diet after cycle/expectations

[gthom47]

i just finished my first cycle of test e 500mg/ week and am in my second week of pct. i am fully expecting to see a drop in size and strength, but wanted to see how my diet should be changedif at all to keep the loss to a minimum. I was eating 3500cal a day during cycle, so should i keep it at that point throughout pct and after for a while? Also how far after pct is it safe to cut some fat without losing all of your gains from the cycle?

[Dr Pepper]

Need more info on your stats? What's your other macro's?

[gthom47]

im 5' 7". started the cycle at 185lbs, ended at 207lbs. macros were 350g carbs, 365g protein, 70g fat. as far as lifts to give you an idea of muscle as opposed to fat my bench started at 225x4 and now got up to 225x8, deadlift went from 405x4 to 485x4, military press went from 205x4 to 235x4, squat was 335x4 (little below parallel) to 375x4, barbell row went from 245x4 to 295x5.

[gthom47]

my biggest question really is when is it safe to start to cut without losing all progress made while on cycle?

[Sgt. Hartman]

I would continue to eat the same amount of calories as on cycle all the way through PCT and until your HPTA is fully recovered.

Once you've recovered, I would experiment a little bit with cal intake to learn your new "maintenance" level as 22lbs will make a big difference in the amount of calories you can consume. Then adjust calories accordingly based on your goals. If you're gonna eat below maintenance in order to cut BF then I would wait 4 - 6 weeks after PCT has ended to drop cals significantly.