Weight gain on Anavar?

43 years old, male, 180cm tall, 88kg, BF15%, about 2 years training. I'm nearing the end of my first cycle which was a teste+anavar cycle. I was hoping to lose some weight, but ended up gaining. I was on a caloric deficit, whereas previously I was on a very small steady gain at 2,550kcal/day, and brought that down to 1,850kcal/day. But instead of lose weight, I gained. I went from 85.5kg to 88kg. Not a huge gain, but considering my diet, I'm puzzled. Is this to be expected? My cycle was 10 weeks of teste (250mg twice weekly), 6 weeks of anavar (60mg/day split in two) starting on Week3. Other than the teste and var, I was taking 0.25mg Arimidex every other day, milk thistle, vitamin b supplement, and that's about it. My macros were around 200 to 250g protein per day, with carbs and fats filling in the rest, although I did try to go very easy on the carbs. I'm relatively good at controlling my eating, so my intake was usually somewhere between 1,600kcal and 2,000kcal, but probably averaged my intended 1,850 most of the time. Will start Nolvadex soon.
I train 5 days a week (sometimes 6), about 70 minutes per workout. Very little cardio. (I just don't like it.) I did see a strength increase about a week into anavar (which was week 4 on teste) but nothing shocking; it was noticeable as exceeding previous growth when not on cycle.
Aside from the weight increase, it doesn't appear I increased in fat. If anything, I did cut through some fat. My scale says my BF% has been pretty constant, between 15.0% and 15.8% with some fluctuations going back and forth on a daily basis which I think is just water. I'm not displeased with the results though, I look better, I have more definition, not a "cut" look but definitely seeing solid chunks.
I do realize there's the possibility I got dbol instead. I don't have a test kit so didn't test, but my strength increases weren't that massive, and my source is good (I import West-Coast Pharmaceuticals Anavar from Hong Kong, it's legal in Japan where I live), but I do keep the possibility in mind.

So, is lean mass INCREASE actually a thing when on a slight caloric deficit given sufficient protein? Also I understand that anavar doesn't burn fat, but simply didn't think that weight GAIN was actually possible on a deficit. I did entertain the possibility that I'm fooling myself and actually eat more than 1,850kcal. But I doubt it, since regardless of caloric intake I am definitely eating less than before I started my cutting cycle, but am gaining faster than when I was eating more.

Experiences or other info much appreciated. Mostly curious.

Were your calories based on your total body weight, or just lean mass?

Depending on your body fat, if macros went off total body weight, then yess a slight gain in lean tissue and slight loss in body fat is definitely to be expected.

Btw, this is the reason we use steroids, to get more muscle, loose fat in a slight over calorie diet, and recomp body.

If you wanted to loose pure weight, with no regards to preservation of muscle or gaining a slight bit of muscle, then AAS was a poor choice.

Do you look different than when you started?

My calories were based on total weight, and then I decided to cut 500kcal and then some (knowing that I would usually exceed it slightly, so compensating). My goal is a better physique, so I'm not upset about my weight gain at all. I do look different, less abdominal fat, slightly more vascular, definitely packing more beef (at least visually), so I'm happy with the cycle. (The only real side effects I had was acne which reminded me what it was like being a teenager, but that was bearable.)

Since this was my first cycle there were certain expectations and misconceptions, and I think I have them pretty well sorted out now, but my previous experience pretty much dictated that with a reasonable diet for cutting you can retain muscle while losing fat, but not GAIN muscle while on a caloric deficit. That was certainly my observation, as I started out as a 113kg blob of fat, worked my way down to 80kg, and then slowly increased lean mass from there. So the last 10 weeks just felt weird that I was in a caloric deficit, yet was gaining weight. (When I say weight, in this context it would be lean mass.) If this were dbol I may have written it off as water weight, but with Anavar I'm definitely not seeing bloat, things are much sharper, so it is indeed lean mass. Just blows me away that this is physically possible. Again, definitely not complaining. lol I just would like to know if this is typical, or unusual with the stack and dosage. I have to admit, overall, it has exceeded my expectations, although as far as pure fat loss is concerned, in hind sight I do now realize that I may actually be better off trying clen off cycle once and see how that works.

With var, your gains will be muscle not water

Var gives me terrible acne.

I don't get acne off of anything else I've run, albeit only test and mast and a tiny bit of primo.

Var I stopped 3 weeks ago, still got acne bursting on my chest and face suprized it's not on mAh junk at this point, and the shit is painful.

If it was just pimples great, but these hurt to touch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Igusa0420

43 years old, male, 180cm tall, 88kg, BF15%, about 2 years training. I'm nearing the end of my first cycle which was a teste+anavar cycle. I was hoping to lose some weight, but ended up gaining. I was on a caloric deficit, whereas previously I was on a very small steady gain at 2,550kcal/day, and brought that down to 1,850kcal/day. But instead of lose weight, I gained. I went from 85.5kg to 88kg. Not a huge gain, but considering my diet, I'm puzzled. Is this to be expected? My cycle was 10 weeks of teste (250mg twice weekly), 6 weeks of anavar (60mg/day split in two) starting on Week3. Other than the teste and var, I was taking 0.25mg Arimidex every other day, milk thistle, vitamin b supplement, and that's about it. My macros were around 200 to 250g protein per day, with carbs and fats filling in the rest, although I did try to go very easy on the carbs. I'm relatively good at controlling my eating, so my intake was usually somewhere between 1,600kcal and 2,000kcal, but probably averaged my intended 1,850 most of the time. Will start Nolvadex soon.
I train 5 days a week (sometimes 6), about 70 minutes per workout. Very little cardio. (I just don't like it.) I did see a strength increase about a week into anavar (which was week 4 on teste) but nothing shocking; it was noticeable as exceeding previous growth when not on cycle.
Aside from the weight increase, it doesn't appear I increased in fat. If anything, I did cut through some fat. My scale says my BF% has been pretty constant, between 15.0% and 15.8% with some fluctuations going back and forth on a daily basis which I think is just water. I'm not displeased with the results though, I look better, I have more definition, not a "cut" look but definitely seeing solid chunks.
I do realize there's the possibility I got dbol instead. I don't have a test kit so didn't test, but my strength increases weren't that massive, and my source is good (I import West-Coast Pharmaceuticals Anavar from Hong Kong, it's legal in Japan where I live), but I do keep the possibility in mind.

So, is lean mass INCREASE actually a thing when on a slight caloric deficit given sufficient protein? Also I understand that anavar doesn't burn fat, but simply didn't think that weight GAIN was actually possible on a deficit. I did entertain the possibility that I'm fooling myself and actually eat more than 1,850kcal. But I doubt it, since regardless of caloric intake I am definitely eating less than before I started my cutting cycle, but am gaining faster than when I was eating more.

Experiences or other info much appreciated. Mostly curious.

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When you're on Test, your body becomes much more efficient at protein synthesis. You actually need less protein to maintain your muscles when on Test. You will gain size if you maintain a regular eating schedule and run Test. It's very normal. The goal is to gain more muscle than fat. This is where the clean eating comes in. When you finish your cycle, you go back to your "normal" self so you will lose some of your gains. Maybe up to 50% will be lost after PCT. Don't panic. Just to gain 10lbs of muscles naturally would take a year or two. You've done it in 3 months.

Oh I hear you. I don't get them much on my chest, but my neck, back of my neck, around the hairline I get some pretty nasty painful ones and it makes shaving a real challenge. They look bad and hurt, but I had the expectations going in so not excessively shocked or anything. Nice to know that var is the worst with acne though. I like the results I got, but not sure if I'll supplement with it again considering the other options I have.

Thanks for the confirmation! Natural nutritional sense said I'd lose weight on a caloric deficit, so it was shocking (in a good way) that the steroids would be this powerful. I gained weight but lost fat, so all in all very happy. I didn't expect to gain this much muscle though, so losing 50% of it probably isn't going to bother me that much. I hope... :-P

What scotch said!
I ran a 16-week anavar cycle (25mg/day) and put on about 10 pounds, mostly muscle, without a dramatic increase in calorie intake. It was shocking how easily I gained. Especially given I'm a 5'1" 50yo woman
Love var! No side effects.

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Originally Posted by PeanutbutterDC

What scotch said!
I ran a 16-week anavar cycle (25mg/day) and put on about 10 pounds, mostly muscle, without a dramatic increase in calorie intake. It was shocking how easily I gained. Especially given I'm a 5'1" 50yo woman
Love var! No side effects.

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Most women do very well on ANAVAR and it sounds like it worked superb for you as well.
In medical literature ANAVAR was designed specifically for weight gain.