Want to know my powerlifting diet? Are you sure?...Okay, here it is:
I eat whenever I want. If I want to eat a ton, I do it. If my body tells me that 2 meals and a protein shake is good for that day, I'll do that.
I often eat beef, chicken, eggs beans, spinach, oats, Ezekiel bread and basmatti rice. - I do NOT eat on a schedule. I often don't eat breakfast until 3hrs after I've been awake. Sometimes I train on an empty stomach, sometimes I train at midnight after I've had all my meals...sometimes I train for 30mins while on my lunch break.
Want to know what I've had today? - Since I've been up at 11am (I'm on vacation!) I've had 3 meals: taco salad, eggs/ham with 4 slices of toast, and some oatmeal pancakes my wife made for me after I trained tonight...that's it.
I'm 5'8" @ 162lbs and have about 8% BF. - I squat 505+, DL about 470, and bench around 300 (I know, I know, I'm working on it).
Who knows? It works for me...take what the experts on this forum have to say (Rosie and Rodja are in that for sure), try it out for yourself, and see what you come up with.
Basically what I'm getting at is that there is no magic number for anything. Live and learn.
Cheers.