Do you need a calorie surplus?
A modest surplus can help support muscle gain, especially for experienced lifters. It is not an absolute requirement: some beginners, returning lifters and people with more stored body fat can gain muscle while maintaining or losing weight.
Start with a maintenance estimate. If you choose a surplus, increase food modestly and watch your training, recovery and weight trend. Eating much more does not make muscle grow at the same pace as the scale.
How much protein helps?
About 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day is a common muscle-building planning range. Research found an average benefit leveling off near 1.6 g/kg, with uncertainty around the estimate. More protein is not guaranteed to produce more muscle.
For a 75 kg person, that planning range is about 120–165 g/day. Split it across meals in whatever pattern is comfortable and practical.
Keep room for carbs and fat
Carbs help fuel demanding training. Rice, oats, potatoes, bread, pasta, beans and fruit are all options. There is no need to treat them as food you must earn.
Fat adds energy and essential fatty acids. The adult reference range is 20–35% of calories. After setting protein and fat, the remaining energy can come from carbs.
A sample calculation
An illustrative 2,400-calorie target with 150 g protein and 80 g fat leaves 270 g carbs: 600 + 720 + 1,080 = 2,400 calories. It demonstrates a split, not a target for every lifter.
How do you know whether it is working?
Look at several weeks of training performance, recovery, measurements and weight together. Strength can improve without a matching increase in muscle size, and early weight gain may include water and food in the digestive system.
Muscle-growth rates vary widely. Avoid treating a fixed number of kilograms per month as a promise. If weight is rising faster than intended without useful progress, review the surplus instead of automatically adding more food.
Do you need supplements?
No. Protein powder can make a target easier to reach, but ordinary foods can do the same job. Consistent training and enough total food matter more than a perfectly timed shake.