Learning the art of nutrition.
 

What I'm looking for is instruction (a book, pamphlet, internet article, post, etc. perhaps) in what to eat (according to my goals), what to avoid, what nutrients help do what, and so on. I'd like a better grasp on nutrition as a whole to put it simply, because at the moment I don't entirely understand what's going on other then "Protein good, make muscles. Sugar bad." and even that I'm not comfortable with.

I got a subscription to a body building magazine with my GNC gold card (I'm pretty sure visiting there in the first place, let alone buying a gold card was a mistake. But she was so god damn hot.), maybe there will be something interesting in that? Until then, I'd appreciate a hand.

I picked up a 5 or 6 year old nutrition textbook from a used book store for less than 15$. It has pretty much all the nutritional information I'll ever need, not just how much of each nutrient you need, but what they all do, which foods have them, and so on.
Online, you could try the NATS tool. It's not only a decent dietary analysis program, but you can find definitions and have it suggest foods for you.

I'd advise to get a newer book since nutrition is a continually changing field.

I think getting that magazine like you said will be a good base of knowledge for you (what magazine is it btw?).

I generally just get most of my info off of the net. It works out cheaper and is usually updated quite often. Generally i find that i can string a few things together to get a pretty good idea of what everything is about :)

I'm not really sure, muscle & fitness I think.

Cool. I like that mag. I have a free subsctipion to it. You will get some nice nutrition tips from it and some nice recipes each month :). The only thing I hate about that magazine is the excess ads that they have :(.

On a side note, I would recommend Mens Health as well. It is more for beginners but still has great content for vets.

Make this your starting point...

http://forums.menshealth.com/thread....5&thread=66900

Very informative thread that tells you what and why.

Yes, that's a good start, very informative. I think I'll need to buy a book to get into the depth that I want to be at though.

If you are looking for the hows and whys on nutrition, then the web is your friend. Google some terms on nutrition and you'll find what you need to know.

If you are looking for a guide on how/what/when to eat to achieve a healthy toned body with minimal fat, then I personally recommend Body for Life. Anyone can adopt their needs to the program wether you are just after fat loss, muscle gains, or both. I personally found the book to be informative, and it spawned my interest in learning the hows and whys behind nutrition, diet, and fitness. I don't follow the program much anymore, but it's a damn good one.