I eat 5 mini-meals a day, with ratios of about 45% protein, 30% carbs and 25% fat. Like DePalma, I don't tolerate carbs very well, so mine come mostly from a very little bit of oatmeal or sweet potato in the morning, occasionally brown rice (like 2 tablespoons) then the carbs in dairy (yogurt and cottage cheese) and fruit and vegetables. Lots of vegetables
I can't eat any wheat at all.
My maintenance calories per pound are 12 and I have to go to about 10-11 calories per pound to lose. And those need to be clean calories if I want to workout and maintain muscle mass or not feel like I'm starving all day long.
What you need and can live with is really individual. Food preferences or allergies, age, current weight, diet and exercise history, gender are huge factors. If you tell us a little about yourself, maybe we can make some suggestions
Mel