Creatine
albone
Posts: 21 Member
I started taking creatine last week Wednesday, loaded up until Sunday and currently on maintenance. I've stayed under calorie goal (2300) for the past few days but weirdly, I'm up 3 pounds in the last 3 days. For what it's worth, I feel like I've been doing some good, heavy work in the gym (for me). The last few days I have had cotton mouth and some muscle cramping so I increased my water intake.
So, am I doing something wrong/right? I guess I don't want to accidentally encourage a bad habit or trait.
So, am I doing something wrong/right? I guess I don't want to accidentally encourage a bad habit or trait.
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Replies
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Creatine causes you to gain water weight. I'd just continue to drink more water and if the problem continues see if it goes away when I stop the creatine.0
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What tex said, its what its meant to do. Drink enough and when you stop taking it the water bloat will go.0
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Best to read up about supplements before you start taking them. When I got my first lot of creatine, it mentioned drinking more and taking a week off every once in a while.
It's water weight and you need to drink more by the sounds of it, all good0 -
I only take mine before workouts. Try drinking more water, if that doesnt help then stop and see if that solves the problem. If it does you might need to find a different brand.0
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Thanks for the comments everyone. For what it's worth, I'm not surprised that there'd be water weight even though I drink about 10 20oz bottles of water a day (though most of that is before 6pm), but I am surprised that it would cause me to gain a pound a day over 3 days. If you guys don't think that's weird, then I won't.
It might be note worthy that I take 5mg before and after a workout.0 -
Besides your water intake, you might want to look into how much potassium and sodium you're getting. Because you need to drink so much water to eliminate the additional creatine, your electrolytes sound like they could be all out of whack. If you can, stop taking the creatine and concentrate on getting your protein in with food. This will help your electrolytes to rebalance (to stop excessive cramping).0
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Thanks for the comments everyone. For what it's worth, I'm not surprised that there'd be water weight even though I drink about 10 20oz bottles of water a day (though most of that is before 6pm), but I am surprised that it would cause me to gain a pound a day over 3 days. If you guys don't think that's weird, then I won't.
It might be note worthy that I take 5mg before and after a workout.
So 10mg per day? If you're loading, that's fine, but make sure to dial that back to 5mg for the long run.
Also, I find I get less side effects of i take it with food. I also had cotton mouth and stomach cramps when I first started taking it. Those effects went away once I was fully loaded on it.0 -
Thanks for the comments everyone. For what it's worth, I'm not surprised that there'd be water weight even though I drink about 10 20oz bottles of water a day (though most of that is before 6pm), but I am surprised that it would cause me to gain a pound a day over 3 days. If you guys don't think that's weird, then I won't.
It might be note worthy that I take 5mg before and after a workout.
Did you actually do any research before you started taking it? If so you would understand how t works. As Galgenstick has pointed out are you loading or have you finished?
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Timing is useless for creatine. It is a system saturater. You have to take it every single day, and over time, it builds up in your system. You may notice a slight benefit when hitting the weights. What I mean by slight, is maybe you're able to do an extra rep or two of heavy weight.
Loading is also useless. It is a marketing gimmick to make you use more than necessary. The most up-to-date information on dosage is 3-5 grams per day, regardless of gender, weight, height, etc.
Creatine can come with a slight increase in water weight (but not enough to make you look fat). It basically makes your muscles look fuller when taken with adequate daily water intake.
Lastly, some people are creatine non-responders. It is literally doing nothing for a percentage of society.0 -
you'll get some bloat when you initially start taking it. no big deal though.I only take mine before workouts. Try drinking more water, if that doesnt help then stop and see if that solves the problem. If it does you might need to find a different brand.
it's generally not optimal to take it before your workout since it doesn't give you any immediate benefit, and will dehydrate you more. better to do it after your workout or at another point in the day...I often just take it in the morning (I work out in the evening).0 -
you'll get some bloat when you initially start taking it. no big deal though.I only take mine before workouts. Try drinking more water, if that doesnt help then stop and see if that solves the problem. If it does you might need to find a different brand.
it's generally not optimal to take it before your workout since it doesn't give you any immediate benefit, and will dehydrate you more. better to do it after your workout or at another point in the day...I often just take it in the morning (I work out in the evening).
I meant like an hour before, that is the directions. I actually notice a difference where I usually give up because of the muscle burning while lifting weights it helps reduce that during my workout which is why I take it. it works for me that way, probably not everyone but I like it.0 -
you'll get some bloat when you initially start taking it. no big deal though.I only take mine before workouts. Try drinking more water, if that doesnt help then stop and see if that solves the problem. If it does you might need to find a different brand.
it's generally not optimal to take it before your workout since it doesn't give you any immediate benefit, and will dehydrate you more. better to do it after your workout or at another point in the day...I often just take it in the morning (I work out in the evening).
I meant like an hour before, that is the directions. I actually notice a difference where I usually give up because of the muscle burning while lifting weights it helps reduce that during my workout which is why I take it. it works for me that way, probably not everyone but I like it.
There is no difference in timing creatine, trust me. Any differences noticed are likely due to a daily build-up / system saturation of creatine over time.0 -
Timing is useless for creatine. It is a system saturater. You have to take it every single day, and over time, it builds up in your system. You may notice a slight benefit when hitting the weights. What I mean by slight, is maybe you're able to do an extra rep or two of heavy weight.
Loading is also useless. It is a marketing gimmick to make you use more than necessary. The most up-to-date information on dosage is 3-5 grams per day, regardless of gender, weight, height, etc.
Creatine can come with a slight increase in water weight (but not enough to make you look fat). It basically makes your muscles look fuller when taken with adequate daily water intake.
Lastly, some people are creatine non-responders. It is literally doing nothing for a percentage of society.
+1 to all this0 -
you'll get some bloat when you initially start taking it. no big deal though.I only take mine before workouts. Try drinking more water, if that doesnt help then stop and see if that solves the problem. If it does you might need to find a different brand.
it's generally not optimal to take it before your workout since it doesn't give you any immediate benefit, and will dehydrate you more. better to do it after your workout or at another point in the day...I often just take it in the morning (I work out in the evening).
I meant like an hour before, that is the directions. I actually notice a difference where I usually give up because of the muscle burning while lifting weights it helps reduce that during my workout which is why I take it. it works for me that way, probably not everyone but I like it.
There is no difference in timing creatine, trust me. Any differences noticed are likely due to a daily build-up / system saturation of creatine over time.
That's good, then I can just continue taking it when I like to.
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