Cooking

I treat the kitchen like a lab. Inputs and outputs. Protein targets, calorie ranges, prep time. Everything has a number attached, and I optimize for the best ratio of nutrition to effort.

Sunday is prep day. I cook in bulk for the week. Proteins get portioned. Rice gets made. Vegetables get prepped. During the week, I'm assembling, not cooking from scratch. That saves hours.

I track macros loosely. Not obsessively, but enough to know I'm hitting my protein targets. When you're trying to build muscle on a student schedule, you can't leave nutrition to chance. The gym is only half the equation.

My rotation is simple because consistency beats variety when the goal is performance. Chicken thighs (cheaper and more flavorful than breast), ground beef, eggs, rice, potatoes, and whatever vegetables are on sale.

Breakfast is usually eggs and toast, or Greek yogurt with oats. Quick, high protein, minimal cleanup. Lunch is whatever I prepped on Sunday. Dinner is where I might actually cook something fresh.

I've learned to make a few things really well instead of being mediocre at many. A good stir fry. A solid rice bowl. Grilled meat that's actually seasoned properly. These basics, executed consistently, beat fancy recipes I'll never make twice.

Cooking taught me about mise en place - having everything ready before you start. That principle applies everywhere. Preparation reduces friction. When everything is in place, execution becomes smooth.

It also taught me about timing and parallel processing. While the rice cooks, prep the vegetables. While the meat rests, plate the sides. Finding those overlaps and using dead time is how you cook a full meal in 30 minutes.

And cleanup as you go. Never let dishes pile up. The same discipline that keeps a kitchen functional keeps everything else functional too.