I'll probably get flamed for this but think its better to be honest.
I was one of those guys who started out at 5'10" 160lbs. I had been training for 3-4 years but not really hard enough and my daily protein intake was probably a bit of a joke.
Anyway, when I decided to do my first cycle, I was on here all the time as well as training and diet boards (been here long time, different user name). Whilst I was on the cycle I ate awesome; 200+lbs protein ED, ate very clean and trained out of my skin with adequate rest. As you'd expect I blew up to 185lbs.
I now wish I had just revamped my training and diet naturally to see what I would have gained. Never the less, being on my first cycle, taught me to research and train/eat properly. At the end of my cycle I was still making gains of around a lb a month whilst dropping bf.
What I'm saying is, Yes I should have waited but now I know lots and can make good gains naturally. AAS gave me the inspiration and now I'm sticking with it.
I went from eating mcdonalds and full fat milk to all the proper things like skimmed milk, chicken, lean meat, flaxseed oil, green tea etc.