Creatine : Does It Impede Fat Loss?

[Tanulean]

I saw this after searching for creatine in the Fat Loss thread but wanted to bring it over to the Nutrition forums to see what you guys think.

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http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/93/6/2018

This study shows that it does.

Please read and post comments. I currently do take creatine and am on a cut. After reading this I am not so sure it is a good idea.

Here is the the last part of the conclusion:

"These conclusions affirm our hypothesis that creatine supplementation would result in a shift in substrate utilization at rest toward greater carbohydrate oxidation and less fat oxidation, indicated by a rise in the RER. Although there are ergogenic benefits from creatine supplementation, athletes participating in wrestling, swimming, gymnastics, and other weight-sensitive sports should first consider the potentially negative side effect of fat retention before choosing creatine supplementation."

[Trifixion]

I saw a similar thread come up a few weeks ago - was unable to find it quickly. basically, there were 2 or 3 studies noted that say creatine does inhibit fat loss.

i.e.

On the same training program, subjects taking a placebo gained X lean muscle, and lost Y% bodyfat. Subjects taking creatine gained more than X muscle, but did not lose any bodyfat. (Both groups on the same diet).

Whether you want to use it or not is up to you (it will help increasing lean body mass), but after reading that thread, I stopped taking creatine - I'll start again at the end of my cut.

[xlb57]

Fairly interesting stuff...I hadn't read this before.

[in10city]

Looks familiar If you pulled that from my post did you pull the rest of the contextual text?

[Tanulean]

Looks familiar If you pulled that from my post did you pull the rest of the contextual text?

No, some other guy on the Fat Loss forum posted the link saying he got it from the Supplement forum.

I sent him a PM to show me the exact thread so I could read more, but he hasn't responded.

Care to share the link, please?

I'm very interested.

[in10city]

No, some other guy on the Fat Loss forum posted the link saying he got it from the Supplement forum.

I sent him a PM to show me the exact thread so I could read more, but he hasn't responded.

Care to share the link, please?

I'm very interested.

First off, the subject's diets were not controlled. That's a red flag when looking at anything that deals with body composition changes. One needs to ask how did their diet influence the end results and the effect of the creatine on it?

When integrating this into the whole, the net effects need to be considered.
Caffeine increases cortisol so that's bad for fat loss when you consider that by itself right? But we know that the net effect is likely at least marginally favorable.

As I'm sure you know, the benefits of creatine use are numerous and can include depending upon conditions aiding in strength maintenance or increasing it, maintaining cellular hydration in the face of low carb intake [a hydrated muscle is an anabolic muscle], increasing satellite cell activity & IGF-1, enhancing muscle glycogen synthesis, aiding recovery, etc... - all factors important for muscle retention while dieting.

Also, when dieting, could the enhancement in carb clearance enhance whole body fat oxidation? Unanswered but something else to confound things.

[Tanulean]

You make some solid points.

One of my friends brought up the diet thing as well. I responded with "Does it really matter?"

Group A is on creatine for a certain amount of time AND the placebo.
Group B is on creatine for a certain amount of time AND the placebo.

So you can't say well, maybe the creatine group ate a significant caloric surplus and the placebo ate a deficit. Since both groups participated in both that shouldn't necessarily be a primary factor in the validity of the study.

Don't get me wrong that eating a controlled caloric deficit would most likely make a difference in the study, but you can't dismiss the study just because there wasn't one.

I do agree that there are significant benefits of taking creatine. However, none of them are in line with my short term goal of losing fat. I also get adequate amounts of carbs on my end so I'm not worried about that.

http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/93/6/2018/T3
From this chart you can see that there is a pretty significant difference in bodyfat % before and after the creatine / placebo use.

[Tanulean]

Also, the topic is Does Creatine Impede Fat Loss?

I already knew it was an effective supplement. However, my main priority is to lose fat before anything else.