Wow! Thanks to everyone for the input! The amount of useful info I have received from just this one thread is a testament to the importance of this forum to the bodybuilding and fitness community in South Africa. I feel a lot more empowered now and I'm confident that I will be able to get my diet on track before I begin my cycle.
I'm actually thinking that I'll rather focus on getting the diet right over the festive season (quite a tall order) and once I've got it licked I'll go ahead and order my gear.
DJ, using your sticky in the dieting section I was able to get a better understanding of my daily caloric intake requirements. It's just going to be a mission to figure out how much of each macro-nutrient certain foods yield and then creating the diet from there. Also, a mistake that I've been making is the fact that I just go through the motions... Eating the same portions day in and day out. Never monitoring what exactly is going on with my body and making the necessary adjustments on a week by week basis.
Actually, now that I think of it, I should just hire someone to do all this for me! It would be so nice to have someone say, "eat this at that time" or "you're getting fat, cut back on xyz..." or "inject this at these dosages". Because, let's be honest, who the hell has the time and energy to maintain a day job, focus on family life (if you're married), prepare meals daily, train, monitor and measure your body, and (if you're like me) still study every night until the early hours of the morning? Let alone all the required research that needs to be done before a steroid cycle can even be considered. I think it's time to outsource!
Once again, thanks to everyone for helping out! I really do appreciate it!
