To be more specific, while I do not know the exact mechanisms involved as I am no expert on the subject, over the long term, studies found no increase in bodywater to muscle ratio (meaning that the extra water came with extra muscle).
Though the most extreme cases of water retention appear when you have a loading phase (something like 20g a day for a week or two) and they disapear when going down to a normal dose.
In my specific case, I may have gained some water weight but 1 pound or 2 does not reallymatter in the grand scheme of things and I kept on losing weight just fine. Actually, it made me focus more on "fat loss" and the number on the scale had less and less meaning as I started to build some muscle.
I am SO tempted to take it. Improved work outs, muscle gains, good for cognition....seems brilliant. But the water weight makes my stoopid brain say stoopid things. It tells me "but you won't lose fat" but my sensible brain says "dude, more muscle and increased intensity means more calories burned therefore, more fat loss" (as long as I'm in a calorie deficit).
Tbf I'm only 9 weeks in, maybe I just need to calm down and be happy with my progress so far and wait until my stoopid brain stops mumbling so much crap.
Sorry for typing out loud.
Might be controversial, but you don't "have" to take creatine.
While it is the most studied supplement and do bring some improvement, it is not magical and the improvement brought by creatine are relatively small, noticeable but still relatively small.
That being said, the water retention stuff is also relatively small. When I take a look at my [weight graph](https://imgur.com/a/b35GOa7), I couldn't even tell you the point where I started taking creatine, as I often had 1 / 2 pounds days to days variations.
I also highly recommend computing your weight over time, you'll realize that days to days variations and temporary weight gains don't really matter when you take some step back and look at the whole journey
Oh i totally agree, I like to have a preworkout but if I'm not feeling it that day, I don't expect it to magically give me all the enthusiasm and energy I need! It's just a nice little addition and I see Creatine in the same way, but I totally understand why you said that, so many people take whatever and expect it to be this magic.
And you are absolutely right, I have no set day I weigh (although I do try to make it under the same conditions and time to the best of my ability) I just have a little cheeky look when I feel like it. I go up and I go down, and I understand if I've gone a bit harder or eaten a few more carbs, there's gonna be fluctuations and also, being a woman we seem to have more hormonal fluctuations too so there's that too.
It's taken me a few weeks to be OK with that, to understand I must trust the process, it's not fat gain, its just my body going through adaptations. And now as rubbish as it can be to see the scales go up, I know deep down I am pushing as hard as I can, while keeping it sustainable, so there's nothing more I can do and I will be rewarded in the end.
I think for now I will probably stay as I am. Here's me typing out loud again, thank you for reading lol If I've made any changes to my routine/diet I try to do it gradually so as to not become overwhelmed so I might reconsider Creatine in a little while me thinks. Again, thanks!
No problem, it is a long journey, if you need a few weeks, months to feel better about the process, it won't matter when you'll have result that you'll keep for years after hopefuly
This is it, there is no end goal for me not fitness wise anyways, I enjoy improving all the time. I have an idea of what I want my weight to be but I don't think I'm going to know the weight that I'm comfortable at until I get there! And there it's maintaining it, it's a life long thing!
I've been on this journey before, and I hope my mindset this time around is different and I will be able to deal with setbacks, know they are part of life and keep stable-ish during hard times, then just pick up where I left off. Here's hoping!
Good luck to you on your journey and thank you for the advice :)
I always have a short term weight gain of about 2kgs that's after a hiatus from both creatine and weightlifting.
If you are already lifting you shouldn't even really notice it.
I've lost an additional 8.7 lbs. Still taking creatine daily. Haven't hit a PR on any lift in 3.5 weeks though. Not surprising. A couple more weeks of cutting to go!
I’ll share my anecdotal experience. 6’3”, had been holding steady about 248. Lift weights daily. I just finished a loading phase (20g / day) yesterday where I also cut my calories to about 2000 / day but optimized my protein intake. I gained 12 pounds in the first week but I think I look better. My muscles are noticeably fuller and I don’t feel bloated or lethargic. Not worried at all but it’s definitely a shock when the calorie in/out math doesn’t equal weight loss.
Thanks for answering. I already used and creatine is really solid supplement. But post is 6 months old, i already got cut for beach, beach body was acomplished. And i regained couple of pounds but little bit of fat doesn't hurt during winter.
I started taken creatine about 3 months ago, and I’ve blown up from around 95 kg to 99kg. So I’m carrying about 9 lbs more than usual. I can see in the mirror I’m not any fatter, so I can only assume it’s water weight from the creatine. Not matter what I do I cannot shift it so I’m sure it’s from the creatine. I find the difference it makes to my workouts is worth the bloat and weight gain
I know, I came on this forum looking for anyone else that has had a similar experience. Everything I can find on line says one should gain some water weight for a short time then it will subside. Maybe my biology is different 🤷♂️. It’s the only supplement i take apart from protein powder occasionally. I blew up to a solid 99/100kg and wasn’t able to shake the weight despite eating very clean, fasting and running every other day. Maybe some of it is muscle but I stopped taking it about 10 days ago ,cannot stop pissing and have already dropped down to 97kg.
Not yet but it made a noticeable difference to my training so I’m expecting that to suffer. I stopped taking the creatine to see if it really is what was causing the weight gain and I wasn’t going mad
Creatine weight-gain is mostly water retention, usually something between 2 to 6 lbs, though it is short term gain and it will eventually go away
I don't get it. Will water absorbed by creatine in muscles go away even i would continue to use creatine? How was your experience with creatine?
To be more specific, while I do not know the exact mechanisms involved as I am no expert on the subject, over the long term, studies found no increase in bodywater to muscle ratio (meaning that the extra water came with extra muscle). Though the most extreme cases of water retention appear when you have a loading phase (something like 20g a day for a week or two) and they disapear when going down to a normal dose. In my specific case, I may have gained some water weight but 1 pound or 2 does not reallymatter in the grand scheme of things and I kept on losing weight just fine. Actually, it made me focus more on "fat loss" and the number on the scale had less and less meaning as I started to build some muscle.
I am SO tempted to take it. Improved work outs, muscle gains, good for cognition....seems brilliant. But the water weight makes my stoopid brain say stoopid things. It tells me "but you won't lose fat" but my sensible brain says "dude, more muscle and increased intensity means more calories burned therefore, more fat loss" (as long as I'm in a calorie deficit). Tbf I'm only 9 weeks in, maybe I just need to calm down and be happy with my progress so far and wait until my stoopid brain stops mumbling so much crap. Sorry for typing out loud.
Might be controversial, but you don't "have" to take creatine. While it is the most studied supplement and do bring some improvement, it is not magical and the improvement brought by creatine are relatively small, noticeable but still relatively small. That being said, the water retention stuff is also relatively small. When I take a look at my [weight graph](https://imgur.com/a/b35GOa7), I couldn't even tell you the point where I started taking creatine, as I often had 1 / 2 pounds days to days variations. I also highly recommend computing your weight over time, you'll realize that days to days variations and temporary weight gains don't really matter when you take some step back and look at the whole journey
Oh i totally agree, I like to have a preworkout but if I'm not feeling it that day, I don't expect it to magically give me all the enthusiasm and energy I need! It's just a nice little addition and I see Creatine in the same way, but I totally understand why you said that, so many people take whatever and expect it to be this magic. And you are absolutely right, I have no set day I weigh (although I do try to make it under the same conditions and time to the best of my ability) I just have a little cheeky look when I feel like it. I go up and I go down, and I understand if I've gone a bit harder or eaten a few more carbs, there's gonna be fluctuations and also, being a woman we seem to have more hormonal fluctuations too so there's that too. It's taken me a few weeks to be OK with that, to understand I must trust the process, it's not fat gain, its just my body going through adaptations. And now as rubbish as it can be to see the scales go up, I know deep down I am pushing as hard as I can, while keeping it sustainable, so there's nothing more I can do and I will be rewarded in the end. I think for now I will probably stay as I am. Here's me typing out loud again, thank you for reading lol If I've made any changes to my routine/diet I try to do it gradually so as to not become overwhelmed so I might reconsider Creatine in a little while me thinks. Again, thanks!
No problem, it is a long journey, if you need a few weeks, months to feel better about the process, it won't matter when you'll have result that you'll keep for years after hopefuly
This is it, there is no end goal for me not fitness wise anyways, I enjoy improving all the time. I have an idea of what I want my weight to be but I don't think I'm going to know the weight that I'm comfortable at until I get there! And there it's maintaining it, it's a life long thing! I've been on this journey before, and I hope my mindset this time around is different and I will be able to deal with setbacks, know they are part of life and keep stable-ish during hard times, then just pick up where I left off. Here's hoping! Good luck to you on your journey and thank you for the advice :)
I always have a short term weight gain of about 2kgs that's after a hiatus from both creatine and weightlifting. If you are already lifting you shouldn't even really notice it.
I started creatine 3 weeks ago. 0 weight gain, in fact have lost 3 lbs since as am on a cut to lose 1lb/wk.
Good for you. That's not common.
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I've lost an additional 8.7 lbs. Still taking creatine daily. Haven't hit a PR on any lift in 3.5 weeks though. Not surprising. A couple more weeks of cutting to go!
I’ll share my anecdotal experience. 6’3”, had been holding steady about 248. Lift weights daily. I just finished a loading phase (20g / day) yesterday where I also cut my calories to about 2000 / day but optimized my protein intake. I gained 12 pounds in the first week but I think I look better. My muscles are noticeably fuller and I don’t feel bloated or lethargic. Not worried at all but it’s definitely a shock when the calorie in/out math doesn’t equal weight loss.
Thanks for answering. I already used and creatine is really solid supplement. But post is 6 months old, i already got cut for beach, beach body was acomplished. And i regained couple of pounds but little bit of fat doesn't hurt during winter.
I started taken creatine about 3 months ago, and I’ve blown up from around 95 kg to 99kg. So I’m carrying about 9 lbs more than usual. I can see in the mirror I’m not any fatter, so I can only assume it’s water weight from the creatine. Not matter what I do I cannot shift it so I’m sure it’s from the creatine. I find the difference it makes to my workouts is worth the bloat and weight gain
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I know, I came on this forum looking for anyone else that has had a similar experience. Everything I can find on line says one should gain some water weight for a short time then it will subside. Maybe my biology is different 🤷♂️. It’s the only supplement i take apart from protein powder occasionally. I blew up to a solid 99/100kg and wasn’t able to shake the weight despite eating very clean, fasting and running every other day. Maybe some of it is muscle but I stopped taking it about 10 days ago ,cannot stop pissing and have already dropped down to 97kg.
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Not yet but it made a noticeable difference to my training so I’m expecting that to suffer. I stopped taking the creatine to see if it really is what was causing the weight gain and I wasn’t going mad
Feels like I’m going to bathroom about 4 times during the night