February 10th, 2026 — starting my fourth cycle of brain-health supplementation (NeuroForge 4.0). Two months on, three months off. Same principle as always: structural building, not stimulation.

Lion’s Mane returns to the stack — it was part of an earlier cycle and I’m bringing it back for NGF signaling alongside the BDNF I get from running.

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Daily protocol

Morning (with breakfast — must include fat)

Supplement	Dose	Role
Uridine	250 mg	Synaptic membrane building, synergy with DHA + Alpha-GPC
Alpha-GPC	300 mg	Acetylcholine precursor → focus, processing speed
PQQ	20 mg	Mitochondrial biogenesis
CoQ10	100 mg	ATP production, mitochondrial support
ALCAR	1000 mg	Fatty acid transport, mental stamina, neuroprotection
Rhodiola	500 mg	Adaptogen → mental endurance under cognitive load
Lion’s Mane	1000 mg	NGF promoter → neuroplasticity, nerve regeneration
Thorne 2/Day	1 cap	Micronutrient base (AM)

Midday (after lunch)

Supplement	Dose	Role
Bacopa	1 tab	Long-term memory, cortisol modulation, calming
Thorne 2/Day	1 cap	Micronutrient base (PM)

Evening (2–3 hours before bed)

Supplement	Dose	Role
Neuro-Mag (Mg L-Threonate)	3 caps (144 mg Mg)	Synaptic density, working memory, deep sleep
Phosphatidylserine	100 mg	Lowers evening cortisol, neuronal membranes
ProDHA Xtra	2 caps (960 mg DHA + 410 mg EPA)	Neuronal structure, myelin, overnight repair

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What’s new in Cycle 4

• Lion’s Mane — back in the stack. NGF pathway, complementary to BDNF from running.
• DHA doubled — from 480 mg to 960 mg. I carry a genetic variant limiting endogenous synthesis.
• Rhodiola replaces Ashwagandha — different mechanism: monoamines and MAO inhibition vs HPA axis. Better fit for sustained cognitive output.

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Architecture, not a pharmacy

Structural core (building materials): DHA, Uridine, Phosphatidylserine, Mag L-Threonate — literally what neurons are made of.

Energy infrastructure (power on the construction site): PQQ, CoQ10, ALCAR — mitochondrial biogenesis, fuel, and fatty acid transport.

Growth signals (the architect’s instructions): Lion’s Mane (NGF), Bacopa (memory consolidation), Alpha-GPC (signal transmission).

Environment (weather protection): Rhodiola (stress resilience), Thorne 2/Day (micronutrient insurance).

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Timeline

• Full stack: 2 months (February–March 2026).
• Rhodiola: 8 weeks, then pause.
• DHA, PS, Neuro-Mag, Thorne: may extend to 3 months.
• Next cycle: earliest June 2026.

NeuroForge 4.0 begins.

I barely played chess in 2025 — maybe three months total.
But for pure brain hygiene, I jumped back in on Dec 28.

Warm-up: Lichess alt, pure chaos (in a good way)

I created a fresh alt account on Lichess and played 8 games.

• Result: 8/8 wins
• Rating jumped to 1975 — obviously provisional with high rating deviation
• The “this might not be a fluke” moment: I beat a player rated 1848 with 4500+ games

Yes, provisional spikes are noisy. But still: you don’t accidentally go 8–0 while playing like a tourist.

Reality check: Chess.com and the “stop hiding” moment

Then I moved to Chess.com:

• On an alt, I hit 1434 with provisional volatility.
• On another account, I had 1426 — also likely a good streak + deviation doing its thing.

At that point I thought: fine. Enough ego games.
Time to go to the main account and finally earn 1400 properly.

Main account: no free lunch

Four–five months earlier I tried to push to 1400, failed, and even dropped below 1300.
This time the story was different:

• Losses started showing up (good — it means I’m actually in my pool).
• RD (rating deviation) stabilized around 64.
• After 19 games, on Jan 4, I hit 1407 on the main account.

Three accounts at 1400+ is not “lucky variance” anymore.
Call it validated.

What actually changed

The progress didn’t come from nowhere — I could feel my game was simply stronger.

This time I played around exchanges and restriction: I traded only when it reduced my opponent’s piece activity and made their pieces less effective.
I’d read Hellsten’s Mastering Chess Strategy before and couldn’t apply it — now the Exchanges ideas finally clicked.

Next target

1400 is done. Next: 1500.