Can I add very small dose of deca for joint paint, despite being on a cutting cycle?

[gdoggydog05]

I am prescribed TRT and am on 250 mg per week test cyp. Believe it or not, I'm also prescribed Anavar 50 mg (split into 2-3x a day) for the next 2 months by my hormone doctor due to a bulging disc that we thought would put me out for a while, but it went away fairly quickly. So now I'm doing a cut.

I am also prescribed deca (200mg a week for 1 month then 100mg deca and 250 trt will be my standard protocol after that) , specifically for joint pain but have not started using it yet. ...

Man my knees and elbows are killing me right now. I know it doesnt make sense to do deca and anavar.... but I've read that 50 mg of deca can help with joint pain. Would it still be counter productive to start 50 mg deca during my anavar cycle without it interfering with my cut or should I wait till its done? (after that I would raise the dose of deca per the doctors orders)

Side Note... is it harder to lose weight on Anavar? I know a "cut" is cutting fat and not necessarily cutting "weight" but I noticed im not losing a ton of weight despite being on a deficit? Diet and Lifting are on point. Is it just bc Im likely gaining muscle and losing fat? At this deficit, I'd typically be losing 2.5 pounds a week and Im staying the same or maybe losing half a point tops right now. Great to recomp, but I still have too much weigh on me and at some point legit have to get 15 pounds of body weight off as I do crossfit and having extra weight isnt conducive towards overall performance

 

[beefyfan]

You are on a cycle and it is going to be hard to lose weight whilst on said cycle. Unless you have a weight class you are trying to make, quit getting on the scale and go by the mirror and how your slacks are fitting. As for deca? Why not take it? It's certainly not going to prevent fat loss. The worst thing that can happen on your cut by running a cycle is that you get bigger and leaner at the same time. But, if you want to be leaner for crossfit (next time you'd better add a no homo) then don't run a cycle. Or cut everything in half.

 

[gdoggydog05]

You are on a cycle and it is going to be hard to lose weight whilst on said cycle. Unless you have a weight class you are trying to make, quit getting on the scale and go by the mirror and how your slacks are fitting. As for deca? Why not take it? It's certainly not going to prevent fat loss. The worst thing that can happen on your cut by running a cycle is that you get bigger and leaner at the same time. But, if you want to be leaner for crossfit (next time you'd better add a no homo) then don't run a cycle. Or cut everything in half.

Very good response. Well here I'll add this lol.... Im a powerlifter that got up to 250 pounds being only like 5 foot 9 during Covid....never stopped lifting. I did crossfit bc i was unmotivated and a bunch of friends went and i had dug a hole with weight i couldnt get out of...... im not really a crossfitter at heart and i supplement it with my garage gym often. A lot of bench and biceps in my garage gym. No need for shoulders or legs as we hit those all the time. I also could barely walk a mile with my wife and was getting sleep apnea and high blood pressure and asthma and I have a new family, so at 34 years old it was something to try to get healthy. At 210, my current max is 505 deadlift, 405 squat (probably higher, I'll max in a few weeks), and bench is down pretty heavily under 300 for first time in a while. 290 last time. I can MAYBE get 300 on a good day.

Anyhoo, this is very good. So your saying if at some point I need to get weight off (I do, 5 foot 8, 210 is too bulky for what I want ..... I would like 195)....... do a light cycle while cutting, maybe 20 mg of anavar or something?

on the other hand, i almost want to "cut" after the cycle but that seems dumb cause ill likely lose muscle whereas if i can lose weight, even a small amount on a cycle.....ill be losing weight and maintaining muscle. what you are saying makes sense..... and my waist is already smaller 3 weeks in despite weighing exactly the same.....ive been measuring. and i just now am noticing good changes in mirror. but at some point i gotta get to 195 and wanna know how to do so while losing as little muscle and strength as possible.

 

[beefyfan]

My personal experience is that on high end trt dose and a keto diet, I don't lose weight and the weight gain is typically 6-8 pounds at the most. It totally recomps my physique. I gain muscle back, strength goes up a bit and I feel great. Taking anabolics and eating properly should negate any muscle loss while cutting.

 

[Renew1]

Very good response. Well here I'll add this lol.... Im a powerlifter that got up to 250 pounds being only like 5 foot 9 during Covid....never stopped lifting. I did crossfit bc i was unmotivated and a bunch of friends went and i had dug a hole with weight i couldnt get out of...... im not really a crossfitter at heart and i supplement it with my garage gym often. A lot of bench and biceps in my garage gym. No need for shoulders or legs as we hit those all the time. I also could barely walk a mile with my wife and was getting sleep apnea and high blood pressure and asthma and I have a new family, so at 34 years old it was something to try to get healthy. At 210, my current max is 505 deadlift, 405 squat (probably higher, I'll max in a few weeks), and bench is down pretty heavily under 300 for first time in a while. 290 last time. I can MAYBE get 300 on a good day.

Anyhoo, this is very good. So your saying if at some point I need to get weight off (I do, 5 foot 8, 210 is too bulky for what I want ..... I would like 195)....... do a light cycle while cutting, maybe 20 mg of anavar or something?

on the other hand, i almost want to "cut" after the cycle but that seems dumb cause ill likely lose muscle whereas if i can lose weight, even a small amount on a cycle.....ill be losing weight and maintaining muscle. what you are saying makes sense..... and my waist is already smaller 3 weeks in despite weighing exactly the same.....ive been measuring. and i just now am noticing good changes in mirror. but at some point i gotta get to 195 and wanna know how to do so while losing as little muscle and strength as possible.

Are you trying to lose weight for both of your heights, or just one?

 

[gdoggydog05]

My personal experience is that on high end trt dose and a keto diet, I don't lose weight and the weight gain is typically 6-8 pounds at the most. It totally recomps my physique. I gain muscle back, strength goes up a bit and I feel great. Taking anabolics and eating properly should negate any muscle loss while cutting.

ok so simply being on the trt should help me maintain more muscle while cutting you think? i have lost 36 pounds in 4 months before anavar on TRT so I already know i can lose on TRT. the anavar has halted the weight lostt

 

[gdoggydog05]

Are you trying to lose weight for both of your heights, or just one?

haha you caught me. 5 foot 9 is my drivers license height

doc says 5 foot 9 1/4 with shoes on a month ago..... but im actually 5 foot 8 and a half so i round up lol

 

[AnaBrolicHK]

You might be gaining muscle if the Anavar has halted your weight loss.

Based on this study, low dose Deca should both help your joints and speed up your fat loss significantly:

Comparison of the effects of high dose testosterone and 19-nortestosterone to a replacement dose of testosterone on strength and body composition in normal men - PubMed

We examined the extent to which supraphysiological doses of androgen can modify body composition and strength in normally virilized men. In doubly blind tests, 30 healthy young men received testosterone enanthate (TE) or 19-nortestosterone decanoate (ND), at 100 mg/wk or 300 mg/wk for 6 weeks...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Smont]

Heres my 2 cents.

1. It's not hard to loose weight on a cycle, maybe to a slight degree but not much at all. I've cut 25-30lbs on a cycle and I have watched guys on a contest prep drop 40+lbs while running over 2gm of gear.

2. You can cut on deca, there are no cutting and bulking steroids, it's all diet. In the golden just about every bodybuilder was doing contest prep on deca and dbol.

If your not loosing weight your eating too much.

Back to deca, I don't find it does a single thing for my joints, but that's just me. Some ppl swear it helps

 

[KvanH]

Didn't quite grasp if you want to lose weight or are fine with losing fat, but not weight (that would be ideal in most cases). But yes you can add Deca to a cut, if fat loss and muscle sparing (or gaining) is the goal. You could even add Dbol to a cut. Or anything pretty much.

 

[Smont]

I just read what your prescribed for trt lol, I'm guessing it's a clinic cus that's a low dose cycle for sure. If I was getting all that for trt I would find my minimum needed test dose per week and start hording all the extra for cycles lol.

250 test and 50 anavar sounds like a nice little cut cycle with very minimal drawbacks in terms of health and side effects, if you wanna add a little deca and you feel good on it go for it and just cut down your calories.

Some things I would keep in mind is that the drugs do help you hold size and they make better use of your food so you might not actually be in as big of a deficit as you think. Also your metabolism changes depending on what kind of shape your in. A little over a year ago my maintenance calories at 195lbs were 2500ish calories per day. But I've added a good amount of muscle and lost a good amount of fat since then. I'm currently back down to 195lbs and my maintenance is 3000calories now. The better my body composition, the more food I can eat even tho my weight is the same

 

[Smont]

Your body likes homeostasis too, sometimes when the scales not moving up or down for me I will take a week of over eating or undereating depending on my goal but I feel like that helps me.

Like say I'm stuck at 195 and I've been in a 250 cal deficit and the scale stops moving. Now I'm going to take into consideration weather or not I'm recomping. If I look better in the mirror il hold calories where they are. If I'm not making any visual improvement I might go into a 500 deficit for like 7-10 days and reassess where I'm at. Im in no way a expert on anything, these are just things I find that work well for me. Aside from tracking my workouts I keep notes on what I'm taking, how much I'm eating and a couple progress pics. Each month I know what I did for training, eating, supplements and how it made me look. It's a good reference to have when I need to make adjustments. I. Not saying track every diet detail but keep a general idea of total protein and calories and how that effects your bodyweight and appearance

 

[gdoggydog05]

Heres my 2 cents.

1. It's not hard to loose weight on a cycle, maybe to a slight degree but not much at all. I've cut 25-30lbs on a cycle and I have watched guys on a contest prep drop 40+lbs while running over 2gm of gear.

2. You can cut on deca, there are no cutting and bulking steroids, it's all diet. In the golden just about every bodybuilder was doing contest prep on deca and dbol.

If your not loosing weight your eating too much.

Back to deca, I don't find it does a single thing for my joints, but that's just me. Some ppl swear it helps

i just dont get it. i am religious with diet and weight loss,. i know my exact calorie and protein intake. i have sheets with my exact calories and weights going 4 months back...... im fine with kicking it into another gear

all im saying is it possible that its "slowed down the weight loss" that im not losing quite as much at the same cal?

man i hope deca helps mine. squatting is brutal on my knees these days

 

[gdoggydog05]

Your body likes homeostasis too, sometimes when the scales not moving up or down for me I will take a week of over eating or undereating depending on my goal but I feel like that helps me.

Like say I'm stuck at 195 and I've been in a 250 cal deficit and the scale stops moving. Now I'm going to take into consideration weather or not I'm recomping. If I look better in the mirror il hold calories where they are. If I'm not making any visual improvement I might go into a 500 deficit for like 7-10 days and reassess where I'm at. Im in no way a expert on anything, these are just things I find that work well for me. Aside from tracking my workouts I keep notes on what I'm taking, how much I'm eating and a couple progress pics. Each month I know what I did for training, eating, supplements and how it made me look. It's a good reference to have when I need to make adjustments. I. Not saying track every diet detail but keep a general idea of total protein and calories and how that effects your bodyweight and appearance

thats very good. ive actually read about this. maybe it wouldnt hurt to eat 250 cal over for a week.....then go back to cutting. a "refeed" if you will. or start having refeed weekends where i eat 500 over and go hard during the week.

 

[gdoggydog05]

I just read what your prescribed for trt lol, I'm guessing it's a clinic cus that's a low dose cycle for sure. If I was getting all that for trt I would find my minimum needed test dose per week and start hording all the extra for cycles lol.

250 test and 50 anavar sounds like a nice little cut cycle with very minimal drawbacks in terms of health and side effects, if you wanna add a little deca and you feel good on it go for it and just cut down your calories.

Some things I would keep in mind is that the drugs do help you hold size and they make better use of your food so you might not actually be in as big of a deficit as you think. Also your metabolism changes depending on what kind of shape your in. A little over a year ago my maintenance calories at 195lbs were 2500ish calories per day. But I've added a good amount of muscle and lost a good amount of fat since then. I'm currently back down to 195lbs and my maintenance is 3000calories now. The better my body composition, the more food I can eat even tho my weight is the same

very good points. excellent reply. this forum is very good. im a new member and didnt know where to go to get advice

 

[gdoggydog05]

Didn't quite grasp if you want to lose weight or are fine with losing fat, but not weight (that would be ideal in most cases). But yes you can add Deca to a cut, if fat loss and muscle sparing (or gaining) is the goal. You could even add Dbol to a cut. Or anything pretty much.

i do wanna lose fat. but ultimately i want to be 15 pounds less. 210 pounds is too much for my frame. im slow

 

[Smont]

i do wanna lose fat. but ultimately i want to be 15 pounds less. 210 pounds is too much for my frame. im slow

If your main concern is dropping overall weight I would use the test/deca/var at the doses you listed and drop the calories more and increase cardio. If you been dieting for a while you could try a refeed first but it's probably not necessary. I can't see you losing much if any muscle on a short 3-4 weeks of cutting calories lower. Theres enough gear present to preserve it and just like you can't build a ton of muscle in 30 days, you can't loose a ton either given the gear and keeping your protein high. Another thing is insulin sensitivity. Dropping carbs for a week or 2 or lowering them to a reasonable low amount and incorporate some berberine with your meals will get your sensitivity back. When your sensitivity is **** it makes losing fat and gaining muscle much more difficult.

Again I'm no expert here, this is just stuff I do from time to time that I've had results with

 

[Whisky]

If your main concern is dropping overall weight I would use the test/deca/var at the doses you listed and drop the calories more and increase cardio. If you been dieting for a while you could try a refeed first but it's probably not necessary. I can't see you losing much if any muscle on a short 3-4 weeks of cutting calories lower. Theres enough gear present to preserve it and just like you can't build a ton of muscle in 30 days, you can't loose a ton either given the gear and keeping your protein high. Another thing is insulin sensitivity. Dropping carbs for a week or 2 or lowering them to a reasonable low amount and incorporate some berberine with your meals will get your sensitivity back. When your sensitivity is **** it makes losing fat and gaining muscle much more difficult.

Again I'm no expert here, this is just stuff I do from time to time that I've had results with

glad you’ve made these points bro.

OP, as @Smont has pointed out across a few posts, yes you can lose weight on a cycle, most of us cut on a cycle instead of not. The difference is that you lose mostly fat (or purely fat) when on a cycle as opposed to fat and lean mass when not.

it is harder to drop weight quickly on a cycle as the body maintains muscle better - this is a good thing.

the gear may initially add a little weight from intercellular water and/or glycogen storage but again that’s no issue at all. If you had previously lost some muscle then even in a deficit you may add some lean mass back (slowing or stopping the scale number decreasing).

however, if for a sustained period you aren’t dropping weight and don’t see body comp changes then you aren’t in a deficit. Maintenance levels change over time, loads of variables. You may need to adjust.

using what you have been prescribed (which is crazy and defo a cycle but anyway) will not hinder fat loss and will help body comp. I would use it but monitor and adjust diet and cardio as needed to achieve your goals.

 

[KvanH]

A lot of solid stuff being shared by the good lads here. Not sure if mentioned already, so I'll add that taking measurements from different areas on the body, especially weist is a great tool also for estimating what is happening bodycomp wise. When I'm on a cut I use mirror, tape measurements and scale (in that order of significance) to estimate how am I doing and act accordingly.

 

[gdoggydog05]

glad you’ve made these points bro.

OP, as @Smont has pointed out across a few posts, yes you can lose weight on a cycle, most of us cut on a cycle instead of not. The difference is that you lose mostly fat (or purely fat) when on a cycle as opposed to fat and lean mass when not.

it is harder to drop weight quickly on a cycle as the body maintains muscle better - this is a good thing.

the gear may initially add a little weight from intercellular water and/or glycogen storage but again that’s no issue at all. If you had previously lost some muscle then even in a deficit you may add some lean mass back (slowing or stopping the scale number decreasing).

however, if for a sustained period you aren’t dropping weight and don’t see body comp changes then you aren’t in a deficit. Maintenance levels change over time, loads of variables. You may need to adjust.

using what you have been prescribed (which is crazy and defo a cycle but anyway) will not hinder fat loss and will help body comp. I would use it but monitor and adjust diet and cardio as needed to achieve your goals.

great info. i wont panic yet. i will just eat at a deficit and see if in a few weeks i can at least get to a pound a week

 

[gdoggydog05]

update.... i was trying to think of anything else it could be....not sure if this is one.....

doc also got my inhibitor thingie. aramidex or something. i switched trt places and they prefer to pin 4 times a week and said at 250 mg a lot of the people they have dont need the AI (i think its called?)...... they prefer not to use it unless someone experiences negative symptoms. at my old clinic they just put me on without monitoring first. he said my estrogen was normal in my last bloodwork from 5 months ago....whatever the number was in was between 20 and 30 my last two.....which he said is on the lower side and some people are actually more dialed in when their estrogen is higher. he says some of his people are at 70, but no high emotions or gyno or anything and they actually feel better

i dont really notice any huge symptoms yet.....but im wondering if my estrogen went up and that could cause the weight gain? wondering if i should experiment with adding it back for a few weeks and see if i can keep weight off

 

[Whisky]

update.... i was trying to think of anything else it could be....not sure if this is one.....

doc also got my inhibitor thingie. aramidex or something. i switched trt places and they prefer to pin 4 times a week and said at 250 mg a lot of the people they have dont need the AI (i think its called?)...... they prefer not to use it unless someone experiences negative symptoms. at my old clinic they just put me on without monitoring first. he said my estrogen was normal in my last bloodwork from 5 months ago....whatever the number was in was between 20 and 30 my last two.....which he said is on the lower side and some people are actually more dialed in when their estrogen is higher. he says some of his people are at 70, but no high emotions or gyno or anything and they actually feel better

i dont really notice any huge symptoms yet.....but im wondering if my estrogen went up and that could cause the weight gain? wondering if i should experiment with adding it back for a few weeks and see if i can keep weight off

to put it simply, with regard to the AI usage your new place is correct

 

[Smont]

update.... i was trying to think of anything else it could be....not sure if this is one.....

doc also got my inhibitor thingie. aramidex or something. i switched trt places and they prefer to pin 4 times a week and said at 250 mg a lot of the people they have dont need the AI (i think its called?)...... they prefer not to use it unless someone experiences negative symptoms. at my old clinic they just put me on without monitoring first. he said my estrogen was normal in my last bloodwork from 5 months ago....whatever the number was in was between 20 and 30 my last two.....which he said is on the lower side and some people are actually more dialed in when their estrogen is higher. he says some of his people are at 70, but no high emotions or gyno or anything and they actually feel better

i dont really notice any huge symptoms yet.....but im wondering if my estrogen went up and that could cause the weight gain? wondering if i should experiment with adding it back for a few weeks and see if i can keep weight off

Maybe slightly if you put on some water weight, but aside from water, it is 100% impossible to gain weight in a deficit. If your staying the same or gaining then you are not in a deficit with the exception of water weight. Also keep in mind that your caloric needs are not a straight line. They change every day unless you burn the exact to the t same amount of calories which would mean you have to do the exact same thing day in and day out from work to exercise to eating, everything. If the scale has stopped then reduce calories. There's no need to over complicate things. If you don't want to cut back on the food you can increase your activity level through cardio, longer training sessions, or little things like parking farther away at stores to increase your total steps for the day.

As for the ai, I only use one when necessary and if I'm under 500 test and injecting daily or even eod I don't need a ai

 

[gdoggydog05]

Maybe slightly if you put on some water weight, but aside from water, it is 100% impossible to gain weight in a deficit. If your staying the same or gaining then you are not in a deficit with the exception of water weight. Also keep in mind that your caloric needs are not a straight line. They change every day unless you burn the exact to the t same amount of calories which would mean you have to do the exact same thing day in and day out from work to exercise to eating, everything. If the scale has stopped then reduce calories. There's no need to over complicate things. If you don't want to cut back on the food you can increase your activity level through cardio, longer training sessions, or little things like parking farther away at stores to increase your total steps for the day.

As for the ai, I only use one when necessary and if I'm under 500 test and injecting daily or even eod I don't need a ai

i understand all of that. my fitbit has been nearly exactly accurate in the past at predicting weight loss when i do my deficit from totally calories burned. on crossfit days i typically burn 3300-3500 calories ( i usually end up running errands afterword and getting stuff done around house) and my calories have been 2200-2900....... average prolly 2500. on non workout days my calories burned for my weight is 2700 and im usually 1900 cal to 2400 cal. average is prolly 2200........ i am 100 PERCENT ON A DEFICIT AND 100% GAINED WEIGHT....

therefore it has to be water weight. if thats the only other option,. if so..... i wonder why im retaining water. i thought anavar was a dry steroid. i did up my T dose with extra i had from old clinic..... for a few weeks i went..... 500, 500, 400, 400, 300, 300 and now im on 250 going forward..... the 400, 300, 300 crossed over with the anavar. its test cyp..... does that hold water? never had a problem cutting weight on 250 test. keep in mind ive lost 36 pounds in 4 months before this so i have a pretty good idea of my calorie intake, calories burned, and whats required to lose weigh. something changed in the last 3-4 weeks and the big 3 are : adding anavar, higher test, getting rid of AI

 

[Smont]

Any steroid can make you hold water, I personally don't really hold water on any steroid at all, not dbol not anadrol not anything, unless I eat like crap then I get bloated. Everyone has a different response to everything.

But back to the deficit. Taking anabolics does a whole cascade of things in your body that can change the amount of calories your burning in a good way or a bad way. That's what I'm getting at when I say your probably not in a deficit. Being on gear can and will over time down regulate your thyroid function, that's going to change how many calories you burn. The amount of muscle vs fat your carrying will change how many calories are being burned. Your insulin sensitivity will also effect your metabolism as well. So there's multiple possible variables that can come into play. But at the end of the day calories in vs calories out is the biggest component to weight loss or gain. With the exception of water. You can chug a bunch of water and eat no food and temporarily gain weight. I really don't have anything else constructive to add except maybe just hold at maintenance for a while and try to recomp. You lost 30+ lbs and maybe you just need a little break. Outside of sleep, food, hormones and physical activity I don't know of any other ways to manipulate things that would work in your favor here. I'm not trying to prove you wrong I just don't know any ways you could be gaining outside of what I've talked about so maybe I'm missing something

 

[gdoggydog05]

Any steroid can make you hold water, I personally don't really hold water on any steroid at all, not dbol not anadrol not anything, unless I eat like crap then I get bloated. Everyone has a different response to everything.

But back to the deficit. Taking anabolics does a whole cascade of things in your body that can change the amount of calories your burning in a good way or a bad way. That's what I'm getting at when I say your probably not in a deficit. Being on gear can and will over time down regulate your thyroid function, that's going to change how many calories you burn. The amount of muscle vs fat your carrying will change how many calories are being burned. Your insulin sensitivity will also effect your metabolism as well. So there's multiple possible variables that can come into play. But at the end of the day calories in vs calories out is the biggest component to weight loss or gain. With the exception of water. You can chug a bunch of water and eat no food and temporarily gain weight. I really don't have anything else constructive to add except maybe just hold at maintenance for a while and try to recomp. You lost 30+ lbs and maybe you just need a little break. Outside of sleep, food, hormones and physical activity I don't know of any other ways to manipulate things that would work in your favor here. I'm not trying to prove you wrong I just don't know any ways you could be gaining outside of what I've talked about so maybe I'm missing something

ok very good info,..... ill just workout. eat good. let the anavar run its course. then can cut pounds down the road.

 

[Hyde]

You added 350mg of Var per week, more than doubling your already hot cruise dose, and you can’t figure out why the scale isn’t dropping??

C’mon man. The waistline is shrinking. The scale ain’t. Of course you are recomping, which is a terrific thing. Anavar is also excellent for collagen up-regulation for joint health/repair. Keep it rolling & enjoy it.

Deca at 100-200 will definitely help pad the joints big time, but you probably will hold water on it (I absolutely did at 200mg) and actually look less lean until you discontinue it. Actual bodyfat can still cut just fine and more muscle will grow/be preserved easier, but aesthetically it can add some bloat (which can raise bp, unfortunately).

This is my non-lean bropinion, but I wouldn’t be trying to eat much less than 2,000 calories per day average if your gym performance is important to you. Maybe fast one day per week on a rest day to help shed over time, but dropping daily cals much lower is going to be hard to sustain for many lifters. But if you can fast one day per week and on another fast til dinner and keep it around 1,000 calories of clean nutrition, you would still be netting a weekly deficit of 3,000 calories or so additionally.

On 550-750mg of total gear and keeping calories from going much lower, it’s going to be tough to get much lower than 190-200lbs likely with the muscle you already have. When you eventually stop the Var, it will be easier to get the actual scale down.

 

[Nac]

You added 350mg of Var per week, more than doubling your already hot cruise dose, and you can’t figure out why the scale isn’t dropping??

C’mon man. The waistline is shrinking. The scale ain’t. Of course you are recomping, which is a terrific thing. Anavar is also excellent for collagen up-regulation for joint health/repair. Keep it rolling & enjoy it.

Deca at 100-200 will definitely help pad the joints big time, but you probably will hold water on it (I absolutely did at 200mg) and actually look less lean until you discontinue it. Actual bodyfat can still cut just fine and more muscle will grow/be preserved easier, but aesthetically it can add some bloat (which can raise bp, unfortunately).

This is my non-lean bropinion, but I wouldn’t be trying to eat much less than 2,000 calories per day average if your gym performance is important to you. Maybe fast one day per week on a rest day to help shed over time, but dropping daily cals much lower is going to be hard to sustain for many lifters. But if you can fast one day per week and on another fast til dinner and keep it around 1,000 calories of clean nutrition, you would still be netting a weekly deficit of 3,000 calories or so additionally.

On 550-750mg of total gear and keeping calories from going much lower, it’s going to be tough to get much lower than 190-200lbs likely with the muscle you already have. When you eventually stop the Var, it will be easier to get the actual scale down.

Interesting you mention fasting. I'm trying a pseudo-fast two days a week (I'm calling it a pseudo-fast cos I'll still be ingesting *some* calories), pretty similar to what Vigorous Steve recently vlogged about. Fasting certainly appeals to my extremist preferences.

 

[Hyde]

Interesting you mention fasting. I'm trying a pseudo-fast two days a week (I'm calling it a pseudo-fast cos I'll still be ingesting *some* calories), pretty similar to what Vigorous Steve recently vlogged about. Fasting certainly appeals to my extremist preferences.

It’s just purely convenience for me. I don’t think there is any fatloss magic at all with it beyond being a means to generate a calorie deficit. But I am stronger generally skipping a day of food on an off-day than undereating chronically on end.

 

[Nac]

It’s just purely convenience for me. I don’t think there is any fatloss magic at all with it beyond being a means to generate a calorie deficit. But I am stronger generally skipping a day of food on an off-day than undereating chronically on end.

Magic...totally not at all, agreed there. I absolutely HATE sticking to a daily kcal intake. I prefer fluctuation, it's just my personality type. And as you noted there can be performance benefits if you're strategic about it.

 

[gdoggydog05]

You added 350mg of Var per week, more than doubling your already hot cruise dose, and you can’t figure out why the scale isn’t dropping??

C’mon man. The waistline is shrinking. The scale ain’t. Of course you are recomping, which is a terrific thing. Anavar is also excellent for collagen up-regulation for joint health/repair. Keep it rolling & enjoy it.

Deca at 100-200 will definitely help pad the joints big time, but you probably will hold water on it (I absolutely did at 200mg) and actually look less lean until you discontinue it. Actual bodyfat can still cut just fine and more muscle will grow/be preserved easier, but aesthetically it can add some bloat (which can raise bp, unfortunately).

This is my non-lean bropinion, but I wouldn’t be trying to eat much less than 2,000 calories per day average if your gym performance is important to you. Maybe fast one day per week on a rest day to help shed over time, but dropping daily cals much lower is going to be hard to sustain for many lifters. But if you can fast one day per week and on another fast til dinner and keep it around 1,000 calories of clean nutrition, you would still be netting a weekly deficit of 3,000 calories or so additionally.

On 550-750mg of total gear and keeping calories from going much lower, it’s going to be tough to get much lower than 190-200lbs likely with the muscle you already have. When you eventually stop the Var, it will be easier to get the actual scale down.

this is fantastic info thank you. besides the TRT and occasionally doing a few weeks of higher test when i had some extra (maybe had one time i did 350 mg for 4 weeks) this is technically my first cycle......been a ghost reading about this stuff for years.....but seeing how your body responds etc.....totally newbie so this is fantastic info..... i just wanted to make sure that it was normal that it has become difficult for the scale to go down......my waist is down about half an inch to 3/4 of inch and i look slightly more toned 3 weeks in. it just became slightly noticeable this week. hoping in coming weeks to have more change

 

[Codybenz]

You might be gaining muscle if the Anavar has halted your weight loss.

Based on this study, low dose Deca should both help your joints and speed up your fat loss significantly:

Comparison of the effects of high dose testosterone and 19-nortestosterone to a replacement dose of testosterone on strength and body composition in normal men - PubMed

We examined the extent to which supraphysiological doses of androgen can modify body composition and strength in normally virilized men. In doubly blind tests, 30 healthy young men received testosterone enanthate (TE) or 19-nortestosterone decanoate (ND), at 100 mg/wk or 300 mg/wk for 6 weeks...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

@johnny412 Oh no...... Could this be our old pal?

 

[johnny412]

@johnny412 Oh no...... Could this be our old pal?

lol he could be ANYWHERE at ANY time! but that profile was made in 2014 so ima say no lol

 

[AnaBrolicHK]

But what if

 

[johnny412]

But what if

and you seem funny...dude aint funny AT ALL!!! lol!

 

[Codybenz]

and you seem funny...dude aint funny AT ALL!!! lol!

Fair enough, I just saw the new member title.

 

[BBiceps]

Fair enough, I just saw the new member title.

Idk, with all the trolling he been doing lately it could be a follower of our favorite Transformers nerd.

 

[AnaBrolicHK]

Idk, with all the trolling he been doing lately it could be a follower of our favorite Transformers nerd.

BBiceps is my number one fan

 

[Nac]

BBiceps is my number one fan

When you poast up your noodz you'll have us lining up.

 

[MadStax]

I've been running a little Deca with my TRT for several months now and I'm convinced it has helped my joints tremendously! I'm in my 40's and was having some joint/tendon issues before adding the Deca. Since adding it, I've had zero issues. 100mg per week isn't enough to cause you to hold a lot of water if that's your concern. I suggest daily pinning to keep levels as stable as possible.

 

[AnaBrolicHK]

I tried a single 25mg shot of NPP (much shorter half life than Deca, but it peaks at the same level as 100mg of Deca for 4-5 days from a single shot) and my rotor cuff aches went away. I still got the usual clicking and popping but the mild discomfort I usually get in the front and rear of my rotor cuff after a workout was completely gone for a while. I suspect I have a SLAP tear. My shoulder is still better than before but I'm curious to see what happens when the NPP is completely out of my system. I expect the discomfort to return in the next week, but let's see.

 

[Rocket3015]

I tried a single 25mg shot of NPP (much shorter half life than Deca, but it peaks at the same level as 100mg of Deca for 4-5 days from a single shot) and my rotor cuff aches went away. I still got the usual clicking and popping but the mild discomfort I usually get in the front and rear of my rotor cuff after a workout was completely gone for a while. I suspect I have a SLAP tear. My shoulder is still better than before but I'm curious to see what happens when the NPP is completely out of my system. I expect the discomfort to return in the next week, but let's see.

Keep us posted ..............