You've probably fallen down the nutrition rabbit hole at some point. Macros vs. calories. Meal timing. Intermittent fasting. Protein synthesis windows. Keto. Carnivore. The Mediterranean Diet. The Gallon of Milk a Day (GOMAD). The list is genuinely endless, and if you've done what most analytically-minded guys do, you've read a meaningful percentage of it. Here's the uncomfortable truth: 95% of the nutrition advice you've consumed applies to someone who has already solved the basics. You're reading optimization guides before the baseline system is running. The baseline system is this: - Eat enough protein! Aim for ~1g per pound of bodyweight. This is the single variable that matters most for someone trying to build muscle. Not meal timing. Not micronutrients (yet). **Protein.** - Eat enough total calories to support your goal. If you want to gain weight, eat a modest surplus (~200-300 calories over maintenance not a bulk-at-all-costs free-for-all). If you want to lose fat while preserving muscle, a modest deficit (~100-200 calories) with high protein. - Eat mostly food you can identify. Not because processed food is evil — because food that requires no decoding is easier to track, easier to be consistent with, and less likely to blow your calorie targets without you noticing. That's the baseline. It fits on an index card. Everything else -- the timing, the supplements, the advanced protocols -- those are refactors for a system that's already running. You don't refactor before you ship. What nutrition question have you been stuck on? Drop it below, and I'll answer it.