I also have found that learning the detailed nutritional breakdown of food is probably the most important factor in having any degree of predictable success in making changes in body composition. Most people don't get to their goals because they either have no idea about what they are eating, or grossly miscalculate it.
"Don't worry, Just eat clean" is not a good answer either, because "eating clean" will often mean eating too little if you are trying to bulk. It's hard to choke down 3000 kcal eating nothing but chicken breast, broccoli, and yams. (Conversely it is really easy to over eat drinking soda and eating fries). If you know what goes into food you can figure out a way to eat a decent portion of all of the foods you like and avoid the high calorie/fat/carb foods that you don't really care for.
I am a big advocate of internet applications like myfitnesspal.com. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it and get your regular foods in, you can track your calories and nutrients with 10 minutes of effort per day. Even if you don't want to count calories in the long run, spending 1-2 months tracking your daily food and looking up nutrition will change what and how you eat.
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