i dont know if its optimal but what i did:
-determine my daily need (calorie, macros and micros. but i just dont care about others except calorie and protein)
-plan a daily meal for a week based on my need out of regular food.
-stick with the diet, or try to
-after a week, revise my diet.

my problem were usually budgets, food storage problem (broken freezer),inconvenience in either preparation (lazy to cook or no time) or consumption (cant gorge).
these leads to not achieving my daily calorie and protein target

my first few months i have to use weight gainer and whey because i cant gorge them foods in time.
but then i slowly let go of the supplements and now i can eat my daily target worth of food with no problem. no whey.
nothing wrong with whey and mass gainer. youre main concern when choosing which to eat is based on your budget.

This post has been edited by xelrix: Oct 12 2013, 09:14 AM