BlueDress's First

[SolidChemistry]

So BlueDress is now on Week 3 of her first Var cycle...and now decided to up dose to 15mg a day (split AM/PM).

So far, she's only noticed a bit more oily skin and a single pimple on the back. Other than that, after being on 10mg for over 10 days and 5mg the 4 days before that, no sides at all. None.

She has been strong and notices she's recovering so much faster. She's at her PR levels training but with slightly higher volume now. She loves the energy. Weight has been steady though I know she's struggling to consume enough protein everyday - and she's been remarking how she gets these periods of being ravenously hungry throughout the day. I would add that she's been working so hard at job lately and only getting 5.5 - 6 hours rest a night. (I hate it when real life gets in the way of gainz!)

Ideally, I think she just needs to eat a bit more (>1g Protein/LBM as she's a bit under now when we add up what she actually eats) and rest more (ie "grow") but I'm wondering if the increase in dosage will really improve results. I personally think she looks harder, but she is more anxious for visible results after two weeks now, thus the desire to increase dosage. We hadn't planned to go over 10mg ED but since her sides are so minimal, I agreed with her last night.

Any thoughts on increasing first cycle dosage to 15mg? She's a big girl to begin with.

 

[Wendylifts]

So BlueDress is now on Week 3 of her first Var cycle...and now decided to up dose to 15mg a day (split AM/PM).

So far, she's only noticed a bit more oily skin and a single pimple on the back. Other than that, after being on 10mg for over 10 days and 5mg the 4 days before that, no sides at all. None.

She has been strong and notices she's recovering so much faster. She's at her PR levels training but with slightly higher volume now. She loves the energy. Weight has been steady though I know she's struggling to consume enough protein everyday - and she's been remarking how she gets these periods of being ravenously hungry throughout the day. I would add that she's been working so hard at job lately and only getting 5.5 - 6 hours rest a night. (I hate it when real life gets in the way of gainz!)

Ideally, I think she just needs to eat a bit more (>1g Protein/LBM as she's a bit under now when we add up what she actually eats) and rest more (ie "grow") but I'm wondering if the increase in dosage will really improve results. I personally think she looks harder, but she is more anxious for visible results after two weeks now, thus the desire to increase dosage. We hadn't planned to go over 10mg ED but since her sides are so minimal, I agreed with her last night.

Any thoughts on increasing first cycle dosage to 15mg? She's a big girl to begin with.

I'm a little girl and up my 10mg/day to 20mg/day weeks ago. I did fine for a couple of weeks and then thought I noticed changes to my voice and backed down to 10. Then I went on vacay for 10 days and stayed at 10. I've been back since Sunday and bumped back up to 20 and have no sides - other than the ones I did at 10 which you mentioned above. I'm new at this game so I don't want to offer advice but that's been my experience.

 

[SolidChemistry]

I'm a little girl and up my 10mg/day to 20mg/day weeks ago. I did fine for a couple of weeks and then thought I noticed changes to my voice and backed down to 10. Then I went on vacay for 10 days and stayed at 10. I've been back since Sunday and bumped back up to 20 and have no sides - other than the ones I did at 10 which you mentioned above. I'm new at this game so I don't want to offer advice but that's been my experience.

Thanks Wendy. I've been following your thread and you've been doing great - you guys all look fantastic here.

It seems to me that you're almost guaranteed sides at 20mg - sooner or later. I suppose the trick is to be right on the edge. One thing my wife brought up today is that she uses an estradiol patch too. I know you're older as well but I'm unsure you've reached that point too. That patch gives a lot relief from hotflashes but she was wondering if it counteracts the effects of what she's taking as well. Again, she prefers to leave the patch on and trying up the V dose, rather than take it off and deal with the heat waves.

(I'll be tracking to see if you can stay at 20mg! Good luck!)

 

[Eman]

Ideally, I think she just needs to eat a bit more (>1g Protein/LBM as she's a bit under now when we add up what she actually eats) and rest more (ie "grow") but I'm wondering if the increase in dosage will really improve results.

What do her macros look like?

Calories vs tdee?

A protein shake with added egg whites would probably give her protein intake the bump it's needing if she's lacking in that Dept. I drink one first thing in the morning every single day and eat breakfast two hours later.

 

[SolidChemistry]

What do her macros look like?

Calories vs tdee?

A protein shake with added egg whites would probably give her protein intake the bump it's needing if she's lacking in that Dept. I drink one first thing in the morning every single day and eat breakfast two hours later.

Thanks Eman. She's right at about 1700 CAL...

Generally she comes in at 110P/110C/45F which happens to equals 1/3 each . Most of the carbs are cruciferous but she'll eat sweet fruits. She knows the fructose is not innocent. Fats are good fats/healthy - but a lot of them, I know. Occasionally she will have to miss a meal at work because of meetings and it screws up timing on those meals as well. Inconsistency is very disruptive.

The shake in the morning would be key. I think an extra 30-40g would make the difference - I agree. She's got an extremely slow bowel so she I'm going to have to convince her to drink the shake before we train early AM. (She doesn't want anything in the mornings.)

By my math, she should be consuming 140g+ on protein.

 

[Eman]

The shake in the morning would be key. I think an extra 30-40g would make the difference - I agree. She's got an extremely slow bowel so she I'm going to have to convince her to drink the shake before we train early AM. (She doesn't want anything in the mornings.)

I used to be the same way about eating first thing in AM. But I made it into a habit. Turn off alarm and go make a shake. I use a ninja blender to make it that much easier, my shake comes out to be like 75 gr of protein.

She could try adding fiber to the shake first thing also to help with regularlarity. Adding Greek yogurt can help too.

Take a look at true nutrition.com... You can make custom blended powders and I'm pretty sure fiber is an option or something equivalent.

Inconsistency def throws a wrench into things at times, no doubt. I'm lucky in that regard! Very regular schedule in my office.

 

[Happycamper]

So BlueDress is now on Week 3 of her first Var cycle...and now decided to up dose to 15mg a day (split AM/PM).

So far, she's only noticed a bit more oily skin and a single pimple on the back. Other than that, after being on 10mg for over 10 days and 5mg the 4 days before that, no sides at all. None.

She has been strong and notices she's recovering so much faster. She's at her PR levels training but with slightly higher volume now. She loves the energy. Weight has been steady though I know she's struggling to consume enough protein everyday - and she's been remarking how she gets these periods of being ravenously hungry throughout the day. I would add that she's been working so hard at job lately and only getting 5.5 - 6 hours rest a night. (I hate it when real life gets in the way of gainz!)

Ideally, I think she just needs to eat a bit more (>1g Protein/LBM as she's a bit under now when we add up what she actually eats) and rest more (ie "grow") but I'm wondering if the increase in dosage will really improve results. I personally think she looks harder, but she is more anxious for visible results after two weeks now, thus the desire to increase dosage. We hadn't planned to go over 10mg ED but since her sides are so minimal, I agreed with her last night.

Any thoughts on increasing first cycle dosage to 15mg? She's a big girl to begin with.

What results are you trying to improve?

I really saw strength gains by week 4ish. Ramped up to 20mg the last three weeks and strength rocketed. But there wasn't an amazing body transformation for me as I'm higher BF at about 24%. I didn't gain weight though.

 

[SolidChemistry]

What results are you trying to improve?

I really saw strength gains by week 4ish. Ramped up to 20mg the last three weeks and strength rocketed. But there wasn't an amazing body transformation for me as I'm higher BF at about 24%. I didn't gain weight though.

Hey HappyCamper (You too are doing awesome and I've been following your thread!)...

She is really trying to harden up. She's got muscle but its gotten softer almost like she has permanent creatine look (which she is not using). She had more vascularity in the past and that's what she's after. Plus, she's plateaued for the last couple years so a breakthrough in strength is a secondary goal.

I think if she saw the results you did, increase in strength, weight staying the same, and maybe just slight transformation (not dramatic), I think she'd be happy too. Really though, she wants to show what she's got - and that simply demands an increase in cardio and tweaking diet.

 

[Happycamper]

She looks wonderful, to be honest. Does she want to be competition prep lean? What she has looks solid and sustainable. It's tough because tinkering with macros can really mess up the look. I haven't been able to master it...too little carbs and muscles get flat, too many and we look fluffy.

Creatine makes me look leaner, but I don't eat enough red meat so without it, I get really flat.

I've read

 

[Wendylifts]

Thanks Wendy. I've been following your thread and you've been doing great - you guys all look fantastic here.

It seems to me that you're almost guaranteed sides at 20mg - sooner or later. I suppose the trick is to be right on the edge. One thing my wife brought up today is that she uses an estradiol patch too. I know you're older as well but I'm unsure you've reached that point too. That patch gives a lot relief from hotflashes but she was wondering if it counteracts the effects of what she's taking as well. Again, she prefers to leave the patch on and trying up the V dose, rather than take it off and deal with the heat waves.

(I'll be tracking to see if you can stay at 20mg! Good luck!)

No I don't have a patch. No one has officially "called" me even though I think I'm outta eggs My dr. did put me on Femastrin - a low dose BCP to put some estrogen into my system to combat some of the symptoms I've been having. Night hotflashes are the absolute worst and I'm not even going to talk about the Sahara desert. From what I've read, the estrogen does counteract the AAS but not to an appreciable extent...but again, that was how it relates to younger women. I'm not sure how it affects us who are older. I've also read adding a low dose of test would help us with peri/menapausal symptoms. I haven't done that yet though. Since this is my first cycle I want to keep it "clean" so I'm not confusing one side with another with the drugs I'm on. Dr Jim is a good resource. You may consider asking him directly (but let me know what you find out!). Who thought we would get here so quickly eh?

I'll be following Bluedress's progress and hope the gainz come soon! (BTW, I think it was about at the 4 week mark before I saw an undeniable change in the mirror. I felt different up until that point but saw it at around 4 weeks.)

 

[MISSHULK]

I have no great wisdom to impart except you said she's a big girl which made me think... I'm a huge girl lol and I can tip between 15 and 20mg daily. I can get 7-10 days of 20mg use until I start getting a sore throat and then if I drop it back to 15 it's gone in a couple of days. Just a note to be hyper aware while on that 20 and dip it back as needed.

 

[MISSHULK]

And I agree it wasn't until weeks 5-6 that I SAW something different. I was hardening up but nothing worth hanging my hat on until then.

 

[Happycamper]

I have not had bad sides, even up to 20mg. I tolerated the var extremely well. My hair seemed to shed a bit more but my mom always told me when eggplants are in season (which they have been) is the start of hair shedding season. LoL.

No raspy voice or oily hair/skin. I have had three blemishes. No bloat or Clit sensitivity either.

 

[MISSHULK]

I had lovely clit sensitivity and swelling but I forget that's a side.

 

[SolidChemistry]

@Wendylifts, We've been tracking the same the same thing- "estrogen counter-action is not appreciable" but things are more complicated as she is older and "appreciable" is always pretty damned vague. We'll just push through with the incrementally higher dose. Plus, You, @Happycamper, and @MISSHULK all state that the gains aren't truly noticeable until around week 4... so hopefully the same will happen here! She's psyched.

We're keeping this clean too. @Eman also mentioned test when we intro'd on the newbie forum. Like you, it's her first cycle and trying to minimize variables is key to understanding how her body reacts and isolate causes when negative reactions appear. I think it's also a confidence builder doing a successful easy cycle before trying anything more complicated. That said, TRT looks like a good future option - if she can taylor it.

I'm glad everyone indicates the sides have been minimal and diminish quick once you've stepped down dosage from 20 mg. @Happycamper mentioned hair shedding and BlueDress mentioned last week that her hair "seemed brittle."

..and nothing happening in the 'southern region' either. She's been looking forward to the increased sensitivity - (and so have I!).

Thanks for the kind words, @Happycamper , I think she looks pretty damned good already too. I always say that, "Perfect is the enemy of good enough." Although she won't admit it, I think she really desires near competition level of leanness, which is pretty hard to maintain at any age, let alone 55. I think the benchmarks for her are a 'Cable Vein' prominent again in the biceps, defined six pack, good shoulder striation/bicep tricep striation, and nice ham/glute separation. A couple years ago, we did HCG and she got below 11% and has always yearned to look like that again - but it was unsustainable. She looks better/fuller/stronger with a little more weight than then. And you hit the nail on the head - trying to achieve a look that is sustainable.

It's all good - as long as she's happy. I know she's happiest when people stop her and ask if she competes... (Strangers' compliments always mean more than mine! LOL!)

 

[MISSHULK]

Lol don't feel bad... The randoms telling me about the muscles are always most important!!! Hope she gets the look she wants with the mass she needs

 

[Eman]

Damm bluedress looks great in that pic to me. Great build, seriously. Nice base to be working with in on the var!

Getting down to 11% bf in the past is a hell of an accomplishment as well.

 

[Devika]

Hi!!!
Ok, I gotta say Bluedress looks INCREDIBLE! Seriously, I hope one day I look half as good as she does.

Personally, I think if she's making good gains at 10 mgs, it is safer to stay at that dose since it's her first cycle.
The way I see it, this is not a sprint.
I'm sure like many of us here she plans to have future cycles. With every run there's a tiiiiny percentage of viralization. Whether it's noticiable to the naked eye or not, that's a different story. This all depends on dosage, length of cycle and each individual.
If you think about it, in the long run, this all begins to add up. Women do experience viralization symptoms, some of them are so mild that you may not even notice them until weeks after they start to manifest.
The way I'm approaching AAS (this is just my personal option) is to find the LEAST amount of juice to achieve the desired goals.

I've been running a very low dose of var for 7 weeks (10 mgs) and the results have been AMAZING.
I've had a few sides like increased of vellus hair all over my body.... Not sure if it will disappear once Anavar is discontinued.
However, it has been manageable and the results from var are incredible.
My whole body recomped beautifully. Lost body fat and replaced it with lean muscle.

I'm all about that high carb life bc I'm a vegetarian and I just feel like a million bucks when I'm not depriving my body from carbs. 40/40/20 breakdown has worked wonders for me.
I'd say start high, keep the cardio up and see how her body responds to it. Plus carbs always make muscles look full and hard. Needless to say, carbs work best when they are complex.

I feel like I'm rambling lol
Anyway, Bluedress looks amazing. Tell her I wanna be just like her when I grow up

 

[SolidChemistry]

Thanks Eman and Devika. Devika, your pics you posted this weekend look spectacular and that kind of recomp you achieved is what she's after too. "Recomp."

I like your approach. It's human nature and especially in bodybuilding culture too - "If some is good, then more is better!" I was taking in way too much protein last year and my doc said to throttle back as my kidney #s were really getting alarming. It was against my gut to back off but I did. Not only did my kidney numbers get better - I actually felt better and actually made the most gains than I had in two years. So it's the same with AAS.

Yea... She feels great, has no perceptible sides, and is itching to see faster change in the mirror now. The Var is definitely seductive... And that's really the story on her going with an increased dosage entering Week 3 now. I said before going in, "I think you should just do 10mg for 6 weeks," and already we're looking at increasing dosage AND possibly extending the cycle 2 weeks.

Besides virilization, I'm personally concerned about liver health too. Although even at 20mg ED, it's not too bad even at 8 weeks (from what I understand) but, I know BlueDress and I already know this will become more of a lifestyle with her than the experiment it started off as - just based off the first two weeks. So long term, concern for cumulative effects on liver and virilization are on the radar. The longer we get away balancing decent effects with smaller dosing, the better in the long run.

So - I think I'll hold the Pez Dispenser to 15mg - just because everything is good to go for now, but probably discourage going to 20mg this go around. (Of course, BlueDress gets the final vote!)

In any case, we'll share info as we go and record data/progress.

On that note, I'm going to talk to her about tweaking diet a bit. Up the protein for starters.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, experience, and insight. (You guys make this place awesome... So glad we found Meso.)

 

[Happycamper]

Thanks Eman and Devika. Devika, your pics you posted this weekend look spectacular and that kind of recomp you achieved is what she's after too. "Recomp."

I like your approach. It's human nature and especially in bodybuilding culture too - "If some is good, then more is better!" I was taking in way too much protein last year and my doc said to throttle back as my kidney #s were really getting alarming. It was against my gut to back off but I did. Not only did my kidney numbers get better - I actually felt better and actually made the most gains than I had in two years. So it's the same with AAS.

Yea... She feels great, has no perceptible sides, and is itching to see faster change in the mirror now. The Var is definitely seductive... And that's really the story on her going with an increased dosage entering Week 3 now. I said before going in, "I think you should just do 10mg for 6 weeks," and already we're looking at increasing dosage AND possibly extending the cycle 2 weeks.

Besides virilization, I'm personally concerned about liver health too. Although even at 20mg ED, it's not too bad even at 8 weeks (from what I understand) but, I know BlueDress and I already know this will become more of a lifestyle with her than the experiment it started off as - just based off the first two weeks. So long term, concern for cumulative effects on liver and virilization are on the radar. The longer we get away balancing decent effects with smaller dosing, the better in the long run.

So - I think I'll hold the Pez Dispenser to 15mg - just because everything is good to go for now, but probably discourage going to 20mg this go around. (Of course, BlueDress gets the final vote!)

In any case, we'll share info as we go and record data/progress.

On that note, I'm going to talk to her about tweaking diet a bit. Up the protein for starters.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, experience, and insight. (You guys make this place awesome... So glad we found Meso.)

Just FYI - I'm 5'7 and 162 lbs, so 20mg was appropriate for a big gal like me. I think I'm the heaviest one here. Plus I'm powerlifting so goals and training and muscle mass are unique in my case vs the other more petite ladies with different training intensity.