var & increased appetite...

[TankGirl]

hey girls...
was just wondering. i know every"body" is different...
i'm on a very low dose var only cycle (am on week 2, 5mg a day)
so far have observed some nice hardening effects, and good pumps at the gym but the most obvious effect is the increased appetite.
from what i've read on various sites var is known to have properties to decrease or even suppress appetite.

my question basically for the girls who have tried var before is does it increase appetite or decrease it for you?

was just curious. it doesn't matter much cos i'm trying to build some quality muscle, not cut.

cheers and thanks!
:)

TG

[redsquirrel]

Well, first of all- have you been working out more intensely because you're taking Var? Which in turn would increase appetite? I can remember it making me a little bit more hungry, but no serious hunger pangs or anything. When taking any AAS, your muscles are more prone and apt to needing more nutrients in order for them to grow.

Are you taking it to harden you up, or for gaining purposes? Have you changed your diet at all? Because anytime a woman is taking AAS, the calories need to be increased in order to reap the benefits.

[TankGirl]

thanks for the reply RS
i'm taking it to gain more muscle. since i've been feeling hungry...well i've just thought to increase my calories. am eating an extra 500+ or so odd calories in a day in eggs and protein. its all doing good so far.
i'm very very happy with my results. my chest is feeling harder, delts are rounding out nicely, lats are wider, and my triceps are showing...my lagging body part being my biceps is my only frustration.
just doubled my dose and am feeling oh so good and strong.

[redsquirrel]

Ok... well the only other tidbit of advice I have, is that you need to vary your cals. Meaning, don't just limit yourself with higher protein. Take in some higher fat cals for a couple of weeks- especially if you doubled your dose. I understand you want to keep the BF low while bulking, but this can really maximize your results.

Can you give me snapshot of what a day looks like for you, food wise?

[TankGirl]

thanks for the reply, RS
here is what a day of eating is like for me
meal 1 5:45 AM - protein shake (2 scoops protein, 1/2 banana, 1/4cup skim milk, cold water 1 heaped tbsp flaxseed meal)
meal 2 8:00 AM - handful of almonds
meal 3 10:00 AM - 1 small mandarin, some almonds
meal 4 12:30 - 1 tin tuna (rinsed and drained), with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a drizzle of either sweet chili sauce or a dressing of apple cider vinegar and soy sauce
meal 5 3:30 - turkey breast and 2 slices cheese OR 1 boiled egg and 2 slices cheese OR 1 apple and handful of almonds&walnuts
workout is usually at 4:00 or 4:30 (depending on how work goes that day)
(i do a split routine chest/tri on mondays, back/bi on wed, legs friday, shoulders on saturday on the off lifting days i do about 30 minutes cardio (sprints))
meal 6 6:30 - either a steak, chicken breast, home made burger patties, or fish, with a salad or spinach, or stir fried veggies.
i almost always have a grapefruit after dinner.
i usually also have 2 boiled eggs at 8:30 or 9:00
bedtime is 9:30

wow i know you asked for food intake and i gave you more than what you bargained for! lol

(i know i should add a post workout shake but its so close to dinnertime by that time)
thanks again redsquirrel!

[redsquirrel]

thanks for the reply, RS
here is what a day of eating is like for me
meal 1 5:45 AM - protein shake (2 scoops protein, 1/2 banana, 1/4cup skim milk, cold water 1 heaped tbsp flaxseed meal)
meal 2 8:00 AM - handful of almonds
meal 3 10:00 AM - 1 small mandarin, some almonds
meal 4 12:30 - 1 tin tuna (rinsed and drained), with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a drizzle of either sweet chili sauce or a dressing of apple cider vinegar and soy sauce
meal 5 3:30 - turkey breast and 2 slices cheese OR 1 boiled egg and 2 slices cheese OR 1 apple and handful of almonds&walnuts
workout is usually at 4:00 or 4:30 (depending on how work goes that day)
(i do a split routine chest/tri on mondays, back/bi on wed, legs friday, shoulders on saturday on the off lifting days i do about 30 minutes cardio (sprints))
meal 6 6:30 - either a steak, chicken breast, home made burger patties, or fish, with a salad or spinach, or stir fried veggies.
i almost always have a grapefruit after dinner.
i usually also have 2 boiled eggs at 8:30 or 9:00
bedtime is 9:30

wow i know you asked for food intake and i gave you more than what you bargained for! lol

(i know i should add a post workout shake but its so close to dinnertime by that time)
thanks again redsquirrel!

Ok...I have some suggestions. It looks like you've got the right idea, but there are a couple things that I would change:

Your 1st meal is at 5:45am, and it doesn't look like you get any really solid food in your body until noon. Meals 2 & 3 are hardly meals. Those are really a snack. This needs to change. Your body is almost in starvation mode, and this is why you have been hungry. If you don't get more cals in the earlier part of the day, then you will be hungry- especially w/ AAS. Eat a couple of handfulls of nuts throughout the day, they should not be made as a meal.So, here goes:

M1- 4 egg whites, 2 whole. 1/2c oatmeal. 3oz lean beef patty
M2- shake you normally have at M1
M3- what you normally eat for M4, but add 1/2c brown rice
M4- turkey w/ cheese, or another shake (the apple & nuts, or egg & cheese isn't nearly enough cals)
M5- 6oz fish, turkey, red meat (2x/wk)or chicken. 1c green veggies.
M6- 6 egg white omelet.Throw in some green pepper, mush and a little cheese

You have got to eat a PWO shake. NO way around it if you want to maximize this cycle. You're only eating 6 meals, so move each meal back an hour and, you should be able to get the PWO shake in.

[TankGirl]

thanks rs...
will give it a go with some further (minor) modifications i've got 2 more weeks on this cycle. so far very happy with results.
i fell of the bandwagon hard last night...and had some chips (err fries) with dinner (which was charcoal roasted chicken so it was half healthy) but am going to punish myself at the gym today.
will have a PWO shake today. no BUTS.
thank you again!

[redsquirrel]

thanks rs...
will give it a go with some further (minor) modifications i've got 2 more weeks on this cycle. so far very happy with results.
i fell of the bandwagon hard last night...and had some chips (err fries) with dinner (which was charcoal roasted chicken so it was half healthy) but am going to punish myself at the gym today.
will have a PWO shake today. no BUTS.
thank you again!

You're welcome!

And just think- if you've had good results thus far, just think how great they would be with these modifications!

[TankGirl]

ok, to give you an update,
had a protein shake POST workout! (yaay for me!)
i've done better today because i had a slice of turkey breast with my normal early morning protein shake. and an hour later i had proper food (turkey, an egg and a mandarin) i know its still not perfect...
i wanted to talk about carbs. i seem to do better on low (and i mean low) carbs. i get my carb from fruit mainly (the shake in the morning has banana and blueberries --i know not much carbs in blueberries but hey) i've done really well managing to have good gym sessions with my carbs coming mainly from fruit alone. i know it implies more of a cutting thing to do than a bulking thing to do. i just feel very heavy and cumbersome when i eat even just a little bit of oats and brown rice (and pasta) everyday...especially in the mornings. (i do have a cheat meal or day (depending how empty i feel) on the weekends tho which is awesome in that it keeps me sane and sets me up mentally for the next week) what do you reckon, RS. all bodies the same or we all need the same amount of carbs? :)
cheers,

TG

[redsquirrel]

ok, to give you an update,
had a protein shake POST workout! (yaay for me!)
i've done better today because i had a slice of turkey breast with my normal early morning protein shake. and an hour later i had proper food (turkey, an egg and a mandarin) i know its still not perfect...
i wanted to talk about carbs. i seem to do better on low (and i mean low) carbs. i get my carb from fruit mainly (the shake in the morning has banana and blueberries --i know not much carbs in blueberries but hey) i've done really well managing to have good gym sessions with my carbs coming mainly from fruit alone. i know it implies more of a cutting thing to do than a bulking thing to do. i just feel very heavy and cumbersome when i eat even just a little bit of oats and brown rice (and pasta) everyday...especially in the mornings. (i do have a cheat meal or day (depending how empty i feel) on the weekends tho which is awesome in that it keeps me sane and sets me up mentally for the next week) what do you reckon, RS. all bodies the same or we all need the same amount of carbs? :)
cheers,

TG

Ok...as for your last question- you are somewhat correct in that all bodies are not the same, and not everyone's body reacts the same way with carbs. The feeling you get when YOU have carbs seems pretty normal. The main reason being because you don't ingest a lot of carbs to begin with.

But here's the catch: by not eating any complex carbs, you are totall ruining the potential effects of AAS. Right now, you're on the verge of burning muscle because you're not giving them much in terms of an energy source. I know you don't like to eat them, but that's the whole point of getting on- to eat more than normal to maximize the results. Just because you may be eating more carbs doesn't mean you are getting heavier. You are just supplying your muscles with what you need to grow. You said in your initial post that you wanted to gain muscle. You have to EAT to GROW, girl!

The most alarming thing to me about your diet, is that aside from the almonds, you are giving your body basically no energy until you eat some cheese at 5:30!!!!! The diet you lined out below is low fat, and low carb, so how is your body going to grow? The only reason you haven't suffered any muscle loss, IMHO, is because you're taking AAS.

True, the Var has hardened you up, and you are little stronger. I hate to say it, but it's sort of like you are wasting your money. I know it's hard at first for a female to get into the mindset that eating more is the right thing to do, but it is IMPERATIVE to what your goals are. The diet I laid out for you onlly added about 55gms of carbs. You have got to give your body some energy and your muscles the nutrients they need to really see the results.

[TankGirl]

eat to grow
*repeats mantra*
you do make sense. and in my heart of hearts (or brain of brains) i know you are right. what is it about human nature that resists doing what is right? *sighs*

will the 55 grams of carbs still allow me to have a cheat day on the weekend?
i don't want to waste my money, and will definitely get more complex carbs in me starting today. i can do lentils...lentils are good.

i don't want to waste good money.
(the good thing is i still have enough left over for a cutting cycle much later on in the year)

(i'm getting married in December and i want to have visible abs by then)

Cheers!
TG

[TankGirl]

ok...i'm not one for carbs...at least not starchy ones.
i i had some pasta mixed into my lunch today (mince meat) and boy do i feel heavy and sluggish and gross...mind you i didn't eat a lot of it either.

i think for the most part i will try increasing my protein and fat intake.

and keep the carbs for the fruit i have in the day.

[redsquirrel]

ok...i'm not one for carbs...at least not starchy ones.
i i had some pasta mixed into my lunch today (mince meat) and boy do i feel heavy and sluggish and gross...mind you i didn't eat a lot of it either.

i think for the most part i will try increasing my protein and fat intake.

and keep the carbs for the fruit i have in the day.

Complex carbs (starchy ones) are the only ones that actually have a purpose in the body. All of the fruit you refer to is simply processed as sugar, and it's not an effective source of energy. Fruit is processed the same way as a regular soda, or a candy bar. What about brown rice? What happened to the lentils you talked about? What about some sort of black beans? It's not nearly as filling as pasta.

Look, I'm going to have to be blunt here. You asked for advice, I tell you what to do and how to get where you want to go, and you revert to your old ways. Increasing protein is NOT a sufficient energy source. It's not even considered an energy source.

Obviously something isn't working, otherwise you wouldn't have asked for advice.

Secondly, do you you really think your body is going to adjust after one attempt at eating carbs? I'll tell you this- you won't have abs by December, and keep your size, if you continue to deplete yourself and waste your money. With ANYTHING, your body is going to need time to adjust. I remember when I first started eating 5 meals a day, I felt really full and didn't think I could work through it. But guess what- I did. It only took my body about 2 weeks to start burning calories that way.

If you're not willing to do what is needed to get optimum results, then why even waste your money on AAS? You said at the beginning of the thread you wanted to add mass. Well, eating the way you're eating does not add mass. It barely retains your mass. You have 6 months to diet and have abs, but that was not your goal from this cycle.

[house1]

Complex carbs (starchy ones) are the only ones that actually have a purpose in the body. All of the fruit you refer to is simply processed as sugar, and it's not an effective source of energy. Fruit is processed the same way as a regular soda, or a candy bar. What about brown rice? What happened to the lentils you talked about? What about some sort of black beans? It's not nearly as filling as pasta.

Look, I'm going to have to be blunt here. You asked for advice, I tell you what to do and how to get where you want to go, and you revert to your old ways. Increasing protein is NOT a sufficient energy source. It's not even considered an energy source.

Obviously something isn't working, otherwise you wouldn't have asked for advice.

Secondly, do you you really think your body is going to adjust after one attempt at eating carbs? I'll tell you this- you won't have abs by December, and keep your size, if you continue to deplete yourself and waste your money. With ANYTHING, your body is going to need time to adjust. I remember when I first started eating 5 meals a day, I felt really full and didn't think I could work through it. But guess what- I did. It only took my body about 2 weeks to start burning calories that way.

If you're not willing to do what is needed to get optimum results, then why even waste your money on AAS? You said at the beginning of the thread you wanted to add mass. Well, eating the way you're eating does not add mass. It barely retains your mass. You have 6 months to diet and have abs, but that was not your goal from this cycle.

very nice post red !!!!!!


tankgirl why waste reds time just because didnt hear what you wanted??

red knows her shit !! imo you should heed her advice !!

[redsquirrel]

very nice post red !!!!!!


tankgirl why waste reds time just because didnt hear what you wanted??

red knows her shit !! imo you should heed her advice !!

:inlove:

Thanks, house! I'm glad someone else can back up my claims. I dunno...maybe she just doesn't believe me. It's hard for females in general to make themselves eat more food; just based on how society views women and how they eat.