Creatine can make you weigh more due to water retention, and it can also support lean muscle building, both of which can make you gain weight. However, creatine is very unlikely to contribute to fat gain - woohoo! Find out more below about weight and muscle gain from taking creatine.
Creatine doesn't make you fat, but you may experience slight weight gain when you first start taking it—usually between 2 to 4.5 pounds, depending on your initial bodyweight. This weight is thought to be water, mostly, and no fat mass.
The Bottom Line. Creatine won't make you fat, won't add 10 pounds of instant muscle to your frame, and probably won't make you go bald. What creatine will do is enhance your performance in the gym, enable you to gain more muscle mass, and boost your brain health and mental function.
While you will likely gain weight by way of muscle growth, creatine is not likely to influence the amount of fat you have or cause unwanted weight gain. However, creatine could help fat loss indirectly by allowing more work to be done in the gym and increasing body mass (lean muscle).
Science has shown that creatine helps prevent you from losing muscle and strength. While this doesn't mean you'll lose fat, it can help the effectiveness of your calorie deficit by directing your body to burn fat rather than your muscle mass for energy.
Research has shown that using creatine during a trial of 4 weeks of intense training and lifting weights while cutting, can help you lose fat, boost your muscle size and strength, and increase power performance.
While there are some concerns for weight gain from creatine, the current evidence shows that this is likely due to increased muscle mass or short-term water retention. Always talk to your doctor about any health related concerns.
Creatine Water Retention
If your muscles do not absorb creatine, it sticks around in your body until your kidneys can remove it via urine. Before it is removed, this excess creatine can cause water retention and bloating, according to ICON Nutrition. This can leave you feeling smooth and spongy.
One of the most common side effects of creatine is water retention. This could be an issue if your primary goal is to lose weight, as evidenced by the numbers on a scale. However, if you want to drop fat instead, it won't affect your plans. "Creatine affects our muscles but not our body fat," explains Chapman.
There is no evidence to suggest that creatine makes you look less cut. In fact, creatine can help increase muscle mass and improve overall strength, which can lead to a more defined and toned appearance.
Doses up to 25 grams daily for up to 14 days have been safely used. Lower doses up to 4-5 grams daily for up to 18 months have also been safely used. Creatine is possibly safe when taken long-term. Doses up to 10 grams daily for up to 5 years have been safely used.
The gains in body mass observed are likely due to water retention during supplementation. Creatine is an osmotically active substance. Thus, any increase in the body's Cr content should result in increased water retention and consequent gains in body mass.
Will Creatine Bloat Go Away? Yes, the water retention associated with creatine usage will gradually subside once you stop taking the supplement.
The more creatine you consume the more water will be moved into your muscle tissue and further exacerbate fluid retention. Current research supports a loading dose of 20-25 grams per day for 5 to 7 days max followed by a maintenance dose of 3-5 grams per day. Avoid taking doses larger than 30 grams [4, 5, 6, 15].
Bottom Line on How Long it Takes Creatine to Work
Taking a modest dose of around 3-5 grams daily can produce increased strength and endurance in around 2-4 weeks. While creatine loading, taking 20-25 grams daily for 7 days followed by a lower maintenance dose, can produce results in 5-7 days.
Water Weight Loss
When you stop supplementing with creatine, your muscles will not hold as much water, making you lose weight, sometimes up to 5 to 7 pounds, in the first several days to a week after stopping creatine.
Creatine is known to boost energy, which can help you exercise for extended periods and improve your overall fitness. This will also burn more calories, help you to lose fat mass, and gain muscle mass. Creatine also speeds up the metabolism.
It's always best to become completely informed about the supplements you are taking, clear about why you are taking them, and how to best meet your needs and goals. At that point, there will be no need for debate. Creatine is used both for bulking and cutting, but it does not mean it is better at one than the other.
"However, it is important to be consuming creatine regularly." Aim for 5 grams of creatine per day for maintenance, though it's OK if you skip a day here and there.
Although we have a baseline of creatine levels in our muscles, supplementing with it can increase our baseline levels by about 30%. As a result, our muscles have more creatine to power our muscles with. This, in turn, leads to more strength and muscle mass over time.
Key Takeaways
Many people feel creatine monohydrate supplementation alters their sleep. Creatine ingestion shortens total and deep sleep in rats, probably by affecting sleep homeostasis. Despite shortening sleep, creatine often produces numerous beneficial health effects.
Creatine results kick in after roughly 2-4 weeks, depending on dose and personal response. They also begin to wear off, as you establish a new normal within the body, after around six weeks.