Food and fitness

As many of you know, I'm trying to get into shape or more "beefcake." Though weight isn't the best indicator of fitness, it can be used so my goal was something around 190-195 lbs (I'm currently around 200 lbs). It was brought to my attention that for some 5'11", I should weigh somewhere between 160 and 180 lbs depending on my frame. I would hazard that my frame is more on the robust or rugged side of the spectrum so perhaps I should be targeting 180 lbs.

The question is now: from where will that weight come? I'd like to keep the muscle that I have so it should come from fat. There is no fat on my legs and very little on my arms and shoulders so that just leaves my torso [cue fathead joke]. Do I really have 20 lbs of fat around my waist? I might believe 10 lbs, but 20 lbs seems like a lot because, while fat is energy dense, it's not mass dense. Hmmm... I think my best plan is just to continue working out and eating right.

The next question concerns eating right. It was also brought to my attention that, while the food I blog about looks and is really tasty, it is high in calories. I do eat a lot of animal fat and that is the fat we should avoid. I have been cutting down on the amount of food that I eat, but I should also change the type of food that I eat. I know that I have breakfast covered: a bowl of oatmeal and a banana. I don't think anyone can find fault with that. Lunch is usually leftovers and dinner often is as well. That means that I need to change the type of food that I cook. I'm always down for trying new things so perhaps I should dust off some of my cookbooks. I'm not sure which cuisine would be considered lighter though. I know that fish is lighter so I should have that once a week and I suppose I should cook a vegetarian dish once a week as well. Meat should be used as a flavoring rather than the main dish, both for health and for ethics. I, obviously, don't have any problems eating meat, but I think I should certainly eat less.

Any suggestions?