

Calories 2148
Fat 52 (20%)
Protein 210 (40%)
Carbs 210 (40%)

Ideally you want to shift that to:

Protien 20-25%
Carbs 45-50%
Fat 20-30%
 
While optimal rages are in this range...
Protein-15-25%,
carbohydrates-45-75%,
fat-10-30%
...of your total calories

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Lets say i take oatmeal. What do i eat it with?  How big a portion of oatmeal to eat? 1 bowl?

For Meal 2: Again is it 1 bowl of rice?

Meal 4: Do you mean i should take whey protein before the workout and after the workout again?

The flaxseed i take for meal 4 is only when i don't workout for that day.

Meal 6: Again 1 bowl of salad?

I'm trying my best to decrease my protein intake and increase my carb intake. Nowadays i'm eating more vegetables. My target is 25% protein 25% fat and 50% carbs that's why i've got so many questions =/.

Questions are good!  Keep asking till you have no more...then keep posting what you do and ask how it looks!
 

Lets say i take oatmeal. What do i eat it with?  How big a portion of oatmeal to eat? 1 bowl?

For Meal 2: Again is it 1 bowl of rice?

Sure...1/2 to 1 cup of oatmeal, 1/2 to 1 -cup of rice
If you do not like the flavour of oatmeal alone start messing with mixing in a shake of cinnamon, ginger, clove, and maybe a touch of honey if you have to.
 
 

Meal 4: Do you mean i should take whey protein before the workout and after the workout again?

Tisk, tisk you didn't read my losing fat thread 
 
You want .1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight 30 minutes before AND after to spare muscle.
 

The flaxseed i take for meal 4 is only when i don't workout for that day.

Cool..otherwise have it in the morning! 

Meal 6: Again 1 bowl of salad?

Sounds good.

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I heard eggs shouldn't be cooked for too long for some reason. Usually i fry my eggs with 1 tbsp of canola w/ olive oil until its not soggy looking. (about 2 minutes+).

How about Sliced ham/ roast beef. The meat that they charge a certrain amount per 100 grams for. Should i keep away from them?

Also stuff like POST-Cereal i should be keeping away from them too right?

Also i've got certain question for my workout. Since i work 2 muscle groups per gym visit, is it still as important that i don't do more then 45 minutes? because i always find myself reaching 1hr 15 minutes. I take 40-60 seconds rest in between each set. after all the weight training i do a run so my whole gym session lasts 1hr 30 minutes . Is this very bad?

It is true about the egg, minimal cooking is best.  Cook just until done at a lower temperature.
 
Deli sliced meat is a 50/50 thing.  IF the cuts are made from a fresh roasted side of beef, then thats not likely to be bad.
 
If I want deli slices, I cook up turkey breasts and roast my own beef...then slice it myself!  The cost per pound/kilo is so much less!
 

Also stuff like POST-Cereal i should be keeping away from them too right?

Boxed cereals are just sugar.  Even though they are not labeled as such.
 
If you want a cereal, go for a whole foood like musili or sugar free granola. 
 
I eat puffed rice, hot rice cereal, hot amaranth cereal, puffed millet, occasionally musili or granola.
 

 Since i work 2 muscle groups per gym visit, is it still as important that i don't do more then 45 minutes?

 
YES!!!  After about 20-30 minutes your anabolic hormones start to decline..after about 40-50 minutes you start producing significant amounts of catabolic hormones that increase fat storage and muscle destruction!
 

Is this very bad?

It is not good.
 
Post your workout, if you are working only 2 muscles you should be done in about 30 minutes...

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Shux . Sounds like i'm screwing up in gym.

Monday:  Chest & Triceps ( 1st set 15 , 2nd 10, 3rd 8 )

3x Flat Bench press
3x inclined bench press
3x flys
3x inclined flys
3x declined flys

3x Skull-crushers
3x dips

Wednesday: Back & Biceps

3x (i dunno the name but its the one where u pull the bar dpwn behind your neck)
3x sitted rows
3x dead lift

3x bar bicep curls
3x outer bar bicep curls (i hold the outer part of the ezy bar)
3x sitted slightly inclined dumbell curls

Friday: Shoulders & Legs

3x shoulder press
3x cable raises(the one where i swing my outstretched arms out)
3x Deltoid raises

3x Leg press
3x leg curls

After each workout i do some abs exercises. I tried to do it abit quicker today and found i ended in 45 minutes before doing abs.

Nowadays i don't feel aches for my biceps and triceps. I learnt a new method for chest and its working pretty well. As for shoulders and the other muscles i hardly feel any ache. Some people tell me to increase my weight but i really can't go any higher. Is there anything Wrong?