Really great read, and something I am paying more attention to. Over the last 6 months I've been working out, and very recently I've started to become more conscious of what I eat.
I was, at my worst, 6 foot, 210lb, but not muscular. Now, I'm down to 185lb, and significantly more muscular. It's been luck mostly though, as I haven't been paying a lot of attention to what I'm doing, although my personal trainer has been guiding me. Mostly, eat fewer calories at first, no sugar treats and avoid bread/pasta. Now she's telling me to start upping my protein significantly, but still try not to have too many calories. It's tough, mostly because I don't know what my goals really are.
I think I'm near the lowest weight I want to be, but I still have a bit of fat I wouldn't mind losing maybe 5-10lb. But I also don't want to waste all the weight training I'm doing by not having enough calories to "bulk". What I've found myself doing is just becoming a carnivore, essentially. If I go out to eat, it's either steak or grilled meat with greens on the side. If I'm eating at home, it's usually chicken with a green. I don't mind it, I enjoy what I'm eating and it's worked pretty well for me so far, I just want to maximize my effort here I guess, get the most bang for my buck.