I will first start off by saying, the proper nutrition will make or break your cycle, as well as be the sole benefactor when it comes to vascularity, water retention, bulk and so forth. It seems that too many people have overlooked the dieting aspect and try to rely solely on the use of AAS to produce 100% of their results. In my opinion, and I'm sure some will agree to disagree- diet puts training, sleep, and what compounds you decide to run in its shadow; and I cannot stress that enough.

I hope this post will help people possibly make better on & off cycle food choices. While off cycle, your diet will be the key to maintaining gains and continuing to grow, that ability to have a cut up physique or bulk up.

Carb Cycling

Carb cycling, or moving from a lower-carbohydrate intake to higher carbs, is a technique bodybuilders use to strip away bodyfat. Generally, a bodybuilder will eat 100—125 grams of carbs a day for 3-4 days followed by 400—500 grams on the fifth day. Then he'll return to low-carb days and repeat the process. This technique seems to keep the metabolism elevated while a constant lower-carb intake can actually cause the metabolism to slow. Another approach is simply to cut your carb portions in half for 3—4 days, then go back to eating a higher carb intake on the fifth day. After that, return to the modified lower-carb intake for another 3—4 days and repeat.

Lean Mass Cycle

Meal 1 2.5 cups of egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal, black coffee with one sweetener if preferred.
Meal 2 8oz chicken breast (I use Mrs. Dash seasonings) 1 cup brown rice, steamed vegetables.
Meal 3 10oz of lean meat & one medium sized sweet potato
Meal 4 I Generally make a Protein shake with water (pre workout meal) along side of some arginine
-following workout ill get some of my wonka pixy stick.. and a gram of vitamin C.
Meal 5 10oz Chicken breast, Steamed veggie, possible quinoa.
Meal 6 10 oz Halibut or Tilapia (or whatever fish you can get, fresh is best!) Generally add greens or asparagus
Meal 7 Cottage Cheese, blueberry (or another fruit)/ or Greek Yogurt accompanied by supplements.

Weight Loss Cycle

Meal 1 1 scoop of whey protein, alongside of 2 egg whites OR 1 cup of oatmeal.
Meal 2 1 Large orange or cup of fresh berries.
Meal 3 Low sodium turkey (4oz) on Flax seed grain bread. Cup of almonds or good nuts.
Meal 4 1 low-fat cup of cottage cheese with pineapple.
Meal 5 6 oz tilapia filet 1 cup of broccoli, 2 cups of spinach with olive oil or balsamic vinegarette.
Meal 6 Walnut halves with 1 tbsp of peanut butter to dip them in.

Rule of thumb: any meat or potatoes shouldn't be any bigger than your fist. Try to eat slower and fill up a smaller plate. This will help speed your metabolism and help drop that unwanted fat/pounds!

Bulk Cycle

Meal 1 6 egg whites/1 whole egg. 1 cup of oatmeal
Meal 2 8 oz meat choice. 2 cups of white rice ( I season with Mrs. Dash, sometimes lemon pepper) 1 medium sweet potato
Meal 3 8 oz chicken breast, 2 cups of brown rice, asparagus
Meal 4 60 gram protein shake prior to workout, cup of almonds.
Meal 5 10 oz meat choice (red!!) 1 and 1/2 cup of brown or long grain rice, spinach salad with olive oil or balsamic v.
Meal 6 8 oz chicken or fish. 1 cup of broccoli
Meal 7 Low Fat cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with fruit added.

A big thing to watch out for is late night carbs.. They aren't very nice!! Keep that in mind.

Cutting Cycle

Cardio prior to meal 1 if you want to burn extra fat!
Meal 1 6 Egg whites, 1 whole. 1 cup of hard rolled oats, or oatmeal.
Meal 2 Protein shake + cooked oats. I eat Bear Naked oats.
Meal 3 Low sodium turkey on Flax seed bread.
Meal 4 12-16oz of Flouder or Tilapia, 1 cup of steamed green beans
Meal 5 Salmon FIlet & Medium sized sweet potato
Meal 6 12-16oz fresh lean fish. 1 cup of steamed broccoli
Meal 7 Spinach and walnut/almond salad. Olive oil dressing.
-add a small cup of greek yogurt if still hungry at night.

Continued...

Cooking and planning is not only important when running a cycle, but equally important when planning a diet. A lot of meals you can cook and set up days prior. Cook large amounts of rice and vegetables and put them in containers in your fridge.. they heat up just fine. Focus on buying Fresh fish, and lean meats.. Not pre-packed or frozen meats/fish that contain an unreal amount of sodium. Eating small efficient meals can be key to building muscle because it helps your body regulate insulin levels & prevents the break down of tissue.

Mrs. Dash Seasonings are all 0 sodium and have enough variety to spice up any meal! in my opinion..

Veggies

The one cooking method to avoid is boiling, which tends to leach the nutrients out of food. For example, steaming spinach can lead to a 60-percent reduction in vitamin C. And microwaving broccoli in boiling water for 5 minutes has been shown to reduce vitamin C levels and antioxidant activity both by 65 percent. The one exception to my "Don't boil!" rule concerns potatoes, which retain the same amount of vitamins C and B whether boiled or steamed.
Steaming vegetables in the microwave is convenient--just make sure you're steaming and not boiling them. Use only 1 to 3 tablespoons of water in a wide bowl or plate, add the vegetables, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Pierce the plastic wrap to make a small slit to let out steam. This will ensure that you maximize the steam effect and don't boil your vegetables in water.

Fish, Steak, Chicken prep!

Roasting, frying and grilling are the best cooking methods for meats because there is no water where valuable nutrients can leach into. Studies are showing that roasted or grilled meat losing 20% of its vitamins and boiled or stewed meat losing 50% of its vitamin content. Don't cut yourself short!!

Healthy Supplementation

Eating well is not complicated but good nutrition does require you to take the nutrients in the proper balance. Adapt a 40/40/20 split between carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and focus on low glycemic carbohydrates. Balanced nutrients is a key element of good nutrition and an imbalance or excess can cause several problems, for example:

• Excess protein stresses your liver and kidneys.
• Insufficient iron can cause a zinc deficiency.
• Excess zinc can cause a calcium deficiency.
• Excess salt can cause a negative calcium balance.
• Insufficient fat intake interferes with the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Good supplements are:
- Glutamine
- Creatine
- Tribulus
- ZMA
- Multivitamin/mineral complex
- Fish Oil

Intake Rule of thumb

Eating 200 grams of protein in one meal will go to waste. Figure 1-2grams for each pound of body weight, based on which cycle you are trying to follow-then split up your protein intake throughout those 5-6 meals.

Based on RDA values that normal people have come up with. Of course doing things such as carb cycling and high protein will help us freaks achieve our goals.

3200 calorie per day diet
Carbohydrates:
55% (.55) X 3200 = 1760 calories from carbohydrate
1705 carb calories/4 calories per gram = 440 grams of carbs
Protein:
30% (.30) X 3200 = 960 calories from protein
960 protein calories/4 calories per gram = 240 grams of protein
Fat:
15% (.15) X 3200 = 480 calories from fat
480 fat calories/9 calories per gram = 53.3 grams of fat

Other Possible food choices.

Dairy
-Low fat cottage cheese
-Eggs
-Non-fat milk

Healthy Fats
-Polyunsaturated Oils
-Monounsaturated Oils (for example: Olive, Canola, peanut)
-FISH
-Nuts & Seeds-flaxseeds, walnuts, soybeans, sunflower seeds (inside) peanuts, almonds.
-Omega-6 Grains

Fruits/other
-Green or Red pepper. - red is better
-Lemons
-Limes
-Garlic
-Fresh Berries

Fibrous Carbs -secret to flat ab's
-broccoli
-lettuce
-cauliflower
-zucchini
-tomatoes
-asparagus
-green beans
-squash
-cucumber
-spinach

Complex Carbs
-Pinto, black, soy, kidney, chick pea's/beans
-Whole wheat pasta
-Baking & redskin potatoes
-Brown Rice
-Rolled Oats
-Quinoa
-Oatmeal
-Sweet Potatos

Proteins
-Fish! -Best 0 carb source of protein
-Filet
-Ostrich
-Bison -- Half the fat of chicken & higher protein
-Venison -- even less fat, same amount of protein.
-Turkey
-Pork
-Tuna - Don't eat too much albacore or you'll run into health issues.
-Chicken

Still going!! break down time

Proteins
-Increase your lean protein intake. Steroids work by increasing the levels of serum testosterone in your blood. This increases lean body mass by facilitating the synthesis of new muscle tissue. To synthesize new muscle tissue though, the body has to have the protein nutrients present in the system. Eat more lean meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy. Like humans, animal tissue is comprised of protein. The body consumes this protein and breaks it down into the component amino acids. The increase in serum testosterone provided by steroids enhances the body's ability to transform the amino acids into human muscle tissue.

Dietary Fats and Cholesterol
-Consume healthy fats and cholesterol. Dietary fat and cholesterol have gained a poor reputation due to faulty understanding of how your body utilizes these nutrients. In fact, dietary fats assist the body's normal functioning. Cholesterol is a precursor to testosterone production in the body. The fat and cholesterol found in egg yolks, as an example, is perfectly healthy according to strength coach Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, Ph.D., the authors of "Practical Programming for Strength Training."

Eat fatty fish like cod and salmon. Nutritionist and strength and conditioning specialist Dr. John Berardi, Ph.D., CSCS, in his book "The Metabolism Advantage: An 8-Week Program to Rev Up Your Body's Fat-Burning Mechanism-At Any Age," points out that fats are more critical to good health and tissue regeneration than carbohydrates are.

Dr. Berardi recommends the consumption of red meat as superior to lean poultry for lean muscle hypertrophy and regeneration. His claim is that while your body can create glycogen without dietary carbohydrates through the process of "gluconeogenesis," you cannot survive very long without dietary fats.

Complex Carbohydrates
-Restrict your carbohydrate consumption to complex, fiber-rich carbs such as vegetables and whole grains. Eat whole oats, bran, cucumbers, cauliflower and similar choices. These provide necessary fiber to help you stay active, while satiating you sooner, preventing overeating, which could result in fat gains rather than lean body mass increases.

Avoid simpler sugars while you are on your physician-prescribed steroid cycle. Consuming simple carbs due to poor dietary intake leads to insulin spikes resulting in the production of estrogenic hormones within the body. This is contraindicated for your diet if you already on a steroid cycle for improving your hormonal balance.

Lean Meat
Pure meats, such as beef and pork, are free of carbohydrates, and lean cuts are low in calories. Choose lean ground beef or cuts of pork or beef without visible fat. Fatty cuts of meat are unhealthy because of their high amounts of cholesterol-raising saturated fat. Beef and pork are high in iron and vitamin B-12. Processed meats -- such as luncheon meats, cured ham and bacon -- may contain carbohydrates from starches or added sugars.

Fatty Fish
Fatty fish provide about 20 to 25 g of protein per 100-g serving, and they are among the best carbohydrate-free sources of protein because of their long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which may lower your risk for heart disease. Salmon, anchovies, mackerel and sardines are natural sources of calcium and vitamin D. Fatty fish canned in sauces, such as sardines in tomato sauce, are still high in protein and healthy fats, but they contain a small amount of carbohydrates.

Poultry
Poultry is among the best zero-carbohydrate sources of protein. A 3-oz. serving of grilled chicken breast has nearly 30 g of protein. To reduce your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, choose white-meat, skinless chicken or turkey instead of dark-meat poultry with the skin. Low-fat poultry can be good for a weight-loss diet, because it is low in calories and high in protein, which is a filling nutrient. Use it as an entrée or in salads.

Eggs
Eggs are excellent sources of protein for a low-carbohydrate diet, because they are carbohydrate-free and versatile. You can use them for breakfast in omelets or scrambled egg dishes, for lunch or dinner in casseroles, or for a hard-boiled egg snack. A large, whole egg has 6 g of protein, with all of it contained in the fat-free white. Eggs are high in cholesterol, but if you do not eat the yolk, you will save yourself 213 mg of cholesterol.

Conclusion

In order to triumph and cultivate, you need patience. Flush the idea of looking like Jay Cutler in one steroid cycle out of your head so you don't set yourself up for failure. Set realistic goals and focus on the proven milestone building blocks. diet training, and sleep-oh, and making sure your cycle is written properly. I hope some of you took the time to read this, and even if you thought you knew everything.. learned at least one thing new. My overall goal is help the noobies and make this a eroids sticky Dieting is a practice that you must master over time. It will take several months, but sooner or later, your brain won't have that addiction to sugary, greasy foods.. they will eventually even make your stomach feel like shit. Adapting a diet such as the proposed will not only help with your cycle gains, they will determine them. Consequently, benefit you down the road when your genetics just aren't kicking how they used to.

If you need any help with medical specification diets.. Diabetic, even celiacs disease-write a message on this post, or add me as a friend and holla at your boy

VERY interested in hearing feedback from the Eroids Community.