Hi,

I just wanted to post my thoughts regarding the anavar cycle I've been running. I was looking for lots of info before I started so I hope the following info will help others.

I heading into week 8 and I have nothing but positive feeling about my experience.
The first week I took 5mg split twice daily and then into week two I ramped up to 5mg twice daily. I started seeing some solid muscle gains by week 3. My strength has really shot through the roof. A couple of examples are 4kg dumbell to 12kg for bicep crunches. I favour the cable machines and exercises such a cable kick backs have gone from 5kg to 12.5kg. Triceps ( single) pull downs 2.5kg to 7.5/10kg.

The reason I chose to do an anavar cycle will possibly be met with some disdain. My body fat percentage was probably 25%. I was weighing in at 150lbs at 172cm tall. Bmi 23.
I have lost 60lbs in the last 18 months through diet alone, but the cost of that has been lots of muscle mass loss. I suffer from an ED, where I severely restrict and then binge.
I was skinny fat, although a US size 8, I wobbled and had cellulite.

I hadn't set foot in the a gym for 12 months ( due to a divorce, I lost heart and focus) and I needed a huge kick up the butt and some motivation. So yep, I took the cheats way in. Except I don't feel like a cheat because I have dialled in my diet 99.9% for 8 weeks and trained like a beast five days a week, sometimes six. I've lost 4in on my waist ( haven't taken any other measurements). My ass has risen up, I've got muscle in places that have never had muscle! ( see profile pic).
The scale has gone from 150lbs to 157lbs, whilst still losing that nearly 5 inches on my waist. My cellulite has nearly all gone ... although I do drink 5L of water a day, which is a huge cleanser and high levels of hydration should never be dismissed as a non essential habit in my opinion.

I've been cutting so have not eaten a calorie surplus despite all I have read about it being essential to build muscle. It's not in my experience. I've been eating 1300 - 1500 calories a day with 180g protein. One cheat meal a week to maintain homeostasis & refuel me mentally. I've been on a macro split of: 50p / 25f / 25c.

Side effects are :
Week 6 my second period arrived and was only half a day of brown blood. I'm usually very heavy for several days, so this has been great.
Slight thrush week 5, but I did have a lot of sex that week so could have been a coincidence ;)
Left breast has developed lumps under the cup - going to the doctor to get this checked. Wondering if breast changes was a common side for women?
No change to sex drive as quite high already. No acne, no clit enlargement that I've noticed.
Reduced appetite and less sugar cravings.
Enhanced mood
Uncomfortable pumps in legs during HIIT on treadmill
Uncomfortable pumps in forearms particularly
No water retention

So in conclusion, this has been a very positive experience for me. I have also taken in capsule form daily :
Creatine 5mg, BCAAS 7mg, Silymarin 100 mg ( milk thistle liver cleanse) omega 3 oils, multi vitamin, 5-http 300mg, Bio-Kult pro biotics.

Appreciate any feedback or any questions.