~First Var Cycle for figure contest~

[rockstar55]

Hi boys n girls! I have a few questions for the experts on the drugs, diet, soforth for my first contest. I have about 15 weeks to become a lean machine, but my boyfriend thinks its gona be very hard since he just measured my bodyfat. Im at approximately 19-20% right now, Im 5'9 at 155.6ibs. I started my first cycle 1 month ago....5 mg Var for two weeks, then bumped to 10 recently. Ive gained 2 lbs in that time frame.

First question, I think I stalled out on losing weight(thats what my bf says)because my cals were around 1550 a day for a VERY LONG TIME!! Just this past week, he told me to up the cals to around 1800 for a week to get my metabolism going again, then drop to 1600 cals for 2 weeks, then start the first phase of my contest prep. I was wondering if this is do-able for me in that amount of time since I have to drop about 10%. BTW, Im training heavy 4-5 days per week with 30-40 min cardio 5 days. Some steady state, some HIIT. I'm actually looking to start Lyle McDonalds Ultimate Diet 2.0 for my prep. Very excited because I know this is highly effective!

Next question is, those of you that compete and cycle, should I cycle off for a period in time and do a mini cycle a few weeks before, or should I stay on the Var for a few more weeks up until a week out? Would really appreciate some help! Im so confused!!!

[FireGuy]

If you are 19-20% now you dont have to lose another 10%. 13-14% is plenty lean for a small local show as you stated earlier you were planning on doing. If you BF is doing your diet I would suggest you listen to him and follow his advice. If he is not, find ONE person whom you trust and deal with that person only. Having a dozen different people in your ear every week is not only confusing it's counterproductive. I would suggest finding a trainer in your area who has experience with competitive figure and working with that person. Having someone who can see and assess your condition on a continual basis is very valuable.

[rockstar55]

My posing coach actually fave me a diet that she said is highly effective, the only thing is its general to everyone....which I dont understand beacause everybody responds differently to different approaches. Ive heard Lyle is very knowledgable as far as diet and training.

[FireGuy]

Most diets are usually pretty general to start out with. They usually get adjusted weekly at the very least by whomever is monitoring your progress.