Have u ever done a show before? If not let me explain. When ur show ready ur body is a sponge. It's looking soak up nutrition for put ur body back into a normal bf%. When ur bf is more than 12% ur body doesn't utilize all the nutrition because ur body isn't in starvation mode so it will use most (60-70%) of it but not all of it. When on gear this ups the ratio (yes my ratios can be off but the idea is still the same). When ur body is in the single digest the body is fighting u to loss any more weight do to starvation mode. Let's say u are 12% and drop down to 8% and blast a heavy cycle (dosage depending on experience) and up ur food uptake. The body is likely going to utilize most of the food if not all of it. Most people will call this method (priming) Marcos has a huge article on priming ur body for short burst cycling. I personally don't like short blasts because my body never seems to stick the weight I put on with gear so what I do is this
14% drop it to 8%
Cardio: fasted or post workout
Diet: 500 calories deficit 45/45/10
Training: power movements then bodybuilding movements
Gearing: mid dosages
Once primed in 8%
Blast a heavy cycle (4 weeks)
Calories 500 over maintenance
Training: power movements then bodybuilding movements
But then lower my dosages just a little so I can run this cycle for 10 weeks.