Weight Gain From Creatine

J

jwjpilot

New Member
I just started taking creatine for the first time a day ago, I am loading on 20gr a day.

Will the water weight gain show up in fat tissue, or muscle tissue?

I ask because I am cutting. I took my fat measurements with my calipers tonight and I lost much less than I should have, while following my cutting program almost perfectly.
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:confused:

Anyone have any experience with this or comments?


Thanks
JWJ
 
Can't help you really. I've never noticed any immediate size gains from creatine. Word on the street is that it makes your muscles larger, but not as firm.
 
Yeah I just started creatine too... But I've heard what Insane_Man has - effects happen usually no sooner then a week. If you don't load (like me) it can take a month or more.

Is it possible that your cutting cycle just needs to be readjusted for your new maintenance calories??
 
I just picked up a tub of creatine on a lark, been loading at 10g/day for the last two weeks. While I'm just as much of a noob as anyone, I'm not really doing it for the temporary bigger muscles as much as the purported extra energy and improved recovery. As far as I know, creatine only makes you hold more water in your muscles.
 
Yep, creatine stores more water in the muscle, hence most of the weight gains while being on. You should always do a loading week, increase water intake and decreases caffeine intake. If you are cutting then taking creatine does not have that much use. Creatine is the predominant fuel used in exercise lasting up to 10 seconds or so (ATP/PC system). You should cycle it as well so that your body does not adapt to it. Having higher levels of creatine will let you recover faster between sets and give you more power. I first took it about 10 years ago when it was as expensive as gold.
 
by what are you telling me to read that?
is it cuz of what I said about caffeine?
If that is the case then I still believe i am right as caffeine is a duiretic. Most of the weight gain is from water. So you do not want to be taking a duiretic. I wasn't meaning cuz it will affect your creatine absorption.
 
actually creatine is quite useful while cutting. It will help preserve muscle while dieting. This has been crucial for me. Also, to say that it just makes you retain more water is a little oversimplified.

As for whether or not you need to cycle creatine, there doesn't seem to be much evidence that you do.
 
Yes, caffeine is ok for cutting as it is a diuretic, Therefore it keeps the muscle but helps get rid of the water. That is what I have been saying. But I was saying that you do not need creatine to cut. And if you are going to take creatine, for best results avoid caffeine. You should cycle most of the supplements that you take, your body adapts. If someone has never had coffee before the first time they have it they will get more of a hit from it than the 100th time they have it. This is because your body has adapted to it!! The only way to get a hit similar to the first time is to now drink two cups. Creatine needs to be cycled!! 6 weeks spells is what I advise. Creatine is not designed to take everyday year after year.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (bourbonboy @ Mar. 01 2004,12:29)]Yes, caffeine is ok for cutting as it is a diuretic, Therefore it keeps the muscle but helps get rid of the water. That is what I have been saying. But I was saying that you do not need creatine to cut. And if you are going to take creatine, for best results avoid caffeine. You should cycle most of the supplements that you take, your body adapts. If someone has never had coffee before the first time they have it they will get more of a hit from it than the 100th time they have it. This is because your body has adapted to it!! The only way to get a hit similar to the first time is to now drink two cups. Creatine needs to be cycled!! 6 weeks spells is what I advise. Creatine is not designed to take everyday year after year.
Click to expand...


I hear what you are saying bourbonboy, but I wonder where the proof is?

I wonder if you could point me to the reaserch that shows what you are saying as far as the need to cycle creatine?



Thanks JWJ :)
 
Ian King (one of the top strength and power trainers around) was asked about cycling creatine.


"Q: I understand you've written a book on creatine. I haven't seen it yet, but I was wondering what your recommendations are for optimal use. Do you believe loading is necessary? Cycling? Mixing with juice? Should we take it before workouts or does that increase risks of cramping and muscle pulls? Any thoughts on creatine/ribose combination products? Thanks!

A: Creatine is one of the greatest breakthroughs in sports supplements in my time. It's super effective and if it doesn't work, I suggest it's more user error than a limitation of the supplement itself. This being said, there's a question mark over what extent the impact of creatine diminishes over time. In other words, what effect does it have, say, in the third year of use? This will no doubt be a question for the researchers when they get around to it.

This diminishing effect is probably seen in the absence of cycling. I feel that to reduce the impact of diminishing returns, you really do need to cycle on and off. Perhaps not as much for health reasons (as in the case of drugs), but rather to ensure creatine makes an impact upon returning to it. There's no shortage of other supplements that can be used in any "off time" from creatine. Again, unlike drug usage, you don't need to stay off other supplements to clean out."

I read this for the first time about 5 minutes ago. It just makes sense that your body adapts to it, of course it does. If you do the same exercises over and over, then your body will adapt to them to! You shouldn't need scientific studies to realise this. I have not seen a scientific study about the exercises either, but I bet my reputation on it that it is true.
 
The creatine transporter and one of the enzymes reponsible for creatine production (AGAT) are both downregulated during creatine administration. That having been said, their downregulation won't really impact the amount of creatine that is able to be stored within the muscle; while it may make it more difficult to shove creatine in the muscle, by this time, the muscles are already full of creatine, assuming you've been on the ball with your creatine supplementation. Additionally, the downregulation of both those transcripts is fully reversible upon cessation of creatine supplementation.

Remember, the downregulation occurs because the body senses that it doesn't need to transport any more creatine into an already "full" cell. This phenomenom will occur once the cells are loaded so a decrease in creatine production and transport will have less of an effect upon the system due to the fact that the system is losing only 3% per day. That 3% is easily replaceable with minimal creatine supplementation because, once the cells are full, you only need to replace that which is lost, not that which isn't being made any more. As such, the only real reason to cycle creatine is perhaps to offset the downregulation of the transporter but I have yet to find any studies exhibiting a large enough downregulation of the creatine transporter to prevent the system from replacing that mere 3% loss.

When it comes down to it, if you feel more comfortable cycling then, by all means, do so during your SD or any other break. If not, don't worry about it :)
 
Nice post, Cylus. I wonder if Ian King's comments are driven by the fact that everyone, creatine or no, will plateau at some point- that's just life. Anyway, I'd want to see some hard evidence (like from a clinical trial) that cycling is necessary. In the last analysis, I agree with Cylus- do whatever it takes to float your boat- cycle or not!
Jake
 
1) dont bother loading

2) cycle if you want, but its not really needed

3) Caffiene is worthless as a diuretic

4) Caffeine will affect the effect creatine has, but its not because of water...has to do with muscle relaxation times.
 
I just want to make sure I have it right. I'm not "cutting", so I can still drink my tea and take creatine right?
 
I got a quick question regarding creatine. You know all the talk about creatine downregualtion, is this because your body no longer needs to produce as much creatine naturally because the muscles are fully saturated or does your body stop producing creatine completely when you use a creatine supplement? Not too clear about this yet if someone can chime in, thanks!
 
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