Creatine: The weight gain pattern? Help!

[dudecar46]

Hello, I am a person who is currently making great strides in the personal fitness department, as over the past 6 months, I have gone from 190 lbs. and 24% body fat to 153 lbs. and 9% body fat through following the body-for-life program and lifting weights. I am 5'10", just for reference, but I was wondering exactly how much weight you gain with creatine.

 

Do you gain weight only upon the first uses (the loading stage and shortly after), or do you continue to make big gains in weight as long as you take the product? In both cases, if so, how much? And once you stop, is most of this weight easily lost? I worked hard to lose my 37 lbs., and I do not wish to take a supplement that would destroy all of my hard work. Thanks!

[RayKay]

 

 

See this link for a better understanding of how creatine works. It does not cause weight gain directly, but it supposed to better allow hydration/fuel to muscles to improve capacity for lifting, and thus allow for better weight/strength gains in shorter bouts (it has not been shown to have endurance benefits, but rather "power" benefits).

 

You can look a bit "bulkier" as your muscles retain more water though. You won't lose muscle mass gained unless you were to stop working those muscles at a higher capacity.

 

Creatine will have a max out limit, which is also why you cycle it to keep your body sensitive to it, and I don't think you should take it long term. There are also dangers to it you may want to research (look up side effects).

 

I have heard mixed results with it...I have not personally used it as it does not fit with my own fitness goals (I am an athlete and need muscle endurance rather then bulk..also prefer to be lean and muscled, not bulky) though others I work out with have and some like it, some decided it was not for them. I would suggest that it is better to overhaul your diet and get adequate protein and so forth more then it is to take creatine.

[byates5637]

Hey...good for you on loosing all that wieght, must of took alot of effort.

I am on the other end of the spectrum....i am 6 foot and wiegh 150 Lbs. I have always been a skinny guy and for the last few months i have been trying to gain mass.

 

I havn't tried creatine because i kind of think it is cheating...but i may still give in and try it someday. Anyway, i hear that you gain about 5 Lbs in fluid wieght when you start taking it. When you stop taking it you can loose the wieght in a week or two.

 

If you are not already, i would reccomend taking a whey protien suplement before trying creatine. I use one and it does help alot.

 

-good luck

brandon

[comets_21]

Hi dude,

I've been invovled with fitness for many years now. I've tried many many products (still natural though). From my experience, it is best to be in your top physical shape. I have tried many types of creatine. You will get bigger with some types , bulkier, put on 5 pounds, etc. But in the end it is just not worth it. Believe me, looking ripped, with hard muscles and a six pack is alot more appealing then having water-weight, bulky looking muscles. I am now on a very very strict diet. Lots of protein... through shakes, chicken,egg whites, etc.... and have smaller helpings 5 or 6x a day. You will get stronger and with creatine and with some types you will not gain much water weight but personally I found (if your going for looks and overal personal satisfaction) creatine is not needed, in fact, I have no desire to use it again. You can still look big by eating right and working out properly. The only supps I am using now are protein, and fat loss stimulators... and believe me its a deadly combo because I am looking more and more like Terrell Owens everyday. The fat loss stimulators are good, but use them safely.

[byates5637]

Well i did some more research on creatine and today i decided to buy a jar and try it out. I will post on here in a couple weeks with my opinion of it.

 

Basically it seems that creatine will make you gain about 5 lbs of water weight, but it will also give you more strength. With your increased strength you can work harder and build your muscles faster. When you want to lose the water wieght, just simply stop taking the creatine and do alot of cardio for the next couple weeks and it will disappear...but the muscle mass you gained will stay as long as you keep working the muscles.

 

I plan on taking creatine until about may. Then I am going to quit and hopefully burn off the extra weight just in time for summer. I'll post on here about how it goes.

 

-brandon

[Jonboy582]

OK im in a rush soIdidnt bother reading any posts. So im not sure whats been covered. But creatin as far as I know does not cause you to puton weight. What it is, is a training supplement that increases the rate and amount of muscle recovery after excercisingthus building your muscles quicker whichin turn may cause you to put on weight.

 

If you are going to get creatin in the edible form go for creatin esther I think it is, as this is absorbed 40 times better than normal creatin due to it not being bi polar or something.

 

And as far as coming of the creatin, you wont suddenly drop with weight and muscle mass, you just will not be able to build muscle as quick as before. SO regular exercise(weights and that) will keep you up in shape.

 

Please crrect me if im wrong anyone.

 

Jon

[dudecar46]

Thank you everyone!

 

I currently take whey protein and multivitamins, myself, and creatine would only be used as a training supplement.

 

I am currently being swayed towards using it, but I am not relying on it to use the water weight to bolster bulk. I am going to use it to gain muscle, and after a specified period, I will quit using it. The whey is doing a great job of making my muscles more defined, but I have seemed to hit a wall in my training. Hopefully, creatine can break that wall, and when/if it does, I can stop using it to get back to bigger, still-defined muscles.

 

As long as creatine doesn't permanently destroy my muscle definition, it is fine by me.

[randy]

Thank you everyone!

 

I currently take whey protein and multivitamins, myself, and creatine would only be used as a training supplement.

 

I am currently being swayed towards using it, but I am not relying on it to use the water weight to bolster bulk. I am going to use it to gain muscle, and after a specified period, I will quit using it. The whey is doing a great job of making my muscles more defined, but I have seemed to hit a wall in my training. Hopefully, creatine can break that wall, and when/if it does, I can stop using it to get back to bigger, still-defined muscles.

 

As long as creatine doesn't permanently destroy my muscle definition, it is fine by me.

 

I'm in the same situation that you're in . I was about 190lbs now down to 155lbs. I'm 5 feet 11 inches . I've been using the whey protein and lifting for a while now ( about 6 months ). I think I reached my peak as well since I haven't seen any improvment in over 3 months even though I increase the weight by about 5-10% when needed and change up my routine every 2 months or so .

 

I went out and bought some creatin along with something called muscle juice which should aid in the absorbtion of the creatin . check my post here :

 

I'll try this routine for a while and let u know how it works out . Let us know how it works out for you as well since it seems like you and I are in very similar situations here .

[dudecar46]

I am but a month into my plan, but rest assured, I will let you know how it goes periodically...we really are in similar situations, and I just hope that I am able to gain some of my weight back.

[randy]

I am but a month into my plan, but rest assured, I will let you know how it goes periodically...we really are in similar situations, and I just hope that I am able to gain some of my weight back.

 

you're a month into it right ? I think you should be noticing some difference by now . Have you ?

[randy]

hey dudecar46 . Read my updated post here .

 

 

[Zerohero]

I've been taking it recently as well. I've already gained about 5 - 10 pounds. I'll keep taking it for another 2 months. Then stop for a month or so, and then repeat for the rest of the year.

[randy]

I think you're suposed to take it for around 2 months stright then come of it for about a month then back on it again for 2 months .

 

I took it for about 1 month stright . I'm off it right now . Back on the whey protein for a month then I'll give the cretin a shot for 2 months stright .

 

The cretin bulked me up a bit but on top of that it also increased my fat % ( mostly because of the muscle juice I think - all that sugar - ) . Now I'm back on a low fat, lower carb , high protein plan for a while .