- Creatine may cause you to gain weight because it helps you increase muscle density.
- Creatine does not, however, cause you to gain weight from fat.
- When taking creatine, you might also see some weight gain from water retention.
Most people know that muscle weighs more than fat. This means you can lose fat but still gain weight as you gain muscle. It is important to know creatine is not a weight-loss product. It is formulated and marketed as a product that will help you work out longer so you can build muscle faster.
Creatine helps boost energy levels in the muscles, which means you won’t feel fatigued as quickly when you are working out. You can then exercise longer.
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Will Creatine Make Me Gain Muscle or Fat?
First of all, the most common side effect of using creatine is bloating and water retention. When this happens, a weight fluctuation of around 10 to 15 pounds is common.
It is important to note that water weight or weight from bloating is not permanent. Once your creatine levels are reduced, you should see that additional weight disappear.
Now, let’s talk about other kinds of weight gain. If you are exercising while taking creatine, your gain should be in muscle weight and not fat weight.
Creatine is low in calories, fat, and carbohydrates. What this means is that you aren’t adding junk to your body when you use creatine powder — although you should always read the label of a product just to be sure!
Check out this short video about supplementing with creatine:
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Sign UpAre There Benefits to Using Conjugated Creatine With Protein and Creatine?
The combination of protein and creatine should provide you with exceptional results. However, there are no scientific studies to show how these two ingredients work when they are put together.
The assumption is that if an ingredient works a certain way, then when combined with another ingredient that also works in a predictable way, together they should provide an even better result.
The catch, however, is that when you combine ingredients, there is the possibility they will interact with each other in unpredictable ways. This could cause them to not work the way they should. They could even cause harm.
This is probably where the supplement industry faces the most problems. They combine ingredients that independently do well in studies, but never study them as a combined group.
However, they still claim each ingredient in the conjugated product will work the same as they would if taken individually.
For example, water and flour combined creates a paste, but add yeast and suddenly you have the components for bread. The yeast creates a reaction with the flour and water and the end result is something completely new!
This is not to say that creatine and protein combined will have this kind of catalytic effect. This is just a warning that sometimes something seems like it would be really good on paper, but without actual studies, there is no way to know for sure.
If I Want to Gain Weight, but Not Fat, What Is Better, Protein or Creatine?
If you are looking specifically to gain muscle mass, you should probably take protein over creatine. Protein feeds the muscles while creatine burns the muscles.
While creatine combined with exercise will help you to build muscle, it is protein that helps you build larger mass.
In most cases, bodybuilders use both protein powders and creatine powders as part of their workout routine to gain body mass. Some even combine them into one shake, but there is no way to know if this is really providing them with any added benefit.
Is It Safe for Me to Use Creatine?
Creatine has a GRAS rating from the FDA. What this means is that creatine is generally recognized as safe.
Too much creatine can have some very nasty side effects, including kidney damage. It is important to follow the manufacturer label instructions and not the advice of your buddy at the gym!
When using any supplement, moderation is key for the safety of your body and to prevent toxicity. If you have any medical conditions or are taking any medications, you should talk to your doctor before starting a creatine regimen.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do I have to take supplements?
Unless your doctor has instructed you to take certain supplements, you do not have to take them.
Are supplements safe?
Whether or not supplements are safe to take depends on a number of factors. Learn more about the safety of supplements here.
What supplements do I need to take?
No one can answer that aside from your doctor. To learn more about the various supplements that doctors commonly recommend, check out this article.
Don’t forget that taking supplements of any sort is only one part of an overall healthy lifestyle. To maintain an exercise routine you’ll be sure to love, contact us today about our PRO Plan!