First cycle advise needed

Hi everyone - I'm looking to start my 'first' cycle. I say 'first' bc years ago I only dabbled in some test cyp and anavar for 2 months and got great results although I didn't even know what I was doing. I'm revisiting steroids now and through much research and wanting to do it right, have put a cycle plan together.

The plan begins with starting 250mg of test cyp/wk. for the first 4 weeks and then introducing Anavar at 50mg/day. The problem I immediately ran into within the first 2 weeks is very heavy water retention and bloating. I even broke up the 250mg/wk. into 4 separate doses to avoid spiking my system. I didn't use an AI years ago (no bloating experienced then for whatever reason) but am thinking that I might need to use an AI now. Only through use of an OTC diuretic, potassium dosing, and DIM-plus was I able to get the bloated effects to subside over a few days.

I understand that AI's can cause a lot of problems as well and the plan is to take .25mg of Arimidex 2x/wk. to see if that helps. My thinking is that it's a smaller dose than what I've seen recommended and I won't crash my Estrogen with this cautious approach.

So, my question is - how does that sound? Does that sound like a good approach?

And my second question is - what would be some other alternatives to test on a cycle if it does continue to give me problems like bloating, etc. I'm looking to lean down and cut and burn as much visceral body fat as I can. I see that Proviron + Anavar is listed as a 'sample cycle' to accomplish my goal but if anyone has any other suggestion, I would sure appreciate you letting me know!

Thank you very much!

Yes there can be some water retenion from a test cycle, just be sure to check and monitor your blood pressure as that may be the reason you had the spike in wster retention. If you are getting massive swelling where your socks cut into your legs and your can't wear rings then there is a massive issue.

Firstly your diet needs to be in check, too many carbs can be the culprit, also starting a cycle at too high a level of body fst will drive estrogen conversion up quite substantially, so there is that too.

Just going on the issue of having loads of viseral fat that it is a concern then what you can do is run a low dose test cycle like trt level dosing to elevate testosteone levels, so that would be 140mg a week. May sound really small but if your natural test is low that can be a great addition. And then anavar at 30mg-40mg daily, that will put you in the range of 340mg to 420mg which is a decent low dose cycle. I am currently 96.5kgs on 200mg equi and 250mg cyp, so that is just to show you don't need massive doses.

There has been a protocol out there that i havent yet tried with clients, but it would be 75mg test cyp, 35mg npp, and 35mg masteron ENANTHATE 2x a week. That would be enough to keep shbg down, estrogen relatively low, very minimal side effects and could be run for long periods of time if your bp is in check. 150mg test, 70mg npp, and 70mg Masteron a week puts you at the 300mg a week level which may be a good spot for you.

Yes, start with .25mg adex twice a week. You won't need to worry about any negative effects or crashing your E2 at that dose. Testosterone to E2 conversion and resulting water retention is directly related to body fat levels, and the high E2 does also hinder fat loss.

Test is best. Just take the adex and problem solved.

Since you're looking to get lean make sure you're restricting your calories enough and not relying on the gear or you will be disappointed. Var and low dose T will maintain your muscle mass with quite a significant drop in caloric intake.

Thank you very much for your reply! I've never heard of equi nor npp before but was able to look it up. Regarding body fat % I'm running at about 20.3%, I weigh 203lbs. and am 5'10". When I ran my first cycle I had nowhere near the amount of body fat that I do now and my diet was super clean. Diet is super clean now (KETO and eating at a calorie deficit + tracking macros) and looking forward to doing this right even if I do need an AI at the moment.

Re swelling, I did get swelling in both ankles but nothing in fingers, although I don't wear rings so might be hard to notice. Using a diuretic and some DIM-plus for 2 days and staying away from carbs and salt, plus adding about 3000mg/day of potassium to my diet, the swelling completely went away.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond! Truly appreciated!

Great. Thanks very much. Yes, calorie intake is restricted, macros dialed in and doing KETO with 20hr. intermittent fasting daily.