The honest answers.

It is a way of eating with one number to hit (protein), one habit to keep (half the plate plants), and honest guidance on everything else. No food is banned. No diet name is worshipped. If low-carb or Mediterranean or ordinary groceries help you hit your protein number with food you will still enjoy next year, it is approved. The research is blunt that the name on the diet matters far less than sticking to it.

From the trials. Pooled across 49 studies of adults who lift, muscle and strength gains levelled off near 1.6 grams per kilogram, which is 0.7 grams per pound. Sports nutrition and older-adult position papers run up to 2.0 or 2.2 grams per kilogram, which is 1.0 per pound. We apply it to ideal body weight rather than current weight, because protein feeds lean tissue, not fat, and that is the same basis bariatric guidelines use. Every source is on the science page.

It is an estimate from your height, using the bedside formula dietitians use: 100 pounds at five feet plus five pounds an inch for women, 106 plus six for men. It is a starting point, not a verdict. If you and your doctor have a different goal weight, type that in instead and your number follows it. If you are already below your ideal weight, use your actual weight.

More than to anyone. The medicine is excellent at reducing appetite. It does nothing to protect your muscle, and studies show a meaningful share of the weight lost on these drugs is lean tissue unless you defend it. On a GLP-1, protein goes first at every meal, you aim for the top of your range, meals are small and planned, water is scheduled, and lifting is not optional. Tell your prescriber you are doing this. It is a good conversation, not a confession.

No. We ask you to track one honest week at the start so you know where you are, and again only if the scale stalls for three weeks. If fat loss is your goal, the setup gives you a ballpark and a pace. Most people do fine with the plate, the protein number and the scale.

No. One payment, and it is yours. No renewal, no upsell, no supplements to buy. Less than one month of any of the apps, and it never bills you again.

Yes, with intention. At matched protein intake, plant eaters gained the same muscle from lifting as omnivores in the trials. Aim for the top of your range, lean on soy (tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk), lentils and beans, and a pea or blended plant powder. The food guide has vegetarian and vegan days worked out.

Talk to your own doctor first, and take this site with you. With kidney disease, protein targets are lower than ours and your nephrologist sets them. On insulin or sulfonylureas, cutting carbohydrate needs medication changes to avoid low blood sugar. The setup quiz asks about both and shows you the caution instead of a number.

We do not promise pounds or timelines, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. What the research supports at a muscle-protecting pace is about half a percent to one percent of body weight a week, and most people lose 5 to 10% of their body weight over one 12-week cycle. Results depend on what you eat and how consistently you lift.

It was built to. Unlock Strong is the lifting half; Unlock Plate is the food half. Same protein rule, same weekly rhythm, same printable sheets, same rules about what we will not sell you. The setup quiz asks whether you are lifting, and if you already have Unlock Strong, the code in your welcome email gets you the partner price.

Yes. The rule is the same for men (106 pounds plus six an inch for ideal weight), the food is the same, and the science page covers adults 40 to 75 of both sexes. Unlock Strong's men's track is still being written; this side is not gendered.

Supplements, shakes, subscriptions, communities, challenges with countdown timers, before-and-after photos, or anything with a 'clinically proven' badge. We name the studies and let you check them. Creatine is mentioned because the evidence is good and it costs pennies; buy it wherever you like.