depends on your goals and the type of exercise your doing really
if you want to trim down and cut up with weights, a high protein/low carb ratio is best cycled for about
2-3wks followed by 1 wk of moderate to high carb intake, you want to deplete your glyocogen storage as much as possible to be in the fat burning mode but being depleted of glucose for a long time can definately lead to unwanted side effects
if you want to bulk up, eat and eat and lift some extremely heavy weights and punch random people in the face, high protein/high carbohydrate but of course stay on a mostlyhealthy diet, mostly because red meat is almost absolutely nessecary to build muscle, it is really the only food that can have your body producing it's optimal testosterone levels and it has such profound bodybuilding benefits it's crazy and lots of eggs of course lol
if your doing just cardio, a simple gaterade would do a world of good but thats only if it's over an hr or intense enough to get your heartrate to 80% or more
edit: wait sorry I didn't even answer your question clearly,
trimming: protein powder with water
bulking: carbo gain or protein powder with milk
cardio: water if under an hr and heartrate <70% gaterade of over an hr and heartrate >80%
ps, also go for WHEY protein powder, I like optimum nutrition's Gold Standard whey protein, i like it's amino acid blend and gave me my best results
casein is cool but it's slow releasing (from a timespan of 4-7hrs)
and soy protein is said to lower risk of heart disease but at the same time lower your testosterone lol your choice
Post Edited (3doorsdown) : 3/9/2011 8:08:28 PM (GMT-7)