Personally i would try and get my natural test levels up first before considering taking a steroid cycle. Your natural test production should increase with good nutrition, good sleeping pattern, and regular exercise.

Diet is key

Here's a good lean mass cutting diet;

Diet is key - you will read this time and time again on the forums and the reason why its mentioned so often is because it is true. AAS increases your recovery rate, but if you actually want to add some lean muscle into the mix you need to eat right. You also need to find what works best for your body - copying an IFBB pro's diet is great, but if your body doesn't respond to certain macro-nutrient ratios and wholefoods (which are high in lactose, example) then you are not optimizing your diet. Finding which foods work for you is takes time through increasing the understanding you have with your body. This will help you identify which foods you should eat at what time. It will also increase your understanding of your body's natural limit, while also understanding how your body reacts to carbs, protein and fat sources in order to reach your daily macro-nutrient intake limits.

Regardless of how much AAS compounds you pump yourself with, without proper nutrition the simple maintenance of the muscle mass you've worked hard over in the gym and resting will deplete. Therefore a subjective understanding of pre training nutrition in addition to post training nutrition should be fully understood to ensure your body is kept in an anabolic environment.

The lack of nutrition can make your cycle or training almost non-productive. I see a lot of guys talk about cycling and training but not too much on nutrition. Knowing the right foods is the most important thing when cycling on and OFF. I stress OFF because this is where the ball is dropped after the PCT. Knowing your body and the right foods to eat is the key to any successful training regimen with or without steroids.

Lets look at a simple diet plan for bulking (205lbs):
You have to eat every few hours so you cannot start meal 1 at 9AM

Meal 1: 10 egg whites and 3 whole eggs=50g protein, 1.5 cup oats
Meal 2: 2 8 oz. chicken breast=50g protein, 1.5 cup mashed sweet potato
Preworkout : 2 scoop whey=approx 50g protein,1 cup oats
Post workout: 2 8 oz. chicken breast=50g protein, 1.5 cup brown rice
Meal 5: 2 6 oz. lean mince/ground beef=50g protein, 1 cup mashed sweet potato, veggies
Meal 6: 2 4 oz. tilapia fillets=50g protein, 1/2 cup brown rice
Meal 7: 2 cans of albacore tuna fish very low sodium in H2O=60g protein, 1 cup oats
Meal 8: Bedtime shake 2 scoops casein=50g protein, 2 tbsp. natural PB

That gives me a total of 360g protein from food sources. The key to me getting my 400g protein minimum is I drink 50g whey protein shakes in between the meals giving me 410g total. This is my sweet spot. Now I vary in the amounts of servings at time but no less on the protein.

A simple cutting diet would be (205lbs):

Meal 1: 5 whole eggs and 4 egg whites
Meal 2: Protein Shake 50g Whey Protein with 1.5 tablespoon of All Natural Peanut butter (no sugar)
Meal 3: 8oz chicken with 1/2-cup cashew nuts (almonds, or walnuts)
Meal 4: Protein Shake 50g Whey Protein with 1.5 tablespoons of All Natural Peanut butter (no sugar)
Meal 5: 8oz Salmon or RED MEAT with a green salad (no tomatoes, carrots, or red peppers) with 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil or Macadamia nut oil and vinegar
Meal 6: Protein Shake 50g Whey with 1 tablespoon all natural peanut butter or 4 whole eggs and 4 extra whites

For a 250lb+ man:

Meal 1: 6 whole eggs
Meal 2: 8oz chicken with 1/2 cup raw almonds
Meal 3: 50g whey with 2 tablespoons all natural peanut butter
Meal 4: 8oz salmon with 1 cup asparagus with 1 tablespoon macadamia nut oil
Meal 5: 50 g whey with 2 tablespoons all natural peanut butter
Meal 6: 6 whole eggs

It takes approximately 3-4 days to get into a strong ketosis where your brain is using ketone bodies (fats), instead of carbs, for energy

Pre-cycle Nutrition Bible Guide

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.

The biggest part of the diet is knowing your body and its type. Eating the right kind of foods is the most important aspect in setting your body up for optimal anabolism. Steroids activate this anabolism but your body needs nutrition in order to grow. I hope that I help educate the community on a very important factor that can lead to success of our cycles and when we are off. Nutrition is the key first.

Pre-Cycle Protocol